Music

Pickups on a carousel cater for quick change tone

Pickups on a carousel cater for quick change tone
Each Gyrock pickup module hosts up to three Seymour Duncan pickups, and the player can mix and match pickups in use on-the-fly
Each Gyrock pickup module hosts up to three Seymour Duncan pickups, and the player can mix and match pickups in use on-the-fly
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Pickup modules can be swapped out between songs or rotated on the Gyrock frame on-the-fly using two shifter levers
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Pickup modules can be swapped out between songs or rotated on the Gyrock frame on-the-fly using two shifter levers
Each Gyrock guitar comes with 10 Seymour Duncan pickups
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Each Gyrock guitar comes with 10 Seymour Duncan pickups
The Gyrock system doesn't require batteries, pickups are changed using two shifter levers at the top of the guitar's body
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The Gyrock system doesn't require batteries, pickups are changed using two shifter levers at the top of the guitar's body
Each Gyrock pickup module hosts up to three Seymour Duncan pickups, and the player can mix and match pickups in use on-the-fly
4/5
Each Gyrock pickup module hosts up to three Seymour Duncan pickups, and the player can mix and match pickups in use on-the-fly
Richard Fortus of Guns N' Roses has dubbed the Gyrock system "a game changer"
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Richard Fortus of Guns N' Roses has dubbed the Gyrock system "a game changer"
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There are a number of ways to change your guitar's tone on-the-fly, such as using effects pedals, but if you want to change your pickups mid-song, that's not so easy. France's Wild Customs is introducing a novel system at Summer NAMM in Nashville this week where up to six pickups can be mounted to revolving blocks and switched using levers.

The patent-pending pickup changer has been dubbed Gyrock, and most of the magic is hidden from view in a host guitar's body. The mechanical setup is operated using two levers, and each carousel-like block can take up to three pickups – all wired up and ready to rock.

That means you could have a humbucking pickup at the bridge position and a single-coil at the neck and, with a turn of the pickup shifters, two single-coils or two humbuckers could be at your disposal. The Gyrock system makes use of Seymour Duncan pickups, so usable tone shouldn't be a problem, and up to 15 different combinations are placed at the player's fingertips.

Each Gyrock guitar comes with 10 Seymour Duncan pickups
Each Gyrock guitar comes with 10 Seymour Duncan pickups

The Gyrock family is made up of eight Wild Customs guitars, and 10 pickups are supplied with each guitar, together with a hardcase and t-shirt.

Pricing for a Wild Custom guitar sporting the "revolutionary" pickup switching system has been set at US$16,000. Visitors to Summer NAMM this week can see the system in action. Everyone else can watch the demo video below.

Product page: Gyrock guitars

Richard Fortus of GUNS N' ROSES Official Demo for GYROCK GUITARS - One guitar to rock them all!

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1 comment
1 comment
toyhouse
Wow. That's one heck of a mechanism for the intended need. In all honesty, never had the need to have so many complex pickup options - at least for making music. For testing purposes?,... I could see where it might have some uses. Or for showcasing pickups to make sales? Just guessing. I wonder how heavy it is. Interesting none the less.