Inside the McKiddy Matrix: Toggles, Coils, and Recoil Mode

Every pickup built on my bench operates on an independent, metal toggle switch layout rather than a single plastic master blade selector.

The neck and middle pickups are wired to dedicated 2-way toggles ([ On / Off ]), while the bridge pickup uses a specialized 3-way toggle ([ On / Off / On ]). This lets you manually run any individual pickup standalone, turn them all off, or layer any custom combination side-by-side in a standard parallel circuit.

Flipping that bridge 3-way toggle completely backward activates The Gunpowder Switch, shifting the guitar straight into Recoil Mode.

In Recoil Mode, you are literally re-coiling the pickup circuit on the fly. Shifting this switch completely back hotwires the internal signal path, bypassing standard parallel operation. It forces the bridge coil and your middle or neck coils to run down a single, continuous Series Circuit. By combining the physical coils into one continuous loop, you immediately double the impedance. This slams the front end of your amplifier with a heavy midrange push, an instant jump in output volume, and a punchy tonal kickback that hits like a 12-gauge slug.

The Mechanical Rules of Recoil Mode:

• The Series Loop Rule: For the Gunpowder Switch to successfully close the series loop, the specific 2-way toggle combining with the bridge pickup must be switched OFF. On a 2-pickup guitar, the neck toggle must be off. On a 3-pickup guitar, the middle toggle must be off. Leaving them switched on in this position will break the circuit and mute the series connection.

• The 3-Pickup Onslaught: If you are playing a 3-pickup chassis like The Gunslinger, switching the middle toggle off engages the main series roar between the bridge and middle coils. However, the neck pickup remains completely independent. You can switch the neck 2-way toggle ON simultaneously to layer a pristine, transparent single-coil tone directly on top of your heavy series recoil.