Switch Wild IV

for 100$ bucks i could not go wrong in buyin it on a whim plus it was green =)
anyways the guitar is made with everything cheap the guitar body is actually made of a hard styrofoam
2 knobs one volume one tone with a 3 way toggle for bass, treble, and more treble
it has a fixed bridge w/ stock hot rod pickups(they suck)
with a new set of strings it was ready for play(22 frets)
the volume pods are very small so i would reccommend replacin the eletronics completely it has the capability of being a great axe if you pour sum money in it

even though the pickups are junk they suite every style of playing and is very effects friendly i own alot of effects pedals crybaby, whammy, delay, tremolo, phase..morellos setup
i play thru a peavey s 112 wit ext cab
i actually sold my first guitar because this one sounded alot brighter than a 350$ jackson guitar...it suites every genre of music...of course if you had a distortion pedal
its very noisey cuz of the stock pickups(specially on muted strums) but its 100$ dollars cant complain
with no effects and just amp distortion and clean its not the best....pinch harmonics are tougher etc....the tone is very flat and the notes dont ring out as far as a les paul...so notes die quick even with a heavier gauge string
i love the feel of the neck but its no guitar for shreddin(kinda fat) tapping is fairly easy
i would consider this a good begginer guitar with the possibility of becoming a decent guitar if the pickups are swapped...im currently looking to upgrade....i do not reccommend this guitar for drop C tunings even though harmonics are easier..i give it a 5 for versitility...isnt bad but isnt good

everything out of the box was fine nothing needed to be adjusted and have had no problems with it staying in tune ...unless im droppin the tuning constantly...it had no flaws and finish can take a beating
strings were too light and horrible i reccommend changing them as soon as you get it
overall it comes ready to play.....wish the neck was a bit skinnier and 24 frets

this thing will last forever i have had this guitar for almost 2 years now...its great and very dependable....live playin? it has done it...but unless you get rid of the stock pickups NO......the finish so far has no dings incredible i have dropped it and hit stuff but it has not chipped...foam body lol
this thing has been stock for me besides the strings and everything has worked perfectly fine for me
i had another pod put in it for 2 volumes for both of the pickups so i can do sum toggling like tom morello does..the tone has been improved too

i have not dealt with the company at all...i think they went out of business because the website is no longer and the guitar was discontinued about a month after i bought it....got it at the closin out deal

for the price and the money i spent it was well worth it...nothings wrong nothing has been replaced just resoidered by me of course...its a great buy but its more honestly a guitar not many would have dat i seen so its unique
if you put money into it...it can become a decent axe for practice play and jam sessions...its only my second guitar and i have only 2 years of guitar experience i have played fenders, ibanez, peavey, les paul

its a great starter guitar but once u get more serious then i would reccommend gettin a better axe and savin up...just bc of the pickups dats it tho...and the note sustain
but its def worth it for the money spend it was WELL SPENT

Paid ??100 for this amazing guitar.
22 Frets
For the price paid for this vibracell guitar it is definitely worth the money
1 Volume, 1 Tone Knob
2 Switch Humbuckers
Rosewood Neck, not sticky like others.
Very Strange style of guitar which i was looking for.
Yellow Vibracell Body.

Plays various styles of music, i tend to play various styles, but when you put it in a marshall amp it sounds amazing, put it on clean mode and play like a relaxing type of music or put overdrive on and rock out tunes like Smoke on The Water or Iron Man and Sweet Child O' Mine.

Great all Round, nothing wrong with this guitar great to hold no problems with it. Probably Well set up at the Factory.

I would most definitely use this guitar ina gig witha marshall or carlsbro amp, i could rely on it and the hardware is definitely durable and so is the finish.

If anyone wants a low budget but great sounding, looking guitar i would definitely recommend a Switch Wild IV.

Honestly bought it because of it's great looks (green finish), and also I was curious about the Vibracell body. I was thinking it could be a poor man's Parker. Is it? Well, sort of. It doesn't seem versitile at all--as in there aren't many different sounds you can get out of it. That said however, the sound you do get is exceptional. As for number of features, there aren't many. That fine with me though. But a tremolo would be nice as I seem to be the only person that still likes them.

