Guitar of the week #62 - Epiphone SG Special with KillPot

It's cheap, and it has a feature a lot of people pay extra for.

This particular Epiphone SG Special that comes in cherry or black at the very nice price of under $200 USD has something a lot of players pay extra for. A kill switch, and it's called a "KillPot."

How it works is that when you physically tap the volume knob, the signal is momentarily cut, making for a "stutter" type sound effect.

Arguably, the player who did this technique best was Buckethead with the song Jordan:

The only way to get that stuttering sound is to use something you can press that will cut the sound and bring it back when you let go...

...and now you can get it built-in on a guitar for real cheap with the Epiphone. Believe me, it's way cheaper than trying to get a Buckethead edition Gibson Les Paul (no longer made but easily commands $3,500 minimum.)

Can you get just the KillPot itself?

Yes, but you have to choose whether you want one for single coil or humbucker use (which basically means 250K or 500K.)

How long will a pot like this last?

Unknown, but I do know this:

With the exception of the Fender S-1 switch, you almost never see pushbutton controls on a guitar. The reason for that is the life span of a pushbutton control is much shorter than that of a rotary.

If you decide to get the Epiphone above and the KillPot wears out early, fortunately you can very easily replace the volume control with a regular 500K pot and you're back in business. Or you could install a replacement KillPot.