The Best Wiring Scheme For Your Guitar || Tone Lab

Today we look at some of the most common guitar wiring types and figure out which one will match your guitar the best.
Pickups Used:
Standard Wiring - Tone Specific Twangy
Treble Bleed - Tone Specific Jazzy
50s Les Paul - Tone Specific Blues
Greasebucket - Tone Specific Punchy
Video sponsored by Tone Specific
www.tonespecific.com
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[@hearpalhere]

I really enjoyed this video, thanks! You did a good job of explaining the pros & cons. The more I learn about these kinds of modifications, the more I can see that there is no single best way... it's really variable. Thanks!

[@hybridnoisebloom]

Great explanation of the 50s Gibson style wiring. It probably makes sense for me to do it that way because I don't use the tone knob a whole lot, so rolling the volume won't mess with the tone setting so much. Thanks!

[@offdutyjie]

This was really great Jay! Thanks for the explaination! I really actually liked the 50s Les Paul and the Greasebucket at the end there. Its pretty awesome to know that your main go to Blue Tele has the Greasebucket control wiring as well! Keep up your videos man! You really should have more subscribers man - your videos are top notch along with your playing!

[@JayLeonardJ]

Really appreciate it, thanks!

[@simonmcc3608]

Amazing video! So helpful and well presented. 🙏

[@nmonye01]

The kind of wiring scheme one uses is an underrated part of the guitar. Great video.

[@umangu]

Your playing is incredible and you explained it so well man, thanks! It's so evident that the guitar and tone are inspiring you to play what you're playing.

[@rexturner8208]

Just converted my Korean Strat from single coils to DiMarzio Cruisers with treble bleed ala Andy Timmons. Love his tone. Thanks for this rundown.

[@ericsell9469]

Love these! I would like to see one with all the Strat wiring options....might be several hours long, but I'd watch till the end!

[@ForViewingOnly]

Great stuff, Jay. I'll be coming back to this video for sure. A reference for future tinkering!

[@jackiedixon5076]

Please, Capacitor for great traditional blues tone. Think Bb King. Please do a video.

[@lennyluzitano8920]

love your guitar playing dude.... so proud of you young man..... i am 66 years old..... you are so young and have great blues, jazz, and rock style fuzed together..... God has blessed you with great talent and woderful personality

[@JayLeonardJ]

Thanks so much

[@greg4673]

Good video Jay. Not too techy and with quick and dirty audio samples and very nice graphics. All and all great vid. Thanks.

[@MrTurtleywasted]

1st time DIY wiring and the video like this one is really helpful. Thank you Jay

[@juddalexander5642]

Killer!. I'd love to see more of this type of info. I find it all interesting and useful. Thanks for doing these.

[@JayLeonardJ]

Thanks so much. These specialized videos are always really fun to make :)

[@jerryrussell2600]

He has other videos on pickups that include dome free downloads of PDF of schematics for wiring SSS, HSS, HHH pickup configurations.

[@TheChadPad]

Great video! Very informative and concise, even with all that you had to cover. I just had a 50s style mod done to my Flying V. Very very pleased with the result. It sounds clearer and more dynamic overall. I'm not sure if it's the same way a Les Paul was wired in the 50s, but mine is now wired like the original V's were

[@SFCUSA]

Awesome guitar playing!

[@aidanduncan8187]

Amazing Video Jay, I had a greasebucket in an am special tele I had. I found that with lots of gain it was very bright a=even all the way down. This was great to know as I'm looking to do a 4-way mod in a new tele and will probably try the 50s wiring this time. Thanks man :-)

[@alsilverman5084]

Wow this was a terrific and helpful video. Thanks!

[@jimmyfavereau]

excellent presentation and some snappy licks :D thanks Jay !

[@JayLeonardJ]

Thanks!

[@guascamsb8138]

Thank you very much for this video, it was very enlightening and helpful, I learned a lot.

