Tinkercaster
DiMarzio wiring

DiMarzio John Petrucci Signature Model wiring: two humbuckers, 4PDT selector, volume and tone

Neck humbucker · Bridge humbucker · 4PDT on/on/on selector (EP1111) · 500K volume · 500K tone · .022µF

DiMarzio's John Petrucci Signature Model wiring with the Rainmaker (DP281) neck and Dreamcatcher (DP282) bridge on a 4PDT three-position selector: up gives the neck humbucker, center the neck and bridge inside coils split in parallel, down the bridge humbucker, with a 500K custom-taper volume, a 500K custom-taper tone and a .022µF capacitor.

Open interactive diagram ↗
DiMarzio John Petrucci Signature Model wiring: two humbuckers, 4PDT selector, volume and toneDiMarzio John Petrucci Signature Model wiring: two humbuckers, 4PDT selector, volume and tone: Neck humbucker · Bridge humbucker · 4PDT on/on/on selector (EP1111) · 500K volume · 500K tone · .022µF. Original Tinkercaster drawing with labelled terminals.Neck Rainmaker DP281 (stand-in)Neck Rainmaker DP281 (stand-in)Bridge Dreamcatcher DP282 (stand-in)Bridge Dreamcatcher DP282 (stand-in)4PDT selector EP1111Volume 500K custom taper · 500k500kTone 500K custom taper · 500k500k.022µF · 22nF22nFOutput jackBridge groundredgreenblackwhitebareredgreenblackwhitebareA1A2A3A4B1B2B3B4C1C2C3C4lug1lug2lug3lug1lug2lug3abtipsleeveground

Viewed from the back of the controls, as you solder them. Open the interactive diagram to zoom, move components and try the switches.

Parts and values

In the drawingValuePart
Neck Rainmaker DP281 (stand-in)Source: NECK PICKUP RAINMAKER™ DP281 (WHITE, RED, GREEN, BLACK, BARE)—Humbucker (four-conductor, DiMarzio colours)Generic
Bridge Dreamcatcher DP282 (stand-in)Source: BRIDGE PICKUP DREAMCATCHER™ DP282 (BLACK, WHITE, RED, GREEN, BARE)—Humbucker (four-conductor, DiMarzio colours)Generic
4PDT selector EP1111Source: 4PDT PICKUP SELECTOR SWITCH - 3 POSITION (ON/ON/ON) EP1111—EP1111 4PDT Pickup Selector (on-on-on)Example part
Volume 500K custom taperSource: VOLUME 500K CUSTOM TAPER POT EP1201500kCTS 500k Audio PotExample part
Tone 500K custom taperSource: TONE 500K CUSTOM TAPER POT EP1201500kCTS 500k Audio PotExample part
.022µFSource: .022µF CAPACITOR EP102222nFOrange Drop .022µFExample part
Output jackSource: SWITCHCRAFT® OUTPUT JACK (2-CONDUCTOR) EP1301—Switchcraft #11Example part
Bridge groundSource: TO BRIDGE GROUND—Bridge ground wireGeneric

“Example part” means any part with the same value and lugs will do; the source does not name a brand. “Generic” stands in for an unspecified pickup: check your own pickup's lead colours before you solder.

Specific to this wiring

  • Sheet legend: 'The 3 Position switch is wired: Up = Neck Pickup; Center = Neck/Bridge Split Inside Coils; and Down = Bridge Pickup.' Switch label: 'UP = NECK, CENTER = NECK/BRIDGE SPLIT, DOWN = BRIDGE'.
  • The selector is labelled '4PDT PICKUP SELECTOR SWITCH - 3 POSITION (ON/ON/ON) EP1111'. Its contacts come from DiMarzio's EP1111 contact chart ('DIMARZIO EP1111 SWITCH DIMENSIONS', (c) 2003): position 1 (up) joins the middle and bottom rows on every pole; center joins middle-bottom on poles 1 and 3 and middle-top on poles 2 and 4; down joins the middle and top rows on every pole. Neither the chart nor this sheet names the lugs: the codes A (top), B (middle, commons) and C (bottom) rows by columns 1-4 are ours, assigned by each drawn lug's row and column position on this sheet.
  • The neck pickup is wired with its WHITE to the selector and its BLACK and BARE to the volume casing; its RED and GREEN go together to one selector lug. The bridge RED goes to the selector, its BLACK and WHITE go together to another selector lug, and its GREEN and BARE go to the volume casing.
  • The volume's top lug is wired to the volume casing and on to the tone casing. The tone's signal enters at its middle lug from the volume's bottom (input) lug; the capacitor sits on the tone's bottom lug. The tone's top lug is drawn unconnected.
  • The output jack is a 'SWITCHCRAFT® OUTPUT JACK (2-CONDUCTOR) EP1301'. 'TO BRIDGE GROUND' ends on the jack sleeve, which also takes the wire from the tone casing.
  • Pickups drawn: 'NECK PICKUP RAINMAKER™ DP281' and 'BRIDGE PICKUP DREAMCATCHER™ DP282'. The catalog has neither, so a generic DiMarzio-colour four-conductor humbucker stands in for each.

