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Volume pot with off switch


Richard R
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On an active bass it's normal to have the active electronics switched on by inserting the jack plug of the lead. Simple cheap and reliable. However it would certainly be more convenient for me for the practice setup if I could leave the lead plugged in and switch the electronics off at the bass, ideally by turning the volume down to zero then click to off. Or have pull-to-off perhaps. Either way it's tidier and quicker to start noodling.

I wonder if the switch would need to not only disconnect the active electronics and but also short the jack lead so it didn't act like an aerial, which might get a bit complicated.

Any thoughts on whether this is a sensible idea? I assume it's not trivial otherwise some manufacturers would do it.

 

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Well, most people would say can't see the issue with the existing ' simple cheap and reliable' option, pull the lead.

A simple push pull on the volume, or the Fender S1 would do the job to cut the battery + feed. of course you would have to religious in your end of session routine, if you forget to hit the switch, it's gonna stay powered.

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i'm not sure that shorting out the lead would be a great idea as you would actually be shorting out whatever it was plugged into at the other end, with the volume at zero and the power disconnected wouldn't it act much like a passive bass plugged in with the volume at zero?

 

Having the volume knob act like a on-off switch sounds like a reasonable idea to me provided there wasn't an audible click on the output when it's turned on.

 

Matt

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1 hour ago, Matt P said:

i'm not sure that shorting out the lead would be a great idea as you would actually be shorting out whatever it was plugged into at the other end

Your just shorting the jack lead, so there is no signal at all to the amp and therefore no chance of stray pickup. Its an input short, not an output. 

You can  buy jacks that do this when the lead is unplugged- the FOH engineers' friend.

https://www.neutrik.com/en/neutrik/products/plugs-jacks/plugs/professional-1-4-plugs/silentplug

 

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3 hours ago, Richard R said:

Your just shorting the jack lead, so there is no signal at all to the amp and therefore no chance of stray pickup. Its an input short, not an output. 

You can  buy jacks that do this when the lead is unplugged- the FOH engineers' friend.

https://www.neutrik.com/en/neutrik/products/plugs-jacks/plugs/professional-1-4-plugs/silentplug

 

If anyone needs a lead with a silent plug on I can make one up for a small fee.

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