yet another kill switch wiring question

[nickname009]

I tend to use a kill switch a lot for tremolo effects etc. with a mini toggle switch where up is kill and down is signal. I've stuck to this since it works well and rhythmically, works better than say a shadow kill pot since the pressing down function is the kill and the release is the signal coming back in. For whatever reason, I can't make it work rhythmically.

I could however, make it work if it was reverse. Ie; if pressing down on the pot would be the signal, and when left up would be the kill. So I thought about it.

On a 4 knob LP style layout with push pulls on the tone. I could change one volume pot to a shadow kill pot, and sacrifice one of the push pulls to be a sort of 'switch' to activate that kill pot to work in the reverse way (kill pot pressed down is signal, default is kill/mute). And when I push the tone pot back down, everything is back to normal.

Can this be done? If so how would I go about wiring this up? Thanks in advance for the help!

[newey]

nickname-

I'm not exactly clear on what you're wanting here. What I gather is we have 2 push/pull puts, one on one of the two tone controls would switch the "kill pot" in/out of the circuit, so the choices are normal operation versus kill activated? The second push/pull is on one of the volume pots, and is then used as a kill switch? Does the attached pot still function as a volume control?

Wouldn't a push-button momentary switch, with the default being no signal, and signal when pushed, work better for what you want to do? Rapidly pushing/pulling the switch on a push/pull pot is likely to substantially shorten the life of that switch, push/pull pots are not particularly stoutly constructed.

[MattB]

A Shadow Kill Pot is a brand of potentiometer with a built-in momentary switch.

If I'm reading the manual correctly, the two kill switch lugs are connected when the pot is pushed down. If that's the case this diagram should work:

With the tone pot down, the red and blue wires on the DPDT are connected, and the signal bypasses the kill switch.

With the tone pot pulled up, the red and purple wires are connnected, and the signal can only pass when the kill switch is pushed down.

I've only shown the connections for the two switches. I'm assuming this is for typical Les Paul with the volume and tone controls before the switch. If that's the case the connections to the pots would remain the same.

One disadvantage of this method is that killing the signal leaves the jack tip floating instead of grounded, which means background noise can still make it to your amp.

[nickname009]

newey, i think Matt B may have clarified my poor explanation. The push pull tone is just to activate the kill switch (in reverse) while another pot will be doing the kill switch effect (the shadow pot, which is designed to operate as a regular tone or volume knob as well as a momentary kill)

MattB, thank you for this. Is there a reason why this can't be completely grounded when the signal is killed?  Does the design of the shadow pot now allow this? 

[MattB]

Apr 17, 2022 18:09:07 GMT -5 nickname009 said:

MattB, thank you for this. Is there a reason why this can't be completely grounded when the signal is killed?  Does the design of the shadow pot now allow this? 

The switch on the shadow pot only has two connection points. When the switch is pushed down the two points are connected together, and when the switch is released they are disconnected.

We want to hear the guitar when the switch is pushed down, so obviously the jack tip can't be grounded in the down postion.

And releasing the switch only breaks a connection, it can't add a new connection that isn't already there when the switch is down. To ground the jack tip in the up position we need to add a new connection between tip and ground, and the switch can't do that.

[reTrEaD]

Apr 17, 2022 22:39:44 GMT -5 MattB said:

The switch on the shadow pot only has two connection points. When the switch is pushed down the two points are connected together, and when the switch is released they are disconnected.

Yeah, that's an unfortunate limitation of the Shadow Kill-Pot.

There are pushbutton momentary switches that are SPDT. Those can be wired along with a SPDT mini-toggle or a push-pull switch to allow selection of a proper shunting kill-when-pressed or kill-when-released. But that requires physically adding a button. Not a "stealth" mod like the Kill-Pot.