Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

[rashayritto]

So this company, Switch, makes their guitars out of this material called "vibracell" they have quite a few endorsers. The guitars are all single piece neck and body designs so i guess its injection molded. I'm sure a lot of people would think these guitars are lame simply because they arent made of wood.

but if they can make better sounding/performing guitars that are more durable (and really cheap!) then i guess thats progress for guitar construction right?

http://www.switchmusic.com/

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

So this company, Switch, makes their guitars out of this material called "vibracell" they have quite a few endorsers. The guitars are all single piece neck and body designs so i guess its injection molded. I'm sure a lot of people would think these guitars are lame simply because they arent made of wood.

but if they can make better sounding/performing guitars that are more durable (and really cheap!) then i guess thats progress for guitar construction right?

http://www.switchmusic.com/

I played them and although they are kinda funny looking, I was suprised that they played and sounded like "normal" guitars.. I think that they havent caught on because they are not widely accepted. I mean, guys pay obscene money for an OLD piece of wood (vintage guitar) So plastic cant possibly be as good right?? I thought about getting one to keep in my truck as they are supposed to be impervious to heat and cold..

 

[Pete Galati]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

This is mine. A Switch Wild IV (that's 4, not like an IV needle)

I've owned it for 2 or 3 years. Loads of fun at first, but there's no wood sound at all. So it starts to sound really cold and heartless before long. But it's a very articulate sound, and the neck's action is very good. The neck is also Shredder thin. So if you like big fat necks, you'll hate this neck.

Lots of sustain. I'm pretty sure that the body and neck are one single piece of that Vibracell. The fingerboard on mine is Rosewood, but that's the only wood in it. The frets are level. The Grover tuners are smooth.

Nice comfortable weight.

Very poor access to the upper frets.

It's designed by Trev Wilkinson, who designed that Tele bridge that's so popular.

Really nice, unique inexpensive guitar IMO. But I'd rather play a guitar made out of wood.

Pete

 

[rashayritto]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

hm. Yeah the prices are insanely cheap. My concern is yeah i've got two nifty traditional guitars. a beat up old workhorse strat and a warlock. I'd love a guitar thats relatively indestructible. What is the quality if the stop pickups? i'll end up replacing them with duncans anyway...

i guess my question is am i better off getting a mid-level wood guitar for twice the price or getting this alternative? i've already got two trusty wood ones...

 

[Pete Galati]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

I replaced the original pickups with a DiMarzio Super Distortion, and a PAF Pro, but I think the originals worked better in this guitar.

I think I'd go with a mid level wood guitar. Maybe an import Hamer, or something like that.

My Switch wasn't bad, but you trade off the tone of wood (which is kind of random) for stability, and consistant guitars.

Almost guaranteed to be a guitar you won't mind loaning out.

Pete

 

[rashayritto]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

hm alright. i wasnt all that sold on them anyway

i ordered their catalog just for kicks, but i'll be sticking with good ole wood

 

[Pete Galati]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

hm alright. i wasnt all that sold on them anyway

i ordered their catalog just for kicks, but i'll be sticking with good ole wood

If they show up at your local music store, I think you should give them a try. Because they're actually really impresive guitars, especially for their price. It's just that personally I prefer wood guitars.

Pete

 

[Ascension]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

I have played a few of um + a good friend of mine used to be a Switch endorsee ( Keith Miller now with Carvin ). I have played a few of um so far all have been nice and I have thought seriously about picking one up myself. They are indeed extremely durable and really nice playing and sounding guitars and they look much less weird in person.

 

[Rich_T]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

I like the idea of them being indestrctable. I'd like a guitar I can't break.

 

[Pete Galati]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

I like the idea of them being indestrctable. I'd like a guitar I can't break.

It's tempting to try to break it. I have a sneaky suspicion that it'd break by swinging it at a hard floor. I'm not willing to test that though. It might bounce back at me!

But they're pretty darn stabile.

Pete

 

[cream123]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

They look sweet. I like this one myself

 

[Kivitel]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

yeah it has a vox phantom vibe. don't like the paint job though.

 

[Iceman0124]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

I've been leery of them simply because the only stores I've actually seen them in were Media Play and Best Buy.

 

[rashayritto]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

i have to admit some of the color options look so cheesy and cheap. if they stuck with more traditional colors people might be less prone to go "pfft! its one of those plastic ones"

if i ever play one and it sounds competitive with a wood guitar 2 or 3 times the price i'll get it, heck i'm poor

 

[Pete Galati]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

The orange Switch Wild IV is stunning in person. That's the first one I saw. As soon as I walked into the room, it grabbed my eyes. And the guy was a big Ebayer too. I tried to get that specific guitar, but it didn't work out.

The picture doesn't really give you any indication though.

 

[Pete Galati]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

I think mine cost about $240? Something in that range.

 

[Brett Valentine]

Re: Has anyone tried Switch guitars?

I've got the little travel guitar version. Re strung it as a "high strung" guitar (b to b') 1 octave above the baritone, 2 octaves above my 6 string bass (except for the top 2 strings).

Very bright sound, nice for mixing in (somewhere between a solidbody mandolin and high up on the neck of a 29 fret guitar. Adds nice air.

Trying to figure out how to gut the "travel guitar & headphone" electronics to add a PowerBridge or X-Bridge.

As a regularly tuned travel guitar (one pickup) the sound wasn't that bad. Surprising amount of bottom end and the pickup had some expressive dynamics (series/parallel switch, no single coil).

Brett