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Separate coil function from wire colour before making a connection.
A single insulated core with an outer braid commonly uses the core for signal and the braid as the return and shield. Two insulated conductors can provide separate signal and return, sometimes with an additional shield. Identify your exact construction from the pickup maker’s documentation.
A four-conductor humbucker exposes the start and finish of each coil, allowing a normal series connection to be identified. The shared wiring authority names coil functions independently of colour. Coil start and finish are winding references; they do not independently establish magnetic polarity or a complete phase relationship.
In the supported standard series humbucker, two coil ends form the local series link and are insulated together. The remaining signal lead goes to the volume input; the coil return and separate shield terminate at the authorised ground point. The series link is not a ground connection.
The reference below is rendered from the same pickupConventions registry used by the Generator and Forge. Unresolved profiles show semantic functions rather than invented colours. Check the exact pickup model and manufacturer instructions before relying on a convention.
Colour mappings do not supply measured pickup resistance, inductance or capacitance. Signal Lab presets are illustrative electrical assumptions. Coil split, phase and series/parallel response modelling are deferred.
Create a physical connection list, conductor reference and printable bench diagram. Each example opens a supported starting circuit; it does not identify your actual guitar or pickup measurements.
Continue learning: Selector contacts and pickup paths → · Ground, shield and the output jack →