How tough is it to change a pickup

[Tuneman]

Is this a major hassle, I have a les paul, and I want to put in a hotter pickup so that when I use a lot of gain, it doesn't sound so sloppy.

[bosk1]

It's really just a question of getting out of your comfort zone.  Once you're willing to do that, it's really not that hard.  I mean, in the '70s and early '80s, I could use "Hey, baby.  What's your sign?" without shame.  But moving into the lateer '80s, I realized that pickup line wasn't really working anymore, so I was faced with the hard decision:  Change the pickup, or get left behind.  So I decided to go with the tried and true, "Hey, baby.  I've got big hair.  You've got big hair.  I'm wearing spandex.  You'd look great in spandex.  Let's hook up."  And for the '80s, that worked like a charm.  Then the '90s rolled around, and...

Wait, what were we talking about?

[brakkum]

Is this a major hassle, I have a les paul, and I want to put in a hotter pickup so that when I use a lot of gain, it doesn't sound so sloppy.

first off be sure its the pickup and not your playing, that can really contribute to bad tone. also a hotter pickup doesn't mean it would be less sloppy if it were the pickup.

as for the real question, its a matter of do you know how to solder, are you comfortable doing it, and do you know which wires go where?

if yes then it shouldnt be too hard. if you dont know how, dont bother trying and then somehow ruining something, and take it to a pro.

[Zydar]

As usual, bosk1 wins the thread.

[Tuneman]

Is this a major hassle, I have a les paul, and I want to put in a hotter pickup so that when I use a lot of gain, it doesn't sound so sloppy.

first off be sure its the pickup and not your playing, that can really contribute to bad tone. also a hotter pickup doesn't mean it would be less sloppy if it were the pickup.

as for the real question, its a matter of do you know how to solder, are you comfortable doing it, and do you know which wires go where?

if yes then it shouldnt be too hard. if you dont know how, dont bother trying and then somehow ruining something, and take it to a pro.

oh wow i have to solder? neverminnd then.  I do think its the pickup, its a epi les paul and when I put it on high gain the tone sounds muddy and not very sharp.

[brakkum]

Is this a major hassle, I have a les paul, and I want to put in a hotter pickup so that when I use a lot of gain, it doesn't sound so sloppy.

first off be sure its the pickup and not your playing, that can really contribute to bad tone. also a hotter pickup doesn't mean it would be less sloppy if it were the pickup.

as for the real question, its a matter of do you know how to solder, are you comfortable doing it, and do you know which wires go where?

if yes then it shouldnt be too hard. if you dont know how, dont bother trying and then somehow ruining something, and take it to a pro.

oh wow i have to solder? neverminnd then.  I do think its the pickup, its a epi les paul and when I put it on high gain the tone sounds muddy and not very sharp.

well yea, with it being an Epiphone i would probably agree there. but yes, soldering is definitely required, as nice as it would be to just be able to have some easy way to hook up new pickups, likes plugs and such, it would create a hassle when people want to hook up active pickups where there weren't before, and other weird issues like that. though it would be a great thing to be able to easily switch them out like that.

[millahh]

This could be a really good learning opportunity.  You could find some old switches, pots & wires, practice on them a bit until your skills are a little sharper, then do the change yourself.  I don't consider myself to be a master of soldering, but I was able to do a big and fairly complex rewiring of my bass without that much trouble.  It's a good skill to have.

[brakkum]

This could be a really good learning opportunity.  You could find some old switches, pots & wires, practice on them a bit until your skills are a little sharper, then do the change yourself.  I don't consider myself to be a master of soldering, but I was able to do a big and fairly complex rewiring of my bass without that much trouble.  It's a good skill to have.

definitely, i took an electronics class in high school, and it was worth it just to get good at soldering.

[millahh]

This could be a really good learning opportunity.  You could find some old switches, pots & wires, practice on them a bit until your skills are a little sharper, then do the change yourself.  I don't consider myself to be a master of soldering, but I was able to do a big and fairly complex rewiring of my bass without that much trouble.  It's a good skill to have.

definitely, i took an electronics class in high school, and it was worth it just to get good at soldering.

That, knowing how to read a circuit diagrams, use multimeters, and troubleshoot much more effectively.

[orcus116]

It's really just a question of getting out of your comfort zone.  Once you're willing to do that, it's really not that hard.  I mean, in the '70s and early '80s, I could use "Hey, baby.  What's your sign?" without shame.  But moving into the lateer '80s, I realized that pickup line wasn't really working anymore, so I was faced with the hard decision:  Change the pickup, or get left behind.  So I decided to go with the tried and true, "Hey, baby.  I've got big hair.  You've got big hair.  I'm wearing spandex.  You'd look great in spandex.  Let's hook up."  And for the '80s, that worked like a charm.  Then the '90s rolled around, and...

Wait, what were we talking about?

 

[AcidLameLTE]

Is this a major hassle, I have a les paul, and I want to put in a hotter pickup so that when I use a lot of gain, it doesn't sound so sloppy.

first off be sure its the pickup and not your playing, that can really contribute to bad tone. also a hotter pickup doesn't mean it would be less sloppy if it were the pickup.

as for the real question, its a matter of do you know how to solder, are you comfortable doing it, and do you know which wires go where?

if yes then it shouldnt be too hard. if you dont know how, dont bother trying and then somehow ruining something, and take it to a pro.

oh wow i have to solder? neverminnd then.  I do think its the pickup, its a epi les paul and when I put it on high gain the tone sounds muddy and not very sharp.

You could always be lazy, like me, and take it into a guitar shop for them to do it for you.