Switch Wild I midi guitar for $299 on Ebay!

Started by Virtual Tone, February 20, 2008, 06:18:03 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Elantric

#25
Actually it sounds good.

We use Ebay and pay $199 instead of $659.  Spend the savings on your local luthier to set up the guitar - like having the frets PLEKed or level and dressed.



If these guitars are any good ( which I suspect they are) they will rise in value over time and be sought after collectables in 20 years.


The "unload existing inventory" alarm is going off for the remaining dealers who will surely slash the prices once it becomes public knowledge the warranty is useless.

Here in the USA - the major online stores dropped Switch Music guitars about a year ago. (zzounds, musiciansfriend, music123)

Virtual Tone

Do you know if I can have the Ebonite™ fingerboard added to my Wild I (mine is rosewood but still plays good)

I was also wondering if you could order a custom one from Switch like the White Innovo III.  That would be cool.

Of course if I find a Innovo III Signature one day on Ebay and THEN added the GK-3 Kit, that might be a less expensive route to go.

V.T.  8)

Elantric

No, No, Yes -

I suspect the last production Switch guitar left the factory (china) in early 2007.  As was pointed out  - its a skeleton crew manning the phones in Ontario California - while the CFO is trying to raise funds to build new models. Online dealers are just selling remaining inventory - and moving most product on ebay, or via a wholesale broker who might give a store instant cash for taking the slow moving inventory.

Lets face it - these are not Parker guitars - and who can name anyone remotely famous who uses them?

BTW - they premiered at the 2004 NAMM show.

Virtual Tone

Quote from: sustainiac on February 22, 2008, 07:15:27 AM
No, No, Yes -

I suspect the last production Switch guitar left the factory (china) in early 2007.  As was pointed out  - its a skeleton crew manning the phones in Ontario California - while the CFO is trying to raise funds to build new models. Online dealers are just selling remaining inventory - and moving most product on ebay, or via a wholesale broker who might give a store instant cash for taking the slow moving inventory.

Lets face it - these are not Parker guitars - and who can name anyone remotely famous who uses them?

BTW - they premiered at the 2004 NAMM show.

Thanks for the info sustainiac!

Well... I know they aren't Parkers (would love one of those) but... so for from what I see, hear, and feel of these I think they are pretty awesome. 

I mean... the 1 piece design and this Vibracell stuff is way more heat and cold resistant.  Seems like the sustain is extra good through it as well.

However, I'm not a guitar expert so sustainiac... we are waiting on your review of the one you get for sure!  ;D

V.T.

BTW- The Parker Adrian Signature Fly midi guitar is pretty sweet! ($7,500 - ouch)

mos6507

Quote from: sustainiac on February 22, 2008, 07:15:27 AM
Lets face it - these are not Parker guitars - and who can name anyone remotely famous who uses them?

I can think of a lot of things they could have done differently to have earned them a better following, but they are still ahead of their time.  Eventually synthetic materials are going to be a necessity due to deforestation.

Michael Dolan Doubleneck
Les Paul Custom

VG-99
FTP


Elantric

#31
I got my Innova III an hour ago - its very cool guitar. Feels like a $900 guitar, mine is Silver Sparkle, Black hardware - Ebonite Fretboard - big Block Inlays - real fast neck feels like a MM Petrucci.

I'll play it with my Surf band Saturday night.

First few simple mods - I'll add a quick Bridge PU coil Tap and change out one of the pots to be a  Push Pull switch  - to engage the Bridge PU "ON" regardless of 5 way selector Sw setting -

I need the Neck + Bridge PU combo for this squeaky clean surf stuff - we play stuff similar to Los Straitjackets  and Pulp fiction soundtrack.

Well worth $199 !!

Very comfortable too. 

Virtual Tone

COOL SUSTAINIAC!

I like the way my Wild I feels too!

V.T.

Elantric

#33
I'm very happy with this guitar - it seems Trevor Wilkinson had a big part in the design of all the Switch Music Vibracell guitars.

