Tinkercaster
Tonerider wiring

Two humbuckers, three-way toggle, two volumes and one tone

Two humbuckers · Three-way toggle · Two volumes · One tone

Neck and bridge four-conductor humbuckers, each through its own 500k volume, onto a three-way toggle, then a 500k master tone with a .022 µF capacitor on the way to the jack. 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 Pickup—Humbucker (four-conductor, DiMarzio colours)Generic
Bridge Pickup—Humbucker (four-conductor, DiMarzio colours)Generic
3-Way Toggle—Switchcraft 3-Way ToggleExample part
Neck Volume 500k500kCTS 500k Audio PotExample part
Bridge Volume 500k500kCTS 500k Audio PotExample part
Master Tone 500k500kCTS 500k Audio PotExample part
Output Jack—Switchcraft #11Example part
.022µfSource: .022µf capacitor (drawn orange)22nFOrange Drop .022µFExample 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

  • Black and white solder together: on each pickup, solder the black and white leads together and insulate the joint; it touches nothing else.
  • Legend: the ground symbol means Ground / Earth. The source marks both volume casings, the tone casing, the toggle frame and the jack sleeve with ground symbols; here they are all wired to the neck volume casing. That is a routing choice, not a required solder point.
  • The toggle tags are not labelled in the source, so they are mapped by what each does: the tag live in the neck position takes the neck volume, the tag live in the bridge position the bridge volume, and the middle tag is the output.
  • The source draws no bridge (string) ground wire.

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 greenNeck Volume casingTo a pot casinggreen
2Neck bare shieldNeck Volume casingShield or groundbare
3Bridge greenBridge Volume casingTo a pot casinggreen
4Bridge bare shieldBridge Volume casingShield or groundbare
5Neck Volume right lugNeck Volume casingShort black link.To a pot casing
6Bridge Volume right lugBridge Volume casingShort black link.To a pot casing
7.022µf capacitorMaster Tone casingTo a pot casing
8Toggle frame lugGround (Neck Volume casing)The source shows a ground symbol.To a pot casing
9Bridge Volume casingGround (Neck Volume casing)The source shows a ground symbol.To a pot casing
10Master Tone casingGround (Neck Volume casing)The source shows a ground symbol.To a pot casing
11Jack sleeveGround (Neck Volume casing)The source shows a ground symbol.Wire
12Neck Volume middle lugToggle neck lugWire
13Bridge Volume middle lugToggle bridge lugWire
14Toggle middle lugMaster Tone right lugWire
15Neck blackNeck whiteSoldered together and insulated.Joined and insulatedblack
16Neck redNeck Volume left lug (input)Wirered
17Bridge blackBridge whiteSoldered together and insulated.Joined and insulatedblack
18Bridge redBridge Volume left lug (input)Wirered
19Master Tone right lugJack tipWire
20Master Tone middle lug.022µf capacitorWire

What each position does

SettingThe sourceEngine result
NeckNeck pickup through the neck volume.Neck Pickup (both coils).
BothNeck and bridge together, each on its own volume.Neck Pickup (both coils) and Bridge Pickup (both coils) in parallel.
BridgeBridge pickup through the bridge volume.Bridge Pickup (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 the Tonerider humbuckers.
  • Pickup resistance is not specified, so no numeric meter readings are given.

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.
  • With both pickups selected, turning one volume fully down should mute the whole output: this is the usual behaviour of this layout.
  • Each taped black–white joint should read open 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.