Switch Oscar IV Signature

Body is crafted out of a polyurethane matrix. One reviewer said it well: you can actually feel the body resonating, very cool. Lots of curves 'n swerves in the surface, but they make sense, mirroring the shapes and sweeps of the guitar. Mine is the orangeburst--think neon dreamsicle meets butterscotch--and it's growing on me. I bought this on a lark...and MAN, am I surprised at the quality and sonic capabilities of this axe. The neck is crystal-smooth, and the pickups...sheesh. I can play any style and play it believably. This has got to be one of the most versatile guitars ever made, in spite of its over-the-top comic-book appeal. It will leave skeptics with their jaws dropped. I'd love to hand one over to a Gibson LP snob, blindfolded, and just stand back and snicker, with superiority.

Get this: I bought a LP type guitar with kickass hummers, tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece, Grover tuners, MOP and abalone inlay, ebonyish fretboard, medium jumbo frets (nicely dressed too!), smooth as silk volume and tone pots, and a lightning fast neck WITH a freakin' graphite nut...for less than $165.00 GET OUT!!!

Immediately I disliked the narrow headstock and the chintzy SWITCH logo...the damn letters peel off! NOT cool. Once I got over that, I changed the strings to d'Addario XL .10 flatwounds--I'm really a jazzer at heart, but can stoop to rock/metal if need be (money is tight)--and then plugged in to my Tech 21 Trademark. Oh MAN. Those humbuckers--don't know who made 'em, don't know the rating--are SWEET. I'm dead serious. I've played just about everything hanging on a wall at GC, and right up there with my new-favorite Ibanez Lo-Z active pups are these. I'm not talking jazz pups, but working stiff git er done rock 'n roll/hard rock pups, with lots of bite and tone. They seem to have a life of their own given enough warming up.

I bought this used, and the action was just fine. Other than the usual stray chip/dink I saw nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, the shape and finish were smooth as a baby's bottom. Everything on the guitar works smoothly, effortlessly, flawlessly. Okay, okay, the neck pickup tone pot is a little dirty...I'll fix it, don't rush me.

Who knows...but you know those commercials by Brita? The one where a guy's playing basketball for an hour, but his water bottle lasts forever...well, this is kissing cousin to that stuff, so expect it to be around until some ahole drops the big one...or your sister's precious rugrat gets a pyro jones and sets it on fire.

They're out of business...we're on our own...in the dark...with adoring fans with money burning holes in their pockets...

I've been playing long enough to know I should hang it up and just compose, period. I'd buy another, but they're becoming pretty rare, so I notice the prices shooting up. Favorite feature: Two--the graphite nut and the just absolutely kickass humbuckers. I love how this axe can believably do just about any style--I tried a little Wes Montgomery and was kind of astonished; if I closed my eyes I might have thought I was playing a 335. It's got that growly undertone that I love. [Y'all really ought to at least try one before you die, you'll be waaay amazed.] The guitar that this Switch Oscar IV sounds MOST like, imho, is the Ibanez ART 300 with that cayman alligatorish finish to the top. [Y'all should try one of those, too, just for an idea of what the Switch sounds like.]

The features have been covered by other reviewers so let's get right to the meat. I'll be writing several different reviews of various models as I replenish my supply of axes after having sold all my ol' vintage buddies and takin' a breather for the last year or so........I now own 3 Switch guitars - bought 'em all new offa eBay. This one is my favorite - an Oscar Sig IV that looks like it was thought up by a comic book artist on acid - as I saw one reviewer put it - with a craving for Christmas candy - mine is Orangeburst - and sure is pretty. A quality piece and a head turner for sure. Got mine "loaded" from the dealer with strap, locks, and a HCS.

I run an ol' Sunn tube amp that looks worse that I do - hell, the grill is ripped and faded, the knob graphics are all scratched out or position worn - but it'll smoke most other combo amps into the ground - and this Switch powers it right up and hangs with everything I can mash through it. You can play clean, crisp, clear, distort, metal, you name it, and this guitar delivers. Fuzz with no buzz and even thrash, trash and death metal. Very, very nice.

