"Gilmour Switch" Pickguard Modding

thegummy

I am going to try out the Gilmour switch (mini switch recessed in the pickguard so that only the tip pokes out through an oval shaped hole).

What would be a good tool to use to cut a small, fairly precise hole in a pickguard?

I would imagine drilling a hole to start with, then what? Just use the drill for it all? Buy some kind of very thin round file?

sweepy

A Dremel would be my first port of call or why not fit an S1

thegummy

I don't have a Dremel unfortunately but maybe this is the time to finally get one.

I do actually already have an S1 but the reason for moving away from it is mostly that they seem to be unreliable (mine broke but Normula from this forum helped me fix it - I would rather avoid having to take the guitar apart every now and then to fix it, if it even remains fixable in the future).

There's the other thing that my guitar will have a 500K volume pot and my S1 is 250K. I will be having one 250K tone pot but then my tone pot will say volume! Fairly trivial, I know. It probably wouldn't be a deal breaker if it wasn't for the fact that I believe the S1 switches are unreliable. It's a real shame because it's such a beautifully neat concept.

CasperCaster

Northwest Guitars sell a ready modded pickguard and metal bracket which mounts behind the volume and tone pots to support the mini toggle switch.

Alternatively use a Dremel mounted on a plunge routing base, with a down cut (inlay) bit or similar. If you set up a straight edge as a fence you should be able to rout a small straight slot for the toggle. I haven't done it for a toggle myself, but have routed for a 5-way lever switch and the principal is the same.

sweepy

I don’t know what people do to S1 switches, I’ve never had one fail since they came out 

CasperCaster

If you don't have access to a Dremel then drill two small holes and join them up using a small flat needle file.

Looking at the picture of Gilmours guitar it seems the toggle slot is wider than necessary, so perhaps that is how it was achieved on his guitar? Actually, looking at the lumpy fill behind the bridge and the poorly fitting pickguard around the neck joint make me feel a lot better about the standard of my own repairs/ bodges!

thegummy

CasperCaster said:

Northwest Guitars sell a ready modded pickguard and metal bracket which mounts behind the volume and tone pots to support the mini toggle switch.

Alternatively use a Dremel mounted on a plunge routing base, with a down cut (inlay) bit or similar. If you set up a straight edge as a fence you should be able to rout a small straight slot for the toggle. I haven't done it for a toggle myself, but have routed for a 5-way lever switch and the principal is the same.

I actually got Northwest's bracket in the post this morning but I'm a tort guy and they only do the pickguard in black.

I could consider getting a Dremel but definitely not a "plunge routing base" I'm afraid, I'll have to go with your drill + needle file method.

thegummy

sweepy said:

I don’t know what people do to S1 switches, I’ve never had one fail since they came out 

I certainly haven't done anything unusual with it lol. Normal use, occasionally pressing it gently (only used at home) over the short period of time I've had it.

I had read of quite a lot of people having them fail on them so was sceptical buying it but did so with the intention of going to this Gilmour mod if it turns out to be as unreliable as I feared.

The problem was solved by squeezing the tabs that hold the pot to the chassis with pliers. I imagine it might be the constant pressing of the switch down the middle of the pot shaft that might cause it to push the pot apart. Just a guess.

If I hadn't read of all the other problems with it, I'd give it another chance but with all the reports of its unreliability then mine failing after 3 months, not sure it's worth the hassle.

Funkfingers

CasperCaster said:

drill two small holes and join them up 

This is the normal engineering solution for all manner of materials. 

With the correct template, a drill could perform the entire cut in moments. Unfortunately, it would take more effort to make the template than to do the work on the pickguard.

thegummy

Funkfingers said:

CasperCaster said:

drill two small holes and join them up 

This is the normal engineering solution for all manner of materials. 

With the correct template, a drill could perform the entire cut in moments. Unfortunately, it would take more effort to make the template than to do the work on the pickguard.

Oh  

Any tips on doing it without a template? Just use a needle file to connect the drilled holes?

Funkfingers

thegummy said:
Any tips on doing it without a template? Just use a needle file to connect the drilled holes?

Affirmative.

An oxy-acetylene torch, followed by the burr, might prove a tad excessive.

thegummy

Funkfingers said:

thegummy said:
Any tips on doing it without a template? Just use a needle file to connect the drilled holes?

Affirmative.

An oxy-acetylene torch, followed by the burr, might prove a tad excessive.

lol I think I'll just try it with a drill.

I'm going to try it out on a spare pickguard just to try the switch out then I'll order a custom one if I like it - would end up cheaper than any of the tools required.

Nomad

Funkfingers said:

CasperCaster said:

drill two small holes and join them up 

This is the normal engineering solution for all manner of materials. 

The normal engineering solution to making slots in all manner of materials is to use a slot drill on a milling machine.

Funkfingers

Ideal for use halfway up a live oil refinery column, then.

prowla

Why not just use a push/pull pot, so you don't need to do surgery?

Nomad

Funkfingers said:

Ideal for use halfway up a live oil refinery column, then.

What does that have to do with cutting little slots in thin plastic sheet?

thegummy

prowla said:

Why not just use a push/pull pot, so you don't need to do surgery?

Mainly because I'm not a fan of push pull pots. Also, I've read that the CTS DPDT pots aren't made as well as their normal pots and are hard to find in the UK.

I'd be more likely to consider a push-push pot but CTS don't make them at all.

It's such a shame that the S1 is so problematic, I love the concept of it so much and when it works it's great.

AustrianJohn

How do you attach the mini-switch to the pick guard? On my Gilmour-inspired build I just used a mini-switch mounted normally on the pick guard - then you just need a drill. I have another build that uses a push-pull. I find the mini-switch far easier to use. Good luck.

Nomad

AustrianJohn said:

How do you attach the mini-switch to the pick guard? On my Gilmour-inspired build I just used a mini-switch mounted normally on the pick guard - then you just need a drill. I have another build that uses a push-pull. I find the mini-switch far easier to use. Good luck.

A metal bracket is used to hold the switch below the plastic, such that only some of the switch tip protrudes. The bracket is mounted under two of the pots and extends towards the switch location. Between the pots and the switch, the bracket bends down and bends again to make a lower horizontal part that the switch is fitted to.

thegummy

This bracket is attached with the volume and middle tone knob then the mini-switch is mounted on the recessed part so it's about an inch below the pickguard and only the tip of the switch pokes through.

It's mostly just for aesthetics; it does look quite cool when the hole is precisely just big enough to allow the travel of the switch.

I made a bit of a pig's ear of my test pickguard to be honest lol 

FelineGuitars

you can get toggle switches with a tiny lever switch - they get used on amps and pedals etc....or have i missed the point and it needs to be done how Gilmour's was?