Two P-Rails, three-way toggle, two push/pull volumes (split and coil select), two tones

Parts and values

“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

• CORRECTION TO THE PRINTED SHEET. The sheet draws the black lead leaving the neck pickup's cable into the 'Bridge volume' left lug, and the black lead leaving the bridge pickup's cable into the 'Neck volume' left lug. As drawn, pulling both push/pulls joins each pickup's red/white link to the OTHER pickup's hot, cross-coupling the two pickups (in toggle positions 1 and 3 both pickups play, out of phase), and in the other settings toggle position 1 plays the bridge pickup and position 3 the neck pickup. That contradicts the sheet's own legend. This diagram makes the smallest change that gives the legend's behaviour: the neck black goes to the neck volume's left lug and the bridge black to the bridge volume's left lug. Evidence: Seymour Duncan's 'P-Rails Wiring Explanation' sheet (WD_Prail_Explanation) marks each black as 'Neck pickup hot-output' / 'Bridge pickup hot-output' and says 'If your guitar has individual volume controls for each pickup, these connect to those volume controls.' Seymour Duncan's 2008 original and 2017 copy of this sheet draw the same crossed blacks; no corrected version has been published. Every other wire is transcribed as drawn.
• Source title: '2 P-RAILS | 2 VOLUMES push/pull coil split | 2 TONES | 3 WAY TOGGLE'.
• Push/pull switching explanation (printed): 'Bridge push/pull allows you to switch from humbucking to single-coil mode. Neck push/pull allows you to select P-90 coils or Rails coils (this switch functions only when the volume push/pull is UP).' Table: Bridge push/pull UP = 'Single-coil, tone push/pull is activated'; DOWN = 'Humbucker, tone push/pull does nothing'. Neck push/pull UP = 'P-90 coil'; DOWN = 'Rail coil'.
• Printed callouts: 'Red & white wires from both pickups get connected here' (the bridge volume push/pull's middle lugs) and 'Green & bare wires from both pickups get connected here' (the bridge volume Solder spot).
• Both pickups' red/white links go to the bridge push/pull's middle lugs (bridge left, neck right). Its top lugs run to the neck push/pull's middle lugs, crossed over: the bridge link reaches the neck push/pull's middle-right lug and the neck link its middle-left lug. The bottom row of the bridge push/pull is drawn empty.
• The neck push/pull's top-left lug is wired to the neck volume's left lug and its top-right lug to the bridge volume's left lug. Its bottom two lugs are jumpered and wired to the neck volume Solder spot.
• Which push/pull row is UP: the legend needs the bridge push/pull's wired (top) row for 'UP = Single-coil', since its bottom row is empty. The same row reading is used for the neck push/pull. With the corrected blacks, the neck push/pull UP joins each link to its own pickup's hot and DOWN grounds both links.
• Which P-Rails coil is which follows Seymour Duncan's P-Rails explanation sheet: link to the black (hot) leaves the P-90 coil; link to ground leaves the Rail coil.
• Each volume's left lug also feeds its own tone's left lug (tones drawn lugs up); each tone's middle lug feeds a .047 cap to its Solder spot. Toggle: bridge volume middle lug to one throw, neck volume middle lug to the other, middle lug to the jack tip, frame lug to the neck volume Solder spot.
• Ground: bridge volume Solder spot to bridge tone Solder spot to neck tone Solder spot to neck volume Solder spot; the bridge tone Solder spot also takes the 'Ground wire from bridge' and the jack sleeve. Each volume's right lug is drawn bent onto its casing.
• The toggle and push/pull lugs are not labelled on the sheet; they are mapped by what each does.
• Tip (hot output). Sleeve (ground): the inner, circular portion of the jack.

Connections

In soldering order: grounds first, then the switch, the pickups and the signal path.

What each position does

Checked with the Tinkercaster wiring engine against the switching the source describes.

• The circuit is corrected from the printed sheet: each pickup's black lead goes to its own volume instead of the other pickup's volume as drawn. The analysed results describe the corrected circuit, not the printed one.
• The push/pull rows are read with the top row as UP to match the printed legend; a push/pull that switches the other way would swap its UP and DOWN settings.
• The engine reports either P-Rails single-coil mode as a split; which coil is the P-90 and which the Rail follows Seymour Duncan's P-Rails explanation sheet and the stand-in's lead roles, not a measurement.
• Pickup resistance is not specified, so no numeric meter readings are given.

