Les Paul Guitar Pickup Replacement

Written By: Tiaron Starrine
  • Comments: 0
Les Paul Guitar Pickup Replacement

Difficulty

Difficult

Steps

7

Time Required

25 - 35 minutes

Introduction

Your axe isn't sounding right or just isn’t working but you don't want to spend a lot to fix it? This will let you change out your pickups in no time, without damaging your wallet in the process. Have a new set of pickups ready and you can jump right in. This guide will walk you through the process of changing the pickups on your Les Paul guitar.

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    • Loosen the guitar strings using a string winder.

    • The three strings closest unwind clockwise and the three farther away unwind counterclockwise.

    • Using a coin, carefully begin unscrewing and removing the tailpiece.

    • You can use a flat head screwdriver, but it will damage the finish on your tailpiece.

    • Remove the tailpiece by completely unscrewing it from the metal inserts and then gently lifting the assembly out of the body and set off to the side.

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    • Use the Phillips #0 screwdriver to remove the eight screws keeping the pickups in place.

    • All screws are the same size.

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    • Note which color wire is coming out of each pickup.

    • Gently flip over your guitar and put it on a soft towel or other soft material. Take off the control cavity cover.

    • Desolder the wires of the pickup from the terminal that is touching the back of the potentiometer, or pot.

    • A potentiometer is what the pickups are wired to that allow the player to have on-board control of their volume and tone. Terminals are the parts on a potentiometer that you solder the wires to.

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    • Flip over your guitar again. Thread the wire of the new pickup through the body to the control cavity and screw in the pickup using the Phillips #0 screwdriver.

    • Check what color wire is coming from each pickup.

    • For these kinds of pickups, the neck pickup magnet should face the neck and the bridge pickup magnets should face the bridge.

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    • Do not touch the soldering iron, or let it touch anything but the solder and wires.

    • The pickup wire should have multiple wires inside it. Check with the manufacturer which wire is which.

    • Solder the new ground wires to the back of the volume pots or to the terminal touching the back of the pot.

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    • Do not touch the metal parts of the soldering iron or the solder after melting it, they will burn you.

    • Relative to the output jack, the bottom row is for the bridge pickup and the top row is for the neck pickup.

    • Identify your hot wires and volume pots and solder the hot wire to the center terminal of the wires corresponding pot.

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    • Screw back on the control cavity cover and flip over your guitar.

    • Reattach the tailpiece and tune your guitar.

    • Raise and lower the pickups as desired using the two screws on the sides of the pickup rings.

Conclusion

Plug in your beloved guitar and rock out with your fresh pickups

Author

Tiaron Starrine

Member since: 02/02/21

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