TinkercasterParts and values
| In the drawing | Value | Part |
|---|---|---|
| Neck Strat Stack Plus | — | Strat Stack PlusExample part |
| Middle Strat Stack Plus | — | Strat Stack PlusExample part |
| Bridge Strat Stack Plus | — | Strat Stack PlusExample part |
| 5-way blade | — | Oak Grigsby 5-WayExample part |
| Volume (push/pull)Source: Volume push/pull (3 coil split) | 250k | 250k Push-Pull DPDTExample part |
| Tone | 250k | CTS 250k Audio PotExample part |
| .047 cap | 47nF | Orange Drop .047µFExample part |
| Output jackSource: Output Jack | — | Switchcraft #11Example part |
| Ground wire to bridge | — | 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
- Title: 3 STACK PLUS | 1 VOLUME push/pull 3 coil split | 1 TONE | 5 WAY BLADE.
- Legend box as printed: 'With this diagram, one push/pull pot switches all three stacks into single-coil mode. When push/pull is UP all pickups are true single coils. When push/pull is DOWN all pickups are hum-cancelling.'
- Switch lead labels as printed: neck white, middle white, bridge white.
- All black & bare wires get soldered here: the upper Solder spot on the volume casing, which also takes the ground wire to the bridge and the wire to the jack sleeve.
- The bridge red and the neck red go to two lugs on the blade's second row, and a third lug on that row is wired to the push/pull's left middle lug. The middle red goes to the push/pull's right middle lug.
- Near the push/pull the middle red and the bridge red cross without a hop and with no solder dot: the middle red bends down to the push/pull, the bridge red carries on to the blade. Elsewhere the neck red hops over the bridge red.
- The two push/pull lugs nearest the pot are jumpered together and wired to the upper Solder spot; the two lugs furthest from the pot are empty.
- The volume's outer lug is bent onto the casing under the lower Solder spot, which is wired to the tone's Solder spot.
- The source does not number the blade's lugs or positions; the lugs are mapped by what they do (bridge, bridge + middle, middle, middle + neck, neck). The second pole's lugs are mapped so that the legend holds (see the terminal mapping and limits).
- Legend: the grey Solder spot marks the location for ground (earth) connections. Jack: Tip (hot output); Sleeve (ground). The inner, circular portion of the jack.
- The tone cap is printed '.047 cap'.
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.
| # | From | To | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Push/pull left lug nearest the pot | Volume casing (upper Solder spot) | To a pot casingblack |
| 2 | Neck black | Volume casing (upper Solder spot) | To a pot casingblack |
| 3 | Neck drain | Volume casing (upper Solder spot)Drawn gold. | Shield or groundbare |
| 4 | Middle black | Volume casing (upper Solder spot) | To a pot casingblack |
| 5 | Middle drain | Volume casing (upper Solder spot)Drawn gold. | Shield or groundbare |
| 6 | Bridge black | Volume casing (upper Solder spot) | To a pot casingblack |
| 7 | Bridge drain | Volume casing (upper Solder spot)Drawn gold. | Shield or groundbare |
| 8 | Ground wire to bridge | Volume casing (upper Solder spot) | To a pot casingblack |
| 9 | Volume third lug | Volume casingLug bent onto the casing under the lower Solder spot. | To a pot casing |
| 10 | .047 cap | Tone casing (Solder spot) | To a pot casing |
| 11 | Tone casing (Solder spot) | Volume casing (lower Solder spot) | To a pot casingblack |
| 12 | Volume casing (upper Solder spot) | Jack sleeve | Wireblack |
| 13 | Bridge white | Blade upper-left row, first lugLabelled 'bridge white'; the innermost white loop. | Wirewhite |
| 14 | Middle white | Blade upper-left row, second lugLabelled 'middle white'. | Wirewhite |
| 15 | Neck white | Blade upper-left row, third lugLabelled 'neck white'; the outer white loop. | Wirewhite |
| 16 | Blade upper-left row, fourth lug | Volume first lugLoops under the blade. | Wireblack |
| 17 | Bridge red | Blade lower-right row, second lugCrosses the middle red near the push/pull without a hop; the neck red hops over it further on. | Wirered |
| 18 | Neck red | Blade lower-right row, fourth lugArcs over the other leads; this wire carries the hop where it crosses the bridge red. | Wirered |
