Wiring

Pick the voicing you're building and you'll get its bench-side wiring reference: the selector map, connection points, and the published harness.

The Relay Lipstick pairs a GFS Vintage ’59 bridge humbucker and GFS Professional Alnico II neck humbucker with a GFS Pro-Tube middle lipstick. The three-way toggle selects the humbuckers; the volume push-push adds the lipstick in parallel and partially splits only the bridge. The A500k tone control uses a 22 nF capacitor.

The diagram uses functional contact labels, not a photograph of a particular toggle or push-push switch. Identify the solder lugs on the parts in hand with a continuity meter before wiring them. Its colored paths identify circuit roles, not guaranteed GFS lead colors.

What each switch position does

Selected pickups combine in parallel. The bridge split switch operates whenever the lipstick is on, but the bridge cannot reach the output when the selector is on neck. The neck remains a full humbucker in all six states. The volume knob controls output level, and the tone knob rolls off high frequencies when turned counterclockwise.

Parts and lead identification

• Bridge: GFS Vintage ’59 humbucker, with hot, coil return, shield, and accessible series junction (B-LINK). Measure its isolated full DC resistance before choosing the split resistor.
• Middle: GFS Pro-Tube lipstick, with hot (L-HOT), return, and shield or case ground as supplied.
• Neck: GFS Professional Alnico II humbucker, used in full series. On the GFS harness used here, the series junction is joined internally and one external split lead is provided. Insulate that single lead and leave it unconnected. A conventional four-conductor humbucker instead exposes two separate coil ends: join the maker's specified series pair together, then insulate the joint. Do not ground either version's neck series junction.
• Controls: A500k master volume with a DPDT push-push switch; standard A500k master tone; 22 nF tone capacitor; mono output jack.
• Bridge partial split: A ¼ W resistor equal to one quarter of the measured isolated full bridge resistance. About 2.2 kΩ is the nominal starting value for an 8.5–8.8 kΩ bridge pickup.
• Treble bleed: 1 nF capacitor and 150 kΩ resistor in series between volume input (BUS) and wiper (OUT). These are starting values to audition with the actual cable and amplifier.

Connection map

Match the boxed labels in the diagram. Every GND symbol belongs to one common ground network. The toggle's C is its common output; some three-way toggles have two common lugs that must be joined.

Pot orientation: The lug directions above are the rear view shown in the diagram, with shafts away and lugs down. The volume's left/center/right lugs are BUS/OUT/GND. The tone's left/CW lug is unused; its center wiper goes through the 22 nF capacitor to ground; its right/CCW lug connects to BUS. Check the physical pots if their terminals are arranged differently.

Push-push contacts: A2 and B2 are the two common terminals. Lipstick off connects A2–A1 and B2–B1; A1 and B1 are left open. Lipstick on connects A2–A3 and B2–B3. The two switch poles do not connect to each other. Confirm which physical lugs make these connections in both mechanical states before soldering.

Build sequence

1. Identify each pickup's hot, return, shield, and series junction from its supplied lead guide and a meter. GFS lead versions differ; the wire colors in an older diagram may not match the pickups in hand. Measure the isolated full bridge resistance and choose a split resistor near one quarter of that reading.
2. Shield the cavity and wire the humbucker core: bridge and neck to the selector, selector common to BUS, volume and tone pots, output jack, and all grounds. Verify these paths before adding the lipstick branch.
3. Wire the two push-push poles: A2 to lipstick hot and A3 to BUS; B2 to the bridge series junction and B3 through the split resistor to GND. Leave A1 and B1 open. Add the series treble bleed across the volume input and wiper.
4. Check the complete harness on the bench in all six operating states before installing it in the guitar.

Bench checks

• With power disconnected, meter the selector: common C connects to bridge, both bridge and neck, then neck in the three positions. Meter the push-push in both states against the contact map above.
• Confirm continuity among all intended ground points. The jack tip must not have a near-zero-ohm short to sleeve with the volume up. At volume zero, the grounded volume track should bring the jack tip to ground.
• At maximum volume, the jack's DC reading should be near the selected pickup resistance in parallel with the 500 kΩ volume pot. Pickup and pot tolerances change the exact result, so use the measured parts rather than fixed resistance targets. The capacitors block steady DC after the meter settles.
• Tap-test the pickups through a low-volume amplifier in all six states. Lipstick off should silence the lipstick; lipstick on should add it in every selector position. Only the bridge should change to a partial split, and the neck should stay full.
• Turn the knobs from stop to stop: clockwise should increase volume and brighten tone. Check relative pickup phase in combined positions and audition the treble bleed as volume rolls down before final installation.