Members Shanbo Posted February 13, 2011 Members Share Posted February 13, 2011 I figured this would be a better place to post this question than in the General Electric Guitar forum, but if not, feel free to move/edit this Hey guys, first post here and I need some technical advice. I used to have an old Epiphone Flying V that I used to try out some different modding bits n' pieces. It was so old and cheap that it was perfect to tinker about with without having to worry about breaking it up badly. I had a killswitch in it with the same stock-standard red button everyone uses. Now I have a shiny new Jackson that I kinda wanna put a Killswitch in, but at the same time, I don't want to use that awful looking red button again. Problem being, there's not many variants out there to be found, so I came up with a bit of a weird idea that would work out perfectly if I could manage it. I just dunno how to go about it. I was thinking about old Arcade machines. The big round buttons come in all colours, like black, that would look fairly inconspicuous on the face of a tobacco sunburst Jackson. As well as being nice and big and having that nice loose feeling that arcade buttons had, making it easy to do the 3 and 4 finger rolls over it. :L I just don't know what kind of button the arcade machines used. I'm guessing they're some sort of digital button as apposed to the momentary switch that I need for a killswitch. So, question is, does anybody know what kind of buttons they are and does anybody know how I'd go about changing it into the type of switch I need? Thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the.red.hill Posted February 13, 2011 Members Share Posted February 13, 2011 I just did an ebay search for "arcade button", and found a ton of results. That's as good a place as any to start. There appear to be a few different varieties: HAPP, JAMMA, MULTICADE, MAME, etc. Let us know if you get one of these installed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shanbo Posted February 13, 2011 Author Members Share Posted February 13, 2011 I never even though of that haha, thanks man. But I know nothing about electronics. Do you know which one out of those variants is the right one for a killswitch? From what I've seen from googling, HAPP seems to be the right one. Can anyone confirm that? Only problem from what I can see in the pics is the size of the switch. Looks like I might need to drill a pretty big fkn hole to get that thing in there, or widen my tone pot quite a bit. I just took my tone pot out of the Epiphone because I never used it. The thoughts of a black arcade button with a blue LED underneath is seriously sounding awesome to me though hahah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hurtzher Posted February 14, 2011 Members Share Posted February 14, 2011 http://store.djtechtools.com/products/arcade-buttons?utm_source=google-product-search Hey, it's a momentary switch too! There ya go, you're all set! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members monto Posted February 14, 2011 Members Share Posted February 14, 2011 fun fun fun ^_^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shanbo Posted February 14, 2011 Author Members Share Posted February 14, 2011 Hahaha that's brilliant, Hurtzher. Thank you Now I just need to find somewhere to rout my tone pot a bit bigger. Ireland SUCKS for places to do hardware work on guitars. :{ I bought it haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shanbo Posted February 21, 2011 Author Members Share Posted February 21, 2011 Bumping this with an update. I bought it from the site Hurtzher suggested and it's perfect. I'm gonna bring it to the local hardware guy and see if he'll route the tone pot bigger for me or maybe even an entirely new hole for it. It's so perfect man. It's just a loose as I wanted it to be. I thought it was gonna be too long to fit, but it's short enough to go into the cavity. I'm so pleased. I'll definitely be posting a video of it after it's done. I might do a little vlog tonight so I can do a pre/post type thing. Thanks for all the help guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hurtzher Posted February 22, 2011 Members Share Posted February 22, 2011 I have been thinking about putting one of those in my Schecter C1 Classic. Lemme know how it turns out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sutto Posted February 23, 2011 Members Share Posted February 23, 2011 Is it a momentary open or momentary closed switch? I put a killswitch in one of my guitars and I remember that was something to consider. I think you want momentary open so that the signal is running until the button is pushed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blood5150 Posted February 24, 2011 Members Share Posted February 24, 2011 This is precisely what Buckethead has on his sig model Les Paul....two of them actually... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shanbo Posted June 13, 2011 Author Members Share Posted June 13, 2011 Oh {censored} hahaha. I came up with something Buckethead came up with without even knowing Sup guys, I'm back. Need some advice this time. I'm bumping this because it's the same dilemma. I really don't feel like spending Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mcfontio Posted June 15, 2011 Members Share Posted June 15, 2011 I use these in my strat. They wear out fairly quick though so I might move to something else. But, they're great for kill swtich. Uber fast with a click. It really only has enough thread to be used on a pickguard though. N/O = normally open N/C = normally closed The switches I posted have both Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mcfontio Posted June 16, 2011 Members Share Posted June 16, 2011 Check these out. This might very well be what I install in my guitar. Question has been sent to seller. Some of these folks have sent me samples... Is it a momentary open or momentary closed switch? I put a killswitch in one of my guitars and I remember that was something to consider. I think you want momentary open so that the signal is running until the button is pushed. You actually want normally closed. You open the connection when the button is pushed. Shoulda caught this earlier. Most arcade buttons I've seen are N/O. I like these too because they're a little smaller. There's only one like them on ebay though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shanbo Posted July 13, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 13, 2011 So I'm kinda paranoid that it's gonna be the wrong kinda switch when I put it in, and I have no way to check it. Do you guys know if an arcade button I'd buy from a DJ site would be N/O or N/C? Is there a simple way to check using the switch or anything? I'm probably making a mountain out of a mole-hill here, but I just wanna be sure before I go drilling through my Jackson for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mcfontio Posted July 18, 2011 Members Share Posted July 18, 2011 I postd a link to an ebay auction that had a N/C switch and where you would not need to drill the body (going from 3/8 to 10mm isn't much of a drilling project) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lex.Luthier Posted August 2, 2011 Members Share Posted August 2, 2011 I'd recommend getting one of these http://cgi.ebay.ie/SHADOW-SH-124-250k-KILL-POT-/350456582754?