I've played lots of cheap guitars in my day and this is hands down the best sound. Something about the Vibracell makes the tone smooth yet textured and very rich. It's not a screaming lead guitar, but rather a rhythm player's dream. The bridge pickup is okay but definitely weaker than the neck one. One other thing: you can FEEL the music better because of the way the body is resonating. Very cool side effect.

i was worried from seeing reviews that trash the factory setup, but mine thankfully was straight perfect. The fretboard was dry as others have said, but not a hard problem to fix. No fret sharpness or misalignment for me. Action is low and easy, to a surprising extent, and that's something I'm very picky about. No buzzing anywhere thank God.

Body seems rock solid. Tuners just okay, but they do look very nice. Pickups and bridge seem solid. The only things that worry me are the tone and volume knobs. They feel pretty cheap and I wouldn't be surprised to hear them start crackling in the future.

No idea.

I was hesitant to get this as I have been loyal to the same cheap guitar for 15 years. But I am thrilled by the new baby, and look forward to recording with her. Also, I know this model is soon to be discontinued, but I really think you should consider any Switch guitar because the Vibracell bodies are awesome. If this, thier most inexpensive model, sounds this great, I can only imagine that thier higher priced ones must sing. I might pass on the Parker dream and get another Switch someday!

i bought a black Wild IV the neck isnt as slippery as i would like and its heavier than my Dean MLX and smaller than my strat, pretty heavy,

on clean brigde this thing sounds like it has a little distortion it may just be my ampm but i like it could be very versitile

the action way a little bit high for my liking and the pups were too low and its pretty easy to scratch it up too

the pups i will probably replace in the future just to see how if the plastic would cause any problems in the tonal quality of say a dimebucker or pearly gates

this guitar is an excellent buy for $99.99 dollars on musicians friend but i wouldnt pay the list price for it

Finish yellow (the seller adviced me to wear black), wonder how (or if)to "paint it black" (to WEAR yellow instead). All hardware is black but chrom frets. Are there any black frets by the way?
I guess it's made of yellow Material, so you can't produce dingdongs...
Shape is kinda futuristic reminds me of one guitar Prince used in "Purple Rain", unusual upper cutaway. I'm not too deep into guitars to tell you abot the bridge. Look below. On first look I'd wish to see a possibility too lower the bridge (and the action). I like the tuners very easy to tune, though non locking. Neck scale seems to be something between Strat and Gibson, like usual for Wilkinson. 22 frets. Body and neck ONE piece of vibracell I guess. 1 Volume, 1 Tone, 3-Select-SWITCH. Pickup-config: H/H, Wilkinson-designed as far as I know. No active electronics

Looking for a double humbucker guitar, I love it at first ear. My amp's an Epiphone SC28 kombo, FX: Digitech GNX2 plus plugs. This guitar easily produces sounds (call it noise or whatever) due to it's sustain. Take care of what you do to it: knock it and there ist is! Regarding the older reviews I'd say, mine sounds kinda flat. But I'll work it out. For the price I paid it's mindblowing, no question. This 7 is a 7.5.

Bought second hand, delivered tonight, action is very good. Due to the short scale it's easily playable for me. It looks like a peace of cake to even lower the action, if the bridge was lower. Pickups need readjustment, regarding the fact that there not 2 Volume- knobs. Bridge-PU is bent (bridge row of poles higher than mid-). I haven't figured out yet how to fix that. No further flaws. Love it.

Looks rock solid. Hardware looks right. I'm not yet sure about the tuners, seem to be too easy going. Maybe I'll review again later. Finish seems to be perfect, made of vibracell as a material of ONE colour. Strap buttons are good. Look for a picture, pay attention to the upper cutaway. I have no doubt I could depend on it. I would use it on a gig without backup, but i'd prefer to take my other guitars along to have a choise.

I may ask for support to find out how to paint it black, since I was looking for a H/H-guitar in matt-finished black with black hardware. Just couldn't resist the price or wait for a black one.