[@taokichavez9319]

really nice video, thanks for going over the wiring schemes, would love to see more maybe focused for metal players or high distortion

[@victorpascali5983]

Oh my gosh, between this and the other video you did with your other Tele's this is friggin awesome!!! Thank you. I have 3 Teles and Im gonna hot rod them with these little tricks!! Thank you again. I'll hit up your Patreon to show my appreciation !!

[@JayLeonardJ]

Thanks so much! Always great to have another Tele Fanatic on the team. Feel free to hit me up anytime if you have and tone questions or mod tips :)

[@bbowman7260]

NIce , informative video. Would like some guidance on Resistor and Cap values. Love the demos!

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

Cool sounds, I have the same Tele with "Texas Specials" and when I turn down the volume it sounds the same only quieter. I believe the standars wiring is still the most usable after (like you) having tried every mod known and not known with caps of all kinds. Best Tone I ever heard was an Esquire with a .050mf wax /paper cap, in a Fender every tiny little change can alter the tone, even the thickness of the wires used for the pots/switches...super sensitive. Keep up the sterling work!

[@tanguydelooz2881]

Super sharp info thanks !! I was looking for info pullpush wiring for strat pickups in series for some boost in solos or humbeckertype sound.

[@MrAmer532]

Great video! Very helpful

[@JayLeonardJ]

Thanks!

[@bernhardnizynski4403]

Standard wiring for me. Nice playing by the way!

[@adityapurwanegara8292]

Thank you for the video Jay, i'm going with grease bucket after this as i play a lot with tone knob

[@JayLeonardJ]

Hope you like the set up!

[@soundknight]

That blue Tele! Scrumptious!

[@sglee4708]

I wish I would have seen your video first instead of all the other ones I've watched it was very informative thank you

[@smokepeddler]

You can custom load any pot to any resistance by soldering a resitor to the outside lugs. Example: 500k pot with 1 meg resistor + lead on lug 1 ~ lead on lug 3 = approx 340k .

[@Jakexx01]

Great video and playing as well. I'm building a 3 pickup single coil guitar consisting of a no-caster bridge and two Strat pups, middle and neck. I am wiring it with a Dave Gilmore 7-way (w/mini toggle) circuit along with a treble bleed mod. Thanks for the explanation of the table bleed. I really liked the treble bleed on your Tele with the Bigsby bridge. You helped steer me towards which style treble bleed design to start with. I may have to play with the component values to tweak it to fit my taste, but that's always been a given. 👍

[@JayLeonardJ]

Thanks for writing. Hope you find the magic combo for your project!

[@normladuke8462]

Great explanation, and nice playing.

[@soundknight]

Thanks for this, great informative video

[@jc6721]

Great video! I know this one is a couple of years old but I'd like to see a similar video discuss the differences in 3 way, 4 way and 5 way switches on a Tele. I have always been a strat player and I just started getting into tele's and had no idea they even had 4 and 5 way switches with just 2 pickups. Mind was blown! And now I am obsessed with how versatile and simplistic a Tele can be all at the same time!

[@smokepeddler]

4 way and 3 way have individual lugs for each position. Standard 5 way has 3 lugs. Pos 4 and 2 share lugs. Super 5 way has a double set of lugs for each position.

[@LenLochmiller]

stock tbx tone vs tbx mod. I enjoy your content and appreciate your channel

[@charles-ul9uo]

good stuff jay. this should be a book.

[@briandietrich1373]

Thank you and great playing!

[@raulgrangeiro]

Nice, I liked 50’s Les Paul wiring

[@charlescampbell9267]

Thank you for the explication of how different treble bleed circuits affect the treble/ volume relation. I’ve been looking for that info!

[@redelk2974]

this helped me. thank you.

[@cjaquilino]

Good video. One thing I thought you might mention was the Passive Treble Bass system that G&L uses. Though I know it's just a high pass filter.

[@ericcarpenter3263]

Awesome man. Thanks. I kept hear about Grease Bucket and thought it would be cool, but I keep tone on 10 and use volume to control how dirty or clean the sound is.... gonna try that 50s Les Paul wiring on a guitar. Got a LP Special that would be great for that.

