Q: I just purchased a used PRS Santana III and thought I’d gotten a killer deal, but now I’m not so sure. When the guitar is held in the normal playing position, the 3-way toggle switch does not move vertically up and down. When you flick the switch to the treble position, it actually shifts more to the side – toward the output jack. When you want to flick it up to the neck position, it ends up pointing to the tremolo bridge. Now I’m beginning to think someone swapped out the original electronics, including the pickups, volume and tone controls, and the toggle switch. Surely the guitar would not leave the factory like this. Have I been ripped off?
A: Actually, that’s exactly how PRS guitars with 3-way toggle switches behind the bridge leave the factory. On most guitars with toggle switches, the down position selects the bridge pickup while up selects the neck pickup. However, because of the position of the toggle switch on PRS guitars, which is behind and below the bridge, it’s been designed ergonomically to switch positions in the easiest manner. That far back, a standard up and down switch (such as the one you’d see on a Les Paul) is impractical. By installing the toggle switch at roughly a 45-degree angle, your picking hand doesn’t have to bend at an uncomfortable angle to switch between pickups. After you realize this is by design, you’ll relax and come to find it’s actually a nice touch. By the way, the Santana III has been discontinued, though the Santana II remains as a special order instrument.
