Pickup replacement: how to

[kgbAttack]

Hey guys,

I tried to search for previous posts on this but couldn't find much. I learned a lot on how to setup guitars thanks to this forum. I wonder if anyone can recommend tips/resources on how to replace pickups, as I have never tried doing it but I would like to learn. Photos, books, websites, anything :-)

[Jaguar018]

Did you look anything up on youtube? I'm sure there are a lot of instructional videos.

[kgbAttack]

I could only find a couple of videos on jaguar pickup replacement but they aren't exactly instructional. One actually might have been, but the audio speech is almost completely covered by a hideous soundtrack so you can only barely hear what the guy says. Also the guy does mention that there kind of is a sequence in de-soldering and re-soldering Jaguar pickups but doesn't really say which one it is

[Danley]

Really just don't burn anything, don't inhale anything, and wear eye protection. Other than that I'd just practice on spare wires until you feel confident to detatch your pickups, and reattach the new one the same way.

[higgsblossom]

We have a "nerdspace" in Mannheim, probably something like this also exists where you live? https://raumzeitlabor.de/ Go to a place like that and one of the nerds will show you how to solder

[hwestman]

If you're replacing existing pickups - take photos so that you'll know which cable goes where.

Get a desoldering pump/sucker to remove excess solder from potentiometer eyelets when removing the existing pickups.

When soldering pieces together BOTH pieces need to be heated together with the solder in order for the joint to be good. You cannot "glue" things together with solder - everything needs to be hot. When soldering cables to potentiometer cases this holds especially true. You need a soldering iron with enough effect to do this.

At the same time - be a bit careful not to heat components more than necessary. Cheaper plastic switches as well as capacitors (regardless of quality) can be destroyed by too much heat.

JMs and Jag's may not be the best guitars to start out with as the wiring is pretty complex. That being said - replacing to pickups amonts to four solder connections so it isn't nuclear physics we're talking about.

[higgsblossom]

Adafruit offers a good E-Book on basic soldering - what is true for their hardware can't be wrong for soldering guitar hardware:
https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/download ... dering.pdf

[kgbAttack]

Thank you!!!

[DeathJag]

I’ve been sitting on a pair of fresh Novaks for this exact same project! I figure the tough part will be neatly fitting all the wires back. Soldering will be the easy part!