[@JayLeonardJ]

Ooh, you'll love it. It's a fun mod for for anyone that keeps that tone at 10.

[@stevenb.9839]

Thx Jay you're doing great ... PRS wiring schematics would be great to demystified, how do they wire on a 5 way switch/ superswitch etc. ... respect the living

[@franky5441]

Very interesting info.I love to see a wiring for a hamer slammer archtop guitar with two humbuckers combined with a volume control and two tone controls.

[@danmontgomery.]

Awesome info Jay. Have you ever checked out the Peavey T60/T40's tone & volume circuits ? They did some pretty cool stuff.

[@brianroossien1]

I would love to see more videos like these. I think more people could benefit to understand how much simple mods on the guitar can contribute to your playing and finding 'your' tone. I have a simple treble bleed on an LP, Duncan on a Jazzmaster (with strat pickups) and a I have a Warmoth Mooncaster that I did a master Volume with a simple circuit but Duncan bleeds on the volume of neck and bridge pickups. I would like to see videos like this maybe on series/parallel and jimmy page wiring. I think those are two interesting and common ones others would enjoy as well.

[@JayLeonardJ]

Great idea. Series/Parallel and Phase circuits were on the original plan for this vid, but then it would have been 30 minutes long, haha.

[@brianroossien1]

JayLeonardJ Still would have watched ;)

[@elonmush4793]

high quality pots, a treble bleed capacitor (maybe combined with a resistor), well set up pickups and changing the tone pot capacitor so that it doesn't cut all the highs and mids 👍

[@FRETW1ZARD]

This video is great, thank you so much. I do have a question though: Are any of these mods NOT compatible with a no-load tone pot?

[@hugooliveira1020]

Amazing content, thanks for share!

[@JayLeonardJ]

Thanks!

[@jodysanders1111]

I learn something new every time I watch one of your videos. You keep it interesting and fun to learn all sorts of different things. Great video once again. Thanks for the knowledge share.

[@jimiwills]

Grease pot looks/sounds lovely. I'm gonna try it in the 50s position on my lp. My other two knobs will be coil split blending.

[@JamesMc2]

Man, that Grease Bucket tone control set to zero sound you got is exactly what I strive for when choosing pot/cap values! …when it’s right there’s something “magical” happening in the mids, to me…. Thanks for the info!

[@tomaskey6844]

Very good information and excellent presentation. Clearly this was not meant to be an in depth step by step guide but rather was a primer on the subject. Was sad to see another reviewer didn't catch that aspect. This was a very good way to help me choose which way I want to go with modding my new Fender Player. First mod(electronically), will be to change to Master Volume, Master Tone, and a blender pot on bridge and middle PU's. Then I want to get a 6 position rotary switch and try things like various tone bleed values or whatever else I can think of. Thanks for sharing, I'm going to subscribe.

[@JayLeonardJ]

I've had lots of fun with fixed caps in a rotary switch. Really brings out a cool character in the tone, especially as the values get lower.

[@tomaskey6844]

@@JayLeonardJ did you use caps only? How about caps with resistors also? I'm excited to try different combinations. Personally I think people replace PU's to soon in their pursuit of tone. I don't care if they hang PU's, I'm just making the point that there are other ways to go. Using a rotary switch gives more options faster than changing PU's. Hoping my blender pot will be in this week. Still have not ordered the rotary switch. Need to get on that!

[@flatroc1]

Great video. We need this info. You got any thoughts on the neck/bridge bleed pot on a strat ? I'm trying to figure out how to do this and have the neck by-pass the tone knob and only control mid and bridge. Chow

[@benjaminking3677]

I’d love to hear about series/parallel as well as in-phase/out-of-phase!

[@TheFarout69]

Check out the Dan Armstrong article... "A More Versatile Strat" It's somewhere on the internet. His mod does all those tricks with only a blender pot. It's drawn for S/S/S but it could be used on a H/S as well if the humbucker is 4 wire.

[@mihailmilev9909]

@@TheFarout69 wow really how?

