By Hodaka Hashi
It’s very important to get to grasps with the way that a guitar is wired, as it’ll help you achieve the tone you want. Let’s discuss about the tone, volume and selector switches on a guitar.
This is a picture taken of a Stratocaster, which in this case has 3 pickups, 3 knobs and a 5-way selector switch. Knob “A” controls the volume, knob “B” adjusts the tone of the neck pickup, and knob “C” adjusts the tone of the middle pickup.
Switch “D” determines which pickups are connected to the output jack.
| Selector switch position | Function |
|---|---|
 Down |
With the switch in this position, only the bridge pickup is connected to the output jack. |
 Half way down |
With the switch in this position, both the bridge and middle pickups are connected to the output jack. |
 Middle |
With the switch in this position, only the middle pickup is connected to the output jack. |
 Half way up |
With the switch in this position, both the middle and neck pickups are connected to the output jack. |
 Up |
With the switch in this position, only the neck pickup is connected to the output jack. |
The reason behind the existence of the 5-way selector switch and multiple pickups is due to the fact that the tonal content of the sound generated by each of the pickups is different. The 5-way selector allows the guitarist to switch between these different sounds, and the ‘tone’ knobs are there to maximise the range of different sounds that can be played.
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