I’ve noticed that Gibson seems to only use 3-way switches on HH guitars, but many other manufactures seem to use 5-way switches, including PRS, Ernie Ball, and Ibanez, below (although check out the Martin Miller MM1 
). Gibson is more innovative than all of the above, and yet they stick to their 3-way switches… why? 
Tradition and customer/sales feedback. That’s really it. It hasn’t been for a lack of trying either, they have gone through many phases through their days, just nothing really appealed to their primary market to keep it around.
Also one thing to note too is that they figure that anyone wanting any more versatile pickup/coil combinations on their guitars would likely do so aftermarket anyway. This way they do what they know works for them, and leave it up to you to take further if that is something you want to do.
I think that you’re right. Note that Ibanez, Ernie Ball, and PRS don’t make “relic” guitars!
Oh man, I would hard hard reconsider this stance, lol.
So, gonna try to explain something that’s a bit fuzzy in my memory, but I’ll try.
Since part of the “LP sound” is the “vintage spec PAF pickup” (which is a humbucker), they are wired with 2 leads, as this was how they were originally made; essentially, a positive and negative lead which is the start of one coil and the end of the other. This allows for only a few useable combinations: each pickup individually, and both combined (in parallel). Since that can easily be wired using a single pole switch, Gibson settled on the 3-way that you still see today, almost 70 years later (innovative, right?). I can’t remember when Gibson started tinkering with coil splitting (which requires 4 leads, a positive and negative for each coil), but I want to say it was the 70s? About the same time Seymour Duncan and DiMarzio started releasing pickups, which inspired lots of modifications. The easiest way to implement these in an LP was to switch out a pair of the pots to push / pull, allowing for the split tones, AND allowing for the same 3-way to be used.
Most every other guitar switch I can think of is dual pole, allowing for many more combinations straight from the switch, without the need for other switches. As far as I know, Gibson has rarely strayed from their switch (maybe in those weird firebirds from the 2000s?).
This is pretty correct but it’s worth noting that they really did try many times.
Most of this is contextual, and could be argued either way. For the time period they did some things that were seen as wacky and space age although pretty vanilla by todays standards. They also tried upping their game many times, but all attempts failed. Nobody bought what they were making.
A bit semantical, but theres no such thing. Tolerances and materials including the alloys used were all over the place back then. No one can really describe what a vintage PAF is because nothing ever was uniform, and were made with whatever supplies they could get their hands on from whatever manufacturer. No set turns number on each coil either, just hand wound until the bobbin was full. Depending on the tension on the wire, its coating thickness or what the exact alloy makeup of the magnets they purchased, which can change slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer, you can wind up with pretty wide variances. Also I think that an LP sounds like an LP regardless if it is equipped with p90’s or mini’s like some of the oddballs from the 70’s. A short scale big hunk of wood with a tune-o-matic is really what makes an lp sound like an LP. An LP with p90’s still sounds like an LP, just an LP with p90’s.
70’s during the Norlin era. That was about the time Bill Lawrence started working for them. That era was not considered their finest by many. But you also should keep in mind that adding the ability to switch more coil configurations with vintage spec pickups like those PAF’s doesn’t always sound good. I’m sure people who did experiment realized pretty quickly it wasn’t as usable as one would hope. Paf’s are already bright and weakfish pickups. Splitting some of those pickups results in a sound that can be overly thin and weak.
Dimarzio started in ‘72, and Duncan later in the 70’s. Dimarzio didn’t start using multi-conductor exit cable until the late 70’s. Using push pull pots in an lp is much easier regardless due to its dual volume wiring configuration and how it’s routed and position of the switch.
There are others. Most original Jackson Soloists had three position toggles, and plenty of others still use them. Fender initially also used three position blade switches for their strats. It’s not really Gibsons switch, and plenty of toggle type switches were available with different pole and throw combinations it’s just that nobody who was their prime audience wanted that versatility. Gibson had a lot of funky designs most people have never seen. They had a line of shredders in the 80’s, and the nighthawk from the 90’s had a bunch of different switching combos, but it didn’t go over well. They don’t really have much incentive to change if nobody wants the change. They have tried many times, and it has always failed for them. I think the lesson they had learned time and time again is to just stick with what people know you for. FFS they can’t even stray away from nitro finishes with out angering their customer base.
1952 Les Paul, 1958 Flying V, 1959 Explorer, 2007 self-tuning Robot Guitars, a hex guitar, and a R&D lab that was the Silicon Valley (if my memory serves)—does anyone come close to them? Nobody that I can think of at the moment…