Tinkercaster
DiMarzio wiring

Telecaster with a single-coil bridge and a humbucker neck

Humbucker neck, single-coil bridge · Three-way Tele switch · One volume · One tone

DiMarzio's Telecaster harness with a four-conductor humbucker in the neck and a Twang King single coil in the bridge, on a three-way Tele switch. It uses a 500K custom-taper volume, a 250K custom-taper tone, a .022 µF capacitor and a Switchcraft two-conductor jack.

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Viewed from the back of the controls, as you solder them. Select a component to move, rotate or flip it. Follow wires and try the switches in simulation mode. Use Full screen for a closer look.

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Parts and values

In the drawingValuePart
Neck pickupSource: Neck pickup (BARE, GREEN, RED, BLACK, WHITE)—Humbucker (four-conductor, DiMarzio colours)Generic
Twang King bridgeSource: Twang King™ bridge DP173 (WHITE, GRAY, BLACK)—Single-coil pickup (two-conductor)Generic
Three-way switchSource: Three-way switch for Tele® (EP1105)—CRL 3-Way BladeExample part
Volume 500K custom taperSource: Volume 500K custom taper pot (EP1201)500kCTS 500k Audio PotExample part
Tone 250K custom taperSource: Tone 250K custom taper pot (EP1200)250kCTS 250k Audio PotExample part
.022µFSource: .022µF capacitor (EP1022)22nFOrange 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

  • On the neck humbucker, the black and white leads are joined and insulated.
  • The bridge pickup's gray lead goes to the volume casing with its black lead. The board draws only the white and black leads, because the stand-in single coil has no third lead.
  • The tone signal enters at the tone pot's middle lug (wiper); the capacitor sits on an end lug.
  • The source gives no position legend. The switch tags are not labelled, so they are mapped by what each does.
  • The source specifies custom-taper pots. The simulator treats them as linear, so settings between the knob ends are approximate.

Connections

In soldering order: grounds first, then the switch, the pickups and the signal path. Choose Show to highlight a connection in the drawing.

#FromToHow
1Neck greenVolume casingTo a pot casinggreen
2Neck bare shieldVolume casingDrawn thin grey beside the green.Shield or groundbare
3Bridge blackVolume casingTo a pot casingblack
4Volume casingVolume top lugTo a pot casingblack
5Volume top lugTone casingTo a pot casingblack
6.022 µF capacitorTone casingTo a pot casing
7Tone casingJack sleeveWireblack
8Bridge ground wireJack sleeveLabelled TO BRIDGE GROUND.Wireblack
9Neck redSwitch top-row first lugWirered
10Bridge whiteSwitch bottom-row fourth lugWirewhite
11Switch bottom-row first lugSwitch bottom-row second lugJumpergrey
12Switch bottom-row second lugSwitch top-row third lugJumpergrey
13Switch top-row third lugSwitch top-row fourth lugJumpergrey
14Switch top-row fourth lugVolume bottom lug (input)Wiregrey
15Neck blackNeck whiteJoined and taped off.Joined and insulatedblack
16Volume middle lugJack tipWiredark grey
17Volume bottom lugTone middle lugWirelavender
18Tone bottom lug.022 µF capacitorWire
19Bridge grayVolume casingDrawn beside the black to the lower casing dot; not drawn on the board because the stand-in pickup has no third lead.To a pot casinggrayNot drawn

What each position does

SettingThe sourceEngine result
Neck—Neck pickup (both coils).
Neck and bridge—Neck pickup (both coils) and Twang King bridge in parallel.
Bridge—Twang King bridge.

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

  • The source's custom-taper pots are not reproduced: both pots are simulated with a linear track, so settings between the knob ends are approximate.
  • Hum cancelling and phase describe the generic pickup models, not measured DiMarzio pickups.
  • 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

  • Position 1: continuity from jack tip to sleeve through the neck humbucker only.
  • Position 3: continuity through the bridge single coil only.
  • The taped black–white joint on the neck pickup should read open to ground.

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.