Pickup mods

I have bought a couple of guitars in my life that had a pickup mod. I've seen guitrs where the neck pickup had been changed, a few with the middle one changed out [or added], but most had changed the bridge pup - usually from SC to a HB and frequently from a SC to a hotter SC.

I've never had a thought about modding any of my guitar's pups. Have you ever modded one of yours, which pickup (s), and why?

Just wondering....
Jay

It might be a shorter list if I mentioned the guitars I didn't mod! I will qualify what I say here by stating that I've done most of this screwing around to find an overall tone that works great with the band and our current set list. This is an endless quest, and despite knowing that, I keep screwing around with this stuff. (Edited to add: On second thought, it might just be boredom!)

For quite a while every Strat bodied guitar I bought, whether it was a Legacy or a Strat, got fitted with a set of S-500 MFD's. I just liked the tone of those pickups. I tried a single coil sized humbucker in the bridge of a Strat but didn't care for it.

The Strat I currently own has had the S-1 switch and stock pickups removed because I didn't care for the noiseless pickups and I really detest the S-1 switch. I put in traditional strat wiring and a set of Custom Shop '54 pickups. Sounds great. My ACCSH is stock, but I'm toying with the idea of experimenting with pickups in that guitar. The MFD cutout is the perfect size to fit a mini-humbucker in there. I'm also thinking about toying with my Les Paul. I just find some of the pickup and switching options interesting, like the new Duncan P-Rails. It's not that I don't like the guitars as they stand, but experimenting with pickups or capacitors is easy and can be reversed. I figure as long as I have the time and the interest, I might as well have some fun!
Brian

Last edited by Ches on Mon Apr 26, 2010 4:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

Hey Jay,

I fall in the pack of tinker and twist it up players. I'll try and be brief but my G&L GAS p-ups are another part of the fun. Here is the list and why:

ONLY G&L p-up change - took my ASAT Z3 and put a WR bridge p-up to make it closer to Will's version and add some volume and clarity to one of my favorie beasts!
Fender 62 re-issue - put a broadcaster bridge in, and very pleased with tone.

Squire double fat tele - changed to Dimarzio's for HUGE volume and clarity change. For a squire it is a true metal / rocker.

Other than that I mainly put in 4-way swithches in most ASAT/tele guitars I have. 87 ASAT, ASAT Deluxe now provide MUCH better p-up options. If you have never tried it, pick an ASAT / tele and throw a 4-way in and you will see the difference.

I'm more the type that doesn't like to tinker unless I have to. When I bought my LP, back in '89 I soon came to the conclusion that I didn't like the stock p/ups so out they came, replaced by a set of Duncans which improved the clarity. That was a great move, to my ear.

I'm now playing a CS Tele with one of those staggered pole bridge p/ups. The volume drops off so dramatically over the top 2 strings, (especially the high E) that I could not take it on stage. I'm still working with it to see if I can make it work, but I suspect there's a new bridge p/up in it's future. ,.......damned shame, it's a great guitar aside from that.

Sam,....or anyone that knows: what does the 4-way switch add to the Tele config ?? series / parallel type thing, or......?

Thanks !

oldhat, the 4-way switch wiring just adds another option in series and goes like this:

Pos. 1: Bridge pickup only
Pos. 2: Neck and bridge pickup in parallel
Pos. 3: Neck pickup only
Pos. 4: Neck and bridge pickup in series

The fourth position has considerably more output than all the other positions, and it also sounds very much like a humbucker. In essence, it is like having a humbucker with it's two coils separated from one another. Some Tele players love the added option, but after using it for a couple of years, I went back to the standard 3-way switching. It just didn't sound Tele-like enough for me, and as a humbucker, I just prefer the sound of the real thing. It's worth trying, though.

That said, one might surmise that I'm pretty big on modding my guitars, and I am. Although, if I have a stock model where I feel that modding probably wouldn't improve on it, I won't do it. Most of my modding occurs in Tele and Strat-style guitars, and I especially believe that the construction of Alnico-type pickups offers a variety of significant tonal variations. For example, if a Tele is just too bright for me, I might opt for an Alnico II or III pickup. Conversely, if a Tele is too dull or dark sounding, I might opt for an Alnico V pup or one with a lesser DC resistance or both. I'll generally mod my guitars more for the sake of tone as opposed to output, but after many years of doing this, I usually have a pretty fair idea as to what I'm hoping to achieve.

the 4-way switch wiring just adds another option in series and goes like this:

Pos. 1: Bridge pickup only
Pos. 2: Neck and bridge pickup in parallel
Pos. 3: Neck pickup only
Pos. 4: Neck and bridge pickup in series

The fourth position has considerably more output than all the other positions, and it also sounds very much like a humbucker. In essence, it is like having a humbucker with it's two coils separated from one another.

