The original plan (1954–1976)
When the Strat launched in 1954, it came with a simple 3-way blade selector: neck, middle, or bridge pickup.
That was it.
Leo was an engineer, not a player . He thought guitarists wanted clean choices: one pickup at a time.
Instead, musicians discovered that if you wedged the switch between the notches, two pickups would activate together: neck+middle or middle+bridge. The result was a tone no one expected: nasal, hollow, bright yet woody. A sound soon nicknamed “the in-between quack.”
Player hacks
Through the ’60s and early ’70s, Strat owners literally jammed toothpicks, matchsticks, or folded paper in their switches to hold the blade at those sweet spots .
It was the opposite of a “design feature.” It was a hack, born of curiosity and stage improvisation.
Think about that: some of the most recognisable tones of the electric guitar existed for 20 years only because of a mechanical workaround.
Fender caves (1977)
By the mid-’70s, so many players were forcing their 3-ways into half-positions that Fender finally gave in.
In 1977, the company released the Strat with a factory-installed 5-way switch.
Positions #2 and #4 were no longer accidents. They were canon.
This move didn’t just legitimise the “quack”, it institutionalised it. From Nile Rodgers’ Chic to Knopfler’s “Sultans of Swing,” the in-between sound became the Strat identity.
Why it matters
The 5-way switch is proof that guitar evolution is often player-driven, not factory-designed .
The community discovered tones that engineers never intended.
Once codified, it unlocked further innovation: reverse-polarity middle pickups (for hum-canceling in 2/4), hotter winds tailored for in-between tones, and whole generations of funk and blues recordings that would sound entirely different if players hadn’t “misused” their gear.
The Strat’s quack was almost a historical accident.
The bigger lesson
The story belongs to a wider pattern in guitar history. From Danelectro’s lipstick pickups in surplus tubes , to Brian May’s fireplace-mantel “Red Special,” to Hendrix recording Purple Haze on a borrowed Tele, innovation often comes from the ground up.
The 5-way switch reminds us: iconic tones are not always engineered in the lab. They emerge in sweaty clubs, through broken gear, or thanks to players stubborn enough to wedge a pick where it didn’t belong.
💡 Next time you flick your Strat to position 2 or 4, remember: that sound almost never existed.