Connections

In soldering order: grounds first, then the switch, the pickups and the signal path.

#FromToHow
1Neck GREENSelector top row, fourth lugDrawn broken where it passes the bridge leads.Wiregreen
2Neck BLACKVolume casingTo a pot casingblack
3Neck BAREVolume casingSame casing dot as the neck BLACK.To a pot casingbare
4Bridge GREENVolume casingTo a pot casinggreen
5Bridge BAREVolume casingSame casing dot as the bridge GREEN.To a pot casingbare
6Selector middle row, fourth lugVolume casingEnds on the casing dot that takes the bridge GREEN and BARE.To a pot casingblack
7Selector middle row, first lugVolume bottom lugDrawn light gray.Wiregray
8Volume casingVolume top lugTo a pot casingblack
9Volume top lugTone casingTo a pot casingblack
10.022µF capacitorTone casingTo a pot casing
11Tone casingJack sleeveWireblack
12TO BRIDGE GROUNDJack sleeveWireblack
13Neck WHITESelector bottom row, first lugDrawn over the bridge BARE and GREEN and under the bridge RED where it crosses them.Wirewhite
14Neck REDSelector top row, fourth lugDrawn broken where it passes the bridge leads.Wirered
15Bridge REDSelector top row, second lugWirered
16Bridge BLACKSelector bottom row, third lugWireblack
17Bridge WHITESelector bottom row, third lugWirewhite
18Selector middle row, first lugSelector middle row, second lugJumper.Wireblack
19Selector middle row, third lugSelector middle row, fourth lugJumper.Wireblack
20Volume middle lugJack tipDrawn dark gray.Wiregray
21Volume bottom lugTone middle lugWire
22Tone bottom lug.022µF capacitorWire

What each position does

SettingThe sourceEngine result
Up: neckUp = Neck PickupNeck Rainmaker DP281 (stand-in) (both coils).
Center: neck + bridge split, inside coilsCenter = Neck/Bridge Split Inside CoilsNeck Rainmaker DP281 (stand-in) (split to one coil) and Bridge Dreamcatcher DP282 (stand-in) (split to one coil) in parallel.
Down: bridgeDown = Bridge PickupBridge Dreamcatcher DP282 (stand-in) (both coils).

Checked with the Tinkercaster wiring engine against the switching the source describes.

  • The selector carries the printed legend as selectorByPosition (up neck, center neck/bridge split inside coils, down bridge) and the engine matches it in every position. The neck is wired reverse-coil as drawn (WHITE output, BLACK ground, RED+GREEN link); the editor checks recognise this reversed-lead wiring (hot and return leads joined as the link).
  • Which coil is 'inside' is not modelled: in the center position the engine keeps the neck's white/green coil and the bridge's red/black coil; the stand-ins do not record which coil sits nearer the other pickup.
  • The source's custom-taper pots are not reproduced: both pots use the catalog pot's taper, so settings between the knob ends are approximate.
  • Both pickups are generic four-conductor humbuckers standing in for the DP281 and DP282; hum and tone describe the generic model, and pickup resistance is not specified, so no numeric meter readings are given.

Before you solder

Ticks are kept in this browser only, as a reminder. They are not a check of your joints. New to soldering? Read the soldering cheat sheet.

Check before plugging in

  • Up: continuity from jack tip to sleeve through the whole neck humbucker only.
  • Center: one coil of each pickup in parallel between tip and sleeve.
  • Down: continuity through the whole bridge humbucker only.
  • With the volume at zero, tip and sleeve read as a short in every position.

Measure across the output jack with a multimeter on its resistance range. No exact readings are given where the source does not specify the pickups.