Guitar pickup wire colours and formats

Here's a quick look at the wiring colours and formats of a few pickups. I was prompted to do this as a few customers were a bit confused as to how to wire pickups, as the combination of wire colours and type of wire isn't always clear how they should be installed. This isn't meant to be a comprehensive guide, but I hope it may help people to get a bit more familiar with the basic variations.
www.chickenbonejohn.com

[@345builderman345]

Thanks for the video John. I got confused at 44 seconds when you said there was just a red and black wire as I could see a grey one. I put my glasses on and realised it was a shadow.

[@oneszeros1]

Finally a video where all pickup wiring combos are explained rather than a one trick pony vid - Legend 👍 Looking at a Gold Foil Teisco style to whack on a Gretsch Jim Dandy parlor and the 2 conductor + shield part (I.e., 3 wire) was doing my head in prior to finding this! So concise - one conductor is simply a ground which is joined to shield/ground. Cheers Mate - Convict from deep South of the pond subbed :)

[@robwestify]

Thanks for this vid, John! I've got four soap-bar pickups for an unusual project, and this has clarified things nicely!

[@bendickens5975]

Wildly useful. I was having a hard time figuring out the 5 conductor humbucker. Thank you so much!

[@ChickenboneJohn]

Glad it helped!

[@AlexDMC]

Extremely well done video

[@BurrellGuitars]

This is super useful information John! Helped me work through an issue the minute you discussed the 5-wire humbucker. Thanks! Rock on!

[@alastairmacdonald6794]

Excellent helpful video , Sunday afternoon doing my first soldering and pickup change ever and three different pickups , 80s Japanese pickup with shielding plus red and white was confusing but you've helped me out a lot ... thanks

[@lesterli3043]

This is so helpful and informative, thank you!

[@Gary-vl5ec]

Great video John, love the clarity, hope to see you at Bostock. Gary/Coventry “ White cane”.

[@MediaBelajarKita]

great video thank you .. :)

[@noname1st139]

Hi there, I'm trying to replace a like for like wire in a copy strat (honor), it's a regular looking stranded wire only it has a really thin plastic shielded solid wire running through the 1 wire also, I've looked Everywhere, I can find the same wire but 1 of the wires is not solid,both stranded, any ideas on what it's called? I was hoping this video would have them, thanks in advance feel free to leave alternative suggestions if you know what I'm talking about ha ha 👍

[@ChickenboneJohn]

Any shielded wire will do, it won't make any difference to the performance or sound of the guitar. I don't like solid wire as it is more prone to breaking than stranded wire if it is bent.

[@noname1st139]

@@ChickenboneJohn hi there, thanks for getting back to me, I don't think they make that wire anymore as I have asked a guitar parts website ,he said we haven't stocked that for years, he also suggested what you said, or run 2 separate ones failing option A,👍

[@stewarttomkinson3356]

I bought a pair of Wilkinson P 90s they have one wire coming out at the end of it. They have a black and white wire. They said the white wire is hot but when I wired it up I get no sound

[@ChickenboneJohn]

White to hot, black to ground and not working? Have you checked everything else - lead, amp and everything else in your wiring?

[@stewarttomkinson3356]

@@ChickenboneJohn yeah I’m gonna just order a pre-wire harness that I only have to solder the ground wires to the pot and the hot wires to the switch

[@laucan4821]

My single coil (Ibanez) have 3 wire, red is ground white is hot

[@Chaplin835]

🗿🏝