Pickup swap guide?

riskybizz

Hey guys, so i'm a noob. Just got my first Jaguar - a brand new CIJ sunburst with block inlays.

I've ordered some new pickups (seymore duncan antiquity 1) and I'm debating if I should attempt the pickup swap myself. I've never really done this kind of work on guitars, and have little soldering experience. Anyone know of a guide that would be able to walk me through it?

Fran

Welcome to the forum dude. Its quite easy swapping the pickups as long as you are methodical and take your time. Its just a case of re-soldering the new pickups where the old ones went.

You just need a decent Soldering Iron with a nice tip and some solder (from Maplin UK or Radio Shack US etc).

Remove scratchplate and control plates.

Keep note of what you remove with a diagram and replace likewise, make sure your Iron is hot (let it warm for 5 mins) and 'tin' the new pickup wires (coat the end with solder before connecting up).

The neck pickup is soldered to the top horn control plate and the bridge pickup to the 3-switch lower control plate. Your finished soldering should look shiney and rounded. May be worth practising first on some spare wire, heat both parts with Iron tip before soldering (wire and point).

The seymour duncan website has excellent diagrams as well 😉

Earth

Fran said: Welcome to the forum dude. Its quite easy swapping the pickups as long as you are methodical and take your time. Its just a case of re-soldering the new pickups where the old ones went.
You just need a decent Soldering Iron with a nice tip and some solder (from Maplin UK or Radio Shack US etc).
Remove scratchplate and control plates.
Keep note of what you remove with a diagram and replace likewise, make sure your Iron is hot (let it warm for 5 mins) and 'tin' the new pickup wires (coat the end with solder before connecting up).
The neck pickup is soldered to the top horn control plate and the bridge pickup to the 3-switch lower control plate. Your finished soldering should look shiney and rounded. May be worth practising first on some spare wire, heat both parts with Iron tip before soldering (wire and point).
The seymour duncan website has excellent diagrams as well 😉

+1.

Also google a soldering tutorial for extra tips and tricks.

I wouldn't buy a soldering iron over 25watts BTW! Or if its adjustable,keep it at about 25watts.

Also dont overheat, the parts you are soldering get VERY hot VERY qickly and you should never have the soldering iron on the paart for any longer than 5 seconds absolute max! The only exception is when soldering ground wires to the back of pot casings as these take a lot more time to heat up and can also take a lot more heat as well. And soldering wires alone. If you have been on the part for 10 second and havent finished,stop and let it cool down and then try again.

The pointers I just gave you are really more for soldering PCB's but it doesn't pay to get into the habit of overheating parts be it mosfets or simple wires!

hiorgos

As long as you are a bit familiar with how to solder a single wire you should not have a problem to do it.

As said before, take your time, go slow and concentrate o what you are doing. Don't let your cat/dog wander around while you are on it. Read a couple of how-to's on the internet.

Be careful with the soldering, keep your eyes far from the soldering materials, use some kind of magnifier if you want to look closer when soldering. I would take some close up pictures of everything with the camera before, just to be safe.

And we will need pictures of the guitar on the pics thread as well. 😎

Welcome!

riskybizz

Thanks for the tips. I'll definetly look at some basic solder tutorials before I start.

Still waiting for my new pickups to arrive anyways, so theres lot of time to practice.

riskybizz

well I took a stab at it last night and the results were mixed. It works, but by the sounds of it a ground connection came loose. Gonna try to fix that today. The pickups are sounding nice though!

Cymastar

riskybizz said: well I took a stab at it last night and the results were mixed. It works, but by the sounds of it a ground connection came loose. Gonna try to fix that today. The pickups are sounding nice though!

Glad to hear it! Post pics when you're done!

riskybizz

I am having the hardest time getting the solder stuck to the claws to connect the ground. Is there a secret for doing this right?

Richie

riskybizz said: I am having the hardest time getting the solder stuck to the claws to connect the ground. Is there a secret for doing this right?

It's 'cause the surface of the claw is polished and too smooth for the solder to bond easily. Sand/ file a little bit of it and it should stick.

riskybizz

thanks! I'll giver a shot.

SmutVendetta

Haha I had that exact same problem when I did mine

riskybizz

I had to take the blow torch to the claws to get it hot enough for the solder to stick. I still don't think the ground connection is 100% as there is still a bit more hum then I would like, although it could be my imagination. Also I think i put in the bridge claw the wrong way..opps. Cant really be bothered to fix it at this point.

The antiquity's are hot! The tone is leaps and bounds over the stock CIJ pups. The guitar really comes to life with them. I especially love the tone of the neck pickup.

Next up - mustang bridge!