Guidance for pickup installation

[J.custom]

Hi guys, just wondering if any of the more experienced softies here would be kind enough to guide me in installing a pickup, NOT install one for me. I have some basic soldering skills I'm just hoping for someone to guide me along incase I screw up.

*Note: Not that I'm being cheapskate/lazy and I don't want to go down to one of the guitar shops to get them to install the pickup for me, I just want to improve my soldering skills and widen the range of things I can do with a soldering iron, that's all.

 

[wck]

Google for wiring diagrams of whatever guitar you have and pics then follow from there. Its easy enough to just follow the wiring diagrams.

 

[J.custom]

I was thinking more on the lines of physical guidance but did find something that was helpful

 

[dodgethis]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMcbDJKUiV0

 

[relinquish69]

Soldering is not difficult but putting the parts back requires a lot of effort!

 

[J.custom]

Do you think getting a desoldering pump will be necessary for this job?

 

[junkiemanxl]

@J.custom


good to see that you are giving DIY a go. i think that its always a good thing when one learns a new skill. you'll thank yourself later cause once you acquired that know how, you will save money and time by not sending your guitar out to a guitar tech to have it sorted out. It also means you have options to try different pickups at any given time.

Here are some things that you will need. Its always good invest in tools and have your equipment ready for the job.

• Soldering Iron (not too hot. 40w should be sufficient)
• lead ( preferbly with flux )
• a piece of damp & dry cloth
• de-soldering pump
• wires ( best with 2-3 sets of different color variant )
• wire stripper (optional )
• Long nose clippers
• scissors

Schematics can be found online. just a quick google and it would bring up a load of schematics but be warned that not all schematics found online is credible. the schematics at the seymour duncan site are pretty good to go.

Experiment
If this is your first attempt at pickup installation, my advise would be to purchase some used cheap pickups and pots for a trial. these can be found right here on soft.

Protection
always remember to protect yourself and your guitar when soldering. put a piece of cloth under your work area as most times hot solder could splatter if the soldering iron is too hot. I don't think you would want any of these to blobs to end up on the finish of your guitar.

Understanding Colors
different pickups manufacturers have different color coding for their wires. always check with manufacturers on the color scheme. this can be found on their product website.

Patience
it may not work on the first attempt but patience is key when it comes to pickup installation. if first you don't succeed, try again.

that's my 5 cents worth. hope it helps.
Good luck TS.

 

[junkiemanxl]

Do you think getting a desoldering pump will be necessary for this job?

it will be good to have around in case you need to clear up a mess.

 

[J.custom]

@junkiemanxl: Thanks! Yeah I do have most of those items already because I did some DIY quite sometime ago, but didn't have the time to continue, so my skills have been very rusty. haha What got me started again was that I had to change a speaker in my cab, and stupidly enough, I didn't know that the clips could be removed and I ended up soldering the new speaker on, luckily it worked fine! haha

 

[junkiemanxl]

@junkiemanxl: Thanks! Yeah I do have most of those items already because I did some DIY quite sometime ago, but didn't have the time to continue, so my skills have been very rusty. haha What got me started again was that I had to change a speaker in my cab, and stupidly enough, I didn't know that the clips could be removed and I ended up soldering the new speaker on, luckily it worked fine! haha

haha, yeah sometimes this kind of immaculate fail stuff happens but i'm sure it wont happen again when the situation arises. that's part of DIYing and trial and error.

 

[Ratboy]

most desoldering pump sucks (no pun intended)
better to invest in safety glasses and just blow : )

 

[J.custom]

I see. I've never used one before, so I wouldn't know I guess. haha. Anybody kind enough to watch over/mentor me while I do it? hehe

 

[dodgethis]

Always have one handy. You will never know when you will need to desolder something.

 

[J.custom]

Hey guys I'm going to install a Suhr V60 and SSH+ in my guitar, have found 2 different wiring diagrams:

Which one should I follow? The guitar I'm going to install this in is a Sterling Silo 30.

 

[lazy3yed]

RE : desoldering pumps, just need to know how to use it properly. It really sucks.

 

[J.custom]

RE : desoldering pumps, just need to know how to use it properly. It really sucks.

Really sucks as in literally? or it's bad. haha

 

[lazy3yed]

Literally. Haha... a desoldering pump will come in handy for guitar electronics. I'm using those smaller aluminium bodied types; works quite ok. Gotta clear the junk inside once in a while, tho.

 

[J.custom]

hey guys, I opened up my guitar today and it didn't look like the 5 way selector switch as shown in the SD diagram, what other different kinds of 5 way switches are there?