Being a synthesist innately, I'm an autodidact at guitars playing for 2 years. My other( electric) guitars are a Fret King Esprit EU (Wilkinson, I love it and him, two P 90 PUs) a Squier Strat (Three single coils) If it was stolen or lost, regarding the price I'd buy a blsck one again, though it's difficult to see were to get one in Germany at the moment. I love its sutain, the humbucker sound, the action according to its short scale, the idea of a material NOT reacting to humidity, weather etc. I WISH it had TWO Volume knobs. Something tells me it'd be great with a whammy bar, though I'm not shure I could handle it.
I already thought of a Gibson SG, this cheap little baby invites to play around and expriment,
I'd love to know more about Jon's suggestions regarding resoldering of the PUs. But I will find out...
This purchase was thought of as an experiment to find out what Switch- guitars are worth. I'd been looking for MIDI guitars and found among others this one. Meanwhile I got all the freaky shit to MIDI-fy a guitar and I think about installing the MIDI-PU on this SWITCH. According to its price it's a perfect basis for experiments and tryouts. Like someone mentioned befored: u wanna get Seymor Duncans, do it!
MIDI

This is a pretty basic instrument -- 2 humbuckers, one volume knob, one tone knob, and a selector switch. Switch makes their instruments from a synthetic they call "Vibracell."

Grover tuning pegs are always nice to have.

Hidden feature: the pickups have 4-conductor wires, so if you're handy with a soldering iron and not afraid to drill a few small holes, you can have at least three tones from each pickup quickly and easily; more if you like more switches.

The tones are quite decent; the neck pickup is clear and warm; the bridge pickup could perhaps be a little brighter. Together they give a nice Gibson-style chime. I play progressive instrumental with one band I have and a folk-country-rock mix with another; in both cases the tones fit in nicely.

Here's where the problems arose: a number of the frets, particularly the 13th and above, have sharp edges on them -- not enough to cut but slide your hand there and it will hurt.

Moreover, this one has a "tall" fret: bend the B string at the 14th fret and it zings out against the 15th fret. Sorry, this is a killer problem for me -- a tall fret is inexcusable. I feel capable of filing it down myself but for a beginner this would be a stop, go-home error.

With the plusses of the instrument I'd recommend that you try the one you aim to buy in the store before buying it; if you order on-line make sure they have a good return policy.

It seems to be pretty well put together, aside from the tall fret. Only time will tell how it holds up, of course.

I wouldn't use it alone on a gig but I tend to bring 3 or 4 guitars along anyhow for serious playing. The main reason for buying it, though, was to have a cheap guitar to take to jams, where I wouldn't hesitate to bring only this one along

Haven't dealt with them, though I do aim to yell about the tall fret.

I've played guitar since 1968. My main guitar, a 1974 Gibson SG, has been with me since it was new -- so I don't lightly zip from instrument to instrument.

Again, I bought it to have a cheap "Beater" guitar, but when the problems are fixed, I think it will be much better than that.

Bought my new wild IV from ebay based on reviews on this site (thankyou very much all posters). First of all I was looking for somehing that I could get sounding a little warmer for blues rock type stuff (Most of these comments are based on comparrisons with my BC RICH Ironbird which has 1 bridge pick up 1 volume control and I love like a second child).Secondly I wanted something different.
What I got was a Synthetic moulded guitar in flourescent yellow (which looks supeurb with it's black hardware). The neck is the biggest difference with a slightly fatter and rounded les paul feel which I am still getting used to. I like this guitar but have 2 issues: I don't like the witch hat knobs and will be changing them for metal ones like on my BC Rich, and tuning is effected dramatically by the ambient temperature.

OK bridge pick up is meaty but can't touch the BC Rich for screaming solos. That wasn't what I was after though. Turn the tone knob on the bridge pick up and I get the crunchy but warm and soulfull santana sound I wa after. when playing along with CDs on my pc it really gives me just the sound I'm after.
Don't use the neck pick up like most people and if I was going to I would probably change it as it is a little weak (bottom e sounds like a base guitar).

Sorry bu have to slag this one off ane action fit and finish.
Action was way too high and with the individual bridge adjusters took quite a while to get right (had to buy alan keys).
Some of the frets don't fit flush into the fretboard leaving sharp edges. had to remove excess glue on the binding and fretboard. fretboard is in rosewood but is very dry and needs a few polishes.

