ELECTRONICS

StarrSwitch On-Board Guitar Electronics and Ztar Options

AirPower MIDI Transmitter

The AirPower MIDI Transmitter is a USB wireless system available for the Ztar instruments. Click here to learn more.

StarrSwitch 3+

The 3+ replaces the stock 5-way pickup selector in a standard Strat-style guitar. It features a soft-touch rubber keypad with an LED inside each button to indicate the pickup selection. The keypad mounts to the top of the guitar with 2-sided adhesive tape and connects through the slot provided for the old 5-way switch. The switching electronics circuit board mounts inside the guitar in the same location as the old 5-way. No cutting, drilling, or routing is required for the installation. The StarrSwitch is powered by a single 9 Volt battery which may be mounted behind the pots in a stock Strat™ control cavity. The same battery may be used to power an onboard preamp or an active pickup setup such as EMGs™. The StarrSwitch operates similarly to three toggle switches except the switches are "self-cancelling". That is, if you want the bridge pickup "on", simply press its button. If you then want the middle and neck pickups together, press their buttons together and the bridge pickups will turn off automatically. You can even use one finger to press the two buttons together. What you press is what you get. Press all three buttons and you;ll hear all three pickups. This combination and the bridge/neck combination are not available from a standard 5-way switch. The 3+ is very quiet and works with passive or active pickups. If you're so inclined, the StarrSwitch may also be used in any panel-mount configuration to switch any type of audio, video, or digital signals such as those used between computers and their peripherals. Or, use it as a handy patch-bay to switch several guitars into a single amplifier or tuner.

StarrSwitch 4+

The 4+ offers three buttons for pickup selection just as with the 3+, and an extra button for user-selectable additional functions:
  1. Mute switch. Tap button#4 to ground the input to your amp. This puts the guitar in "standby" with all of your pot settings unchanged. Press again to come back at full volume.
  2. EFX-loop switching for an on-board preamp. The #4 button now acts as a bypass switch for your preamp. Keep two completely different tones available at the touch of a finger.
  3. Humbucker split for up to two Humbuckers.
  4. OR? : GK2 On/Off, select a fourth pickup or coil tap, whatever ???? With the addition of your own Expander Board the StarrSwitch may be made to perform any switching function desired. All of the digital control signals from the buttons are brought out to a connector for your convenience.

The Spectrum-1, 2-stage Midrange EQ

The SP-1 is supplied with a dual-shaft pot which controls master gain, which is used for overall signal level (0-12 dB) and Overdrive at the highest settings, and a Midrange boost/cut control (-6 to +12dB). A wide variety of tonal colors is available from even stock Strat pickups by varying the adjustment of the two controls. Cut the Midrange and bump the Master Gain slightly to produce a crisp Tele sound. Keep the Gain flat but increase the Midrange control to give a fat Les Paul humbucker sound. Great for blues!!! Turn up both controls fully to unleash a full-on metal sound. At this setting the Spectrum-1 puts out a huge signal and we advise keeping the gain controls on your amp head turned low to keep the feedback within reason.

Super Squeezer

The Sq-1 is a small Compressor/Sustainer circuit installed in a guitar to give a stronger pick attack, add sustain, and to even up the frequency response of the guitar across the entire fingerboard. No more tinny notes at the high end of the neck! Compression amount and level are set inboard normally, however an adjustment pot can easily be added to the top of the guitar. Compression 4:1, Gain 14dB. This is an extremely low-power circuit requiring 20 times less power than older circuits of this kind. Also, Bass players report that the SuperSqueezer helps the bass cut better and that their drummer is better able to hear the bass part! It's also recently come to our attention that the Squeezer is being used by owners of Rickenbacker guitars to achieve the classic Byrd's sound. channels in an eight-channel layer to create an 8-channel crossfade. Or, one pole of the Joystick could be used to bend four channels up and sustain them while a musical line is played with the other hand on the fingerboard. Alternatively, an 8-note chord or sequence across 8 different channels may be assigned to a single Sensor. The Chord may be entered through the Menu system in the Display-Programmer, captured on-the-fly from the fingerboard during. The Thumb-keys may also be used to trigger samples of any kind, select channels, sequences, ... a huge list of functions.