We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Josh Misko a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Josh, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

It all started at a Tin Roof, like many stories do in the Southeast. I had avoided playing Stratocasters for years because of my large hands always bumping the pickup switch out of position when I’d start to really get into a performance. I had just bought a new Fender Strat and was hoping to give it a go again. After all, it had been years since I had last owned one, and who doesn’t love that stratty sound…

I was invited to perform an ‘acoustic’ set of sorts at the Tin Roof in Atlanta, GA, and showed up for a solo set, me and my new strat. WHAM, the moment I lost myself in the performance I wack the pickup switch out of position and into the bridge. Immediately my guitar sounds quacky and wacky. Sound familiar?

Frustrated, I went home after the set and started googling solutions. I knew I couldn’t be the only one with this problem, and it turned out I wasn’t. I called up a couple buddies of mine in the music and accessory biz, and so began the long path down ‘patents and prototypes road’, which eventually led us to the Switchlock today.

It has been an extraordinary experience supporting guitarists of all skill levels, all over the world! We are now preparing to release a second product come the new year, and we couldn’t be more proud of how things have grown since we first opened our doors in 2020.

Josh, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

We are a patented guitar accessory company that designed a lock for the pickup switch on a stratocaster and/or telecaster style guitar. You can engage and disengage the Switchlock with a flick of a finger, and it has fast become a staple accessory for recording studios and touring guitar techs all over the world. The Switchlock is owned by co-founders Josh Misko and Chris Ingram, and based in Nashville, TN.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

We do! In our early days we manufactured Switchlocks at our friend’s shop in Bend, Oregon. Learning the manufacturing game independently was a process! We are currently in the process of manufacturing our new product, due early 2023. A big lesson we have learned is that a good referral goes a long, long way.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Both Josh and Chris have years of experience in business development and the music industry prior to the founding of the Switchlock. Their combined experience and relationships in artist development, artist management and booking, music publishing, and business development has helped the Switchlock quickly grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.theswitchlock.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theswitchlock/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theswitchlock
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3eAemclui4

Image Credits
Josh Misko