change pickups ES120

Tokai Forum

Help Support Tokai Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

tobi

Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2006
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Hi.
I've got an ES120 vintage natural and I want to change the pickups.
Can anybody tell me how to do this by myself?

I changed the pickups from my Gibson SG but a Semisolid seems to be something very different when it comes to electric parts.

tobi
 
tobi,

try to find here something ...

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/menu.php

... otherwise use the 'search' button ! Maybe it's a puzzle - but there are alot of infos ...


Roger
 
It's tricky to do, but not that bad. Most people worry about how to refit all the pots after soldering. Here are a few tips that I have picked up over the years.
Before you remove any of the pots, first tie a piece of thread (or dental floss) to each one (after removing the control knobs obviously). The pots have to come out for you to solder and the thread will make it much easier to line them up again when re-fitting.
A decent pair of medium sized long nosed CURVED pliers is essential for this job. So much easier to use than the straight ones.
It's best to take the whole loom instead of trying to work on just the pots that need the solder. Sounds obvious but I've seen a guitar wrecked this way,after the owner starting sticking the soldering iron through the f-hole.
Another good way of lining up the pots for replacements is to take the rubber (eraser) out of the end of a pencil. Poke the pencil through the pot hole and slide it over the pot shaft. Use it to guide the pot back through its hole as you lift it.
Work SLOWLY.

I hpoe some of this helps.
 
If you're not sure about whether you can do it, that last bit of advice was the best you will get!
Find a repair man you trust and get them to do it. It shouldn't be that expensive if you are providing the parts.
 
thanks to all of you.
maybe i try it and if i fail i will give it to a professional...
btw: i bought some gibson '57 classics. i hope the sound is good...
 
tobi said:
thanks to all of you.
maybe i try it and if i fail i will give it to a professional...
btw: i bought some gibson '57 classics. i hope the sound is good...

Get someone else to do it. One ding in the top of that guitar and you'll want to kick yourself.
 
The '57 Classics are FABUOLOUS (IMO)! Really creamy, smooth, but with enough bite for that vintage edge, enough output to get an amp singing. I have them now in the neck position of all my humbucker guitars, and in some of the bridge positions as well. Sometimes I use a Burstbucker Pro at the bridge, just a tiny bit edgier, and a tiny bit more controlled.

I am not familiar with whatever the PUPs are you are taking out, but I suspect you'll enjoy the '57s!

Best of luck getting it done, will look forward to the report here.
 
It is not as bad as the guys tell you. Take two hours. I did it three times in two different guitars and my ES 120 which i bought 2 months ago is still waiting.
Another hint: if there's a friend with you, you need half of the time - since 4 hands are better than 2
 
Classic ?57 pickups are good to me too and you can get for a good price. I have a pair from a '58 Murphy R8 witing for a guitar. Thay are my choice besides SD Seth Lovers. I would place them on a ES no doubt....
I like PAFs style pickups and would be very pleased trying the boutique pickups Tokai is using on their LS380 new models but no avalaible here and no used ones I?ve been seen....
 
I've not done this myself, but I would consider...

Cut a sheet of card with holes in the same positions as they are in the guitar. Then you can work on the soldering from a stable platform.

Be very careful feeding the pots through the fholes. You need to protect the finish. Some kind of fuzzy cloth maybe.

Letting someone do it who's done it before.

I had a 345 rewired back to stereo, with both pickups tapped and wired to the Varitone selector. There was no way I was going to do that myself...
 
I nearly finished the operation!
I cooperated with someone who has the skills to do it.
I'm really looking forward to hear the new sound of my guitar...

BTW: Has anybody an idea, which pickups Tokai puts in an ES335 made in 2005? I think they are not that typical PAFstyle Tokais I heard of. They sound more like a high gain version and got way more output than my Les Paul Classic Pickups!
This is the reason why i wanted to change them...

thanks a lot for your help...
 

Latest posts

Back
Top