Switch Guitars?

[olrocknroller]

I have been following the demise of Switch Vibracell guitars for some time now, and am tempted to pick up one of the new ones presently on sale on Ebay. Does anyone here have information or experience with them? Why did they go toes-up? etc...

[vibramute]

I played one at NAMM about 5 or 6 years ago. They had a bunch of funky colored guitars on display, my then girlfriend thought they looked 'pretty' and dragged me over. They had bodies (and maybe necks too) made of out of some sort of plastic IIRC...that was the big selling point. I spent maybe two minutes strumming on one (a green, two humbucker version..couldn't tell you the model), but it felt like your average Asian made Les Paul-ish type guitar. Honestly, I thought they looked hideous.

I don't think it was a guitar that was ever going to catch on, hence their demise. Not sure what they are going for on Ebay, but I personally wouldn't spend more then $100.

[Veenture]

I see none on eBay with a tremelo...
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R4 ... Categories

[Dennisthe Menace]

I played one at NAMM about 5 or 6 years ago. They had a bunch of funky colored guitars on display, my then girlfriend thought they looked 'pretty' and dragged me over. They had bodies (and maybe necks too) made of out of some sort of plastic IIRC...that was the big selling point. I spent maybe two minutes strumming on one (a green, two humbucker version..couldn't tell you the model), but it felt like your average Asian made Les Paul-ish type guitar. Honestly, I thought they looked hideous.

They are not hideous, they are fugly! That Greenburst that Paul posted looks to be a baaaadddd copy of Ken Parker's "The Fly."

[Edward Lopez]

I have been following the demise of Switch Vibracell guitars for some time now, and am tempted to pick up one of the new ones presently on sale on Ebay. Does anyone here have information or experience with them? Why did they go toes-up? etc...

As a former owner of a BEAUTIFUL(!) SWITCH 4-string, silver-colored bass, I'm going to be the dissenting voice on this thread. AND, I'm not the only with good taste as you'll see in the video and if you google SWITCH Guitars you'll see the names of many endorsers some of whom were well-known if you were/are an admirer.

First, here are 2 photos of my bass at Flickr which I could not show here because are photos are being protected by copyright I included so their URLs are not avaialbe to copy and paste:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99273405@N ... hotostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99273405@N ... hotostream

Next is a 31-page SWITCH Guitars catalog in PDF at 4.16MB
http://www.chrisswanger.com/catalogs/switch.pdf

A little trivia on how I "affected" the world!
"Boogie Oogie Oogie" was recorded in 1978. I met my life partner, Linda, in 1972 and she gave me a pet name, Oogie! When the song was heard on the radio we received a lot of calls from friends telling us that a song had been name for me!

Last, but not least, is a treat for the eyes and ears as you watch 2 gorgeous women play a SWITCH electric guitar and a lead bass. A TASTE OF HONEY "Boogie Oogie Oogie", turn it up!:

Boogie Oogie Oogie - A Taste of Honey 2004

[GattonFan]

IMHO that's a great-looking futuristic bass! Now I'm gonna have to do some reseearch on these guitars.
Dennis

[dorkrockrecords]

IMHO that's a great-looking futuristic bass! Now I'm gonna have to do some reseearch on these guitars.
Dennis

That bass is an Andreas Shark. Only the guitar is a Switch.

[Edward Lopez]

IMHO that's a great-looking futuristic bass! Now I'm gonna have to do some reseearch on these guitars.
Dennis

That bass is an Andreas Shark. Only the guitar is a Switch.

I think he was referring to my bass which when I saw it I just had to have it, and I did!

[dorkrockrecords]

Right. Sorry.

[vibramute]

They are not hideous, they are fugly! That Greenburst that Paul posted looks to be a baaaadddd copy of Ken Parker's "The Fly."

You hit the nail on the head. They were supposed to be an alternative to the Parker Fly, but that guitar was never a big seller in the first place. One of my bandmates used to be a Parker Rep, and his only comment on the guitar was: I couldn't even give them away....

The Switch was doomed from the start: it's main purpose was to compete with an already undesirable model (Parker), plus factor in the hideous styling (it may have been popular had it been introduced in the 80's...they definitely have a hair metal vibe going), not a good combo. As I said, it felt like a medium quality Asian made instrument (think your typical $300 Epiphone).

I see a few sellers are liquidating various Switch models for around $300-$500 on Ebay. IMHO, there are numerous new guitars within that price range which would crush the Switch, and you don't need spandex and big hair to play one