| 19 | Blade lower-right row, first lug | Push/pull left middle lugThe black wire carries the hops where it crosses the pickup leads. | Wireblack |
| 20 | Middle red | Push/pull right middle lugBends down to the lug where it crosses the bridge red. | Wirered |
| 21 | Push/pull left lug nearest the pot | Push/pull right lug nearest the potShort jumper. | Wireblack |
| 22 | Volume middle lug | Jack tipThis wire carries the hops over the tone ground wire and the sleeve wire. | Wireblack |
| 23 | Volume first lug | Tone outer lug | Wireblack |
| 24 | Tone middle lug | .047 cap | Wireblack |
What each position does
| Setting | The source | Engine result |
|---|---|---|
| Position 1 · push: bridge | Legend: when push/pull is DOWN all pickups are hum-cancelling. | Bridge Strat Stack Plus (both coils). |
| Position 1 · pull: bridge split | Legend: when push/pull is UP all pickups are true single coils. | Bridge Strat Stack Plus (split to one coil). |
| Position 2 · push: bridge + middle | Legend: when push/pull is DOWN all pickups are hum-cancelling. | Middle Strat Stack Plus (both coils) and Bridge Strat Stack Plus (both coils) in parallel. |
| Position 2 · pull: bridge split + middle split | Legend: when push/pull is UP all pickups are true single coils. | Middle Strat Stack Plus (split to one coil) and Bridge Strat Stack Plus (split to one coil) in parallel. |
| Position 3 · push: middle | Legend: when push/pull is DOWN all pickups are hum-cancelling. | Middle Strat Stack Plus (both coils). |
| Position 3 · pull: middle split | Legend: when push/pull is UP all pickups are true single coils. | Middle Strat Stack Plus (split to one coil). |
| Position 4 · push: middle + neck | Legend: when push/pull is DOWN all pickups are hum-cancelling. | Neck Strat Stack Plus (both coils) and Middle Strat Stack Plus (both coils) in parallel. |
| Position 4 · pull: middle split + neck split | Legend: when push/pull is UP all pickups are true single coils. | Neck Strat Stack Plus (split to one coil) and Middle Strat Stack Plus (split to one coil) in parallel. |
| Position 5 · push: neck | Legend: when push/pull is DOWN all pickups are hum-cancelling. | Neck Strat Stack Plus (both coils). |
| Position 5 · pull: neck split | Legend: when push/pull is UP all pickups are true single coils. | Neck Strat Stack Plus (split to one coil). |
Not simulated: this circuit is drawn for reference only.
- The sheet prints no pot values; 250k stand-ins are used.
- There is no three-throw push/pull: the '3 coil split' is one DPDT push/pull whose right pole grounds the middle red directly and whose left pole grounds the blade's second-pole common, which reaches the bridge red in positions 1-2 and the neck red in positions 4-5.
- The blade's second-pole lugs are unlabelled and mapped by function: the reading that reproduces the legend (the lug next to that pole's common is live in positions 1-2, the last lug in positions 4-5). The published Everything Axe references read the same blade drawing's second pole the other way round; under that reading this sheet would ground the bridge and neck reds only in positions where those pickups are off, contradicting the legend.
- The middle red and bridge red cross near the push/pull without a hop or solder dot; they are read as a crossing (the middle red bends down to the push/pull, the bridge red runs on to the blade). Read as a joint, both taps would be tied together and the legend's hum-cancelling DOWN setting would not hold.
- The on-board component drawn across the bottom-coil pads of each Strat Stack Plus (no value printed) is not modelled.
- Which shaft position grounds the push/pull's commons follows the usual push/pull behaviour (pulled joins the middle lugs to the lugs nearest the pot); the legend agrees that UP is the split setting.
- 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
- Knob down: in each blade position the meter across the jack reads the full stack or stack pair selected.
- Knob up: the middle red reads ground in every blade position.
- Knob up, blade in position 1 or 2: the bridge red reads ground and the neck red reads open; in positions 4 and 5 it is the other way round.
- With the knob down, the middle red and the bridge red must read open to each other.
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.