Before you solder

• Identify every lead on your pickups against the source's colours.
• CORRECTION TO THE PRINTED SHEET. The sheet draws the black lead leaving the neck pickup's cable into the 'Bridge volume' left lug, and the black lead leaving the bridge pickup's cable into the 'Neck volume' left lug. As drawn, pulling both push/pulls joins each pickup's red/white link to the OTHER pickup's hot, cross-coupling the two pickups (in toggle positions 1 and 3 both pickups play, out of phase), and in the other settings toggle position 1 plays the bridge pickup and position 3 the neck pickup. That contradicts the sheet's own legend. This diagram makes the smallest change that gives the legend's behaviour: the neck black goes to the neck volume's left lug and the bridge black to the bridge volume's left lug. Evidence: Seymour Duncan's 'P-Rails Wiring Explanation' sheet (WD_Prail_Explanation) marks each black as 'Neck pickup hot-output' / 'Bridge pickup hot-output' and says 'If your guitar has individual volume controls for each pickup, these connect to those volume controls.' Seymour Duncan's 2008 original and 2017 copy of this sheet draw the same crossed blacks; no corrected version has been published. Every other wire is transcribed as drawn.
• Source title: '2 P-RAILS | 2 VOLUMES push/pull coil split | 2 TONES | 3 WAY TOGGLE'.
• Push/pull switching explanation (printed): 'Bridge push/pull allows you to switch from humbucking to single-coil mode. Neck push/pull allows you to select P-90 coils or Rails coils (this switch functions only when the volume push/pull is UP).' Table: Bridge push/pull UP = 'Single-coil, tone push/pull is activated'; DOWN = 'Humbucker, tone push/pull does nothing'. Neck push/pull UP = 'P-90 coil'; DOWN = 'Rail coil'.
• Printed callouts: 'Red & white wires from both pickups get connected here' (the bridge volume push/pull's middle lugs) and 'Green & bare wires from both pickups get connected here' (the bridge volume Solder spot).
• Both pickups' red/white links go to the bridge push/pull's middle lugs (bridge left, neck right). Its top lugs run to the neck push/pull's middle lugs, crossed over: the bridge link reaches the neck push/pull's middle-right lug and the neck link its middle-left lug. The bottom row of the bridge push/pull is drawn empty.
• The neck push/pull's top-left lug is wired to the neck volume's left lug and its top-right lug to the bridge volume's left lug. Its bottom two lugs are jumpered and wired to the neck volume Solder spot.
• Which push/pull row is UP: the legend needs the bridge push/pull's wired (top) row for 'UP = Single-coil', since its bottom row is empty. The same row reading is used for the neck push/pull. With the corrected blacks, the neck push/pull UP joins each link to its own pickup's hot and DOWN grounds both links.
• Which P-Rails coil is which follows Seymour Duncan's P-Rails explanation sheet: link to the black (hot) leaves the P-90 coil; link to ground leaves the Rail coil.
• Each volume's left lug also feeds its own tone's left lug (tones drawn lugs up); each tone's middle lug feeds a .047 cap to its Solder spot. Toggle: bridge volume middle lug to one throw, neck volume middle lug to the other, middle lug to the jack tip, frame lug to the neck volume Solder spot.
• Ground: bridge volume Solder spot to bridge tone Solder spot to neck tone Solder spot to neck volume Solder spot; the bridge tone Solder spot also takes the 'Ground wire from bridge' and the jack sleeve. Each volume's right lug is drawn bent onto its casing.
• The toggle and push/pull lugs are not labelled on the sheet; they are mapped by what each does.
• Tip (hot output). Sleeve (ground): the inner, circular portion of the jack.
• Use a small amount of solder, heat both surfaces, and hold the joint still as it cools. Lead-free solder may have a matte finish.

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

• Before fitting, confirm each pickup's black lead lands on its OWN volume's left lug (the printed sheet has them crossed).
• Bridge push/pull down: the toggle gives neck humbucker, both, bridge humbucker; the neck push/pull changes nothing.
• Bridge push/pull up: each pickup reads one coil; flipping the neck push/pull switches both pickups between the P-90 coils (up) and the Rail coils (down).

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.