strat pickup installation help!

[hareek]

I have an American Standard Stratocaster and I'm lookin to replace the pickups as well as add a coil tap. I only have money to do the neck and bridge right now and I'm thinking a Lil' 59 at the neck and either a JB Jr or a Screamin' Deamon at the bridge. I checked out the video tutorial on how to install pickups in a strat and I understand that thing inside out. The pickups in the video though only had a hot wire and a ground wire. These pickups that I want to install come with a "4-cunductor hookup cable." I'm guessin that means it has 2 more wires in addition to the hot wire and ground wire. I was wondering what the other 2 wires were used for. I was also wondering how to install a coil tap for these 2 humbuckers. I basically want my 5-way pickup selector to work the same way it does now, and i want to add a 2 position mini switch that, if possible, has both humbuckers attached to it and they are either tapped or not, regardless of where the 5-way pickup selector is. I don't know much about coil tapping and this is my first time installing pickups so I need all the help that I can get. Thanks!

-p.s.-sorry for the long post

 

[loudriver23]

Re: strat pickup installation help!

Hello and welcome Hareek,
I am by no means a wiring expert, shoot i'd have to practice quite a bit to be considered a novice.
That said, when I wired up my strat I found the Seymour Schematics very helpful. You might want to check this one out.
http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/schematics/3lil_hb_vol_2tones_5way.html
Good luck, and I'm sure some of the more seasoned wiring guru's will chime in soon.
Loudriver

 

[flank]

Re: strat pickup installation help!

just find in the duncan schematics where it tells you how to split a humbucker with a mini switch....and use the red and white wires of the lil humbuckers to do this. this way, you can split the lil humbuckers in any position on the 5 way switch, which could give you alot more sounds. however, im not sure that you can split two pickups with only one mini switch. you may need to get a mini switch and a push/pull pot. thats what i had to do

 

[hareek]

Re: strat pickup installation help!

oh I'm an idiot..I didn't even see any of the schematics. Wow that definitely helps a lot. And yeah looking at these schematics, I don't think you can wire 3 pickups to one miniswitch either....the dude at Guitar Center said you could, but this wouldn't be the first time this guy told me something wrong. thanks for the help guys!