Have not gigged with this guitar but would trust it with with my wife in her knickers with several gin and tonics down her.
The hardware isn't fitted brilliantly but it is good hardware.
I am looking forward to tarting it up with with some evil looking decals

N/A

based on influenses I am a heavy metal type of chap with heavy blues tickling me under the armpits. the BC Rich gives me all the heavy I want. the Switch gives me the Bluse Sound I would expect from a guitar #100 more expensive but doesn't touch the Ibanez A85 jazz I have tried (quite a bit more expensive).
This is a good guitar for the amatuer/medioca guitarist and costs next to nothing. Great buy if you get it for this peice!

WELL I DID IT ANYWAY...YOU CAN SEE BY MY OTHER REVIEWS THAT I PREFER THE SIGNATURE SERIES INSTRUMENTS...BUT WHEN I PICKED UP THIS GUITAR IT SAID TAKE ME HOME!!!!AND I ALREADY HAVE A WILD IV SIGNATURE!!!! THE COLOR CAUGHT ME TOO IT IS "ROAD CONE" FLOURESCENT ORANGE!!! THIS AXE PLAYS GREAT THE PICKUPS ARE REALLY POWERFUL ALL LUG POLE PIECE SCREAMERS!!! THE SIGNATURE HAS DIFFERENT PICKUPS SO THE SOUND OF THIS ONE GRABBED ME.THE FRETBOARD WAS DRY SO A LITTLE LEMON OIL AND WE'RE OFF THE THE RACES. VIBRACELL ...GREAT STUFF!!!THIS IS PROBABLY A COLLECTOR'S PIECE NOW AS I BELIEVE THE NEW ONES ARE A BIT DIFFERENT IN COLOR AND PICKUP TYPE AS WELL SO THAT IS THE OTHER REASON TO GRAB ONE IF YOU SEE ONE!!!IT HAS TWO NON SPLITABLE HUMBUCKERS THAT PEOPLE SEEM TO HAVE ISSUE WITH...WELL ITS A SHREDDER SO IF YOU WANT MELLOW GET A MODEL THAT HAS A SPLITTER SWITCH INSTALLED IN IT. THIS IS ALSO A "GREENDAY" BASHER BUT MORE POWER THAN ANY GIBSON DOUBLE CUT I'VE EVER PLAYED WAY MORE SUSTAIN TOO!!
STRING THROUGH THE BODY NOT STOP TAIL LIKE THE GIBSON. GROVER HARDWARE,BOUND 22 FRETS,24+ SCALE REALLY COMFORTABLE IF YOU DON'T HAVE GIANT PAWS. MED JUMBO FRETS,GREAT BALANCE, AND THE PRICE W/ GIGBAG, STRAP, AND TOOLS!!!!AMAZING!!!!

THIS IS A GREAT GRUNGE , METAL, HEAVY ROCK GUITAR PERIOD!!!!I PLAY IT THROUGH A 5150 COMBO AND A TRIPLE REC MESA AND WHAT CAN I SAY AWESOME!!!!REAL BEEFY W/ THE ALL LUG STYLE PICKUPS REALLY HOT!!!YOU CAN ROLL OFF TO BLUES AND THE NECK PUP IS GOOD TOO BUT THIS AXE SHINES IN THE WORLD OF OVERDRIVE AND DISTORTION..THE SUSTAIN IN THE STOCK SWITCH INSTRUMENT EASILY KEEPS UP W/ MY BC RICH WARLOCK W/ EMG 81'S NOW THAT IS SAYING SOMETHING...WE DON'T EVEN NEED TO COMPARE PRICE THAT WOULD BE INSULTING TO "THE WARLOCK"..I LOVE MY WARLOCK BUT TO BE HONEST I'LL GIG W/ MY WILD IV...IT JUST SOUNDS GREAT!!!

