Tinkercaster
Parts and values
| In the drawing | Value | Part |
|---|---|---|
| Bridge humbuckerSource: Bridge Pickup (four-conductor) | — | Humbucker (four-conductor, Seymour Duncan colours)Generic |
| Volume (push/pull)Source: Volume 500k push/pull | 500k | 500k Push-Pull DPDTExample part |
| ToneSource: Tone 500k | 500k | CTS 500k Audio PotExample part |
| .047 µF tone capSource: .047 cap | 47nF | Orange Drop .047µFExample part |
| Output jackSource: Output Jack | — | Switchcraft #11Example part |
“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
- The humbucker's red and white leads are soldered together onto the push/pull's middle left lug, not taped off.
- Only one side of the push/pull switch is used; the other three lugs stay empty.
- The lower left switch lug, nearest the pot, goes to the volume casing. That grounds the coil link when the knob is pulled.
- The bridge ground wire goes to the volume casing.
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.
- Reading Seymour Duncan push/pull switch diagrams
Turning the knob and pulling it do different jobs. See the actual part, then try its switch connections.
Connections
In soldering order: grounds first, then the switch, the pickups and the signal path. Choose Show to highlight a connection in the drawing.
| # | From | To | How | Drawing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Push/pull bottom left lug | Volume casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 2 | Pickup green | Volume casing | To a pot casinggreen | |
| 3 | Pickup bare | Volume casing | Shield or groundbare | |
| 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 casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 7 | Tone casing | Jack sleeve | Wireblack | |
| 8 | Pickup white | Push/pull middle left lug | Wirewhite | |
| 9 | Pickup red | Push/pull middle left lugShares the lug with the white lead. | Wirered | |
| 10 | Pickup black | Volume left lug (input) | Wireblack | |
| 11 | Volume middle lug | Jack tip | Wireblack | |
| 12 | Volume left lug | Tone left lug | Wireblack | |
| 13 | Tone middle lug | .047 cap | Wire | |
| 14 | Bridge ground wire | Volume casingDrawn leaving the page towards the bridge. | Wire | Not drawn |
What each position does
| Setting | The source | Engine result |
|---|---|---|
| Knob pushed down: full humbucker | Coil link floating: both coils in series. | Bridge humbucker (both coils). |
| Knob pulled up: single coil | Coil link grounded: the push/pull coil split. | Bridge humbucker (split to one coil). |
Checked with the Tinkercaster wiring engine against the switching the source describes.
- Pickup resistance is not specified, so no numeric meter readings are given.
- The source does not say which knob position splits; this follows the usual push/pull behaviour (pulled joins the middle lugs to the lugs nearest the pot).
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
- Knob down: tip to sleeve reads the full humbucker's resistance.
- Knob up: the reading drops to roughly one coil's resistance.
- With the volume at zero, tip and sleeve should read as a short in both knob positions.
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.