Will my killswitch kill my pre-amp?

[varietyshowjoe]

I need some technical advice.

I plan on installing a killswitch in my Epiphone SG really soon which shouldn't be hard and I already know how. But when I told my dad (retired electrician) about this idea he was concerned that shorting out the output signal in my guitar would also short out the input signal in my Zoom G9.2tt which may permanently damage it. He told me that if the input signal ran through a transformer first we should have no problems but if it ran through a transistor first the short may overload and damage the transistor.

He doesn't know a ton about amp and other musical electronics, but he knows his stuff and is most concerned about me ruining a $400 piece of equipment.

Is any of this making sense? Any advice would be extremely appreciated.


-Joe

[Mark Black]

If the killswitch simply shorts the guitar output hot to common, it mimics the action of the guitar volume control when turned all the way down.

The Zoom won't care if its input is shorted - happens every time you turn the volume all the way down on the guitar already. This is also true for any other amp or processor designed for guitar or bass (or most any audio input for that matter) and is an inherent part of the design.

Nice that your dad cares though...

[varietyshowjoe]

Awesome, good to hear. Thanks for the advice.

[David Schwab]

Plus many effects and amps short their own inputs when you pull the plug out, to reduce noise.

[varietyshowjoe]

Hey guys thanks for all the advice, you were right about it not hurting anything. I rewired my treble volume pot to be the master volume and put my killswitch the hole that my rhythm volume used to be. The switch shorts the signal at the master volume switch and works perfectly!