My Innovo III Signature is same silver sparkle as the VG-99.

after playing it for a few hours- I now understand the multi stepped contours on the front face of the body -


See attached pdf for a closer detail pic of what I'm talking about.

its for comfort and control  -  the body is thicker where your fore-arm typically falls  - allowing a similar ergonomic comfort  - like a cross between a Parker and the Swiss Tueffel  I can fingerpick it like an acoustic - yet thanks to the stair step multi-level face of the guitar - I don't accidentally touch the  Volume knob in the middle of a solo - something I tend to do on Strats.  I played Les Paul's for too many years growing up ( I cant relearn how i play)  and I usually must remove the Strat volume knob  because my little finger just naturally falls in the path of the volume knob as I cross pick.  - nothing is worse than  having your guitar shut down mid solo - - only to glance down and see that the volume somehow turned to "zero " all by itself" ;)


This Innovo III Signature  has the best neck for anything near this price. it really reminds my of the musicman petrucci  - eerliy far more stable too!


Very pleasantly surprised!   A lot of sustain too

I might just need to find another one! - wait - forget everything i said - they are pure rubbish - thats right.

( I dont need more competition on a future ebay auction ;)
dont ask me how many guitars I have - the VG-99 was supposed to allow me to get rid of some  - not make me buy more!

Elantric

#34
http://www.macaris.co.uk/product_full.asp?productID=581&typeID=7&catID=1
Ludicrous value for money . Designed by ace luthier Trevor Wilkinson , the Innovo 3 boasts features normally associated with guitars three times it's price ! Single piece Vibracell body ( metallic sparkle finish ) Locking Grover machine heads Three Wilkinson pickups ( humbucker plus two single coils ) and a Wilkinson tremolo - just about the most efficient and playable tremolo out there . And then there is the sound - All the funkiness of a strat - plus the power and sustain of a serious rock guitar . The sustain is quite ridiculous ( that's down to the Vibracell construction ) hit an A and come back tomorrow - it's stiill going !!!!! You even get a bi-flex truss rod like in a US strat - Crazy !!!


http://andyhifi.50webs.com/musicians.htm

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep04/articles/vetta2variax.htm?print=yes
Bill Nelson (of BeBop Deluxe) in SOS wrote:
"The Variax is, for me at least, less successful. I initially tried the Vetta out using the Variax and went 'Hmm...' The amp immediately sounded more convincing when I put one of my own guitars through it. Not an expensive instrument either but a Chinese manufactured 'Switch' guitar, designed by UK designer Trevor Wilkinson, made from a plastic called Vibracell. The guitar cost less than £200 but is amazing value for money. This guitar sounded tremendous through the Vetta, much sweeter, less 'brittle' than the Variax.


Paresh

Hi guys - I'm a little late to this thread...just getting interested. I'm not clear if each of the switch guitars is GK equiped? I went to the Macari link but the descriptions don't mention anything about it.? Are any of the other low end guitars GK equiped? It sounds like it needs to be installed in the others you have mentioned unless I missed something.

Also - I think there was a thread comparing pizo to GK sound & response. any thoughts? I don't know where that thread is now. My pizos sound great - i never had the trouble many did but I'm thinking of trading  for one of these guitars & wondering if I'd miss it. Thanks.
paresh

Elantric

#36
My observations are like this.  Once a week I do a search on Ebay for "MIDI GUITAR".  and i look at the 13 pin capable ones. Which means ignore the Casio MG-510, the Yamaha DG Teaching guitar, the Roland 24 pin stuff (G303, G505, G707) from the early 1980's.  Any given day there will be numerous 13 pin capable guitars from:

Godin,(+$700)
Brian Moore,(+600)

Fender Roland Ready Strats (+$400)

basically anything on our GK Guitars list that might pop up affordable in the used channel.

In the past few months on ebay there arrived with regular frequency the Switch Music Vibracell GK-2A equipped models InnovoII, Innovo III, Wild, etc.

- some used, and some which are new  - part of recent inventory liquidation sales.
$200 for a non tremolo Switch Vibracell Wild with GK-2A  already built in is a good deal for a plug and play VG-99 controller.

So this thread evolved into comparing various models of the Switch Music Vibracell guitars. And since I have built guitars for years and no stranger to installing internal GK Kits - I decided that since there was a factory  Switch Innovo III MIDI guitar, it shoud be rather straight forward to convert the standard Switch Innovo III to MIDI. Plus i was intrigued about these Vibracell guitars. Well the price was right last Wednesady when I found a top of the line Innovo III Signature (retail $659) -(no MIDI) for $199) The "Signature" model  has a few upgrades which I like over the other Innovo III models including the factory MIDI model. (read above)

So for me

Innovo III Signature  = $199
add my spare Yamaha G1D Hex GK PU I have laying around that I will convert to a Internal GK type . plus some of my time. and I will have a Top line custom Silver sparkle ebonite fingerboard wilkinson tremolo, Grover locking tuners, EMG PU equipped VG-99 V-Guitar Controller.

