One "bonus function" for your guitar's electronics - what would you choose?

[Carbohydrates]

First of all, this is not a thread to solicit advice! I don't have a specific guitar in mind and I already know what I'd choose, so this question is purely for fun. Here's the scenario:

You have a guitar with two single coil pickups (because otherwise, I think "coil split" would overwhelmingly win). Imagine something like a Telecaster, an LP Special, a Casino, a Duo-Sonic, etc. For the purpose of this question, all you have currently is a pickup selector switch, volume, and tone controls. You get to add 1 switch - a push/pull, mini toggle, whatever - to add 1 function to your guitar. What do you choose and why?

P.S. "Nothing" is not an option: although I have nothing but respect for the minimalists, it rather takes the fun out of the thought experiment!

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Other: Talent switch.

 

[cap10kirk]

It depends on the pickups for me. I really like having a bass cut with P90s, but I don't find it nearly as useful with something like Tele or Strat pickups. Same with a phase switch, I find it more useful with a pair of P90s than with Fender singles. With a Tele or Jaguar though, I like series/parallel switching...but I don't like 2 P90s in series at all.
So there's not really any one thing I would do to just any guitar. Except maybe a kill switch, but that's only so useful imo.

 

[Amp_Addicted]

A 4 way switch for a Telecaster doesn't add much, so it would be happening on the guitar to begin with. I would add a Treble Boost circuit

 

[sahhas]

i have always been awed by the Teuffel Tesla, so i like having on/off switches for the pickups, a 60 cycle hum switch , and a feedback switch ...it's fun to play with....
i have these in my last 3 guitars....

 

[clothwiring]

I like a treble bleed mod as it allows you to work the volume of the guitar more effectively without losing clarity. To me is a key feature allowing one to go direct to an amp and let the amp work more for you. For sit in gigs I like to take a Tele and my Two Rock Jet. Set the Jet and forget it as long as I have a treble bleed on the tele. Allows it all to work smoothly and I can drive the amp from the guitar without sacrificing clarity.

 

[Jayyj]

I always feel like a bass cut is an underused control, although I agree with @cap10kirk it depends on the pickups.

My Rickenbacker 381JK has a cool little active treble boost circuit, a bit harsh to use on its own but great for lifting yourself to the front of a mix for a lead moment.

 

[Urobouros]

I'd like to try an OBEL but generally am a fan of simplification, if nothing else to offset my natural tendency towards complication

 

[Tony Done]

Switchable active tone control ala Blade VSC. I had a Blade for a while, and installed a similar setup in one of my other guitars.

 

[doublescale1]

on a strat - a blender control for the Neck & Bridge pickups where the first tone control usually lives - being able to roll neck into bridge and vise-versa opens up a lot of tonal possibilities on a strat and is a great cure for a thin strat bridge pickup without the need for going to a HB strat bridge cure. That's how my Suhr S-Classic came wired and I'd not have a strat without it again. The second tone control becomes a master tone control and you're good to go.

 

[silentbob]

Coil split, switches are easier to operate quickly than a push pull

 

[sleewell]

kill

 

[derekd]

I went for a kill switch as that seems like something I'd be more likely to use that I don't already have.

 

[IAE]

Because I have a Jaguar I can add that extra something without any aesthetic alterations.

Years ago I came up with wiring for it: series/parallel and phase reversal.

You can hear a guy who used my wiring diagram here:
(I was happy to see someone use it)



Personally though, I’d include a spice box!

 

[Shuster]

Something like this

 

[BigDoug1053]

I picked series-parallel switch - though I prefer the 3-way series-single-parallel switch on my Jacksons. The bass contour is another very helpful tone control that is especially useful dialing in high gain settings that are crisp and enuciated.

 

[Phil3]

Beer cooler.

Or a button that makes the sound of a cow.

 

[vivaoaxaca]

Definitely phase switch for me. I have a SG Classic and I modified one of the pickups to have Fender-style two-wire leads instead of Gibson-style with the wire mesh shielding for the ground and a push/pull pot to switch between in and out of phase. It sounds fantastic and particularly loves my Princeton NR.

 

[Silver]

i have always been awed by the Teuffel Tesla, so i like having on/off switches for the pickups, a 60 cycle hum switch , and a feedback switch ...it's fun to play with....
i have these in my last 3 guitars....

Came in to say this. Didn't realise it was a Teuffel thing. That would be a lot of fun and something I think I'd get a lot of use out of.

Hard to choose between that and a blower switch though. Love tones using the volume and tone controls, and it can be tricky to get back to full bore (and vice versa) quickly.

 

[Betos]

Agree it depends on the pickups.

Phase switch or series/parallel for Fender single coils, blower switch for P90s.

I like a kill switch, but it’s not as usable as having another voicing.