Questions about installing new pickups

[shuikit]

Hello

I would like to install new pickups in my Tokai LR but I'm a bit worried about how to do it. The actual soldering and taking bits off doesn't worry me but I'm scared I'm going to scratch or dent my guitar whilst handling it (eg on the table) or upsetting the current setup which was professionally done. Does anyone have any advice to avoid this kind of thing happening??

What do you do about the stopbar and bridge screws?? How would you place the guitar flat on a table with those sticking out??

Is it obivous which terminals on the pots I would solder the pickups to? The ones I'm interested in have 4 wires whereas I believe the stock pickups have 2!

The pickups I'm interested in are the Irongear Hot Slags - does anyone have any experience with these??

Sorry for the long post, I've spent most of the day searching but haven't found any answers!

Thanks

 

[JohnA]

Just fold a big towell up and lie the guitar on that, take the strings off and remove the bridge & tailpiece, fit the new pickups with the screws before turning over and doing the soldering. Just be careful and you'll be fine

Four wire pickups can be fitted as a direct replacement for two wires you just need to solder two of the wires together, which ones depends on the pickups but you can easily do it by trial & error if there are no fitting instructions supplied.

Never tried the Irongear pickups.

 

[tsolight]

a question:

which new pickups you are planning to install?

personally, i prefer to let do the pickups replacement job by experienced specialists , usually they do it good at guitar stores.

for your new pickups, id recommend to check these:

http://www.lollarguitars.com/Pickups.htm

those pickups are handmade "a la oldschool" by some guitar guru Jason Lollar. (Fender puts them on their high-end custom shop models)

i have put a set of their "Vintage" series on my 1993 Fender Strat, and the difference was like night and day (compared to the original Lace sensors i had on it) Well, the original Lace sensors sounded great, but the Lollars brought much more presence and tone color all preserving the natural typical stratocaster crystalline sound though; so it was truly impressive and my Strat has now a completely second new life.

thats why i recommend to check those., I'm planning to install a set of their humbuckers on my Tokai Love Rock.

 

[JohnA]

tsolight I agree Lollars are great pickups! But getting a professional to install a set of pickups is a bit over-the -top. I can swap out a set of Les Paul pickups in 20 minutes, and most people could do the same. It's also a great way of learnin more about your guitar, and good fun too

 

[Paladin2019]

tsolight I agree Lollars are great pickups! But getting a professional to install a set of pickups is a bit over-the -top. I can swap out a set of Les Paul pickups in 20 minutes, and most people could do the same. It's also a great way of learnin more about your guitar, and good fun too

I agree that swapping pickups is a pretty straightforward job and have swapped out LP pickups in about 20 minutes, same as you. However, I would say that if someone lacks the confidence or experience to do ANY kind of modification to their guitar, then they should take it to someone who does. It shouldn't be expensive, and you're basically paying for peace of mind.

Besides, swapping out the pups isn't the hard part. The hard part is getting them balanced and optimised once they're in.

In answer to the original questions, just lay your guitar out on cushions and folded towels. To keep the bridge and tailpiece locked in place, stick the loose metal parts together with small pieces of duct tape.

The new pickups should come with a wiring diagram, and it should be a simple swap.

 

[jyster]

Hi

I found this quite useful when I first changed pickups. Yes, it is Seymour Duncan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmL0lduweG4&feature=related

 

[Ozeshin]

<-----------------Lazy
I have a tech who swaps them out for $20.
I'm a tech for Canon and solder stuff all day so the LAST thing I want to do when I get home is another soldering job.
I just put a set of EMG-HZ in my LS-80 and they sound great.
I have them in an Explorer and searched Ebay til I found a set.
They're a Passive version of the EMG 81....so high output but with none of the over-distortion of active pickups.

 

[shuikit]

Thanks for your replies!

I took the back cover off today to have a look at the wiring and what I would potentially have to do BUT it looks quite scary in there! There seems to be 3 wires coming from the pickups and a few wires that are soldered directly onto the volume pot, I think this is the earth??

Can anyone point me to a wiring diagram or something that would help me understand this??

 

[mrsuspend]

If you feel that intimidated I strongly suggest you let an experienced guitar tech swap the pickups for you or at least help you get it right.

Anyway, a Les Paul type wiring diagram below:

http://www.dominocs.com/AshBassGuitar/WireLibrary-Gibson.html

 

[JohnA]

Loads of good wiring diagrams here:

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/

 

[shuikit]

Hey all

Just wanted to say thanks for the advice. I successfully installed new pickups in my LR this weekend and other than it taking a lot longer than I thought it would, everything went smothly.

The only thing now is I fear that now I've started down this modding road I'm not sure there's an end to it....