Sure its not everyones cup of tea - but it works for me.

>i never had the trouble (with my Piezo guitar) many did but I'm thinking of trading  for one of these guitars & wondering if I'd miss it.



MY big Rule - Never Trade your tools - just save up the $$ you need to get the potential new tool - and live with it a while.  You might need to keep both types. (GK Mag+the Piezo)  Only sell a tool after its established it is redundant.

For many of us - the VG-99 is just augmenting our toolset. Some still want to use their Axon GK-MIDI convertor to drive their Yamaha Motif ES Rack.  Some play Nylon string Godins with Piezo PUs - which were intended for use with  a GR-33 or Axon MIDI convertor  - and wonder why the VG-99 does not sound as good with it as a Roland Ready strat does for Heavy Metal.       


Paresh

paresh

Elantric

#38
    
Do the math

Hi-Z. Low noise. Pure power!
EMG Select Humbucker For Guitar
A dual-coil, dual-blade for medium high output with a clean, traditional humbucker response. Versatile for any playing style and fits standard humbucker mounting ring. Includes shielded 3-conductor wire, screws and springs. 8.4K ohm.  $24/ea

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Pickups:_Guitar,_electric/EMG_Select_Humbucker_For_Guitar.html

   
Hi-Z. Low noise. Pure power!
EMG Select Pickup For Strat
A dual-blade hum-cancelling design with the clean warmth of a single coil '50s Strat® guitar pickup. "Blade" polepieces provide more uniform string-to-string response. Includes shielded 2-conductor wire, mounting screws and springs. 6.2K ohms. .  $20/ea


http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Pickups:_Guitar,_electric/EMG_Select_Pickup_For_Strat.html


   

Grover Mini Locking Rotomatics
Automatically locks the string
Internal-cam locking string posts and 18:1 fine tuning are built into Rotomatic™ midsize cast housings to fit 6-in-line pegheads. As you tune, the post automatically locks the string. There are no external knobs or bulky mechanisms to alter the traditional appearance.       $47.70 / 6 

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/Grover_Mini_Locking_Rotomatics_6-in-line.html


   
   
Wilkinson Tremolo
A unique high quality tremolo featuring height-adjustable saddles that lock to a hardened steel baseplate, for better tuning stability, string energy transfer and note sustain. Threaded studs and bushings, springs, spring claw, allen wrenches and adjustable-tension arm are included.   $108.74 /ea

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar_tremolos/1/Wilkinson_Gotoh_VS-100N_Tremolo/Pictures.html#details


Standard Control Pots


0130      500K-ohm  $3/ea

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_pickups/Potentiometers_and_push-pull_pots/1/Potentiometers_and_Push-Pull_Pots.html



= $235 in Guitar Hardware Parts  - with out the actual Guitar


I paid $199 - and its an amazing guitar

These latest versions of the low end  EMG Select  Hi-Z PUs are much different that the last time I tried them  - very nice sound. The neck and middle sound like single coils - but no noise!

This guitar plays very nice right out of the box
:))

Elantric

#39
Do you live in San Francisco?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/msg/586862000.html

Innovo III MIDI guitar for $250 with gig bag


Buy it and sell it to me if you do not like it! :)


Details here:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Switch-Innovo-III-MIDI-Electric-Guitar?sku=511791&CJAID=10381297&CJPID=2426563

Virtual Tone

Found a Wild I midi NEW on ebay for $299 for those who are interested!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vibracell-Wild-1-MIDI-Black-Electric-Guitar-w-ROLAND_W0QQitemZ270218161189QQihZ017QQcategoryZ2384QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



I should post this in the General as well (give the guys a chance eh?)

V.T.  8)


Virtual Tone

#41
Just like the one I bought. 

It only has 8 hours left so grab it if you like!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vibracell-Wild-1-MIDI-Black-Electric-Guitar-w-ROLAND_W0QQitemZ270218161189QQihZ017QQcategoryZ2384QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting



SWITCH Wild-I MIDI Electric Guitar

The Wild-I Midi ready delivers all the standard Wild I features combined with the Roland GK-Series Midi pickup. A three-way mini switch selects MIDI, Blend, Humbucking plus an up & down switch for MIDI and dual volume controls for the humbucking pickup. A 13 pin MIDI ready output & a ¼ inch input jack are standard.

