TinkercasterParts and values
| In the drawing | Value | Part |
|---|---|---|
| Neck PickupSource: Seymour Duncan Neck Pickup | — | Humbucker (four-conductor, Seymour Duncan colours)Generic |
| Bridge PickupSource: Seymour Duncan Bridge Pickup | — | Humbucker (four-conductor, Seymour Duncan colours)Generic |
| 3-Way Blade Switch | — | CRL 3-Way BladeExample part |
| Volume 500k | 500k | CTS 500k Audio PotExample part |
| Tone 500k | 500k | CTS 500k Audio PotExample part |
| Output Jack | — | Switchcraft #11Example part |
| .047 cap | 47nF | Orange Drop .047µFExample 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
- Red & White wires get soldered together and taped off.
- Each pickup's black lead goes to a common lug on the switch; three short jumpers join four other lugs into one output to the volume.
- The source does not number the switch positions; the lugs are mapped by what they do (neck, both, bridge).
- A wire from the volume's input lug runs to the tone's left lug (tone drawn with lugs up); the tone middle lug takes the .047 cap to the tone casing.
- The bridge ground and the jack sleeve both end on the tone casing, which is linked to the volume casing.
- Solder = location for ground (earth) connections. Jack: 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.
| # | From | To | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neck green | Volume casing | To a pot casinggreen |
| 2 | Neck bare | Volume casing | Shield or groundbare |
| 3 | Bridge green | Volume casing | To a pot casinggreen |
| 4 | Bridge bare | Volume casing | Shield or groundbare |
| 5 | Volume right lug | Volume casingLug bent onto the casing. | To a pot casing |
| 6 | Tone casing | Jack sleeve | Wireblack |
| 7 | Bridge ground wire | Tone casing | Shield or groundblack |
| 8 | .047 cap | Tone casing | To a pot casing |
| 9 | Tone casing | Volume casing | To a pot casingblack |
| 10 | Neck black | Switch top-right lug (common) | Wireblack |
| 11 | Bridge black | Switch bottom-left lug (common) | Wireblack |
| 12 | Switch top-left lug | Switch second left lug | Jumperblack |
| 13 | Switch second left lug | Switch third right lug | Jumperblack |
| 14 | Switch third right lug | Switch bottom-right lug | Jumperblack |
| 15 | Switch bottom-right lug | Volume left lug (input) | Wireblack |
| 16 | Neck red | Neck whiteSoldered together and taped off. | Joined and insulatedred |
| 17 | Bridge red | Bridge whiteSoldered together and taped off. | Joined and insulatedred |
| 18 | Volume middle lug | Jack tip | Wireblack |
| 19 | Volume input lug | Tone left lug | Wireblack |
| 20 | Tone middle lug | .047 cap | Wire |
What each position does
| Setting | The source | Engine result |
|---|---|---|
| Neck | — | Neck Pickup (both coils). |
| Neck + bridge | — | Neck Pickup (both coils) and Bridge Pickup (both coils) in parallel. |
| Bridge | — | Bridge Pickup (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 switch 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.
- Each taped red–white joint should read open to ground.
- Turning the tone down should load the selected pickup through the .047 µF capacitor.
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.