[@terrymiller111]

Wonderful playing. And I am not a Tele guy. But you are very persuasive.

[@matiasmiguel6209]

great video!

[@drewg3087]

For me the 50s wiring just sounds incredible. I like the fullness of the tone and able to add a little more trouble if needed. I have it in my list Paul Junior and Gibson Les Paul so maybe I’m biased but I think I’m gonna stick with the 50s wiring for my telly, but the grease bucket is very tempting, and it’ll be cool to have a different wiring for a different guitar.

[@78tag]

Sorry about the late response, I just saw this video and sub'd. Have you ever done a walk-thru of the 345 stereo/varitone circuit? I sure could use a thorough explanation of the interaction between the p/u's and the vol/tone controls? I think the LP's used the same wiring scheme (except for the varitone). It isn't the typical interplay you would expect from the standard controls. Thanks for your hard work here either way.

[@1mdlmusic]

My favorite mod for a 2 pickup guitar is one volume control for each pu, no tone knob, and no selector switch. This allows for a nearly infinite number of tones by mixing trebley bridge pu sounds with bassier neck pu sounds.

[@jakefromstatefarm4771]

interesting

[@mihailmilev9909]

why not more tone knobs?

[@1mdlmusic]

@@mihailmilev9909 Don’t need them. I’m already confused by 2 knobs, so why add more…

[@kariabspoel2483]

Been putting off trying the 50s wiring on my les paul deluxe for no good reason... time to step up - your explanation confirmed how it could be my thing. Might also swap out the volume pots (current 300k into 250k) to tame some of the highs from the mini humbuckers, which are treblier than my strat or tele , oddly enough. Thanks for making this clear and informative!

[@JayLeonardJ]

You got and and good luck. Hope you enjoy the 50s mod: It really is great for opening up those Gibson style guitars.

[@kariabspoel2483]

JayLeonardJ finally got the rewiring done and I could not be happier! The range of usable tones is massively expanded and now I have a sense of dynamic range that I never had on a les paul before (something I”d been missing as a strat player). Everyone needs to try which is the best option for their style, and the modern wiring was simply not doing much for me, and get their guitars a new on life! Thanks again for making this video

[@richsackett3423]

Oh. The greasebucket is a treble bleed for the tone knob. Now I get it. I have you to thank for the lightbulb over my head right now.

[@CliffHawkins]

Cool video to introduce the wiring... only thing it missed was the cap and resistor values - they make a huge difference to the sound.

[@JayLeonardJ]

Very true!!! That is definitely a topic that needs it's own video :) Thanks for writing

[@MsPedro444]

hi ! Great video and Great explanation of the subject . I would like to ask if is posible or factible to Install a single coil pickup and a single coil size humbucker pickup next to each other in the same position like for example in the neck , could this setup couse any dramatic noise becouse of the magnets next to each other ?? . i wonder because i am about to make a custom guitar and i like the sound of a single coil from suhr on the neck but at the same time i like the sound of a twinblade from kiesel but i dont like the sound of a humbucker with push-pull System that converts the humbucker pickup in a single coil it is just not enough for me . i hope you can help me with this thanks lml .

[@catchafire3509]

Love you're playing

[@Pauly421]

Saw you're using Reaper. Instantly subbed haha.

[@51MontyPython]

I have spent the last several days doing nothing but trying to research and understand how guitar circuits work, to no avail. It's been a total waste of time, _not_ because I'm not intelligent enough to understand, but because I can find literally _no_ resources out there that actually explain this (like, at _all,_ let alone sufficiently), _particularly_ how the circuit works with respect to the tone pot(s) -- how and where the signal is actually flowing, from what input to what output, and _WHY_ one connection is made and not another. If you could do a video (or series) which actually explain these things in depth enough (or at all), I would GREEEEATLY appreciate it. I'll go ahead and subscribe at any rate.

[@jerryrussell2600]

Check out videos on youtube channel of Dylan Talks Tone.

[@GravelGuerrilla]

Nice overview!!!

