Tinkercaster
Parts and values
| In the drawing | Value | Part |
|---|---|---|
| Neck mini-humbuckerSource: Neck Pickup (mini-humbucker) | — | Humbucker (four-conductor, Seymour Duncan colours)Generic |
| Bridge mini-humbuckerSource: Bridge Pickup (mini-humbucker) | — | Humbucker (four-conductor, Seymour Duncan colours)Generic |
| 3-way toggleSource: 3-Way Toggle | — | Switchcraft 3-Way ToggleExample part |
| Bridge volume 500k | 500k | CTS 500k Audio PotExample part |
| Neck volume 500k | 500k | CTS 500k Audio PotExample part |
| Bridge tone 500k | 500k | CTS 500k Audio PotExample part |
| Neck tone 500k | 500k | CTS 500k Audio PotExample part |
| .047 cap (bridge)Source: .047 cap on the bridge tone (drawn green) | 47nF | Orange Drop .047µFExample part |
| .047 cap (neck)Source: .047 cap on the neck tone (drawn green) | 47nF | Orange Drop .047µFExample 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
- On each pickup, the red and white leads are joined and taped off.
- Each pickup's green and bare leads go to its own volume casing; the black lead goes to that volume's left lug, which is also wired down to the matching tone's left lug.
- The toggle frame lug goes to the bridge volume casing. Each volume casing is linked to its tone casing, and the two tone casings are linked.
- The bridge ground wire and the jack sleeve both end on the bridge tone casing.
- The source's inset 'For single-conductor humbuckers' says: the outer, braided shield-wire must be connected to ground (it may be soldered directly to the back of the volume pot, or to the ground terminal of the 3-way switch); the inner, black cloth wire is the hot output and connects to the 3-way switch. The main drawing shows four-conductor leads.
- 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.
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 | Neck volume casingDrawn grey beside the green. | Shield or groundbare | |
| 3 | Bridge green | Bridge volume casingThe sheet's 'Bare' and 'Green' labels sit beside these two leads; both end on the same Solder spot. | To a pot casinggreen | |
| 4 | Bridge bare | Bridge volume casingDrawn grey beside the green. | Shield or groundbare | |
| 5 | Bridge volume right lug | Bridge volume casingLug bent onto the lower Solder spot. | To a pot casing | |
| 6 | Bridge .047 cap | Bridge tone casing | To a pot casing | |
| 7 | Bridge volume casing | Bridge tone casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 8 | Neck volume right lug | Neck volume casingLug bent onto the lower Solder spot. | To a pot casing | |
| 9 | Neck .047 cap | Neck tone casing | To a pot casing | |
| 10 | Neck volume casing | Neck tone casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 11 | Bridge tone casing | Neck tone casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 12 | Toggle frame lug | Bridge volume casing | To a pot casingblack | |
| 13 | Bridge tone casing | Jack sleeve | Wireblack | |
| 14 | Bridge ground wire | Bridge tone casing | Shield or groundblack | |
| 15 | Bridge volume middle lug | Toggle bridge lug | Wireblack | |
| 16 | Neck volume middle lug | Toggle neck lug | Wireblack | |
| 17 | Toggle middle lug | Jack tip | Wireblack | |
| 18 | Neck red | Neck whiteSoldered together and taped off. | Joined and insulatedred | |
| 19 | Neck black | Neck volume left lug (input) | Wireblack | |
| 20 | Bridge red | Bridge whiteSoldered together and taped off. | Joined and insulatedred | |
| 21 | Bridge black | Bridge volume left lug (input) | Wireblack | |
| 22 | Bridge volume left lug | Bridge tone left lug | Wireblack | |
| 23 | Bridge tone middle lug | Bridge .047 cap | Wire | |
| 24 | Neck volume left lug | Neck tone left lug | Wireblack | |
| 25 | Neck tone middle lug | Neck .047 cap | Wire |
What each position does
| Setting | The source | Engine result |
|---|---|---|
| Rhythm (neck) | Neck pickup through the neck volume and tone. | Neck mini-humbucker (both coils). |
| Both | Neck and bridge together, each through its own volume and tone. | Neck mini-humbucker (both coils) and Bridge mini-humbucker (both coils) in parallel. |
| Treble (bridge) | Bridge pickup through the bridge volume and tone. | Bridge mini-humbucker (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 mini-humbucker.
- Pickup resistance is not specified, so no numeric meter readings are given.
- The single-conductor alternative in the source inset is not simulated.
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 toggle position, the meter across the jack should read the selected pickup, or both in parallel in the middle.
- Each taped red–white joint should read open to ground.
- 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.