A very nice package. A well thought out and well managed set up. Easy to use and pot placement doesn't interfere with playing - a pet peeve of mine. Quality throughout. Somewhat neck heavy and the action could be a tad lower perhaps but then I'm just splitting hairs. When I called a respected luthier about setting the action and intonement on it he said "Never heard of Switch - must be made in China". My response, "Hell, ain't they all"?

So here's the rub boys and girls. Let's blindfold you and say - Keith Richards - and put the two of you in a recording studio. As the pros play through different axes which one of you can tell us what type of guitar is playing at any one time without actually seeing it? Well, neither one of you could. And neither could anyone else. The days of saying "That's a Strat" or "That's a Les Paul" are far behind us. Most big name acts have contracts to play a specific manufacture's axe. Saw on CNN where an 8 year old had a contract with Dean. Quality sound comes from fit, finish, materials. Music comes from the soul.

Switch, like Serenity the movie, is "ghosts are gone" - like stick a fork it in gone. They're done. An interesting supposition, however, is Switch's relationship with Drive Guitars - another manufacturer who is also "ghosts are gone" but whose axes share many striking similarities to Switch - like the one piece body. Looks like Drive went belly up first and then along came Switch with the same type of Driver platform - but this time on steroids. But then they got gone, too.

One of the things I like about Switch is they actually look like they're fun to play. And they are. They remind me of Chevy's Corvette; You want to be seen with one. They come in all the glorious colors of the rainbow. And they deliver monster performance at a bargain basement price. Want more from your axe than that? Then you gotta step into a different price range for a name - but that's about all you'll be getting. Enjoy.

Made in China, proprietary resin called VIBRACELL. HH, setup like a Les Paul, just about as heavy. Fingerboard is EBONITE, slick as glass, damn nice looking too. Passive electronics, not sure of the model of pups they used, but all gold hardware, but the pup rings are PLASTIC. Tune-o-matic bridge, Grover tuners, and about the best gig bag short of a PARKER. Even came with a matching green SWITCH strap.

Very versatile, although I mostly play heavy distortion through the POD X3Live. Not noisy, although the neck pup was no bu~eno from the git-go. Bridge pup runs about 14k ohms, plenty hot. Neck runs a little over 8k ohms, but it was wired incorrectly, and was out of phase. I actually got a name brand pup once, new out of the box that was that way, and sent it back for replacement. It can happen..... Switch some wires around, back in phase, but is *NOT* matched IMO with the super hot bridge. That pup will be replaced, as I think it sounds like crap next to the overly hot bridge. Low sound rating for the faulty pup

I bought this used, I can't give props or crap to factory for it. Surprisingly, for a guitar off ebay, I did NOTHING to the setup, it was absolutely fine from the seller. About the second out of over 100 guitar purchases on ebay.

Finish is a green to black burst. In the pictures on the auction, it looked like Shrek roadkill. In person, it grew on me in a matter of days. I really like it now, I think it looks real nice. I am not a fan of gold hardware, but it looks super on this guitar. As mentioned before, the pup rings are PLASTIC, but they match the gold covers, and at least the finish won't fade off them, like it always does on the gold metal rings. I think it was a good call to use the plastic in this case.

The pickup out of phase problem is unforgiveable though. That, and the fact I believe the pups are mismatched give this a low rating

This thing is built like a tank. The finish on the hardware will start to fade, just like all gold finish does, but the guitar itself??? Some real tough stuff. I ain't sceered o' alternate materials, and this stuff really feels nice, and is solid.

I would never gig without a backup, but tote it around, hell yes. The gig bag (I normally don't like bags) is heavy, and just as solid as my Parker's gig bag. It will protect it well, and you know, it just matches too. Bright green!

After the pup replacement, this is gonna be a killer machine

I bought it used, I doubt they give a rip

I have been playing 20+ years, own Fender, Gibson, Parker, numerous Carvins, and some damn fine custom guitars.

I wish the ebay seller was a little more upfront, I would have still spent the $$ on it, especially seeing as I got a stupid good deal.

Lost/stolen??? Yeah, I would buy another one, and even in this freaky Shrek color. It really looks cool.

The composite material is something you just have to try out. I am completely sold on it, and will add more Switch guitars to the arsenal. Even the pickup problem is something I can live with, and change, but the guitar is some real good shit, I would, will, and can buy another Switch guitar.

