TinkercasterParts and values
| In the drawing | Value | Part |
|---|---|---|
| Bridge pickupSource: Bridge Pickup | — | Humbucker (four-conductor, Seymour Duncan colours)Generic |
| Volume 500k | 500k | CTS 500k Audio PotExample part |
| Tone 500k push/pull | 500k | 500k Push-Pull DPDTExample part |
| .047 cap | 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
- The humbucker's red and white leads are not joined: red goes to the middle lug of the left switch column and white to the middle lug of the right column.
- A short jumper joins the middle lug of the right column to the bottom lug of the left column. The bottom lug of the right column stays empty.
- The pickup black shares the top lug of the left column (nearest the pot) with the wire up to the volume's input lug. Green and bare share the top lug of the right column, which is wired to the tone casing.
- The bridge ground wire goes to the volume casing; the jack sleeve goes to the tone casing, which is linked to the volume casing.
- The source's legend: the grey Solder mark is the location for ground (earth) connections.
Understand this wiring
- Seymour Duncan humbucker wire colors
See the pickup, recognise its two halves, and learn where each coloured wire goes.
- 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.
- 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 | Push/pull right top lug | Wiregreen |
| 2 | Pickup bare | Push/pull right top lugDrawn grey; shares the lug with the green lead. | Shield or groundbare |
| 3 | Push/pull right top lug | Tone casing | To a pot casingblack |
| 4 | .047 cap | Tone casing | To a pot casing |
| 5 | Volume right lug | Volume casingLug bent onto the casing. | To a pot casing |
| 6 | Volume casing | Tone casing | To a pot casingblack |
| 7 | Tone casing | Jack sleeve | Wireblack |
| 8 | Bridge ground wire | Volume casing | Wireblack |
| 9 | Pickup black | Push/pull left top lug | Wireblack |
| 10 | Pickup red | Push/pull left middle lug | Wirered |
| 11 | Pickup white | Push/pull right middle lug | Wirewhite |
| 12 | Push/pull right middle lug | Push/pull left bottom lugShort diagonal jumper across the switch. | Wireblack |
| 13 | Push/pull left top lug | Volume left lug (input) | Wireblack |
| 14 | Volume left lug | Tone left lug | Wireblack |
| 15 | Tone middle lug | .047 cap | Wire |
| 16 | Volume middle lug | Jack tipHops over the casing link without joining it. | Wireblack |
What each position does
| Setting | The source | Engine result |
|---|---|---|
| Knob pushed down: series (full humbucker) | Red reaches white through the jumper; black is hot and green is ground, so the coils are in series. | Bridge pickup (both coils). |
| Knob pulled up: parallel | White joins green on ground and red joins black on the hot, so the coils are in parallel. | Bridge pickup (coils in parallel). |
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 is series; this follows the usual push/pull behaviour (pulled joins the middle lugs to the lugs nearest the pot).
- In the parallel state the engine's series-link check flags the red and white leads as not joined; that is what a series/parallel switch does, and the engine still reads the pickup as parallel.
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 a quarter of the series reading.
- 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.