FACTORY SETUP WAS EXCELLENT BUT LIKE MOST AXEMEN I'M VERY PICKY SO I TWEEKED A BIT BUT NOT MUCH. THIS AXE HAD NO ...I REPEAT NO FLAWS. RARE AMONG "EASTERN CHEAPY" GUITARS THERE IS USUALLY OVERSPRAY ON PAINT ETC...NOT MY SWITCH ITS ALL TIGHT N' RIGHT. THE STOCK STRINGS WERE EVEN DECENT AND WILL STAY ON UNTIL I BREAK THEM OR THEY NEED REPLACEMENT...THEY REALLY DO SOUND GOOD AND THAT IS THE FIRST THING I CHANGE ..NO NEED HERE...THE SELECTOR SWITCH HAD SOME DUST FROM NON USE IN THE STORE BUT A LITTLE CONTACT CLEANER AND SOME VIGOROUS MOVEMENT AND NO NOISE AND SMOOTH OPERATION TOO. SOME CHEAPER INSTRUMENTS TEND TO POP BACK TO CENTER POSITION THIS HARDWARE IS GREAT!!!PRO OPERATION THROUGH AND THROUGH...

HERE WE GO AGAIN...THESE THINGS ARE TOUGH OKAY ....PICK ONE UP YOU'LL SEE!!! IT IS ALL GOOD AND GIG WORTHY...BETTER YET IF YOU ARE ROUGH DURING PRACTICE IT WILL LIVE THROUGH THAT TOO!!!!ALL HARDWARE WAS TIGHT AND IF I HAD TO I WOULD GIG ALL NIGHT W/ THIS AXE ITS THAT GOOD...PERIOD!!!!!!!!

HERE TOO ...AGAIN GREAT COMPANY...GREAT PEOPLE.. 1 YEAR WARRANTY THAT YOU WON'T NEED...UNLESS YOU REALLY INTENTIONALLY TRY TO DESTROY
THIS GUITAR IT WILL LAST SEVERAL LIFETIMES.....THE REAL KICKER AND THE REASON TO GIVE ONE OF THESE A TRY IS THE PRICE...SURE IF YOU CAN AFFORD A PORSCHE "MR. JONES" TO KEEP UP W/ EVERYONE GET ONE...BUT IF YOU CAN GET THE "SAME" PERFORMANCE FOR A TENTH OF THE CASH IS IT NOT WORTH A TRY??? WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOOSE "MR. DEEP POCKETS"??? OH THATS RIGHT IT IS NOT COOL TO LIKE SOMETHING NEW....YEAH RIGHT!!!GET OFF THE PODIUM...AND GET TO A SWITCH DEALER NOW...WHILE NOONE IS LOOKING!!!AN AWESOME AXE "THE HELP" CAN AFFORD....

NO EGO...PLAYING 20+ YEARS ON PRO EQUIPMENT ENOUGH SAID.

This thing is a sci-fi guitar. Basic two humbucker set up with one tone and one vol, three way selector. Rosewood neck, 22 medium frets. Nothing special until you see what it is made of - Vibracell - a plastic stuff that is theoretically altered to mimic the best woods. The impact of that is that the thing is bright yellow (with black hardware) and the neck and body are a single piece. It turns heads. It is light and it is also small which is great for my son but really only suits me playing it standing, sitting I never get past the seventh fret. I'm gonna give it 10 because of the technical innovation of the Vibracell - I just love it. The tuners are Grovers as well and they are ok too.

The pups are OK. The neck is warm and chunky, the bridge is bright and aggressive. Both drive an amp whether clean or overdriven. They are loud. They are standard but this is not an expensive guitar so who is complaining. The tone really makes a difference too. You could play most things on this but it looks sci-fi punk or Kill Bill oriental revisited retro 50's.

The set up was perfect when I got it. Good action, slight relief, perfect nut height and depth, perfect intonation. Pups were fine too.

Hard to know really with this material. It feels solid enough. The only negative is that the tuners are so close together on the small head that I tend to knock them out of tune when retuning another string. My son does not have that problem though with his smaller hands. I'd gig with this.

Not tried them but their web site invites you to try it if you need it.

Have played for 35 years and owned many guitars. I would replace this if I lost it. It is perfect for a kid to learn on given that it is a perfect size but great sound and quality. A much better option than starting with some of the other 'starter guitars' that are so poor. Although I'd recommend it for kids it is also fine for an adult too. I think they come in many bright colours and that is the choice really - can you carry it off or not. We call it Yellow Fever. Love it.

