Telecaster Four-Way Pickup Switch: What It Does for Your Tone

The Fender Telecaster hasn’t changed much in its 65 years, but one model in particular—the Baja Telecaster—has several features not found on the original. Among its most interesting mods is a four-way pickup switch. With the switch in its fourth position, the Baja’s neck and bridge pickups work in series to provide a more powerful tone similar to a humbucker.

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Christopher Scapelliti

Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of Guitar Player magazine, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar WorldGuitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.