Two humbuckers, three-way blade, volume, push/pull phase bridge tone and push/pull series/parallel neck 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 title: '2 HUMBUCKERS | 1 VOLUME', '2 TONES push/pull phase, push/pull master series/parallel', '3 WAY BLADE'. The controls are labelled 'Master Volume 500k', 'Bridge Tone 500k phase' and 'Neck Tone 500k series/parallel'.
• Both pickups: 'Red & White wires get soldered together and taped off.' Each humbucker stays a full humbucker; the series/parallel push/pull switches the two pickups against each other, not the coils inside one pickup.
• The bridge pickup's black and green go to the two middle lugs of the bridge tone push/pull, whose top and bottom lugs are cross-wired in an X. Its bottom-left lug goes to the bridge tone casing; its top-left lug feeds both the bridge tone's left lug and the neck tone push/pull.
• The neck pickup's green goes to the neck tone push/pull middle-right lug. That switch's two lugs nearest the pot are jumpered; its top-left lug goes to the blade and its top-right lug to the neck tone casing.
• The blade's top-right lug carries two wires: the neck pickup's black and a wire down to the neck tone's left lug.
• On the blade, the top two left lugs are jumpered, the second left lug is jumpered to the third right lug, and the bottom two right lugs are jumpered; the bottom-right lug goes to the master volume's left lug.
• The master volume has two Solder spots: the bridge bare goes to the upper one and the neck bare to the lower one, where the volume's right lug is bent onto the casing. The upper spot is wired down to the bridge tone casing, which is wired on to the neck tone casing and from there to the jack sleeve.
• The bridge ground wire goes to the bridge tone casing. Each tone's third lug is left unconnected.
• The source legend marks the grey 'Solder' spots as the location for ground (earth) connections.
• Sleeve (ground): the inner, circular portion of the jack. Tip: hot output.
• The pickups, the blade lugs and the push/pull lugs are not labelled in the source; the upper pickup is taken as the neck (it feeds the neck tone), and the switch tags are mapped by what each does.

Connections

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

What each position does

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.
• The source does not say which knob position does what; this follows the usual push/pull behaviour (pulled joins the middle lugs to the lugs nearest the pot).

Before you solder

• Identify every lead on your pickups against the source's colours.
• Source title: '2 HUMBUCKERS | 1 VOLUME', '2 TONES push/pull phase, push/pull master series/parallel', '3 WAY BLADE'. The controls are labelled 'Master Volume 500k', 'Bridge Tone 500k phase' and 'Neck Tone 500k series/parallel'.
• Both pickups: 'Red & White wires get soldered together and taped off.' Each humbucker stays a full humbucker; the series/parallel push/pull switches the two pickups against each other, not the coils inside one pickup.
• The bridge pickup's black and green go to the two middle lugs of the bridge tone push/pull, whose top and bottom lugs are cross-wired in an X. Its bottom-left lug goes to the bridge tone casing; its top-left lug feeds both the bridge tone's left lug and the neck tone push/pull.
• The neck pickup's green goes to the neck tone push/pull middle-right lug. That switch's two lugs nearest the pot are jumpered; its top-left lug goes to the blade and its top-right lug to the neck tone casing.
• The blade's top-right lug carries two wires: the neck pickup's black and a wire down to the neck tone's left lug.
• On the blade, the top two left lugs are jumpered, the second left lug is jumpered to the third right lug, and the bottom two right lugs are jumpered; the bottom-right lug goes to the master volume's left lug.
• The master volume has two Solder spots: the bridge bare goes to the upper one and the neck bare to the lower one, where the volume's right lug is bent onto the casing. The upper spot is wired down to the bridge tone casing, which is wired on to the neck tone casing and from there to the jack sleeve.
• The bridge ground wire goes to the bridge tone casing. Each tone's third lug is left unconnected.
• The source legend marks the grey 'Solder' spots as the location for ground (earth) connections.
• Sleeve (ground): the inner, circular portion of the jack. Tip: hot output.
• The pickups, the blade lugs and the push/pull lugs are not labelled in the source; the upper pickup is taken as the neck (it feeds the neck tone), and the switch tags are mapped by what each does.
• 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

• Both knobs down: each blade position reads the selected humbucker, or both in parallel in the middle.
• Pull the neck tone: the neck and middle positions read both humbuckers in series (roughly the sum of both); the bridge position is open.
• Pull the bridge tone with the blade in the middle: the two pickups play out of phase.

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.