Pickup Wiring Reference

Boscoe Music preamps can be used with a variety of pickups. This page provides wiring information for some common bass pickups and shows how to connect them directly to the PICKUP INPUT and GROUND screw terminals found on Boscoe Music preamps.

Important: Pickup manufacturers do not use a universal wire color standard, and wiring colors can sometimes change between models or production runs. Always confirm your pickup's wiring before making connections. If you're unsure, a multimeter can be used to identify the individual coils and verify the wiring.

Series vs. Parallel Wiring

Four-conductor humbuckers can generally be wired with their two coils in either series or parallel.

Series wiring connects the two coils end-to-end. This produces a higher-output signal with greater resistance and inductance and typically results in a thicker, darker sound.

Parallel wiring connects both coils directly between the pickup input and ground. This produces lower resistance and inductance and generally results in a clearer, brighter sound.

For the MMSR77 StingRay and MMSA78 preamps, parallel wiring is recommended when using a Music Man-style humbucker. The original StingRay and Sabre pickups used parallel coils, and the pickup's electrical characteristics are an important part of the interaction between the pickup and those vintage preamp circuits.

Understanding Coil Identification

In this reference, Neck Coil and Bridge Coil identify the physical positions of the two coils within a Music Man-style humbucker.

The + and − symbols identify corresponding electrical connections used to combine the coils in phase. They do not necessarily indicate the physical start or finish of the winding.

Magnetic polarity is a separate characteristic. For example, the Sterling H-1 and G&L L-Series MFD pickups tested by Boscoe Music have North magnetic poles toward the neck and South poles toward the bridge. The Nordstrand MM4.2 tested has the opposite magnetic arrangement.

Pickup wire colors, magnetic polarity, and coil winding direction can vary between manufacturers and can change over time. Always verify the wiring of your particular pickup before making connections.

Music Man Style Pickups

Sterling by Music Man H-1 Ceramic Humbucker

Commonly found in Sterling by Music Man Ray4, Ray5, Ray24, and Ray25 basses. These values are as tested on my personal pickups. Note that they may differ on your bass, as SBMM have been known to change their pickup wiring from time to time.

Wire Colors

Red — North (neck) +
Black — North (neck) -
White — South (bridge) +
Green — South (bridge) -
Bare — Ground / Shield

Series Wiring

White → PICKUP INPUT
Black + Bare → GROUND
Green + Red → Connect together and insulate

Parallel Wiring — Recommended for MMSR77 and MMSA78

Red + White → PICKUP INPUT
Black + Green + Bare → GROUND

Many Ray4 and Ray24 basses are factory-wired in series. Rewiring a four-conductor pickup in parallel will more closely reproduce the pickup configuration used in the original StingRay.

Aguilar AG-4M / AG-5M

The Aguilar AG-4M and AG-5M are vintage-style Music Man replacement pickups. The coils are internally wired in parallel, so only two pickup conductors need to be connected. Information here comes from Aguilar. Please test your own pickup.

Wiring

White → PICKUP INPUT
Black → GROUND

No additional series/parallel wiring is required.

The parallel configuration makes these pickups well suited for use with the MMSR77 when recreating a vintage-style StingRay setup.

Artec MMC4

The Artec MMC4 is a budget Music Man-style ceramic humbucker. It features two coils with independent leads, allowing either Series or Parallel wiring. It is much hotter than vintage-style Music Man pickups - each coil was measured at about 6200Ω (3200Ω when wired in parallel). The information here comes from Artec but was also independently confirmed on our test bench. The "bridge" version of this pickup was the one tested.

Wire Colors

Green — North (neck) +
Red — North (neck) -
White — South (bridge) +
Black — South (bridge) -
Bare — Ground / Shield

Series Wiring

Green → PICKUP INPUT
Black + Bare → GROUND
Red + White → Connect together and insulate

Parallel Wiring — Recommended for MMSR77 and MMSA78

Green + White → PICKUP INPUT
Red + Black + Bare → GROUND

Nordstrand MM4.2 / MM5.2

The Nordstrand MM4.2 and MM5.2 are vintage-style Music Man replacement pickups and are a good match for the MMSR77 when you're trying to reproduce the character of an early StingRay. This information is from Nordstrand. Please test your pickup before use.

Wire Colors

Red — North (neck) +
Green — North (neck) -
Black — South (bridge) +
White — South (bridge) -

Series Wiring

Black → PICKUP INPUT
Green → GROUND
Red + White → Connect together and insulate

Parallel Wiring — Recommended for MMSR77

Red + Black → PICKUP INPUT
Green + White → GROUND

Note: The MM4.2/MM5.2 is built to vintage specifications and may not have grounded pole pieces. Depending on the bass and its shielding, additional grounding or cavity shielding may be helpful if you experience noise.

Seymour Duncan SMB-4A / SMB-5A

The Seymour Duncan SMB-4A and SMB-5A are Alnico Music Man-style replacement humbuckers that can be wired in either series or parallel. Information here comes from Seymour Duncan, please test your own to confirm.

Wire Colors

Black — North (neck) +
White — North (neck) -
Red — South (bridge) +
Green — South (bridge) -

Series Wiring

Black → PICKUP INPUT
Green + Bare → GROUND
White + Red → Connect together and insulate

Parallel Wiring — Recommended for MMSR77

Black + Red → PICKUP INPUT
White + Green + Bare → GROUND

A Note About Vintage StingRay and Sabre Tone

The pickup and preamp in the original StingRay and Sabre were designed to work together, so pickup selection and wiring can have a significant effect on the final sound.

For the MMSR77 and MMSA78, a vintage-style Music Man humbucker wired in parallel will provide the closest match to the original configuration. A pickup with Alnico V magnets, approximately 1750–1950Ω DC resistance when wired in parallel, and approximately 700mH inductance is a good target.

Pickups wired in series will still work with either preamp, but the increased resistance and inductance change how the pickup interacts with the preamp. The result will generally be hotter and darker than the classic parallel-wired StingRay or Sabre configuration. Note that this doesn't mean it will sound bad by any means - it's just something to take into consideration when selecting a pickup and wiring configuration. Many customers have used the MMSR77 and MMSA78 preamps with different pickup types (Jazz bass, Precision bass, etc) with great success.

G&L Pickups

G&L L-Series MFD Pickup

Wiring reference for G&L Magnetic Field Design (MFD) humbuckers used in L-series basses. Each coil should be around 4250 ohms (2125 ohms in parallel, 8500 ohms in series). Tested on a L-2000 K-mod MFD.

Wire Colors

Green — North (neck) +
Yellow — North (neck) -
Black — South (bridge) +
White — South (bridge) -
Blue — Ground (K-mod version only)

Series Wiring

White → PICKUP INPUT
Green → GROUND
Black + Yellow → Connect together and insulate

Parallel Wiring

Yellow + White → PICKUP INPUT
Green + Black → GROUND

If your pickup includes the additional blue ground wire, connect it to GROUND as appropriate for your bass's wiring.

Installation Tips

Complete all wiring before connecting the battery.
Ensure all wires are firmly secured in the screw terminals. For stranded wire, use properly stripped conductors or suitable crimp ferrules rather than solder-tinned ends.
Keep pickup shield wires connected to ground, independently of any switched coil connections.
If you experience hum or noise, verify the pickup wiring, bridge ground, shielding, and other ground connections.

For diagrams showing how to add Series, Parallel, and Single Coil switching, see the Pickup Switching Reference page.

And most importantly, verify the wire colors on your particular pickup before connecting it. The information above represents the wiring commonly used for these models, but manufacturers can change specifications between production runs without notice.

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