New Pickup Advice

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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jackjeremyj123
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New Pickup Advice

Post by jackjeremyj123 » Wed Jan 10, 2018 6:01 pm

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I'm thinking of buying pickup covers or new pickups entirely. I'm confused on what pickups would work and how to solder them. I'm interested in a P90 or widerange pickup or just a humbucker. Maybe a combo of the two (preferred). If I could get some advice, that'd be great.

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Sid Nitzerglobin
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Re: New Pickup Advice

Post by Sid Nitzerglobin » Wed Jan 10, 2018 9:42 pm

What don't you like about the ones that are in there? What type of stuff are you playing and what kind of a sound are you looking for? What amp are you plugging into? How much do you want to spend?

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jthomas
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Re: New Pickup Advice

Post by jthomas » Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:06 am

Chrome lipstick pickups can look really good in a white offset.

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hpr_hpr
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Re: New Pickup Advice

Post by hpr_hpr » Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:27 pm

First question is always, what are you after and what don't you like about what you have? Given that you have humbuckers in there now there is very little that won't fit with the right conversion plate.

For what it's worth:
- (ultimate) versatility: SD Prails w/ triple shots or custom installation ($200-250)
- something out of the ordinary for a reasonable price: something/anything from Sentell pickups ($160-200)
- uncommon look: double lipsticks (add a single / series / parallel switch each for more versatility) (singles go for $50-100 so $100 - 400 depending on configuration)
- totally different sound: pretty much any single coil (and remember to possibly replace the pots & tone cap in that case) (again $100-200 or so)
- geeky: Lace Alumitones ($180-250 or so . . . might not be your cuppa as the DO have a sound distinct from other pickups)
- cheap: Guitar Fetish pickups . . . some are OK/good, some not so ... YMMV ($30-40 or so for each)

Maybe a couple of chrome mini humbuckers? But that suggestion is more based on looks as I don't know what sound you might want . . .

Miniswitches, pots and such for custom circuits can be had from amazon, mouser or digikey . . . $2 - 5 each or so . . .

As to the soldering, is it that you don't know how to read a schematic . . . or . . . don't know what to do with a soldering iron. The first is easily remedied, the second isn't much harder and just takes some practice . . . a couple of pieces of scrap wire from you local big box store and some time with youtube will teach you all you need to know for a job as simple as wiring a guitar. Oh and finally . . . as long as you are careful NOT to pull on the wires from the pickups there isn't much you can mess up that can't be corrected so the risks aren't all that high with something like a pickup replacement.
When thinking about any advice given always ask yourself "why would (s)he know more than I do".

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