TinkercasterParts and values
| In the drawing | Value | Part |
|---|---|---|
| Bridge pickupSource: Seymour Duncan Bridge Pickup | — | Humbucker (four-conductor, Seymour Duncan colours)Generic |
| 3-way bladeSource: 3-Way Switch (unlabelled lugs) | — | CRL 3-Way BladeExample part |
| Volume 250k | 250k | CTS 250k Audio PotExample part |
| Tone 250k | 250k | CTS 250k Audio PotExample part |
| .047 capSource: .047 cap (drawn green) | 47nF | Orange Drop .047µFExample part |
| Output jackSource: Output Jack | — | Switchcraft #11Example part |
| Bridge groundSource: bridge ground wire | — | 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 title: Esquire | 1 humbucker, 3 way blade series/split/parallel.
- Source legend, 3 Way Switch Settings: 1. Humbucker in series. 2. Humbucker in parallel. 3. Humbucker split to the slug coil.
- The pickup's red lead goes to the switch's left-column bottom lug and its white lead loops over the switch to the right-column top lug. The black lead goes to the volume's left lug; green and bare go to the volume Solder spot.
- Switch jumpers as drawn: left-column top lug to right-column second lug; left-column third lug to right-column bottom lug; right-column third lug to right-column bottom lug. The right-column third lug also runs to the volume Solder spot, and the left-column second lug runs to the volume's left lug.
- The switch lugs are not labelled on the sheet. Each column is mapped as one pole: the lug each pickup lead lands on (left-column bottom, right-column top) is taken as that pole's common, and the other three lugs top to bottom as positions 1–3. With that map the drawn wiring gives the sheet's legend in every position.
- The line from the volume Solder spot to the tone Solder spot is drawn dashed; it is transcribed as a ground wire because the jack sleeve's only drawn ground path runs through the tone casing.
- The volume's right lug is drawn bent back onto its casing. The volume's left lug also runs straight down to the tone's left lug (tone drawn lugs up); the .047 cap sits between the tone's middle lug and its Solder spot.
- Source legend: the grey 'Solder' spot = location for ground (earth) connections.
- Tip (hot output). Sleeve (ground): the inner, circular portion of the jack.
Understand this wiring
- Seymour Duncan humbucker wire colors
See the pickup, recognise its two halves, and learn where each coloured wire goes.
- Seymour Duncan coil splitting explained
A humbucker has two coils. See how a switch lets you use just one of them.
- Seymour Duncan series, split and parallel wiring
Two coils can work in a chain, side by side, or one at a time. See the difference before choosing a switch.
Connections
In soldering order: grounds first, then the switch, the pickups and the signal path.
| # | From | To | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pickup green | Volume casing | To a pot casinggreen |
| 2 | Pickup bare shield | Volume casingDrawn grey beside the green. | Shield or groundbare |
| 3 | Switch right-column third lug | Volume casing | To a pot casingblack |
| 4 | Volume right lug | Volume casingLug bent onto the casing. | To a pot casing |
| 5 | .047 cap | Tone casing | To a pot casing |
| 6 | Volume casing | Tone casingDrawn as a dashed line. | To a pot casing |
| 7 | Tone casing | Jack sleeve | Wireblack |
| 8 | Bridge ground wire | Volume casing | Shield or groundblack |
| 9 | Pickup red | Switch left-column bottom lug (common) | Wirered |
| 10 | Pickup white | Switch right-column top lug (common)Loops over the top of the switch. | Wirewhite |
| 11 | Switch left-column top lug | Switch right-column second lugDiagonal jumper. | Wireblack |
| 12 | Switch left-column third lug | Switch right-column bottom lugDiagonal jumper. | Wireblack |
| 13 | Switch right-column third lug | Switch right-column bottom lugShort loop jumper. | Wireblack |
| 14 | Switch left-column second lug | Volume left lugHops the green and bare leads. | Wireblack |
| 15 | Pickup black | Volume left lug | Wireblack |
| 16 | Volume middle lug | Jack tip | Wireblack |
| 17 | Volume left lug | Tone left lug | Wireblack |
| 18 | Tone middle lug | .047 cap | Wire |
What each position does
| Setting | The source | Engine result |
|---|---|---|
| Humbucker in series | 3 Way Switch Settings: 1. Humbucker in series. | Bridge pickup (both coils). |
| Humbucker in parallel | 3 Way Switch Settings: 2. Humbucker in parallel. | Bridge pickup (coils in parallel). |
| Humbucker split to the slug coil | 3 Way Switch Settings: 3. Humbucker split to the slug coil. | Bridge pickup (split to one coil). |
Not simulated: this circuit is drawn for reference only.
- Engine rule selectionReachesTip fails because the one pickup reaches the jack in every blade position, outside the blade's neck/bridge slot roles; that is what the sheet draws.
- The engine's per-position coil modes (series, parallel, split) agree with the sheet's legend, but the board is published topology-only.
- Which coil is the slug coil is taken from the sheet's legend; the generic pickup model does not identify slug and screw coils.
- 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
- In position 3, the pickup's red and white leads should both read as a short to ground.
- In position 1, red and white should read joined to each other and 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.