Am a novice when it comes to electric guitars, having recently picked 'em up. so was browsing the web for information on pickups and switch settings, since i have no idea how they work. I have a 3 pickup electric with a 5-way switch and i don't really know how to find out which switch setting does what, or activates what. Going thru your page i felt that you know what you are talking about, and, even though the information i need is elementary i would rather get it from somebody who knows what he's doing. You think you could help me out in this dilemma.

>> Nearly all 5 way switches are based on the Fender Stratocaster design. These switches started out as 3 way switches for each of the 3 strat pickups. So with the switch in the position nearest the neck, the neck pickup was on, middle position for the middle pickup, and towards the bridge for the bridge pickup.

These 3 position switches were designed to be "make before break", meaning that as you move from one position to the next, there is a small area where two pickups are on at the same time. For example as you click from the neck pickup to the middle pickup position, you can actually balance the switch between the 2 positions to hear both the neck and middle pickups at the same time. This was good design, so you don't hear any cutout of sound when switching from one position to another.

Several players became deft at balancing the selector switch in these in-between positions; some even made it their trademark sound. It has commonly been called the "in-between" or "out-of-phase" sound, because it has a slightly nasal sound which is similar to a sound you get when connecting pickups out of phase. This is a myth; the pickups are really in phase.

Eventually Fender, and other manufacturers realised it would be a good idea to actually add proper clickable positions for these 2 extra sounds, so it really is a 3 way pickup selector with 5 different sounds.

Even later, manufacturers have produced selector switches which look like a standard strat switch, but which are true 5 way switches (with up to 4 banks!). These allow some far more sophisticated switching options at the whim of the manufacturer.

There is an easy way to tell what pickups are being used for each of your pickup selections:
(1) Turn your amp down to a fairly low volume.
(2) Tap something metal (such as a screwdriver) VERY GENTLY on your pickups (on each side of humbucking pickups)

You will hear a loud tap for the pickups which are on, and very little on those which are off.