What does the 3 way switch do on the Stingray 5 and the
Sterling?  Rate this item (13 votes) With the switch in the
'closest to neck' position, the pickup's flow of voltage follows
a snake like pattern around the poles, this is called the Series
position, creating an out of phase slightly brighter humbucker
tone. The second position is the Single Coil position, only the
coil closest to the bridge is used creating a thin, bright sound
for soloing, a phantom coil is added to reduce single coil
noise. The last position is the Parallel position, use this for
the traditional thick bottom end bass sound made famous by the
Stingray 4.