Every gigging Guitarist knows that there are various points in a performance when their sound needs to be silenced. For some it might be the moments between the end of one song and the start of the next. For others it's the point when they need to change to another guitar mid performance. Either way, they need a reliable device to shut the signal dead as howling feedback may sound great when wanted... But it can also make a polished band sound amateur and unrehearsed.

A kill switch is often found on an artist's guitar. It is designed to literally kill the sound as soon as it's activated. The problem with having a kill switch on your guitar is the fact that you'll have to use your hands, when in reality it'd be much more effective if you could activate it with your foot. For most rock/metal bands palm muting the strings will silence the sound at low volumes, however at high volume low resonant feedback can be a lot harder to control.

The circuit is very simple and effective. The Kill switch has one socket on the left of the box and one on the right. Either socket can be used as the input/output, (so you can place it where you want on your pedal board without having to struggle to keep the cables neat). There are two versions, latched and unlatched...

(Let me know which one you want when you order).

Latched - As soon as you stand on the switch, the signal is killed. Press it again and your sound returns.
Unlatched - The sound is only cut off whilst you are standing on the switch.

There are three main places where you could put it depending on what you want to silence... for example...

(1) Placed between the guitar and amp
This would cut the signal in the same place as a guitar based switch would. Ideal if you are running a simple rig with just a guitar and amp. As long as your amp isn't too noisy, this location will work fine.

(2) Placed between your effects pedals and amp
Most Guitarist use one or more effects pedals and even with the advances in technology, they still generate a fair amount of noise, especially if using a high gain Overdrive or Distortion. Gain pedals generally add the most amount of noise and are placed at the beginning of the chain with every pedal after adding a little more noise. By placing the Kill switch between the last effects pedal and your amp, you'll be able to not only kill your guitar sound, but all of the noise your pedals create too. Again, as long as your amp isn't too noisy, this will work really well and help your performance to appear professional.
(Note: If your last pedal in your chain is a Delay or Reverb pedal, you can place the Kill switch just before the delay, so even after you Kill the sound, the Delay or Reverb will still repeat as before).

(3) Placed in your amps send and return loop
Probably the best place to put a kill switch if you can! Not only will it knock out the guitar signal, plus any noise from your pedals, but it'll also knock out any noise created by your pre-amp. If you're using a valve amp then chances are you're using the gain section for the overdrive, so if the kill switch is placed before your amp, you'll still have any noise created by your pre-amp, (which might be quite a lot). By placing the switch in the send and return loop, (Note: Delay and Reverb should come next), the only noise you'll here when activated is the sound of your power amp, which will be a lot less than your whole set-up buzzing away!

Over recent years Guitarists have been going back to some more traditional methods in the search for a purer tone. That means heading away from PCB's, (Printed Circuit Boards) and back to point-to-point wiring using thicker cables. This is a trend that definitely works as the larger the area the signal has to travel on, the less it's restricted, so the purer the sound. You can see various examples of this with amps like the Cornford range, Marshall's latest 'Hand Wired' series, as well as the 'Hand Wired' Vox AC30's.

All my units are made by hand with high grade components to keep your signal as pure as possible. I have over 10 years experience as a Guitar Tech as well as several years experience in electronic assembly to medical spec.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

This item comes with a 1 year warranty that covers parts and labour. If a fault occurs it's the owners responsibility to return the goods via a secure postage method. I will repair or replace and return the goods at my cost.