I am thinking of getting the new Fender American HSS deluxe. I like everything about the guitar, what concerns me is the button that little round. It’s called the Passing Lane Switch. Would someone please explain to me what it does, will it be something that will break easily or require a battery. Please keep in mind I am a novice. Thanks

The Buttm Should Be Fine For A Long Time. Once You Find Your Sweet Spot You'll Use It Less. A Guitar Isn't A Slot Machine Anyway.

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Vintage Hotrod '57 Strat, 81 G&L L2000 Series E Bass, Fender Musicmaster Bass Amp.

What the switch does is it reroutes the circuit from however you may have it set at the moment to activating only the bridge pickup and in turn, the bridge pickup directly to the output jack, bypassing all the other pickups and pots. This will make the pickup a bit louder and treblier. The switch will indeed break sooner or later but on the 'up-side', it requires no battery.

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You dig?

The "passing lane" is Fender's response to the "blower" switch, a feature found on Suhrs, Yamahas and other high-end guitars. This mod is really cool for a humbucker/single/single (HSS) configuration, but it also works with any given pickup combination.

This is not really a new or “Fender first” mod. John Suhr has used the blower switch on his guitars for several years, Yamaha equips some of their instruments with this feature, and you can find comparable mods on the Internet, often called “solo switch mods” or “lead mods.”

Thank you for your responses. I have to say I am very impressed with the knowledge from this forum.

We made it all up! Nah, only kidding you, glad to help!!

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You dig?

I bought a loaded pick guard that came off an American Deluxe HSS that has the N3 noiseless pups in neck and bridge and atomic humbucker in the bridge (not sure what it is, I've heard it is a Seymour Duncan but have no idea). It has the S1 switch and the passing lane switch.

Love the tone, love the differences I can get with the S1. For the first few days, I used the passing lane button quite a bit, but the novelty soon wore off. I find the tone not pleasing to my ears, but I do a lot of classic rock, rock-a-billy, and some country (not modern country, think 50's through 70's country). There's just not a lot of use for that particular option in what I do.

You may, in fact, love it depending on your style and what you're playing.

Jeff

That was funny