5 for 2

Ibanez likes to equip their dual humbucking guitars with a 5-way selector. An example is depicted above.

This is what the selector does to the guitar. You get the standard function in position 1, 3 & 5. In position 2, only one coil from each humbucker is activated & combined, a typical application if you are familiar with the Telecaster. In position 4, the neck humbucker is in parallel mode, this means, you get a slightly different output coming from the pickup, resulting in a different tone. That's right, it's still in humbucking mode, not a single coil & you can't get the single coil twang from this option.

The switching option above refers to the RG565. Some of us are reliant on only positions 1, 3 & 5. We don't venture into single coil / tapped output tones with a guitar like an RG because we know this would sound better in other guitars. Also, positions 2 & 4 get in the way & might lead to confusion during quick flicks - are we already in positions 1 / 5 or did we land on 2 / 4 instead?

To be continued...

Pics: Ibanez Japan