GOLD SPARKLE FINISH
SINGLE CUT MUCH LIKE A LP
MADE OF VIBRACELL (POLYUERATHANE)LIKE PLASTIC BUT HAS PORES
2 VOL 2 TONE 1 PICKUP SWITCH
GOTOH TUNERS
EBONITE NECK(FEELS AWESOME)

THIS GUITAR SOUND LIKE A LES PAUL.I WILL NOT BE REPLACING THE P/U'S DO TO THE THICK MID TONE THEY PRODUCE.RUNNING THIS GUITAR IN BOTH TUBE AMPS AND SS AMPS AND IT SOUNDS GREAT IN ANY.BESIDES THE KICKASS MID TONE THIS GUITAR CAN GET THUMPING BASS AND NICE TREBLE RESPONSE BECAUSE THE VIBRACELL MATERIAL AND THE P/U'S.
IT CAPTURES CHOICE WOOD TONES, THIS ONE SOUNDING LIKE THE USUAL LP MAHAGONY BACK MAPLE TOP.
THIS GUITAR IS FOR EVERY STYLE BUT NO COIL TAP FOR SINGLE.
IF YOU LOVE HUMBUCKERS THOUGH THIS WILL MAKE YOU SMILE.

GREAT ACTION AND FINISH.THE GOLD SPARKLE FINISH IS MIXED WITH THE POLYUERATHANE AND IT CRAZY LOOKING.MINE IS THE LIMITED EDITION I SAW SOME ON E-BAY FOR ABOUT $400.00 I TELL YOU THEY ARE BETTER THAN THE EPI LP.I DID HAVE TO LOWER THE ACTION TO MY TASTE BUT WITH ALL NEW GUITARS
HAVE IT SET UP THE WAY YOU LIKE.

MADE STRONG.YOU CAN BEND THE NECK LIKE SLASH DOES ON SWEET CHILD O MINE
AND FEEL CONFIDENT.I ALWAYS TAKE THE STRAP BUTTONS OFF AND DROP WOOD GLUE IN IT AND THEN PUT THEM BACK ON.WITH THIS ONE I JUST USED GORILLA
GLUE.I TELL YA FOR A CHEAP GUITAR YOU COULD PLAY A SHOW WITH THIS WITH CONFIDENCE.I'M ALL ABOUT THE WORKING MANS EQUIPMENT AND THIS GUITAR WILL GIVE YOU A GIBSON STANDARD SOUND WITHOUT THE PRICE TAG.
GET ONE.

HAVENT HAD TO DEAL WITH THEM.I'VE OWNED THE GUITAR FOR A YEAR

LIKE I SAID I'M A WEEKEND WARRIOR AND I DONT HAVE 2,000 TO DROP ON BIG NAME GUITARS.IF YOU WONT A BRAND NEW AND DIFFERENT LOOKING GUITAR THAT
YOU CAN AFFORD THATS GONNA SOUND LIKE THE BIG BOYS THIS IS IT. BEFORE

My Switch came in a pearl white metalflake finish with gold hardware. It is very sharp looking. There are some taping mistakes on the neck binding, the finish line is a little wobbly and covers the binding in places.

I love the body shape. It looks like a comic book artist redisigned the Les Paul. The Body neck and fingerboard are all synthetic, and feel beautiful. You can really feel the guitar vibrating while you are playing.

I play weird mutant jazz metal instrumentals. It sustains great. When I tred the guitar out in the store, I played it through a cheap amp. I assumed I would have to replace the pickups. Once I got it home, I plugged straight into my Boogie Nomad and it sounded very "even and controlled"on both humbuckers. I would prefer a little hotter pickup but think that I will just keep what it has.

My guitar was setup failry well. I had to adjust the action a bit because there was a little buzz, but it adjusted fine. Fret work is great. The only "flaw would be the sloppy finish around the binding.

I bought the guitar a week ago, but do not forsee any problems.

N/A I've not dealt with them.

I've never been afraid of alternate materials. I have a a tele with a graphite neck and I love high-end Ovations but have several guitars made of wood, so that you know where I am coming from.

