Tag: colour

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Basic guide to Warman wire colours on 4 wire humbuckers.

The Warman twin coil humbuckers all pretty much follow the same wire colour codes as follows.

Bare wire. This is the overall group wire for the pickup and needs to be connected to a common earth point on the guitar. Typically this is the back of a pot.

Black. This is the negative ( – ) wire of the first coil, sometimes called the start wire.

White. This is the positive ( + ) wire of the first coil, sometimes called the finish wire

Red. This is the negative ( – ) wire of the second coil. ( start )

Green. This is the positive ( + ) wire of the second coil ( finish )

To wire this up as standard humbucker with both coils i series. Connect black and bare to the back of one of the pots ( common earth circuit )

Leave red and white joined together , they come pre-soldered to each other . Wrap some insulation tape around this solder joint to avoid accidental shorting our of the coils when you stuff all the wires back into the guitar cavities.

Connect the green wire either to the input lug on you volume pot or the pickup selector switch, this will depend on how your guitar is wired and its control layout .

Single coils

Single coil pickups have just 2 wire coming out of them. This will either be a single twin core cable or two individual leads, depending on model. single cable versions have an inner and outer core to the wire, the inner is the hot wire and the outer is the ground / negative wire. If the pickup has two individual leads then one of these will be black, which is the ground wire, and the other coloured lead will be the hot wire.

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Tele wiring with Twin rail bridge with series / parallel / coil cut switching

A quick sketch of how to wire up one of our twin rail Tele bridge pickups ( same wiring for Peacemakers of Twin Loco / T-rail Blazers ) with a 3 position mini toggle switch for both rails in series, single coil cut or both rails in parallel. Please note the toggle switch has to be a 3 position DPDT on-on-on switch for this to work correctly. Don’t use the commonly found on-off-on switches.

The 3 position lever switch used to select the different pickups ( bridge, bridge and neck in parallel, or neck on its won ) is shown as the import version of the 3 way lever switch which has 7 contacts on the bottom edge. The middle contacts used for the hot out signal to the volume control ( that’s the A500k pot in the diagram ) Good wiring practice also say that you should run a wire from the casing of this switch to one of the common ground points, usually the back of one of the pots, just to make sure the earth circuit is complete, along with the ground wire ( not shown ) that runs from the metal bridge of the guitar to common earth.

The tone cap value is not shown as its up to you to play around and experiment with what sounds right to you. Standard would be a 0.47 or 0.33 tone cap but there is no right or wrong here, try a few different values and discover what makes you happy.

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Warman Single coil pickup wiring

Custom single coil pickups. Texas Triple Air. Chrome plated metal covers.
Warman Big Texan 11.62k bridge single coil pickup
Warman Big Texan 11.62k bridge single coil pickup

Wiring Up Warman Single Coil Pickups

Most Warman single coil pickups keep things nice and simple. Just two wires to deal with – a negative (start/ground) and a positive (finish/hot). Compared to humbuckers with multiple wires, single coils are the wiring equivalent of making toast – quick, easy, and very little can go wrong.

  • Negative (ground) lead → connects to the guitar’s common ground circuit (usually the back of a pot).
  • Positive (hot) lead → connects either to your selector switch or directly to the input lug of your volume pot,. This depends on how your guitar’s control circuit is set up.

Wire Colours

  • If your pickup has two separate wires:
    • Black = negative (ground)
    • The other wire (various colours depending on position) = positive (hot)
  • If your pickup looks like it has only one wire, don’t panic! That’s actually a twin-cored cable:
    • Outer braid/shield = negative
    • Inner core = positive

That’s really all there is to it. Warman single coil pickups are among the easiest to wire up. You can check out our full range of upgrade models [here].

A Note on Phase Reversal Switches

If you’re fitting a phase reversal switch, there’s one extra step to consider:

Before you do, check that the coil’s negative isn’t already soldered to the baseplate. If it is, simply snip that link so the coil and baseplate are independently grounded.

If your pickup has a metal baseplate (like many P90s do), you’ll need to solder an extra ground wire from the baseplate to your guitar’s ground.

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Warman Humbucker wire colours

Warman pickups wire colours explained

Warman Humbucker Wire Colours Explained

Warman pickups wire colours explained
Warman pickups wire colours explained

If you’ve just unwrapped your shiny new Warman humbucker and you’re staring at a handful of coloured wires thinking “what on earth do I do now?” — don’t panic. Grab your soldering iron, make yourself a brew, and let’s walk through it.

The Warman Humbucker Colour Code

  • Bare wire – This is the shield/earth. It always goes to ground. The usual spot is the back of a potentiometer (pot for short). Think of it as the pickup’s safety belt.

  • Black wire – Negative / start of the South coil.

  • White wire – Positive / finish / hot output of the South coil.

  • Red wire – Negative / finish of the North coil.

  • Green wire – Positive / start / hot output of the North coil.

Standard Humbucker Wiring (Series)

To wire the pickup in standard Warman humbucker mode (both coils in series):

  1. Solder black + bare wires to ground (back of a pot is perfect).

  2. The red and white wires are already soldered together. Leave them joined — they’re the “bridge” between coil 1 and coil 2. Tuck them safely away with insulation tape.  or heat-shrink so they don’t short out.

  3. The green wire is your hot output. Connect to either your pickup selector switch or straight to the input lug of the volume pot.  This depends on your guitar’s wiring style.

That’s It!

And there you have it — the Warman wiring colour code in all its glory. Nothing scary, no rocket science, just a bit of solder, some common sense, and the smug satisfaction of upgrading your guitar.

Now plug in, turn up, and give those coils the workout they deserve.