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 SwitchSource: 3 Way Blade | — | CRL 3-Way BladeExample part |
| Neck tone 500k push/pullSource: Neck Tone 500k push/pull | 500k | 500k Push-Pull DPDTExample part |
| .047 cap (neck)Source: .047 cap (neck tone) | 47nF | Orange Drop .047µFExample part |
| Bridge tone 500k push/pullSource: Bridge Tone 500k push/pull | 500k | 500k Push-Pull DPDTExample part |
| .047 cap (bridge)Source: .047 cap (bridge tone) | 47nF | Orange Drop .047µFExample part |
| Volume 500k | 500k | CTS 500k Audio PotExample 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 source titles the two tones as push/pull coil split.
- Each pickup's red and white leads are soldered together onto the middle lug of its own tone's push/pull bottom row.
- On each push/pull, the bottom-row lug nearest the pot has a short wire to that pot's solder spot; the other switch lugs stay empty.
- Each pickup's black lead goes to the top lug of its own tone pot, and that lug continues to a blade common.
- Each .047 cap sits between its tone's middle lug and that tone's casing.
- Three short jumpers join four blade lugs into one output, which goes to the volume's input lug; the volume's middle lug goes to the jack tip.
- A wire runs from the neck tone's solder spot down to the bridge tone's, carrying a hop over the bridge black; the bridge ground wire and the jack sleeve also end on the bridge tone casing, which links on to the volume casing.
- Solder = location for ground (earth) connections.
- The blade tags are not labelled in the source, so they are mapped by what each does.
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 | Neck green | Neck tone casingEnds on the neck tone's solder spot. | To a pot casinggreen |
| 2 | Neck bare | Neck tone casingDrawn grey beside the green. | Shield or groundbare |
| 3 | Bridge green | Bridge tone casingEnds on the bridge tone's solder spot. | To a pot casinggreen |
| 4 | Bridge bare | Bridge tone casingDrawn grey beside the green. | Shield or groundbare |
| 5 | Neck .047 cap | Neck tone casingThe cap's other leg goes to the neck tone's solder spot. | To a pot casingblack |
| 6 | Bridge .047 cap | Bridge tone casingThe cap's other leg goes to the bridge tone's solder spot. | To a pot casingblack |
| 7 | Volume right lug | Volume casingLug bent onto the casing. | To a pot casing |
| 8 | Neck tone casing | Bridge tone casingCarries a hop over the bridge black. | To a pot casingblack |
| 9 | Bridge tone casing | Volume casing | To a pot casingblack |
| 10 | Bridge tone casing | Jack sleeve | To a pot casingblack |
| 11 | Bridge ground wire | Bridge tone casing'Bridge Ground Wire' ends on the bridge tone's solder spot. | Shield or groundblack |
| 12 | Neck push/pull lug nearest the pot | Neck tone casingShort wire to the solder spot. | To a pot casingblack |
| 13 | Bridge push/pull lug nearest the pot | Bridge tone casingShort wire to the solder spot. | To a pot casingblack |
| 14 | Neck tone top lug | Switch top-right lug (common)The wire loops up over the switch to its top-right lug. | Wireblack |
| 15 | Bridge tone top lug | Switch bottom-left lug (common)The wire runs right and up to the switch's bottom-left lug. | Wireblack |
| 16 | Switch top-left lug | Switch second left lugShort jumper between the switch's top two left lugs. | Jumperblack |
| 17 | Switch second left lug | Switch third right lugJumper from the second left lug down to the third right lug. | Jumperblack |
| 18 | Switch third right lug | Switch bottom-right lugJumper between the switch's bottom two right lugs. | Jumperblack |
| 19 | Switch bottom-right lug | Volume left lug (input)Near the volume it hops over the tip wire. | Wireblack |
| 20 | Neck white | Neck push/pull middle lug | Wirewhite |
| 21 | Neck red | Neck push/pull middle lugShares the lug with the neck white. | Wirered |
| 22 | Neck black | Neck tone top lug | Wireblack |
| 23 | Bridge white | Bridge push/pull middle lug | Wirewhite |
| 24 | Bridge red | Bridge push/pull middle lugShares the lug with the bridge white. | Wirered |
| 25 | Bridge black | Bridge tone top lugPasses a hop in the vertical ground wire between the tones. | Wireblack |
| 26 | Neck tone middle lug | Neck .047 capThe cap is drawn on the back of the neck tone. | Wireblack |
| 27 | Bridge tone middle lug | Bridge .047 capThe cap is drawn on the back of the bridge tone. | Wireblack |
| 28 | Volume middle lug | Jack tip | Wireblack |
What each position does
| Setting | The source | Engine result |
|---|---|---|
| Neck, both tones down | — | Neck pickup (both coils). |
| Both, both tones down | — | Neck pickup (both coils) and Bridge pickup (both coils) in parallel. |
| Bridge, both tones down | — | Bridge pickup (both coils). |
| Neck, neck tone pulled, bridge tone down | Pulling a tone splits that pickup. | Neck pickup (split to one coil). |
| Both, neck tone pulled, bridge tone down | Pulling a tone splits that pickup. | Neck pickup (split to one coil) and Bridge pickup (both coils) in parallel. |
| Bridge, neck tone pulled, bridge tone down | — | Bridge pickup (both coils). |
| Neck, neck tone down, bridge tone pulled | — | Neck pickup (both coils). |
| Both, neck tone down, bridge tone pulled | Pulling a tone splits that pickup. | Neck pickup (both coils) and Bridge pickup (split to one coil) in parallel. |
| Bridge, neck tone down, bridge tone pulled | Pulling a tone splits that pickup. | Bridge pickup (split to one coil). |
| Neck, both tones pulled | Pulling a tone splits that pickup. | Neck pickup (split to one coil). |
| Both, both tones pulled | Pulling a tone splits that pickup. | Neck pickup (split to one coil) and Bridge pickup (split to one coil) in parallel. |
| Bridge, both tones pulled | Pulling a tone splits that pickup. | Bridge pickup (split to one coil). |
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 splits; this follows the usual push/pull behaviour (pulled joins the middle lugs to the lugs nearest the pot).
- The simulator's position summary names one tone control only; each tone sits on its own pickup's lead ahead of the blade.
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
- Both knobs down: in each blade position the meter across the jack reads the selected humbucker, or both in parallel in the middle.
- Pulling a tone drops its own pickup's reading to roughly one coil's resistance and leaves the other pickup unchanged.
- With the volume at zero, tip and sleeve should read as a short in every position.
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.