I can't imagine any guitarist picking up one of these and not seeing the huge "bang for buck" that it is. You can get very "traditional" tones from it. I would love to try one of theses out with a Floyd Rose, a superswitch and a H-S-H pickup combination...If Switch is looking for endorsers, I would love to have my own signature model!

Most recent model but in apparently discontinued color (olive green "Firemist"). Made in China, 22 frets, "Ebonite" fully bound fingerboard (slick!), Abalone + faux MOP block inlays (sharp!), one piece neck and body of "Vibracell" material (no alignment problems!), 2 proprietary Switch passive humbuckers, 2 volume and 2 tone controls, 3-way switch, T-O-M type bridge, gold hardware, non-locking Grovers, 24.75" scale, medium C-shape neck (not an LP "club"!), guessing about 10-12 in. fb radius; comes with gig bag new (mine isn't). Basically, a modernized, trimmed down, lighter but well balanced LP without body binding but better workmanship and a stunning finish and appearance. This finish is a true metal-flake one (not just "metallic"), with as much sparkle as color. No, it doesn't have everything (so not a "10"), but what it does have is done right. Wait. I changed my mind. For what it is, it is a 10.

Sounds like an LP only clearer and more defined, clean or distorted. Suits any style an LP would. Oh, but it isn't wood? So what! The materials make the sound consistant - and good - from one guitar to another. Can't keep myself from cranking it, and haven't had any of the squealing problems mentioned elsewhere. The pickups are just great. Wouldn't ruin the guitar by changing them out for anything else. Straight ahead setup and sound: no tremolo monkey business (refreshing!) for real sustain and stable tuning, no coil tapping (which gives artificial single coil sound at best anyway). It does everything it was made to do very well. Using with a Reverend Hellhound and a couple different distortion pedals (etc.). Awesome!

The materials used make this guitar real clean and sleek. The workmanship all around is exacting, neat, and tidy, especially the fretwork. No buzzes. Neck straight as an arrow (now, after truss rod adjustment). I have to laugh at anybody who thinks that factory set-ups should be anything more than a near miss. It's the action and intonation that the instrument is capable of, to suit one's own preferences, that counts. The action on this guitar can be made to be as low as anyone could ever want. Couple or three scattered, invisible nibs in the finish, most likely protruding sparkles, which the finish is chock full of (sparkles, not nibs, that is).

There's not much to go wrong with this guitar. Built real solid. Not a fan of gold hardware, but it works with this color and it's better than the gold I've seen on Carvins. Not sure if the finish is really a finish or molded together somehow with the Vibracell material. In any case, it's heavy-duty. Standard strap buttons. They're not going anywhere. The Vibracell material, as I understand, is very durable. While I'm not about to try to make any, there are no dings on this guitar. The control pots are viscous damped and I have to believe the rest of the electronics are first rate. This guitar was NOS, so it had been played, and nothing is malfunctioning. So, yes, I would say it's dependable and if I were to use anything on a gig without a backup, it would be this.

Have no idea on this. No, I'm not a company rep, but I would like to see this company survive. They have an innovative product here that's reasonably priced and kicks a lot of high-end ass. Kind of like a successful reinvention of the wheel. I'd like to see their guitars around for a long time.

Been playing for many, many, many, many moons. So many moons that one with a horizontal crack would be a welcome change. I have a motley assortment of gear: Fender, Marshall, Carvin, and Reverend amps; Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, Yamaha, etc. guits. No unpleasant surprises with this guitar. Already bought another (it's on the way), as well as a Wild IV Signature (I recommend going for the Ebonite fingerboard, which is probably my favorite feature). I compared this guitar with virtually everything. It rules! (OMG, did I actually say that?) Visit their website and do yourself a favor: Save some cash, buy one of these guitars, keep this company in business so you can get another someday, but don't wait till the prices go up, up, up!

I BELIEVE A 2004 MODEL , 22 FRETS MED JUMBO , ONE PIECE VIBRACELL
BASICALLY A "LES PAUL STUDIO FROM THE FUTURE" BETTER IN MANY WAYS THAN THE PAUL FIRST THE PRICE $399 WOW!!!!
THE FINISH IS A GREENISH GOLD METALFLAKE ...ABSOLUTELY BULLET PROOF!!!TWO SWITCH DESIGNED COVERED HUMBUCKERS...COOLINLAYS!!!
EBONITE FRET BOARD...ICESKATING FOR YOUR FINGERS!!! FAST AS HELL!!!
STOP TAIL ...THREE TO A SIDE GROVER TUNERS...
THIS THING ROCKS OUT OF THE BOX!!! ....