Detailed Specifications:

Vibracell® One piece neck & body

1 Red hot humbucking bridge position
Roland GK-Series MIDI ready pickup
Fixed Bridge
Black chrome hardware
Grover tuners
Rosewood fingerboard
Pearl dot inlays
Dual volume controls
2-way coil tap switch
3-way mini switch for MIDI / blend / pickups
Up & down switch to control MIDI
13 pin MIDI ready output & 1/4" input jack
Scale: 25 1/2"
Neck width @ nut: 1 21/32"
22 frets

Vibracell technology:

Vibracell is a patented process of completely molding both electric and bass guitars including the neck and headstock, from the patented Switch Vibracell material creating an instrument with precise harmonic resonance and sound frequency. Vibracell allows the entire instrument to be created as a whole with complete control of neck, body weight and density by controlling the internal cells. With the ability to control the cells we can effectively tune the body and neck to exceed the characteristics and response of those instruments made from the best available woods in the world. Additionally, Vibracell has the pure strength to withstand extreme temperature changes that affect traditional wooden bodies and necks.

The ability to control the cells density allows the neck to be formed with the body as one piece. Vibracell allows a true one piece neck-through design that eliminates the gluing of two half bodies to the neck. The one piece neck-thru body approach allows for energy to be transmitted through the entire body not only with extreme efficiency, but at a higher rate of speed ultimately delivering pure sustain and clarity.

Virtual Tone

It's been sold!  ;D

Somebody got a niiiiiice guitar!!!!   :D

V.T.

surdaas

Quote from: sustainiac on February 22, 2008, 07:15:27 AM
I suspect the last production Switch guitar left the factory (china) in early 2007.  As was pointed out  - its a skeleton crew manning the phones in Ontario California - while the CFO is trying to raise funds to build new models. Online dealers are just selling remaining inventory - and moving most product on ebay, or via a wholesale broker who might give a store instant cash for taking the slow moving inventory.

Is he really?  I work for a retailer and I tried to put a Switch rep in touch with our merchandisers - never heard back from them...

Pcar928fan

#44
Is there a complete listing somewhere that has all of the Roland ready 13 pin output factory guitars that are or have been available?

Tell you what I am looking for...  I need a guitar that will drive my VG99 that I can leave up at church and not have to worry about it and have it as a back up in case one of my Abyss guitars goes down in the middle of a service.

I don't want to spend much money as the guitar will hardly ever even get used...just needs to be standing by...

NEVER MIND!  Just found the list.  It was only in BIG BOLD letters at the top of this section...DUH!  You would think with all the stars, arrows, and bold type I would have seen it huh?! :-[

Thanks guys,
James
Austin, TX

Virtual Tone

#45
Quote from: Pcar928fan on April 05, 2008, 08:37:06 PM
Is there a complete listing somewhere that has all of the Roland ready 13 pin output factory guitars that are or have been available?

Tell you what I am looking for...  I need a guitar that will drive my VG99 that I can leave up at church and not have to worry about it and have it as a back up in case one of my Abyss guitars goes down in the middle of a service.

I don't want to spend much money as the guitar will hardly ever even get used...just needs to be standing by...

NEVER MIND!  Just found the list.  It was only in BIG BOLD letters at the top of this section...DUH!  You would think with all the stars, arrows, and bold type I would have seen it huh?! :-[

Thanks guys,
James
Austin, TX

Hey James!

If you want a inexpensive but GREAT guitar for the VG-99, I would suggest a Tradition G-12 (if you like Srats) or any other Tradition.  I bought a Tradition G-12 Deluxe for $215 NEW and put the GK-3 KIT in it.  After $120 labor I have about $570 in it or so.

You could always get a nice Squier and drop a kit in it.

Here's a pic of my G-12 with the kit put in it.






Virtual Tone

If you check ebay weekly... you can find some nice used midi guitars there!   ;)

Do a search on Roland Ready guitar. Here's a used one on on Ebay now. 

http://cgi.ebay.com/FENDER-STANDARD-STRATOCASTER-W-ROLAND-READY-GK2A_W0QQitemZ250231460261QQihZ015QQcategoryZ38082QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


mech

I picked up a blue Innovo III MIDI right around the first of the year, directly from Switch.

Musicians Friend was doing a blowout on them, but were backordered.  Before putting in an order, I called Switch directly to find out if they were using GK-2a's or GK-3's.  All the product literature only specifies "Roland ready" pickups.  While on the phone, I found out that MF "may be waiting a while" for restock (Switch were thinking they might be making another production run for MF around March-April, but it now looks like the Fiend has stopped carrying their brand).  They were restructuring and trying to get everything retooled.

