Tinkercaster
Parts and values
| In the drawing | Value | Part |
|---|---|---|
| Neck single coilSource: Seymour Duncan neck single coil (white and black leads) | — | Single-coil pickup (two-conductor)Generic |
| Bridge humbuckerSource: Seymour Duncan Bridge Pickup (humbucker) | — | Humbucker (four-conductor, Seymour Duncan colours)Generic |
| 3-Way Switch | — | 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 Jack | — | Switchcraft #11Example part |
| Bridge ground wireSource: 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 neck single coil's white lead goes to a common lug at the top of one side of the switch; the humbucker's black lead goes to the common at the bottom of the other side.
- Red & White wires get soldered together and taped off: the humbucker's red and white leads are joined, taped, and touch nothing else.
- The humbucker's green and bare leads, the neck black and the bridge ground wire all go to the volume's solder spot, marked in the legend as the location for ground (earth) connections.
- Three short jumpers join four of the other lugs into one output, which runs to the volume's input lug. Two lugs stay empty.
- The source does not number the switch positions; the lugs are mapped by what they do (neck, both, bridge).
- The volume and tone casings are joined by a wire drawn dashed in the source.
- Jack legend: 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.
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 | Neck black | Volume casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 2 | Humbucker green | Volume casing | To a pot casinggreen | |
| 3 | bridge ground wire | 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 | Tone casing | Jack sleeve | Wireblack | |
| 7 | Volume casing | Tone casingDrawn dashed in the source. | To a pot casing | |
| 8 | Humbucker bare | Volume casing | To a pot casingbare | |
| 9 | Neck white | Switch top-right lug (common) | Wirewhite | |
| 10 | Humbucker black | Switch bottom-left lug (common) | Wireblack | |
| 11 | Switch top-left lug | Switch second left lug | Jumperblack | |
| 12 | Switch second left lug | Switch third right lug | Jumperblack | |
| 13 | Switch third right lug | Switch bottom-right lug | Jumperblack | |
| 14 | Switch bottom-right lug | Volume left lug (input) | Wireblack | |
| 15 | Humbucker red | Humbucker whiteSoldered together and taped off. | Joined and insulatedred | |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Neck | — | Neck single coil. |
| Neck + bridge | — | Neck single coil and Bridge humbucker (both coils) in parallel. |
| Bridge | — | Bridge humbucker (both coils). |
Checked with the Tinkercaster wiring engine against the switching the source describes.
- Hum cancelling and phase describe the generic pickup models, not a measurement of any specific Seymour Duncan model.
- 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 each blade position, the meter across the jack should read the selected pickup, or both in parallel in the middle.
- With the volume at zero, tip and sleeve should read as a short.
- The taped red–white joint 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.