WELL HERE IS MY ONE AND ONLY ISSUE THE PUPS FEEDBACK SO THEY'LL BE REPLACED...BUT AT LOWER VOLUMES W/ STAINLESS STRINGS THIS THING IS A BREAST!!!! DOWN TUNING TAKES ON A WHOLE NEW DEMENTION DUE TO THE VIBRACELL...I CAN HEAR EVERYTHING I'M DOING CLEARLY...GET OFF YOUR ASS AND BUY ONE..PRS IS GREAT BUT WHO CAN THROUGH AROUND THREE GRAND.
AND GIGGING IS EASY .THIS THING CANNOT BE AFFECTED (LIKE WOOD) BY TEMPERATURE OR MOISTURE!!! TUNE AND RIP!!!!

FACTORY SETUP WAS GOOD I STILL HAD TO TWEEK ABIT...BUY A SIGNATURE SERIES THEY SPEND MORE TIME ON THE FRETWORK..OR SO IT SEEMS THE ROSE WOOD ONES ARE A BIT CHEESY FEELING... (HEY SWITCH WHY USE WOOD AT ALL.. MAKE A FAKE ROSEWOOD BOARD TOO.. BEING ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSIOUS AND ALL.. RIGHT?)EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS AXE FEELS SOLID ONCE YOU PICK IT UP YOU'LL BE SOLD...PLUG ONE IN AND YOU'LL BE IN LOVE!! A NEW DAWN IS COMING. DO NOT BE LEFT BEHIND...OTHER COMPANIES HAVE ATTEMPTED THIS AND SUCCEEDED BUT IT COST TOO MUCH..SWITCH DOES IT RIGHT!!!!WAKE THE F..K UP!!! GO AND BUY ONE NOW!!!!!!!!!!

THIS GUITAR WILL OUTLIVE ANYONE WHO BUYS ONE!!! HARDWARE IS OK WOULD PREFER TONE PROS BUT HEY I CAN DO THAT PART. I WOULD GIG AND HAVE GIGGED W/ TWO OF THESE. THE OTHER IS BLACK..JUST SO I CAN HAVE A FRESHLY TUNED INSTRUMENT EVERY SONG OR TWO. ONE WOULD BE TRUSTWORTHY OF GIGGING ON ITS OWN BUT IF YOU BREAK A STRING...WELL YOU KNOW THE REST....HELLO!!!!GO AND BUY ONE BEFORE MR WILKINSON RAISES THE PRICE!!!!

VERY NICE PEOPLE...NO PROBLEMS HERE.
YOU WILL NEVER NEED IT REPAIRED TRUST ME UNLESS YOU RUN IT OVER W/ A SEMI...IT MAY SURVIVE THAT TOO...WHO KNOWS...1 YEAR WARRANTY...LIKE A TOYOTA TRUCK IT WILL RUN FOREVER WHO NEEDS A WARRANTY...GEES!!!
GO TO SWITCH.COM READ , LEARN, TRY SOMETHING NEW!!!!!SCARRY I KNOW BUT YOU'LL BE GLAD I PUSHED YOU...HAVE A MIDLIFE CRISIS EARLY BUY ONE!!!!

PLAYING 28 YEARS I'M A DIE HARD AND I LIKE THESE THINGS...ALOT!!!
EASY TO REPLACE THIS AXE IF STOLEN ..NOT SO EASY FOR THE GUY WHO STOLE IT TO REPLACE THE FAMILY JEWELS ONCE I CATCH HIM.
SERIOUSLY SHREDHEADS,GRUNGEPLAYERS,DEATHMETAL...OH YES EVEN YOU NORMAL FOLKS OUT THERE..THIS IS THE FACE OF THINGS TO COME...REMEMBER WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT THE COMPACT DISC.
GET UP AND GO OUT AND GET A SIGNATURE SWITCH YOU'LL ABSOLUTELY BE IMPRESSED!!! BY MR METALHEART