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.
This is the bench-side reference for the published Relay Lipstick harness. It documents the core selector, volume, tone, output, and ground path clearly. The lipstick blend and contour switching remain more specialized than the other Relay models, so this page treats the published harness as a reference build rather than a beginner-proof recipe.
Control Layout
3-Way Toggle
Bridge
Bridge humbucker alone.
Bridge + Neck
Bridge and neck humbuckers in parallel.
Neck
Neck humbucker alone.
Volume (push-push) - Adds the lipstick branch on top of the selected humbucker voice.
Tone (push-pull) - The published base harness uses the pot as a standard tone control. The push-pull switch lugs stay open here until the alternate contour branch is published separately.
Pickup Layout
- Bridge:
GFS VEH Humbucker, bridge cavity, strongest driven voice. - Middle:
GFS Pro-Tube Lipstick, middle cavity, shaper layer added by the volume switch. - Neck:
GFS Classic II Alnico II Humbucker, neck cavity, warmest core voice.
Reference Labels
| Label | Component | Wire | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| BP-H | Bridge Pickup (VEH) | red | Hot output wire |
| BP-G | Bridge Pickup (VEH) | black | Ground wire |
| BP-W | Bridge Pickup (VEH) | white | Series link / split lead used by the blend branch |
| LP-H | Middle Pickup (Lipstick) | red | Hot output wire |
| LP-G | Middle Pickup (Lipstick) | black | Ground wire |
| NP-H | Neck Pickup (Classic II) | red | Hot output wire |
| NP-G | Neck Pickup (Classic II) | black | Ground wire |
| NP-W | Neck Pickup (Classic II) | white | Series link / split lead, grounded in the published harness |
| SW-B | 3-Way Toggle | Bridge input lug | |
| SW-N | 3-Way Toggle | Neck input lug | |
| SW-C | 3-Way Toggle | Toggle common/output lug | |
| VOL-IN | Volume Pot (push-push) | Input lug from toggle | |
| VOL-W | Volume Pot (push-push) | Wiper/output lug to jack | |
| VOL-B | Volume Pot (push-push) | Back of pot, tied to ground bus | |
| VOL-A1 | Volume Push-Push Switch | Blend switch pole A, lug 1 - reserved for the lipstick branch | |
| VOL-A2 | Volume Push-Push Switch | Blend switch pole A, lug 2 - reserved for the lipstick branch | |
| VOL-A3 | Volume Push-Push Switch | Blend switch pole A, lug 3 - reserved for the lipstick branch | |
| VOL-B1 | Volume Push-Push Switch | Blend switch pole B, lug 1 - reserved for the bridge partial-split branch | |
| VOL-B2 | Volume Push-Push Switch | Blend switch pole B, lug 2 - reserved for the bridge partial-split branch | |
| VOL-B3 | Volume Push-Push Switch | Blend switch pole B, lug 3 - reserved for the bridge partial-split branch | |
| TON-IN | Tone Pot (push-pull) | Tone input lug, tapped from VOL-IN | |
| TON-W | Tone Pot (push-pull) | Tone wiper lug to capacitor | |
| TON-B | Tone Pot (push-pull) | Back of pot, tied to ground bus | |
| TON-A1 | Tone Push-Pull Switch | Pole A, lug 1 - leave open in this revision | |
| TON-A2 | Tone Push-Pull Switch | Pole A, lug 2 - leave open in this revision | |
| TON-A3 | Tone Push-Pull Switch | Pole A, lug 3 - leave open in this revision | |
| TON-B1 | Tone Push-Pull Switch | Pole B, lug 1 - leave open in this revision | |
| TON-B2 | Tone Push-Pull Switch | Pole B, lug 2 - leave open in this revision | |
| TON-B3 | Tone Push-Pull Switch | Pole B, lug 3 - leave open in this revision | |
| CAP-H | Tone Capacitor | Hot leg from tone wiper | |
| CAP-G | Tone Capacitor | Ground leg to ground bus | |
| J-TIP | Output Jack | Tip lug (hot) | |
| J-SLV | Output Jack | Sleeve lug (ground) | |
| GND | Ground Bus | Common ground point for pot backs, pickup grounds, shielding, and jack sleeve |
Wiring Map
| From | To | Notes |
|---|---|---|
BP-H | SW-B | Bridge pickup hot to bridge toggle lug |
NP-H | SW-N | Neck pickup hot to neck toggle lug |
SW-C | VOL-IN | Toggle output to volume input |
VOL-IN | TON-IN | Tone feed tapped from volume input |
VOL-W | J-TIP | Volume output to jack tip |
TON-W | CAP-H | Tone wiper to capacitor hot leg |
BP-G | GND | Bridge pickup ground |
LP-G | GND | Lipstick ground |
NP-G | GND | Neck pickup ground |
NP-W | GND | Neck series link grounded in the published harness |
VOL-B | GND | Ground the volume pot body |
TON-B | GND | Ground the tone pot body |
CAP-G | GND | Capacitor return to ground |
J-SLV | GND | Jack sleeve to ground bus |
The published core harness stops there. VOL-A1 through VOL-B3 are reserved for the lipstick blend and bridge partial-split branch, and TON-A1 through TON-B3 are reserved for the alternate contour branch. Those subcircuits are still bench-note territory rather than a finalized published lug map.
Build Outline
Outline
Shield the cavity first
Lipstick is the most noise-sensitive Relay voicing. Treat shielding as part of the circuit, not an optional cleanup step.
Build and verify the humbucker core harness first
Get the 3-way selector, main volume path, tone path, jack, and ground bus working before adding the lipstick branch.
Add the lipstick and split branch only after the core path passes tests
That branch is where the interesting behavior lives, but it is also where mistakes compound fastest.
Install only after the base path and blend branch behave as expected on the bench
Lipstick becomes much harder to debug once everything is inside the body.
Sanity Checks
Checks
Continuity
In toggle positions 1, 2, and 3,
SW-Cshould connect to the bridge lug, both lugs, and the neck lug respectively.Resistance
With volume full up, measure between
J-TIPandJ-SLV. Expect roughly 11.2 kOhm in position 1, about 4.5 kOhm in position 2, and about 7.6 kOhm in position 3 before the lipstick branch is added.Tap test
Plug into an amp at low volume and verify that the bridge and neck humbuckers respond correctly through the 3-way selector before you add the lipstick branch.