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item5198d71262 You'll retain the original looks and functions of your guitar plus you'll have your killswitch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mcfontio Posted August 2, 2011 Members Share Posted August 2, 2011 Now that is a sweet product. I'm curious as to how fast one can push the button. Have you used these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lex.Luthier Posted August 2, 2011 Members Share Posted August 2, 2011 Now that is a sweet product. I'm curious as to how fast one can push the button. Have you used these? Yup, installed one in each of my strats. As a pot its excellent. Its smooth, responsive and slightly locks in at 10 so you cant shift it out of position when tapping on it. As for the killswitch part, it takes very little travel to kill the signal so you are able to tap it pretty fast. [video=youtube;AaNUWssGMmg] [video=youtube;866__QJg9LQ] I might have a spare one in my parts drawer, if so if anyone wants it they can have it for postage costs. Im based in Ireland btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mcfontio Posted August 3, 2011 Members Share Posted August 3, 2011 That's a really nice offer. I'm surprised people aren't jumpping all over that (if they're not PMing you) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shanbo Posted October 4, 2011 Author Members Share Posted October 4, 2011 Wow I just keep bumping this one back up haha. Hmmm they do look cool and I'd love to try it out in my Ibanez, but the reason I'm going for the Arcade Button is because of how loose it is to press and how wide it is so I can do double and triple rolls on it with my fingers. I just don't know how to check if it's N/O or N/C. I might try hooking it up to a lightbulb or something first just to see how it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members razordave Posted October 4, 2011 Members Share Posted October 4, 2011 Do you have an ohm meter? If so, just put it across the switch conductors. If it reads a short (~0 ohms) without pushing the button, it's normally closed. When you press the switch the ohm meter would then jump up to a very high (or infinity) reading. If it's normally open, the opposite would happen. High or infinity across the connectors until you press the button, then a very low (nearing 0 ohms) when the button is pushed. Don't hook it to a light bulb unless you're sure it can handle that amount of AC power. I doubt it's rated for that. rd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shanbo Posted October 5, 2011 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2011 Great idea. I'm studying Sound Engineering so I'll bring it into college tomorrow and use their OHM meter. Even better, tomorrow is Live Sound day so I'm sure it'll be easy enough to find one haha. Cheers Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members razordave Posted October 7, 2011 Members Share Posted October 7, 2011 You get it figured out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members henrebotha Posted December 1, 2011 Members Share Posted December 1, 2011 You actually want normally closed. You open the connection when the button is pushed. WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG! You want normally-open. You install the switch between the signal and ground. When pressed, the switch closes, shorting the circuit to ground. Using a normally-closed switch inline with the signal is a recipe for disaster, as any number of electrical engineers will tell you! Installed this way, pressing the switch does not result in silence - instead, it gets you that horrific BUZZ you normally get when you unplug your guitar while the amp's still on. Not hating on you personally, just thought I should clear this up for everyone reading this I have a normally-open killswitch in my Strat and it works perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mcfontio Posted December 4, 2011 Members Share Posted December 4, 2011 WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG! You want normally-open. You install the switch between the signal and ground. When pressed, the switch closes, shorting the circuit to ground. Using a normally-closed switch inline with the signal is a recipe for disaster, as any number of electrical engineers will tell you! Installed this way, pressing the switch does not result in silence - instead, it gets you that horrific BUZZ you normally get when you unplug your guitar while the amp's still on. Not hating on you personally, just thought I should clear this up for everyone reading this I have a normally-open killswitch in my Strat and it works perfectly. I'm not an electrical engineer but... I actually consulted two electrical engineers I worked with the time. The only thing they cautioned me about was to make sure it's on the 'hot' side. When I use high gain, you can hear a little buzzing but they also suggested putting a cap across the switch to smooth out the signal. I didn't really need to do that because it's really a minimal buzzing. And literally no buzzing on my clean channels. A normally open switch will not let anything pass (ie the circuit is open) Try it with an ohm meter. at least where I'm putting it. So you're saying you put the switch from the positive to the ground.. Interesting. So when it closes the signal goes to ground. Humm. I'm going to ask them what they think of that next time I see them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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