Experimenting with tone is part of the electric guitar experience. Splitting humbuckers for single coil tone, using a push-pull potentiometer to get that Peter Green out-of-phase tone and reversing pickup polarity are some of the most common electric guitar wiring modifications.

The downside of wiring modifications is that you have to know your way around a soldering iron and possess a fairly advanced understanding of how these modifications work. Everything would have to be rewired by hand with push-pull pots, mini toggles, or some other switching method to access the modded-out tones. Not to mention, you’d have to remember what each toggle and push-pull does.

But the worst part? You have to know exactly what you want before you start wiring. Traditionally, you’re stuck with wiring mods unless you want to use a solder sucker and try again. And what if after all that work and toil you realize that you like your original tone better?

You might also want to get more tones than a single modded guitar can provide. Do you want to carry around an arsenal of guitar cases just to cover all the bases? Or would you rather simply rewire your guitar with a few touches on a smartphone? Because now, you can actually do that with Seymour Duncan HyperSwitch.

Enter HyperSwitch

The innovative new HyperSwitch system is the merging of traditional and technological platforms that empowers guitarists of all skill levels to quickly and easily change the wiring configuration of their passive pickups. No more reading wiring diagrams, trial-and-error experimentation with the soldering iron and hoping you get it right. Instead, rewire your guitar with the touch of your finger and get instant access to a wide range of iconic tones with a flip of your pickup switch.

HyperSwitch is a five-way guitar pickup switch with an all-analog signal flow that allows you to unlock exciting new tone-mods from your existing pickups via digital control. Once installed, you can tweak each switch position with the HyperSwitch app to create unique pickup combinations and wiring options. It’s like having a personal guitar tech on your phone.

A player with three humbuckers, for example, will be able to configure their pickups in hundreds of possible ways using the app. Anything is possible—combine a single coil neck pickup with one half of a bridge humbucker, coil split any humbucker, or even swap the phase of any coil. Create up to five unique pickup combinations for each preset you save on the HyperSwitch, and save over 100 presets in the app.

HyperSwitch is compatible with most passive pickups, including single-coils, single-coil-sized humbuckers, full-sized humbuckers, stacked humbuckers, and P-Rails. Another really cool thing is that you can use your guitar’s onboard tone control, use the HyperSwitch’s tone control, or bypass the tone control altogether.

And the best part? You’re allowed to be as indecisive as you want to be about your tone without the consequences. A lot of guitarists are scared of change, because until now it’s been a headache to try out newer and more experimental pickup sounds. With the HyperSwitch, you can tweak and tweak and tweak without all the taking apart and putting back together.

Getting Started

In this HyperSwitch quick start guide, we walk you through how to get started with the HyperSwitch. The first step is to open the app on your smartphone. The app allows you to assign pickups to any of the 5 positions on your HyperSwitch. It also allows you to change which coils in your humbuckers are on or off. Finally, it allows you to change the electrical polarity.

Installing HyperSwitch is very simple – take the wires from your pickups and connect them to the terminals on the switch itself, tightening them up as you go with the included screwdriver. In our HyperSwitch installation video, we’ll walk you through how to get the HyperSwitch installed, which wires go where and more.

The HyperSwitch is controllable via Bluetooth and the HyperSwitch mobile app. This is where you can change your pickup configurations as well as the switch configurations. In this HyperSwitch app guide, we’ll walk you through all the settings of the HyperSwitch app, how to configure your guitar settings and make new settings and presets.

Unlock HyperSwitch

Ready to explore the wide world of pickup mods, no soldering required? The HyperSwitch is your ticket to ride. Learn how to add the HyperSwitch to your arsenal here, and check out our blog for more tips and tricks on finding your perfect tone.