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Post subject: Rosetta stone for Strat pickup switch
Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 7:01 am
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Aspiring Musician
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I still don't understand some of the jargon around which pickup switch settings are being used. Can you help me translate from what I know?

My understanding of the 5-positioni switch is:
Neck (nearest the neck of the guitar)
Neck-Middle
Middle
Bridge-Middle
Bridge (nearest the bridge)

My questions are:
1) Which is the "rhythm" setting?
2) Which is the "lead" setting?
3) Which is the "1" setting?
4) Which is the "5" setting?

Thanks. I see these terms used frequently but I've never seen them defined.


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 8:48 am
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Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2007 9:43 pm
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Location: Bogor - Indonesia - South East Asia - Asia - Earth
As long as I know, rhythm setting is on the neck pickup, the lead setting is the bridge pickup...

Position 1. Bridge
Position 2. Bridge and Middle
Position 3. Middle
Position 4. Middle and Neck
Position 5. Neck


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 9:42 am
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Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:57 am
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Location: Peckham: where the snow leopards roam
It can be confusing because even on pages on this website you can find the switch positions numbered 1 to 5 in either direction. Always safest to refer to them by name: "bridge", "bridge-and-middle", etc.

People often refer to the neck pickup as the "rhythm" pickup and bridge as "lead" because that is the way they are frequently used. That is because the bridge tends to give a brighter, more attacking sound that cuts through instrumental passages well.

But it doesn't have to be that way: try putting a rich, thick lead line played on the neck pickup over a clean funk-type rhythm pattern played at the bridge, for example. That can be cool.

Also, to add to the confusion the bridge pickup sometimes gets called the "treble" pickup, for obvious tonal reasons.

Tricky, ain't it?

Cheers - C

PS If I wasn't at the wrong end of the country at this moment I would have run into the museum and given you a photo of the Rosetta Stone with myself in a Fender T-shirt beside it. Rats: timing is everything...


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:33 pm
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Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 1:53 pm
Posts: 1037
Location: Southeast Missouri.
The neck is considered the "rhythm" pickup, or anything around the neck/middle. The bridge and the bridge/middle are more of the "lead" pickups. And I've always wondered what the middle itself was for...

You can also kinda "wedge" the pickup switch in between positions too, just for kicks, it also gets a different tone. Its kinda cool. :roll:


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