Tinkercaster
Parts 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 toggleSource: 3-Way Toggle | — | Switchcraft 3-Way ToggleExample part |
| Bridge volume 500k push/pull | 500k | 500k Push-Pull DPDTExample part |
| Neck volume 500k | 500k | CTS 500k Audio PotExample part |
| Output jackSource: Output Jack | — | Switchcraft #11Example 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
- The source title reads 'Bridge push/pull coil split': the push/pull is the bridge volume, and the drawing wires both pickups' red and white leads to it.
- The neck red and white leads run over the top ('Red & White') and are soldered together onto the push/pull's middle right lug; the bridge red and white leads go together onto the middle left lug. None of them are taped off.
- The two push/pull lugs nearest the pot are jumpered together and wired to the bridge volume casing; the two lugs furthest from the pot stay empty.
- Both pickups' green and bare leads and the bridge ground wire end on the bridge volume casing, which is linked to the neck volume casing.
- The toggle frame lug goes to the neck volume casing, and the jack sleeve runs from the neck volume casing.
- The source legend marks the grey 'Solder' spots as the location for ground (earth) connections.
- The toggle 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. Choose Show to highlight a connection in the drawing.
| # | From | To | How | Drawing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neck green | Bridge volume casing | To a pot casinggreen | |
| 2 | Neck bare | Bridge volume casingDrawn grey beside the green. | Shield or groundbare | |
| 3 | Bridge green | Bridge volume casing | To a pot casinggreen | |
| 4 | Bridge bare | Bridge volume casingDrawn grey beside the green. | Shield or groundbare | |
| 5 | Push/pull bottom left lug | Bridge volume casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 6 | Bridge volume right lug | Bridge volume casingLug bent onto the casing. | To a pot casing | |
| 7 | Bridge ground wire | Bridge volume casing | Shield or groundblack | |
| 8 | Bridge volume casing | Neck volume casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 9 | Neck volume right lug | Neck volume casingLug bent onto the lower Solder spot. | To a pot casing | |
| 10 | Toggle frame lug | Neck volume casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 11 | Neck volume casing | Jack sleeve | Wireblack | |
| 12 | Bridge volume middle lug | Toggle bridge lug | Wireblack | |
| 13 | Neck volume middle lug | Toggle neck lug | Wireblack | |
| 14 | Toggle middle lug | Jack tip | Wireblack | |
| 15 | Neck white | Push/pull middle right lug | Wirewhite | |
| 16 | Neck red | Push/pull middle right lugShares the lug with the neck white lead. | Wirered | |
| 17 | Neck black | Neck volume left lug (input) | Wireblack | |
| 18 | Bridge white | Push/pull middle left lug | Wirewhite | |
| 19 | Bridge red | Push/pull middle left lugShares the lug with the bridge white lead. | Wirered | |
| 20 | Bridge black | Bridge volume left lug (input) | Wireblack | |
| 21 | Push/pull bottom left lug | Push/pull bottom right lug | Jumperblack |
What each position does
| Setting | The source | Engine result |
|---|---|---|
| Neck, knob down: full humbucker | — | Neck pickup (both coils). |
| Neck + bridge, knob down: both humbuckers | — | Neck pickup (both coils) and Bridge pickup (both coils) in parallel. |
| Bridge, knob down: full humbucker | — | Bridge pickup (both coils). |
| Neck, knob pulled: single coil | The neck red and white leads are wired to the bridge volume's push/pull. | Neck pickup (split to one coil). |
| Neck + bridge, knob pulled: both split | — | Neck pickup (split to one coil) and Bridge pickup (split to one coil) in parallel. |
| Bridge, knob pulled: single coil | Bridge push/pull coil split. | 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).
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 toggle position the meter across the jack reads the selected humbucker, or both in parallel in the middle.
- Knob up: each reading drops to roughly one coil's resistance, including the neck pickup.
- In the neck or bridge position, turning the selected pickup's volume to zero should read tip to sleeve as a short.
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.