# Seymour Duncan Music Man three-way wiring explained

Canonical page: https://guitarwiring.app/wiring-guides/seymour-duncan/music-man-three-way-wiring

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

Applies to: The WD_MM_3B replacement circuit, not a universal map for every Music Man, StingRay or Sterling bass.

## Three positions, one pickup

The source labels position 1 parallel, position 2 split and position 3 series. Parallel uses both coils side by side; series joins them in a chain. The middle is the source’s split arrangement.

A 3.3 kΩ resistor bridges two switch terminals. Preserve it when reproducing this circuit. Do not replace it with a generic hard-split circuit or infer exact noise and output performance from the word “split”.



## Follow the blade switch

In the source orientation, the upper row receives white at its first terminal and green plus bare at its second, with that second terminal grounded. A 3.3 kΩ resistor bridges upper third and fourth.

The lower row has black at its first terminal and red at its fourth. A jumper joins lower third to upper fourth. Output joins black and goes to the preamp’s gray wire, as labelled by this source. Switch layouts and preamp colours are not universal.



## Two-coil and three-coil versions differ

The sheet warns that a stock pickup with a third coil underneath needs the corresponding three-coil replacement. A standard two-coil pickup is not a drop-in substitute.

Its examples mention Sterling and certain five-string StingRay instruments. Identify the actual electronics revision rather than deciding from name or age alone.



## Before replacing anything

Confirm the original coil arrangement, blade contact map and preamp lead identification. This guide explains the sheet; it is not a verified native simulation of the preamp.



Sources: WD_MM_3B. https://www.seymourduncan.com/resources/pickup/wiring-diagrams

Independent explanation by Tinkercaster; not endorsed by Seymour Duncan.