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 Switch | — | Switchcraft 3-Way ToggleExample part |
| Bridge volume 500kSource: Bridge Volume 500k | 500k | CTS 500k Audio PotExample part |
| Neck volume 500kSource: Neck Volume 500k | 500k | CTS 500k Audio PotExample part |
| Output jackSource: Output Jack | — | Switchcraft #11Example part |
| Bridge groundSource: Bridge Ground Wire | — | Bridge ground wireGeneric |
| Master tone 500k push/pullSource: Master Tone 500k (push/pull Split) | 500k | 500k Push-Pull DPDTExample part |
| .047 capSource: .047 cap (drawn green) | 47nF | Orange Drop .047µFExample part |
“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 says the tone's push/pull split splits both pickups.
- Each pickup's red and white leads are soldered together onto one middle lug of the tone's switch, not taped off: bridge on the left column, neck on the right.
- The two switch lugs in the row nearest the pot are jumpered together and wired to the tone casing; the row furthest from the pot stays empty.
- The master tone takes its signal from the jack tip, after the toggle.
- The bridge ground wire and the toggle's frame lug end on the neck volume casing; the jack sleeve ends on the tone casing.
- Solder = 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 | Neck volume casing | To a pot casinggreen | |
| 2 | Neck bare shield | Neck volume casingDrawn grey beside the green. | Shield or groundbare | |
| 3 | Bridge green | Bridge volume casing | To a pot casinggreen | |
| 4 | Bridge bare shield | Bridge volume casingDrawn grey beside the green. | Shield or groundbare | |
| 5 | Bridge volume right lug | Bridge volume casingLug bent onto the casing. | To a pot casing | |
| 6 | Neck volume right lug | Neck volume casingLug bent onto the casing. | To a pot casing | |
| 7 | Toggle top lug | Neck volume casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 8 | Bridge volume casing | Neck volume casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 9 | Bridge ground wire | Neck volume casing | Wireblack | |
| 10 | Neck volume casing | Tone casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 11 | Tone casing | Jack sleeve | Wireblack | |
| 12 | .047 cap | Tone casing | To a pot casing | |
| 13 | Split switch left lug nearest the pot | Tone casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 14 | Bridge volume middle lug | Toggle bridge lug | Wireblack | |
| 15 | Neck volume middle lug | Toggle neck lug | Wireblack | |
| 16 | Toggle middle lug | Jack tip | Wireblack | |
| 17 | Neck black | Neck volume left lug (input) | Wireblack | |
| 18 | Neck white | Split switch right middle lug | Wirewhite | |
| 19 | Neck red | Split switch right middle lugShares the lug with the neck white. | Wirered | |
| 20 | Bridge black | Bridge volume left lug (input) | Wireblack | |
| 21 | Bridge white | Split switch left middle lug | Wirewhite | |
| 22 | Bridge red | Split switch left middle lugShares the lug with the bridge white. | Wirered | |
| 23 | Tone left lug | Jack tip | Wireblack | |
| 24 | Tone middle lug | .047 cap | Wire | |
| 25 | Split switch left lug nearest the pot | Split switch right lug nearest the potShort jumper along the row nearest the pot. | Wireblack |
What each position does
| Setting | The source | Engine result |
|---|---|---|
| Neck, knob down: full humbucker | — | Neck pickup (both coils). |
| Both, 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 tone's push/pull splits both pickups. | Neck pickup (split to one coil). |
| Both, knob pulled: both split | The tone's push/pull splits both pickups. | Neck pickup (split to one coil) and Bridge pickup (split to one coil) in parallel. |
| Bridge, knob pulled: single coil | The tone's push/pull splits both pickups. | 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
- Tone knob down: in each toggle position the meter across the jack reads the selected humbucker, or both in parallel in the middle.
- Tone knob up: each reading drops to roughly one coil's resistance.
- With a volume at zero, its pickup's black lead reads as a short to ground.
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.