S-500 switch...how does it work?

Hey everyone,
A little embarrassing to ask since i've had a s-500 for a little while but i'm wondering....which way is the switch facing when the extra pickup selections are "on?" In the neck position is the switch "up" or facing you when it's on, or when the switch is "down" or pointing toward the floor?

Hi there. You can easily tell by lightly tapping your pickup poles with a pick to see which pickups are on. When your toggle switch is 'active' and your pickup selector set to bridge or neck, you should hear a response from the neck AND bridge pickups when you tap them.

Hope that helps.

Hey everyone,
A little embarrassing to ask since i've had a s-500 for a little while but i'm wondering....which way is the switch facing when the extra pickup selections are "on?" In the neck position is the switch "up" or facing you when it's on, or when the switch is "down" or pointing toward the floor?

Here's a diagram we have in the Gallery and it's also on the main G&L website:



Hope this helps.

The diagram appears to have an error, or at least an internal contradiction; namely, it states in para D that with the toggle switch in ‘Expanded Mode,’ positions 2 and 4 engage all 3 pickups; whereas para E states that the toggle switch (presumably in ‘Expanded Mode,’ since in normal mode it acts like a Legacy) in the 2 position connects the bridge and neck pickup. So which is it? Does the toggle connect all 3 pickups in positions 2 and 4, or in position 2 does it connect just the bridge and neck (like a tele middle position)?

In that text for (E) about the mini-toggle, "2 position" describes how many positions that the mini-toggle has. It doesn't refer to position 2 of the five-way switch. I hope that helps.

The diagram appears to have an error, or at least an internal contradiction; namely, it states in para D that with the toggle switch in ‘Expanded Mode,’ positions 2 and 4 engage all 3 pickups; whereas para E states that the toggle switch (presumably in ‘Expanded Mode,’ since in normal mode it acts like a Legacy) in the 2 position connects the bridge and neck pickup. So which is it? Does the toggle connect all 3 pickups in positions 2 and 4, or in position 2 does it connect just the bridge and neck (like a tele middle position)?

It's not an error or a contradiction. Section D describes the 5 positions (in normal versus expanded mode). Section E explains what it actually does to achieve that. If you think about it, they mean the same thing. For example, if position 2 or 4 normally give you either neck and middle or bridge and middle, in expanded mode either the bridge or neck pickup is added (by connecting bridge and neck pickups), so you get all three.

David