While the Switch rep was speaking to me, he mentioned that they thought they might have a couple of their MIDI models left in backstock.  Since the only Innovo III's sold at MF were black and Switch only had blue, they weren't undercutting a retailer and matched the price (as well as the additional "special" discount that MF was running and the free shipping).

It took them an extra few days to charge my card and ship it, so I worked myself up a bit over that.  In the end, no worries though.  And when it got here, I found they'd made certain to put on a GK-3, as well.  Nice guys, if a little disorganized.

Things I like: Excellent guitar; looks beautiful, plays beautiful.  This thing sustains as well (if not better) than any other guitar I've ever played.  Notes go on for days.  Of course, no problems with the VG-99.  The mags are very nice out of the box (a big surprise there).  In addition to the GK hex pickup, it comes stock with two single coils and a humbucker in the lead position.  The single coils are already wired out of phase, so you can get more even tonal options using the "in-between" settings.  As I said, it plays beautifully (after setup), sounds great, and has a really, really solid feel to it.

Things I dislike: Almost entirely setup-related.  From the factory, the action is set pretty high.  Since I end up doing a lot of tapping, I like my axes to have an extremely low action (around 1/32"-1/16" at the 12th fret), which is really tough to set up on any guitar.  It also seems that any truss adjustment needs about a week to settle in properly, and I cannot stress enough the importance of having a top-notch luthier doing the setup and fret-dressing. 

For convenience's sake, I first had the local shop down the street set it up (didn't really listen to my instructions either).  It came back still having major buzz and some notes around the first few frets not even sounding.  So I hiked a couple of suburbs away to a shop owned by some pals of mine who specialize in high-end and vintage instruments.  They did it right, but I still had to do one more truss adjustment myself after the fact (after a few climate/temperature changes over the next couple of weeks caused a re-adjustment).  For this, I think I'd blame the "upgraded" rosewood fingerboard here, since that's the only natural material grafted onto an otherwise completely synthetic guitar.  In retrospect, I think I might have preferred an Ebonite fingerboard -- since that's also an artificial material -- merely for stabilities sake.  It looks like everything's settled in for now though.

The only functional nitpick is perhaps the positioning of the GK pickup's control knob.  The volume and tone controls for the mags are right there within easy reach of your picking hand's fingers.  The GK knob is offset further away down the body.  I tweak the GK knob (usually set to volume) and mag volume far more often than I ever even touch the mag tone control, however.  So if I had to make any design change, it would merely be to switch the position of the GK volume and the mag tone knobs.

Otherwise, I'm very, very happy with the Innovo III MIDI.  It's a fantastic GK-equipped guitar and, at around 3 bills, is a great deal.

--m.
_____
GK Guitars: Frankenvox (fretless Vox 11-string GK Oud); Switch Innovo III MIDI; Line 6 Variax 300
VG Tech: VG-99 (x2); VG-8EX; WP-20g
Control: FC-300, EV-5, FS-6
Outboard: Macbook (Live, Bidule, Reaktor, etc), Looperlative LP-1, various boutique FX

richh

I've had a Switch Vibracell guitar with built-in Roland GK hex pickup for about a year.  I've used this with a VG-88, Roland GR-30, Roland GI-10 & Axon AX100 MKII.

It works fine as a platform for the hex pickup, but customer service seemed non-existent.  The on-board pickup (one humbucker at the bridge) is okay, but really I use this for home recording just using the GK pickup.

I also have a US Roland Ready strat and a copy Tele with an external GK pickup taped onto it.  The Switch was very good value for money, but I'd suggest buying one you can test out if possible.  When I did have a question about the Switch I emailed the UK distributor as well as the main website, and got no reply to either.  I had one small issue with the electronics - the local shop said they'd have to send it off to Switch to get sorted.  I didn't want to do that as I'd already realised that they wouldn't answer emails, so I sorted it myself.

I'm not trying to put anybody off these guitars, but I'd test them out before buying if possible, because after-sales service probably isn't too good!

clearlight

i can't seem to fin one of these anywhere...... :'(

anyone have a source??
My Music
My Band Website
GUITARS: 2x RG1521, 3x RG321 w/gk, Rg721 Fretless Modified, AmStd FatStrat w/gk, various others....
XV5050,Triton etc..
KOMPLETE 7
VGUITAR Stuff: VG99, FC300, RC5-