Most of my modding occurs in Tele and Strat-style guitars, and I especially believe that the construction of Alnico-type pickups offers a variety of significant tonal variations. For example, if a Tele is just too bright for me, I might opt for an Alnico II or III pickup. Conversely, if a Tele is too dull or dark sounding, I might opt for an Alnico V pup or one with a lesser DC resistance or both. I'll generally mod my guitars more for the sake of tone as opposed to output, but after many years of doing this, I usually have a pretty fair idea as to what I'm hoping to achieve.

Wow, now THAT really gets down to it. I have a couple of guitars that I don't play much.... hmmmmm..... I can see a solder gun and workbench in my future................

Jay

I can see a solder gun and workbench in my future................

And, if you find that you really like soldering things, get yourself one of these:



After years of using plain-old junky soldering irons, I finally got a Hakko, and now I'm wondering why I was so dang cheap not to buy one a long time ago.

Right you are Jim, I have a 20 watt grounded Hexacon made in NJ from the mid 60s that was designed for unsoldering solid state components and it has soldered many transistors and ICs. That and a good solder sucker will make you a wizard in the soldering dept. I have friends who would use acid core solder on wiring. Another not so good idea from the past. They used it on radiators and it worked good so why wouldn't it work on wiring they would say. Darwin

I'm a pickup swapper...don't own a guitar that has original pickups in it!

Having said that, the one guitar I could have left the originals in is my Legacy. But I wanted hum cancelling pickups, and heard so many good things about the DiMarzio Area pickups, so I put an Area '61 in the bridge and Area '58s in the middle and neck. I've been very happy with it, but to be honest, tonally they're not hugely different than the stock G&Ls.

With my Les Paul, I really wanted PAF tones out of it, and they 498T and 490R are a fair bit hotter. So I put in DiMarzio Virtual PAFs, which I really like. I also got added clarity in the neck. A friend of mine that doesn't usually swap out pickups heard my LP and decided he needed to put the same pickups in his!

And I've got a couple lower end import guitars and to me a pickup swap is pretty much a no-brainer for those!

I have decided after a lot of pickup swaps that there is something to be said for leaving a guitar in its original condition. This assumes the pickups for a guitar were really designed in a thoughtful way to be in that guitar. G&L fits the bill there. ASAT Classics, Specials, Legacys, and S-500s should all keep their original pickups, IMO. Fender American Telecasters on the other hand, practically demand that you upgrade their pickups. I am not a Fender basher at all, but their guitars seem nicer than the pickups that are in them.

Fender American Telecasters on the other hand, practically demand that you upgrade their pickups. I am not a Fender basher at all, but their guitars seem nicer than the pickups that are in them.

I recently installed MFD's and a Velvet Hammer in my mexican Strat... it was like taking a large blanket off of the amp. I like the feel of the guitar alot but as you say, the guitar was asking for an upgrade.

I have decided after a lot of pickup swaps that there is something to be said for leaving a guitar in its original condition. This assumes the pickups for a guitar were really designed in a thoughtful way to be in that guitar. G&L fits the bill there. ASAT Classics, Specials, Legacys, and S-500s should all keep their original pickups, IMO. Fender American Telecasters on the other hand, practically demand that you upgrade their pickups. I am not a Fender basher at all, but their guitars seem nicer than the pickups that are in them.

Yeah, I feel the same about pickups and G&L guitars, although, I have swapped pups in a couple of my G&Ls just to have some versatility. Regarding Fenders, about the only Tele I've found where I really like the pickups is the 8502 model (American Ash Tele). I also have an AV52RI that I believe has OV pups in it, and they're not too bad, either.

Jim, small world! I am johnny guitar at tdpri and we talked about 8502s there. Yeah, I love those MVs for sure. And I totally get why people would swap pups in G&Ls--but there is something about keeping them "virgin" that appeals to me too.

Haha.....I was wondering which post you'd catch first. I was much more obvious in the other one and a little more subtle in this one. It's good to see you here!

