Installation & Resources

Getting your tone from the bench to the stage.

The Golden Rule: If you're handy with a soldering iron, swapping pickups is a satisfying DIY project. If you're not, take it to a tech—there's no shame in it. Rainy Day Sound Labs is not responsible for damage caused by improper installation.

1. RDSL Color Codes (The Cheat Sheet)

Use this reference to match our wires to your guitar's harness.

Single Coils (Strat, Tele, P-90)

  • White / Yellow: Hot (Output)

  • Black: Ground

  • RWRP Pickups: If your set includes a Reverse-Wound/Reverse-Polarity pickup (usually the middle Strat pickup), it may have a different "Hot" color (e.g., Yellow) to identify it.

Humbuckers (Vintage Braided Shield)

  • Inner Cloth Wire: Hot (Output) -> Goes to Switch or Volume Pot lug.

  • Outer Metal Braid: Ground -> Solder directly to the back of the Volume Pot.

Humbuckers (4-Conductor Modern)

  • Black: Hot

  • Green & Bare: Ground

  • Red & White: Series Link (Solder together and tape off for standard operation).

2. Common "Gotchas" & Troubleshooting

"It buzzes when I don't touch the strings."

  • This is usually a Grounding Issue. Check that your bridge ground wire (the wire connecting the bridge/claw to the volume pot) is secure.

"The sound is thin and nasally in the middle position."

  • Your pickups are likely Out of Phase.

  • The Fix: If using single coils, try swapping the Hot and Ground wires on one pickup only. If using vintage braided humbuckers, this is harder to fix—contact us for advice.

3. Wiring Diagrams

We're currently building out our official RDSL wiring diagram library. In the meantime, our pickups follow standard industry wiring practices for Telecaster (3-way), Stratocaster (5-way), and Les Paul (50s or modern) layouts.

Need a diagram now? Email us at info@rainydaysoundlabs.com and we'll get you sorted.