Replacing Humbuckers And Pots

[vpcnk]

i've bought a gibson hawk and want to replace the humbuckers and change the 300k pots for 500k ones.

my question basically is how easy it is to replace stock pots/humbuckers?

i've never used a soldering iron before.

though i understand the concept having seen it in use.

with a soldering iron we can melt lead or some such soft metal and use the melted metal to connect two pieces of metal - like wires with metal etc - right?

so even if i have never done it before i guess i can experiment with it on some pieces of metal and gain a bit of expertise before actually trying it on my guitar.

i guess that the wiring on the guitar connect to the humbuckers and the pots.

so i would have to use the solder to disconnect the wires from the humbuckers and the pots and reconnect them to the new humbuckers and the pots.

and is there any issue in removing the old humbuckers and pots? are they connected physically to the guitar apart from the wires which connect them?

i checked with guitar center - they want 150 bucks to do this! sam ash wants 125! i think it is highway robbery! the lowest quote i could get was $70 for a midtown nyc used guitar shop.

but if it is not an easy job, i would rather spend the 70 bucks than screw up the guitar.

also i've only heard that the gibson hawk uses 300k pots. how can i identify if the pots are actually 300k?

also the usual prescription of 500k pots for humbuckers, does it apply to both volume and tone pots?

appreciate the feedback.

[al heeley]

Have a good practice first, then give it a go, it's a straightforward operation and a really useful skill to acquire if you like playing round with geetars.

The humbuckers will be attached to the pickup mounting rings with [edit] 2 long screws, the mounting rings are attached to the body of the guitar with 4 short ones. Once the mounting rings are unscrewed, the pickups can be gently pulled free. Unsolder the wires at the other end and you've removed them.

TIP: Draw a little sketch diagram first before unsoldering anything, so you know exactly where each wire originally went!

The pots are easily unscrewed with some small pliers. Once the knobs are off you can loosen the little nut underneath. Unscrew it and the pots will drop down into teh ctrl cavity.

300K sounds odd for pots, maybe thats perculiar to the hawk, I'm not familiar with that model. Normally pots are 250k (for single coil p'ups) or 500k for humbuckers. You should see the pot value printed in small letters on the back. There's also A and B-type. Now I bet I get this the wrong way round.

A500k = linear pot, normally used for volume

B500k = log pot, normally used for tone.

Someone please correct me if this is wrong!

It's not crucial but it changes the range at which the sound will change when the knob is turned.

For humbuckers, it is normal practice to have 500k pots for both volume and tone. It helps keep a brighter sound.

250K post for single coil strat-types helps stop them being too thin, glassy, trebley. You get the picture.

FInally, $150 for a pickup change and rewire, I think that's way too steep. I'd do it for £25 but you'd have to mail the guitar to me in the UK.

[spazzyone]

I'm not so sure about 32 screws lol must be a typo

and are you sure you have humbuckers and not P 90's?

if your replacing all the electronics $70 is a pretty fair price

and you won't have to worry about any problems

if you choose to do this yourself then listen to what Al has said as he is correct

its a pretty strait foward operation

[crafty]

I think $150 is perfectly reasonable if you're already spending $150 on a set of pickups. Especially if you're having them essentially rewire the entire guitar with new pots, too. Be careful about taking your guitar to an unknown shop. Most people don't know that they can actually sell your guitar to another customer while you're gone and there's no way you can get it back.

[Desopolis]

I think $150 is perfectly reasonable if you're already spending $150 on a set of pickups. Especially if you're having them essentially rewire the entire guitar with new pots, too. Be careful about taking your guitar to an unknown shop. Most people don't know that they can actually sell your guitar to another customer while you're gone and there's no way you can get it back.

WHAT??? what shops have you been to?!? Id sue over somthing like that..

and I did a total rewire on my strat in alittle over a hour. Only took that long becuase I had to modify the pickguard.

anyway, the only hard part will getting the sodder to pool on the pot casing.. wires and joints are easy

just wrap the wires or the wire arround the contact, put your iron at the base, and then the sodder from the top.

a big blob forms, and gravity keeps in on the gun, just drag it under untill you get the coverage you want.

[WezV]

anyway, the only hard part will getting the sodder to pool on the pot casing..

Its a good idea to reove a little bit of the plating on the back of the pot, use a file or scraper. The solder sticks easier to the bare metal.

I can understand you wanting to change the pickups but do you actually have a problem with the pots, i quite like the 300k ones and the job is easier if you dont have to do that, if they are noisy or scratchy try some pot cleaner first. If you are just changing the pickups it is simply a case of unsoldering the old pickup wires and attaching the new ones, just be aware that there is no standard colour code for pickups wires so follow the instructions that come with them. Once you have the pickups you can always ask again here for what wire goes where.

If you really do need to do a full rewire i would consider getting a pro to do it because, even though its not that difficult when you know how, it can be very frustrating when you are just starting. Really it depends how much you value /need the guitar. Can you afford for it to be out of action for a while if your wiring attempts go wrong. Its always worth practicing on cheaper guitars

[blackburncustomguitars]

i've bought a gibson hawk and want to replace the humbuckers and change the 300k pots for 500k ones.

my question basically is how easy it is to replace stock pots/humbuckers?

i've never used a soldering iron before.

though i understand the concept having seen it in use.

with a soldering iron we can melt lead or some such soft metal and use the melted metal to connect two pieces of metal - like wires with metal etc - right?

so even if i have never done it before i guess i can experiment with it on some pieces of metal and gain a bit of expertise before actually trying it on my guitar.

i guess that the wiring on the guitar connect to the humbuckers and the pots.

so i would have to use the solder to disconnect the wires from the humbuckers and the pots and reconnect them to the new humbuckers and the pots.

and is there any issue in removing the old humbuckers and pots? are they connected physically to the guitar apart from the wires which connect them?

i checked with guitar center - they want 150 bucks to do this! sam ash wants 125! i think it is highway robbery! the lowest quote i could get was $70 for a midtown nyc used guitar shop.

but if it is not an easy job, i would rather spend the 70 bucks than screw up the guitar.

also i've only heard that the gibson hawk uses 300k pots. how can i identify if the pots are actually 300k?

also the usual prescription of 500k pots for humbuckers, does it apply to both volume and tone pots?

appreciate the feedback.

Hi,

Give me a call at (USA) 810-376-8532 and I'll walk/talk you through the process.

Peace,

Daave