Wiring

Sequence of wiring

The sequence in which switches and controls are connected is important for successful results when installing pickups. Viewing the circuit starting from the live side and working towards earth:

Pickup mode switching
Volume and/or tone if they are individual for the pickups
Pickup selector switch
Volume and/or Tone if master
Output to jack socket

Wiring diagrams

All wiring diagrams are provided without warranty. However we endeavour to make them error free. Should you need any other wiring diagram, please contact us and we will try to make it available as soon as possible.

NB. Some switches have varied internal switching functions that are not obvious. A widely used example is the Ibanez 2502N switch. There is a wiring diagram for using this switch with Gemini 3 conductor humbuckers in the strat section.


Humbucker

2 x HB 2 X Vol 2 X Tone 2 X DPDT
2 X HB 1 X Vol 1 X Tone 1 X DPDT

2 x Star series HB 2 X Vol 2 X Tone 2 X DPDT
2 X Fire series HB 2 X Vol 2 X Tone 2 X DPDT

2 X Magick Series HB 2 X Vol 2 X Tone 2 X DPDT Standard
2 X Magick Series HB 1 X Vol 1 X Tone 1 X 4PDT Standard
2 X Magick Series HB 2 X Vol 2 X Tone 2 X DPDT Alternate

Mini Humbucker

Use the tappable diagrams for Mini Humbuckers produced 2014 and onwards except for Johnny Smith style pickups.

2 X Mini HB (No Coil Taps) 2 X Vol 2 X Tone
2 X Mini HB (No Coil Taps) 1 X Vol 1 X Tone
2 X Mini HB (Tappable) 2 X Vol 2 X Tone
2 X Mini HB  (Tappable) 1 X Vol 1 X Tone

P90

2 X P90 (No coil taps) 2 X Vol 2 X Tone
2 X P90 (No coil taps) 1 X Vol 1 X Tone
2 X P90 (Tappable) 2 X Vol 2 X Tone 2 X DPDT
2 X P90 (Tappable) 1 X Vol 1 X Tone 1 X DPDT

Strat & Superstrat

Standard Strat S-S-S 1 Vol 2 Tone 5 Way
H-S-S  1 X Vol 1 X Tone 1 X DPDT 5 Way
H-S-S Autotap 1 X Vol 1 X Tone 5 Way
H-S-H 1 X Vol 1 X Tone 1 X DPDT 5 Way
H-S-H Autotap 1 X Vol 1 X Tone 5 Way
H-S-H 10 Way 1 X Vol 1 X Tone  1 X DPDT 4 Pole 5 Way
H-H Autotap 1 X Vol 1 X Tone 4 Pole 5 Way
H-H Autotap 1 X Vol 1 X Tone Ibanez 2502N 5 Way

Tele

Standard Tele
Tele Custom with Standard Humbucker
Tele Custom with Magick Series Humbucker

Pickup compatibility.

Gemini pickups are compatible with most other pickups and with most switching arrangements.

Switching

Our 3 conductor humbuckers can be used in most guitars where a coil tap facility is available, most often with no modification to the existing switching system. If fitting pickups to a guitar with a 5 way 2 pole or 4 pole switch, make sure you check how the humbucker(s) are switched. The two bobbins are connected internally in series. This means that some switching modes are not possible. It is not possible to put he 2 bobbins of one Gemini humbucker in parallel as an alternative to coil tapping as the tap is the resulting sound would be too weak and too bright as well as being out of phase. It is also not possible to use PRS style switching using inside coils / outside coils in differing switch positions. The same switch can be used but some re-wiring may be required. Whether tapped or full, all Gemini pickups can be placed in series or in parallel with other pickups.

Tone and Volume

Gemini pickups are conventional passive pickups and therefore compatible with other passive pickups in terms of volume and tone controls. They are not compatible with most active pickup systems which require 25k pots, rather than 250k - 500k pots.

Hum Cancellation

In tapped modes, all Gemini models are designed to be hum cancelling between neck and bridge. To achieve this, neck and bridge models are wound and wired differently. The primary (dominant coil when tapped) is counter clockwise north (CCWN) in the neck pickups and clockwise south (CWS) in the bridge pickups.

Standard single coils are usually CWS, reverse wound reverse polarity (RW/RP) single coils are normally CCWN. One CWS + one CCWN pickup are hum cancelling.

Complete hum cancellation is only achieved by exactly balanced coils. Tapped Gemini humbuckers have part of the second (hum cancelling) coil included in circuit. Therefore a 7.5k mode may only have a nett hum equivalent to 2.5k. If correctly combined with a second pickup of 6k, there will be residual hum equivalent to 3.5k.

Regardless of hum cancellation, Gemini humbuckers should be phase compatible with almost all other pickups. There are a small number of pickups, including some vintage strat pickups that are clock wise north (CWN).

Using Gemini humbuckers in H-S-H configurations, either the bridge pickup will be hum cancelling when combined with the middle pickup or the neck pickup will be, but not both. If you use switching that also includes tapped Bridge+Neck combinations without the middle pickup, this probably should just be accepted.

If you do not, you can have both pickups hum cancelling with the single coil by using two neck pickups or two bridge pickups. If you purchase a H-S-H set from us, it will normally be supplied with the neck pickup polarity reversed so that both humbuckers are hum cancelling when tapped and combined with the middle single coil. You can also request a neck pickup wound with reverse polarity (by email) for any humbucker order.

Wiring Colour Coding

The sequence of the leads from start to end of the winding is consistent across all designs.

4 conductor cable has red white black green

3 conductor humbuckers, all models
These pickups have one hot lead from the primary coil and two earth leads from the secondary coil

Red - full live
White - not used
Black - tapped earth
Green - full earth

4 conductor humbucker Star series
Red - full live
White - tapped live
Black - tapped earth
Green - full earth

4 conductor humbucker, Fire series

Red - full live
White - tapped live
Black - tapped earth
Green - full earth

4 Conductor Wiring, Magick Series

Red - Humbucker live
White - Single Coil live
Black - Humbucker earth
Green - Single Coil earth

Mini Humbuckers

Braided Shield Wire
Core - live
Shield - earth & Baseplate earth

Plastic Shielded Wire
White - live
Black - earth
Bare - Baseplate earth

2 Conductor Single Coils

These pickups have one live lead and one earth lead.

Cloth Covered Wire
White - live
Black - Earth (And cover/baseplate earth on tele pickups)

Plastic Shielded Wire
White - Live
Black - Earth
Bare - Cover/Baseplate earth (Tele & P90)

Braided Shield Wire
Core - Live
Shield - Earth & Baseplate earth (P90)

3 conductor single coils e.g. Werewolf, Seraphim, Cherubim
These pickups have one live and two earths, one being a coil tap.

From November 2012 onwards
Red - Full Live
Black tapped earth
Green full earth
White not used

Prior to November 2012
Red - full live
Black - tapped live
Green - full earth
White - not used