Humbucker, Phat Cat and humbucker with five-way rotary, Treble/Rhythm toggle, volume and tone

Parts and values

“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

• Source legend: 'Rhythm: P-90'; 'Treble: 1. Bridge Humbucker 2. Bridge Single Coil 3. Bridge + Neck Humbuckers 4. Neck Single Coil 5. Neck Humbucker'.
• Source pickup labels: 'Jazz (Neck)', 'PhatCat (Middle)', 'JB (Bridge)'. Pot labels: 'Volume Pot 500K Audio Taper', 'Tone Pot 500K Audio Taper'; the cap is printed '.047'.
• The neck black lead joins the blue wire between the rotary and the Treble lug at a junction dot, so it is always on the Treble lug; the rotary turns the neck on and off by grounding its coils on the lower deck.
• Each humbucker's red and white are soldered together on a lower-deck lug (bridge on lug 2, neck on lug 4); they are not taped off.
• The rotary lugs are numbered 1 to 5 on each deck. The upper deck's common is the upper centre lug (blue wire to the toggle) and the lower deck's common is the lower centre lug (green wire to ground); upper lug n is mapped to T n, the upper centre to T6, lower lug n to T(6+n) and the lower centre to T12.
• The toggle's two centre lugs are drawn together as its common; the lug beside 'Treble' is mapped to the treble tag and the lug beside 'Rhythm' to the rhythm tag.
• The source marks grounds with ground symbols, and a black wire labelled 'wire to bridge ground' leaves the grey 'Solder' spot on the tone pot.
• The humbucker bare leads, the toggle frame and the volume casing are not drawn connected to ground on the sheet.
• The Phat Cat is drawn with one black lead plus a braided shield to ground.
• The legend does not describe the toggle's middle position; the expected states for it follow from the drawn wiring.

Connections

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

What each position does

Not simulated: this circuit is drawn for reference only.

• The toggle is Treble/Rhythm rather than neck/bridge, so the selection check's slot roles do not apply (see ruleExceptions); the engine's pickups match the legend in all 15 toggle and rotary combinations.
• The sheet draws no ground for the toggle frame, the volume casing or the humbucker bare leads, and none are added; the signal ground path is complete. Ground those points to the volume casing when building it, as on Seymour Duncan's other sheets.
• The tone's cap sits on the tone wiper with the left lug grounded; the engine does not recognise this as a tone control, so tone behaviour is not simulated.
• Hum cancelling and phase describe the generic stand-in pickups, not the Jazz, Phat Cat or JB.

Before you solder

• Identify every lead on your pickups against the source's colours.
• Source legend: 'Rhythm: P-90'; 'Treble: 1. Bridge Humbucker 2. Bridge Single Coil 3. Bridge + Neck Humbuckers 4. Neck Single Coil 5. Neck Humbucker'.
• Source pickup labels: 'Jazz (Neck)', 'PhatCat (Middle)', 'JB (Bridge)'. Pot labels: 'Volume Pot 500K Audio Taper', 'Tone Pot 500K Audio Taper'; the cap is printed '.047'.
• The neck black lead joins the blue wire between the rotary and the Treble lug at a junction dot, so it is always on the Treble lug; the rotary turns the neck on and off by grounding its coils on the lower deck.
• Each humbucker's red and white are soldered together on a lower-deck lug (bridge on lug 2, neck on lug 4); they are not taped off.
• The rotary lugs are numbered 1 to 5 on each deck. The upper deck's common is the upper centre lug (blue wire to the toggle) and the lower deck's common is the lower centre lug (green wire to ground); upper lug n is mapped to T n, the upper centre to T6, lower lug n to T(6+n) and the lower centre to T12.
• The toggle's two centre lugs are drawn together as its common; the lug beside 'Treble' is mapped to the treble tag and the lug beside 'Rhythm' to the rhythm tag.
• The source marks grounds with ground symbols, and a black wire labelled 'wire to bridge ground' leaves the grey 'Solder' spot on the tone pot.
• The humbucker bare leads, the toggle frame and the volume casing are not drawn connected to ground on the sheet.
• The Phat Cat is drawn with one black lead plus a braided shield to ground.
• The legend does not describe the toggle's middle position; the expected states for it follow from the drawn wiring.
• Use a small amount of solder, heat both surfaces, and hold the joint still as it cools. Lead-free solder may have a matte finish.

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

• With the toggle on Treble and the rotary on 2, the bridge red/white joint should read continuity to ground.
• With the toggle on Treble and the rotary on 4 or 5, the bridge black should read open to the jack tip.

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.