Guitar with 1 pickup: minimal and clean scheme

If you are looking for a guitar wiring 1 pickup Clear and practical, you're in the right place. Here you'll find the diagram, explanations of the connections, and tips for avoiding common mistakes.

Introduction

This circuit is designed for minimalist guitars equipped with a single bridge pickup (commonly humbucker or P90) and a simplified control consisting of only one master volume and one master tone, excluding any selector.37

Wiring diagram

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Download the SVG diagram and use it as a reference while soldering. The star ground is the central point: all ground wires must converge there.

How to read the diagram

The circuit consists of a passive pickup, a logarithmic volume potentiometer (or if single-coil), a logarithmic or linear tone potentiometer (or ), and a capacitor.3 Observing the two potentiometers from below, positioned horizontally with the terminals facing downwards (Volume on the left, Tone on the right): the hot wire of the pickup is soldered to Terminal 1 of the Volume. Terminal 2 (center) of the Volume sends the signal to the output (jack tip). Terminal 3 (right) of the Volume is bent and soldered to ground on its own casing.4 A conductor connects Terminal 1 of the Volume to Terminal 1 of the Tone.33 The capacitor connects Terminal 2 of the Tone to the casing of the same potentiometer to complete the tone filter.33

Practical steps

• Prepare the components and check the values of potentiometers and capacitors.
• I soldered the hot wires following the diagram, avoiding unnecessary jumpers.
• Connect all the masses to the indicated star point.
• Check the continuity between the bridge, jack and potentiometer covers with a multimeter.
• Test the instrument and fix any buzzing.

Tips to avoid buzzing

Avoid the ground loopIf the potentiometers are on a common metal shield, do not solder ground wires between their caps. Use an open "C" or "horseshoe" path and connect each ground to the star center. For more information on modifications, see also guitar modification guide.

FAQ

Which potentiometers should I use?
It depends on the pickup: single-coil generally 250k, humbucker 500k, active 25k.

Can I use a different capacitor?
Yes, but the value changes the cutoff frequency of the tone. Higher = darker sound.

See also

• SG HH Wiring: Original Schematic Explained