One response? That's crazy.
Switch guitars, designed and produced by thingyo Wilkinson. Every guitarist should know that Wilkinson trem systems are THE BEST.

The guitar is made out of plastic. If you want to get technical, it's a man made product called Vibracell which mimics high grain woods like mahogany, maple, and ash. And it does. I happen to have a solid mahogany guitar. The Vibracell guitar has better resonance and sustain. God must be pissed. And as it isn't specially grown wood, it makes the guitars cheaper than any other (except some Encore guitars, but you don't want one of them). They come in a few gruesome colours including day glow Orange, Yellow, and Green. But there's a red one and a metallic blue one aswell.
Wilkinson bridge (very basic, but it works damn it), Grover tuning heads (tell me they're not the best you filthy liars), Switch design humbuckers - again basic, but the guitars are so cheap you can get some Semour Duncans (or whatever) on there. One piece body, a clever contour so your hand doesn't come close to the dials etc. when you're strumming.
As you can guess, I'm very taken with it. It hasn't got a 'whammy bar' or tremolo arm, but I haven't yet found a practical use for one. When I do, I'll give it a black mark for not having one.

They also make expensive ones with loads of great bits on, a midi model which has normal pickups, a midi pickup, and a piezo pickup somewhere in the neck region with an EQ panel!! That's the best guitar you can get, surely. BUT, as the price goes beyond #130, the colour varies from metallic blue and metallic green.

Sounds great. Full tone, full blown guitar. This model costs #139 at the moment (it's not got cheap bits, it's because it's made out of plastic) there is also a model which I think is #120. It only has a bridge humbucker and nothing else, but, it has a coil-tap (you can turn one coil on and off - humbucker, single coil, humbucker, single coil) which is very useful indeed. Still no whammy bar, though.

All in all, good, solid, full of tone. Not convinced, stick some better pickups on it. It'll still be cheap when you think about what it's got and what it can do.

Seems to be set up fine. If this guitar was made out of wood rather than something that's like wood, it'd be #400 easy.
The only fault I have found as of yet, is that the edge of the frets stick out and they are razor sharp. When playing, sliding around, I always end up with a tiny raw patch at the bottom of my little finger that stings like hell. Watch painfully as a bead of salty sweat slowly dribles down your finger.
I suppose I could file them down a little, but shouldn't that be done at the factory? Also, I'm lazy.
The nut is a cheap rubbery plastic which will need to be replaced in time.

This is what all guitars should be like. I can put this guitar in the fridge, then a sauna, then back in the fridge, the in the sauna again, then in my case and off to the gig.
I've owned Ibanez guitars in the past, not the good ones, the ones us lead guitarists want. There is nothing more soul destroying than notising a buzz on the 8th fret but nowhere else.
Not with this guitar, ever, I have no idea why it's supplied with a couple of keys. And no, the paint won't fade or rub off, it's plastic! Plastic, plastic, plastic, plastic.

I haven't dealt with the company. Why? What for?
Thinking about it, the guy who makes these has got a medium build beard. I'm not sure if I would trust him, but I reckon the support would be good. These guitars have been out for a while and I haven't seen or heard about them since I bought mine, plus this is the second review. Of two.
Same people who make Drive amps, so if their customer service is good, then the answer is yes. Unfortunately I haven't got a Drive amp. I don't think thay're that good.

I've been playing for many years, I own lots of great stuff. Including the Pink Panther box set, no crazy legs crane?! Now who's crazy? Me, I am.
Great for most styles (I suppose, no single coil unless you buy the cheapest one). I run mine through various effects, then to a Laney stack, or through a Linn pre amp and straight to the desk (on funk nights, yes funk with a humbucker. They aren't too full on). Ok, it looks like a toy and everyone thinks it's rubbish immediately, but in my experience, it does the job well.
If it were stolen or lost, I'd simply buy another one.
There's a website, www.switchmusic.com, otherwise you'll never find one. They make good guitars, but boy do they suck at marketing.
Watch out for those frets, they could skin a man alive during a jazz break.