Tinkercaster
Seymour Duncan · Wiring guides

Understand the wires.
Then make the connection.

A practical companion to your wiring diagram. Learn what the colors mean, what the switches connect, and where each modification belongs.

Start with the parts

Learn the wire colours and the switch contacts before choosing a modification.

Seymour Duncan humbucker wire colors

See the pickup, recognise its two halves, and learn where each coloured wire goes.

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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.

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Choose a modification

See what changes, which parts it needs, and where it belongs in a complete circuit.

Seymour Duncan coil splitting explained

A humbucker has two coils. See how a switch lets you use just one of them.

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Seymour Duncan series, split and parallel wiring

Two coils can work in a chain, side by side, or one at a time. See the difference before choosing a switch.

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Seymour Duncan phase reversal explained

See what swapping two pickup wires changes when you play two pickups together.

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Seymour Duncan single-coil and Tele phase reversal

Swap the coil connections while keeping metal parts and the guitar strings grounded.

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Seymour Duncan phase switching with coil split or parallel

Two switches interact. See what changes when coil selection and phase reversal share a pickup.

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Understanding the Seymour Duncan kill switch

A kill switch silences the guitar without turning down the volume. Follow the signal from pickup to cable.

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Seymour Duncan active/passive preamp bypass explained

Choose between the pickup signal and the preamp output. See what the switch actually bypasses.

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Understand a specific conversion

These arrangements depend on the exact pickup and switch. Start with their compatibility notes.

Seymour Duncan Music Man three-way wiring explained

Read the parallel, split and series positions, and check that the replacement pickup matches the bass.

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Seymour Duncan PRS-type five-way rotary conversion

See the five pickup combinations and why this conversion calls for a bridge magnet reversal.

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Ready for the complete circuit?

These guides explain individual techniques. Use a complete diagram to place them in your guitar’s signal and ground paths.

Browse Seymour Duncan diagrams →

Independent explanations by Tinkercaster, based on Seymour Duncan’s reference sheets. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Seymour Duncan.