Tinkercaster
Tonerider wiring

Tele with a neck humbucker and a Tele bridge pickup

One humbucker · One single coil · Three-way blade · One volume · One tone

Tonerider's Humbucker + Tele Bridge harness: a four-conductor neck humbucker and a Tele bridge single coil on a three-way blade, one 250k volume and one 250k tone with a .022 µF capacitor. The middle position runs both pickups in parallel.

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Viewed from the back of the controls, as you solder them. Select a component to move, rotate or flip it. Follow wires and try the switches in simulation mode. Use Full screen for a closer look.

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Parts and values

In the drawingValuePart
Neck humbuckerSource: Neck Pickup (humbucker: green, red, black, white, bare)—Humbucker (four-conductor, DiMarzio colours)Generic
Bridge pickupSource: Bridge Pickup (Tele bridge, white and black leads)—Single-coil pickup (two-conductor)Generic
3-Way SwitchSource: 3-way blade (offset lugs)—CRL 3-Way BladeExample part
Volume 250k250kCTS 250k Audio PotExample part
Tone 250k250kCTS 250k Audio PotExample part
.022 capSource: .022µf cap (drawn orange)22nFOrange Drop .022µFExample part
Output JackSource: Output jack—Switchcraft #11Example part
From Bridge Ground—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

  • Black and White Wires Solder Together: the neck humbucker's black and white leads are joined and touch nothing else.
  • The neck humbucker's green lead goes to the switch's top-right lug; its red and bare leads go to the solder spot on the volume casing. This is drawn as printed on this sheet.
  • The bridge pickup's white lead goes to the switch's bottom-left lug; its black lead goes to the volume casing solder spot, together with the wire 'From Bridge Ground'.
  • Three short jumpers join four of the other switch lugs into one output, which runs to the volume's input lug. Two lugs stay empty.
  • The source does not number the switch positions; the lugs are mapped by what they do (neck, both, bridge).
  • The capacitor drawn on the tone is printed .022µf.

Connections

In soldering order: grounds first, then the switch, the pickups and the signal path. Choose Show to highlight a connection in the drawing.

#FromToHow
1Neck greenSwitch top-right lug (common)Wiregreen
2Neck redVolume casingTo a pot casingred
3Bridge blackVolume casingTo a pot casingblack
4From Bridge GroundVolume casingShield or groundblack
5Volume right lugVolume casingLug bent onto the casing.To a pot casing
6.022µf capTone casingTo a pot casing
7Tone casingJack sleeveWireblack
8Volume casingTone casingRuns from the volume's bent-over lug down the right side.To a pot casingblack
9Neck bareVolume casingShield or groundbare
10Bridge whiteSwitch bottom-left lug (common)Wirewhite
11Switch top-left lugSwitch second left lugJumperblack
12Switch second left lugSwitch third right lugJumperblack
13Switch third right lugSwitch bottom-right lugJumperblack
14Switch bottom-right lugVolume left lug (input)Wireblack
15Neck blackNeck whiteSoldered together and insulated; touches nothing else.Joined and insulatedblack
16Volume middle lugJack tipWirewhite
17Volume left lugTone left lugWireblack
18Tone middle lug.022µf capWire

What each position does

SettingThe sourceEngine result
Neck—Neck humbucker (both coils).
Neck + bridge—Neck humbucker (both coils) and Bridge pickup in parallel.
Bridge—Bridge pickup.

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

  • Pickup resistance and magnet polarity are not specified, so no numeric meter readings or hum-cancelling claims are given.
  • The sheet wires the humbucker's green lead as hot and red to ground. By lead direction alone the simulator reports the middle position as out of phase; the real result depends on the magnet polarity of the pickups used, which the source does not give.

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 blade position, the meter across the jack should read the selected pickup, or both in parallel in the middle.
  • With the volume at zero, tip and sleeve should read 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.