The game-changing programmable switch allows players to design, store and recall numerous pickup configurations via their smartphone
Guitar World Tech Editor Paul Riario has seen a lot of gear over the years. But, he says, “Every so often you come across a gear innovation that stops you in your tracks and makes you say, ‘Wow, this is super cool.’ Well, let me tell you – that innovation is the Seymour Duncan HyperSwitch.”
We couldn’t agree more. But what, exactly, is this game-changing piece of gear? The HyperSwitch is an active 5-way blade that is compatible with most passive pickups and configured via your smartphone. Once installed in your guitar, you can design, store and recall custom pickup configurations via the dedicated mobile app, and save them to the HyperSwitch.
Essentially, the HyperSwitch can split coils, reverse polarity, assign pickups to any position on the five-way selector and more, without requiring you to tear apart your guitar’s internal wiring. “A player with three humbuckers,” Paul points out, “can basically configure their pickups in hundreds of possible ways.”
Additionally, your guitar’s tone controls can be customized as well – you can bypass the tone knob for a more transparent sound, or connect an additional capacitor in series for a different taper response to your tone knob.
(Image credit: Seymour Duncan)
Once you have your ideal combinations mapped out in the app, you can save the configurations to any of the five programmable slots on the switch, untether from your phone and access these sounds from your guitar anytime, no pairing required.
To see and hear it all in action, witness Paul take his Strat – loaded with three Seymour Duncan Strat-style humbuckers and outfitted with the HyperSwitch – through an amazing tone journey in the video above.
Paul’s verdict? “The Seymour Duncan HyperSwitch is a clear and game-changing innovation with the ability to access many if not hundreds of different tones from your existing pickups and configure and save them for any performance,” he says. “And if anything, it’s a great way to experiment and hear so many different and new sounds from your pickups.”
For more information on the HyperSwitch, head to Seymour Duncan.
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