Hey guys, this is my first post here. I have a standard USA Legacy and I put a hot rails in the bridge. I normally don't like to mess with the stock pickups but I am in a couple cover bands and simply needed more power in the bridge. I'm sure I'll eventually put the stock back in but it was really out of necessity and no other reason.

Hi everyone! First post, but relevant... I'm in the process of swapping out the stock pups on my Bluesboy with Bare Knuckle's Stormy Monday and Blackguard 55' Stagger. I ordered the humbucker with the four-connection wiring so as to set up a series/single/parallel style-mod utilizing an on-on-on mini toogle. The control plate will be reversed while switching the volume and tones knob positions. I've also swapped out the stock pickguard for a Tone-Guard, and taped the cavities up with copper tape.

I swapped the pups in a Legacy for a set of Kinman Woodstocks, but pulled those out after a few months and sold them. They are great pups, but just didn't sound as "natural" as the stock pups. I wasn't getting the same type of break-up through my amp (Swart STR). I wound up pulling the bridge pup and replacing it with a Fralin Real '54 so it's stock/stock/'54 now. I really dig the sound of the Fralin.

Hey guys, this is my first post here. I have a standard USA Legacy and I put a hot rails in the bridge. I normally don't like to mess with the stock pickups but I am in a couple cover bands and simply needed more power in the bridge. I'm sure I'll eventually put the stock back in but it was really out of necessity and no other reason.

Nothing wrong with that.....especially if it works for you!

Hi everyone! First post, but relevant... I'm in the process of swapping out the stock pups on my Bluesboy with Bare Knuckle's Stormy Monday and Blackguard 55' Stagger. I ordered the humbucker with the four-connection wiring so as to set up a series/single/parallel style-mod utilizing an on-on-on mini toogle. The control plate will be reversed while switching the volume and tones knob positions. I've also swapped out the stock pickguard for a Tone-Guard, and taped the cavities up with copper tape.

I swapped the pups in a Legacy for a set of Kinman Woodstocks, but pulled those out after a few months and sold them. They are great pups, but just didn't sound as "natural" as the stock pups. I wasn't getting the same type of break-up through my amp (Swart STR). I wound up pulling the bridge pup and replacing it with a Fralin Real '54 so it's stock/stock/'54 now. I really dig the sound of the Fralin.

I haven't heard of Bare Knuckle pickups, but it sounds as though it would work pretty well. Tone-Guard has great stuff, too! Wayne has been a regular here in the past, but I haven't seen him lately. Maybe we'll have to pull him out of the woodwork. Regarding shielding, I've done it to a few of my guitars, and it never hurts. I guess I'm just too lazy to do it to all of them.

And guys, if you have some photos of your guitars, be sure to post them! And, welcome to the forum!

And Jay, what kind of "can o' worms" did you open here?

How much work is involved to unsoder a Legacy pickguard, and replace with another loaded pickguard? I don't have a sodering iron or materials, and would need to purchase them.

I haven't heard of Bare Knuckle pickups, but it sounds as though it would work pretty well. Tone-Guard has great stuff, too! Wayne has been a regular here in the past, but I haven't seen him lately. Maybe we'll have to pull him out of the woodwork. Regarding shielding, I've done it to a few of my guitars, and it never hurts. I guess I'm just too lazy to do it to all of them.

And guys, if you have some photos of your guitars, be sure to post them! And, welcome to the forum!

Bare Knuckle Pickups are hand wound in the UK. A buddy let me try his LP that's been loaded with a set of their "Mule" pups. I really dug the tone and search everywhere on YouTube for more examples. I ran across a couple of demos by a British fellow and decided that I really wanted to try them out...I'll report back on that front once the install is complete.

As far as loading some pictures...I tried adding a link in my profile, so that a photo would come in, but I don't think it's working properly. I'll have to research how to get that to work.

I'll try adding an image below:
<img src="http://api.photoshop.com/home_0a3f03e017034f6c9fffae5fb2be2c2e/adobe-px-assets/32d0d2031c394ce386a58cf963459b04" width="4368" height="2912"/>

To add an image you need to use 'Img' or 'timage=' button above the text box .
...just paste the url of the image between the tags (they will appear in the text box once you click on the 'Img' button).

The 'timage' button allows you create an image of a specific size that's linked to the full size image if I remember correctly.

Fingers crossed...

Fingers crossed...

Here's your image [I used the URL from the html code you tried first, which is slightly different]:



Hope this helps.

Thanks! There's my S-500.

Thanks! There's my S-500.

And you, too! Nice guitar!