Pickup selector

The switch that chooses which pickup or combination of pickups feeds the output.

Three-way blade switches on two-pickup guitars give neck, both and bridge, while five-way switches on three-pickup guitars add the two in-between combinations, which in a standard single-coil set are the hum-cancelling positions. Beyond that, the same five positions can be rewired to give series, split or out-of-phase sounds, and some instruments use a rotary or a set of mini switches instead. Mechanical quality matters, since a worn switch produces crackle and dropouts.

Example: a five-way switch on a three-single-coil guitar gives the two quacking positions that most players use for funk rhythm.

Pickup selector

See also