Switch Music company

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Switch was a brand of electric guitars and electric basses that featured a one-piece body-and-neck construction, made by injection moulding of a patented polyurethane resin-based synthetic material called Vibracell, very similar to Cort's Luthite. The brand belonged to the short-lived Switch Music company in the mid-2000s. The primary designer of the various Switch models was Trevor "Trev" Wilkinson, later of Fret-King.

Contents

The company first presented their extensive range of instruments at the 2004 NAMM Show. The instruments weighed roughly the same as comparable wooden instruments, e. g. 7.9 lbs/3.63 kg for a Strat model. The sustain was described as excellent. [1]

Fretboards are of either rosewood or synthetic Ebonol. The front and back of the guitar body were sculpted. [2] The design employed garish neon colours with colour-blocking and glossy finishes, as well as sharp angles on the horns.

Manufacturing was in the Far East. The tuning mechanisms (machine heads) were Grover Rotomatics. The pickups were own-brand or sometimes a "Licensed by EMG" design. Floyd Rose vibrato bridges were standard in some models.

Some models were "MIDI-ready" with an in-built Roland GK-2A pickup system. Another model, the Ultima EQ, had both conventional magnetic as well as piezoelectric pickups.

The last catalogue and lineup was published in 2007 and the company folded thereafter.

Models

Guitar models (selection)

Electric basses (selection)

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References

  1. Musiker-Board.de: Switch Vibracell Guitars user thread
  2. Pictures of sculpted guitar bodies in the 2005 Switch catalogue