[@olenfersoi8887]

Note that there is a 4th variation of treble bleed...and that is to use 2 resistors, one in series & one in parallel with the capacitor. I've settled on a "Super Duper" Strat wiring plan: which is the 9-way HSS Strat wiring (push-pull tone pots, allowing series & parallel pickup blends as well as all three pickups on at once, or bridge & neck on)...plus two added pots: One to blend the outputs of the two tone pots, and a pot to control a variable treble bleed on the volume control. This setup gives virtually any desired option. Two other possibilities are (1) is to add a 3-way switch for the bridge humbucker to allow it to be Normal, Reverse Phase, or Split Coil...and Replace the middle single coil pickup with a Lace AlumaTone type. About the only other option I can think of is to make provision to switch in a resister to 500KOhm pots to convert effectively to 250 KOhm. However, the tone controls pretty much accomplish the same effect, so that could be redundant. If the split coil switch is incorporated, such a resister could be incorporated into whichever circuit is appropriate, depending upon the pot resistance chosen. The 10-way Freeway switch offers some of these options, but not all of them.

[@beeps123]

I loved watching this.

[@kuyakoi3469]

Yo, i need your advise man. Im tired of balancing my dirty and clean tones on a live gig. What should be the best route? Should i stick to stompboxes or multieffects?

[@bwakeman]

I’d love to see how to do some push-pull pots! I’m looking to put some in my Les Paul

[@paulfrombrooklyn5409]

GO here: guitarelectronics.com/guitar-wiring-resources/. They have so many wiring diagrams for all types of pickup and pot configurations including push/pull pots.

[@graxjpg]

What values should be good for a single coil strat for the treble bleed in series? Seems like a good idea after putting a throw switch and a phase/cancellation switch for the neck pickup

[@stephengaren2219]

I have the grease bucket mod in two of my Strats. One Strat has it on both volume controls. One Strat has it on the bottom tone control. The Strat with the two GB tone circuits is heavily modded under the hood with 8 tonal/7 pickup combinations. Normally it would have seven sounds (using the mini toggle switch), but one capacitor inside pulls a little too end off the pickups, with the mini toggle switch engaged, on one position of the 5-way switch. I call it the mystery cap, because I have no idea what value that capacitor is and told the tech not to tell me. Truly a mojo thing for me. Both Strats have the bottom tone control wired for the bridge pickup. The other for the middle pickup. My two other Strats are wired standard. The reason for the GB mod in my Strats is not only because of what is stated in this video, but also because of having tinnitus in one ear. Rolling off the highs helps to keep the pounding in my ear down, which occurs with certain high frequencies. I tried the treble bleed mod once, but removed it immediately, as the frequency, even at lower volume, messed with my tinnitus. My tone is more warm mid-range than treble. So my tinnitus actually helped me develop my own sound. More of a singing characteristic than a screaming one. Lol

[@tomaskey6844]

Thanks for the info and especially for tying it to tinnitus. I have it loud in stereo and it definitely makes a difference. I could never get a gig as a sound man.

[@benburnett8109]

Im here in 2022 and want to say thanks for all the info. Subbed and liked. Thanks.

[@ericmojave6061]

The 4-way switch adding the series wiring for both pickups is a great mod! Just have to disconnect the ground from the pickup cover and add another wire leading to the switch. It’s an amazing mod, and I’m adding this to the circuit of my tele build.

[@JayLeonardJ]

Lots of people LOVE that mod. Always worth a try for any Tele cat!

[@ericmojave6061]

@@JayLeonardJ hey Jay, thanks for the reply. Your playing is inspirational. I haven’t ever owned a tele, but I love that SOUND! I love the beat up look of your axes

[@moboei]

Id love to see the traditional writing for a vintage tele with explanation why they sound so good

[@G5Hohn]

There's only a couple ways to wire a two-pickup guitar. LP wiring gives you maximum control, but can be fiddly. I think Tele wiring with a basic master V&T and a 3-way is plenty useful. When I built my strat, I did a blender pot and that is surprisingly useful. LOTS of tonal colors available when you can blend in a tiny bit of bridge to the neck, or neck to the middle, etc.

