🤠 Inside the McKiddy Matrix: Toggles, Coils, and Recoil Mode
Every pickup built on my bench operates on a metal toggle switch layout rather than a single plastic master blade selector.
Depending on the model, your pickups are controlled by independent mini-toggles, letting you manually run any individual pickup standalone, turn them completely off, or layer any custom combination side-by-side in a standard parallel circuit.
However, when you need to drop the hammer and unleash maximum horsepower, you step away from the toggles and smash down on the heavy-duty, push button Gunpowder Switch
⚡ Activating Recoil Mode
Smashing down on that industrial Gunpowder Switch immediately kicks the guitar into full Recoil Mode, accompanied by a striking faceplate status LED that ignites to show the circuit is live.
In Recoil Mode, you are completely re-coiling the pickup architecture on the fly. Smashing this switch activates a hidden, multi-gate micro-relay vault inside the chambered body. This vault completely severs the standard parallel highway and bypasses the mini-toggles entirely. It instantly locks your entire pickup set end-to-tail down a single, continuous Series Circuit.
By forcing the signal to travel like water through one long, unbroken pipe, you combine the physical voltages of the coils. This slams the front end of your tube amplifier with a heavy midrange push, an instant jump in output volume, and a punchy tonal kickback that hits like a 12-gauge slug. No digital emulation, no active boost pedals—just pure, raw copper voltage and total mechanical dominance.
The Gunpowder Switch applies across the entire fleet, hotwiring each model's proprietary, custom-wound pickup set into a unique series monster:
The Gunslinger: Stacks The Wild Horses (3 single coils: 8.9k Neck, 6.1k Middle, 9.9k Bridge) into a massive, earth-shaking 24.9k-ohm series mega-humbucker.
The Sidewinder: Stacks The Brushpoppers (2 classic T-style single coils) into a high-output, fat-sounding country-rock powerhouse.
The Circuit Rider: Stacks The High Plains (2 raw, gritty P-90 single coils) into a thunderous, mid-rich blues and rock machine.
The Regulator: Stacks The Outlaws (2 thick, roaring Humbuckers) into an absolute high-gain freight train of pure distortion and endless sustain.
🎛️ The Mechanical Rules of Recoil Mode:
The Outlaw Coil-Split Grid: While the other models utilize independent 2-way ([ On / Off ]) switches, The Regulator features specialized 3-way mini-toggles ([ Single-Coil / Off / Humbucker ]) for The Outlaws set. Flipping a switch toward the neck splits the humbucker to a crisp, biting single-coil. Leaving it in the middle cuts the pickup off. Flipping it toward the bridge slams it into full humbucking mode.
Total Master Override: Unlike conventional wiring setups that force you to fiddle with multiple dials mid-song, the Gunpowder Switch holds absolute master authority. It does not matter if your individual mini-toggles are turned on, turned off, split to single-coils, or running wide-open—the moment you step on the switch, the parallel lines are physically vaporized, and the full series stampede takes over.
The Seamless Return: The second you smash the switch again, the indicator LED goes dark, the internal relay gates snap back open, and the guitar drops instantly back to whatever exact parallel mini-toggle combination you left behind. It is the ultimate seamless transition from clean, vintage clarity to a thunderous wall of rock-and-roll volume.