[@collinmckinney6952]

*only a couple ways people do wire them. However there are endless ways to wire it actually.

[@heiah]

I’d be very interested interested in learning more about those 4-way and 5-way solutions, push/pull knobs and their possibilities as well ass their practicality- and especially what they sound like

[@maxonmendel5757]

im tryuing to figure out what i need to do a broadcaster with a blower switch

[@assadalsaati6290]

I always play on ten but when i saw all those different tones i think I'll try them out

[@tlkshowhst]

That yellow tele is beautiful.

[@dalemullen96]

Perhaps a little longer peek at the wiring diagrams would be useful to many. Alternatively, the ability to download the wiring diagrams would be helpful. Great explanation as why each wiring method sounds differently with examples.

[@PRTGuitar]

Perhaps a google search is in your future.

[@dalemullen96]

Obviously that doesn't always work. That's how I arrived here.@@PRTGuitar

[@CROSSFIRE_TACTICS_SOFIA]

Great video.

[@stevenwarner4430]

Great Vid..!!

[@jamesk1619]

The 50's wiring that I usually see has the tone cap bridging the outside leg of the tone pot and the middle leg of the vol pot. This is how I usually wire my humbuckers.

[@godmodetoad]

Greasebucket + standard makes the most sense to me. You can get muddy with volume or jazzy and clear with tone

[@joshuamedendorp4073]

Which caps are you using for your greasebucket? 0.1, 0.022, and 4.7k resistors like S.Duncan suggest? I am thinking of 0.05 caps instead of the 0.1 and 0.01 instead of the 0.022. Keeping with the 4.7k resistors and going with a 0.002 treble bleed with 100k resistor.

[@garycoraluzzi1166]

Great video. Wish you actually did that playing a Les Paul also

[@earlycuyler8719]

on my tele I use a 250k volume and a 1meg tone. it works well with my older 71' fender dr. I have one strat that sounded good but the neck and mid pickups were dark for my taste so I installed a 500k tone to them leaving the 250k tone for the bridge while leaving the 250k volume, problem solved!

[@richsackett3423]

dr?

[@earlycuyler8719]

@@richsackett3423 deluxe reverb

[@gilbertoandradeguitar2920]

Gostei tanto do vídeo que já assisti três vezes...🤟

[@GoudVis56667]

I saw something on the Seymour duncan website about a .047 cap in series with a pickup to brighen it up a bit. Can you do this with the tone knob? So it will be a bass cut instead of a treble cut. Cheers

[@davidbalthazard3058]

Wow really interresting !! I can listen to this 3x more deep in the knowledge. I have a question if you mind, I am building a kit and I dont know or find what tip or wiring it is, even if I wired it already, do you know where i can find it or get more information about wiring. Because I think my tone cap is all on ground, and I follow the correct diagram for the kit and it worked when testing it. I am looking To learn more and understand what i am doing. Thank you and keep on !!

[@jerryrussell2600]

Six Strings Supplies, a channel on youtube, has many wiring diagrams and videos with great quality camera closeups of his soldering each wire individually,

[@Gem-Ex]

Good stuff

[@JayLeonardJ]

Thanks!

[@Bmcarroll1]

I may have to give the treble bleed a try. I like to turn down the volume on my high output humbuckers to something more reasonable.

[@JayLeonardJ]

Yeah, that would definitely do the trick! Give the series wiring style a try :)

[@sunnysonny4914]

the best lesson of wiring scheme

[@JayLeonardJ]

Thanks!

[@paests]

Thanks for this ! What wiring do you have in your H-H jazz guitar ?

[@JayLeonardJ]

I like using the 50s Gibson wiring for most of my HH guitars. Especially if the pickups are on the dark side.

[@nicolasmayrand7157]

So greasebucket would be the best option for jazz on a tele ?? With a treble bleed on top ???

[@andrewdenine1685]

Nice tone

[@fazwagon786]

Hi, J what is the best treble bleed for Hss on deluxe pickups...

[@johntoland3520]

This is good, wow