PNG123

Won't the heat from the solder damage the pup/melt the plastic?

I know i should heat up the iron as much as possible so i can just go in and out as fast as possible but i thought i would still damage the pup.

Just in case you're thinking what I think you're thinking: DO NOT UNSOLDER THE WIRES FROM THE PICKUPS.

1. Draw a diagram of the current wiring

2. Unsolder the pickup wires from the switch and pots.

3. Remove pickups from the pickguard assembly.

4. Install new pickups in the pickguard assembly.

5. Solder pickup wires to the switch and pots using your diagram as reference.

Phew, thanks, I though there was something wrong about putting my 25 watt iron next to my new pups ,

Just heat the solder joint with your solder iron, it will melt and come free, then solder the new pickup wire to where you just removed the old pickup from.

Won't the heat from the solder damage the pup/melt the plastic?

I know i should heat up the iron as much as possible so i can just go in and out as fast as possible but i thought i would still damage the pup.

Replace 'em all. If you're gonna be going through the trouble of opening her up anyway, might as well try out all the new pickups. If you don't like the Squires, no big loss, just put the originals back in.

Yeh that's what i thought,

I was going to open it up anyways to shield it

Another question,

To put in new pups, i just cut the current wires and re solder them to the new ones right?

(i guess i cut the wire from the part close to the pup or from the control cavity?)

So, i own a Yamaha Pacifica (appart from ap couple of other guitars)

Strat style shpae with S-S-H stock pups.

I bought a couple of cheapish Squire Single colis and a Shadow Humbucker,

Which would you keep replace?

Ie;

1) Keep all the Yamaha stock pups

2) Replace all the stock pups

3) Only Replace the Humbucker

4) Only Replace the single coils

5) Other....

I think i will go for Dunca Alninco 2 Pro Pups for tele

They sound great and i can get them for a great price, any experience with these pups?

Now back to my question,

I want a proper blues sounding guitar which will give me a cross-sound between Jimi Hendrix, Gary Moore, and John Mayer. (and possibly even David Gilmour), that warmish blues sound you know..

So what pick-ups to you guys recommend?

(Have o fit a Tele remember)

Ok, back to your question. Hendrix played a Strat most of the time, Gary Moore plays a Les Paul most of the time, John Mayer plays a Strat most of the time (when he's not wanking on that First Act on the commercial), and Gilmour uses the EMGs. A Tele won't ever sound exactly like any of them, much less a combination.

That said, I like the Texas Special Tele set. OR, you could contact Curtis Novak, tell him what you're looking for, and he will tell you if he can wind it.

Thanks guys,

I mentioned those artists because they are the sound i would like,

I cannot afford to just use this tele for blues,

I know that both Gilmour and Hendrix used strats (and Hendrix sometimes also used Flying-V) and that they alll have their individual tone.

Anyways,

I am between two minds wheter to go for Fender Noisless pups, Tex-mex /or Texas Specials.

I might opt for a Dimarzio but i think i would prefer the Fender sound.

Hello every body,

I have a Telestyle Guitar ready, but still have to get it some nice pups to spice it up.

I currently have a Fender Showmaster (SDuncs HH pickups) Which prodice a very warmish Rock sound (not a gibson sound), and a Yamaha Pacifica (yamaha pups s-s-h), this tries to imitate the traditional start tone, but doesn't get close, abit warmer than a strat but has more trebly sound than the Fender Showmster/

Now back to my question,

I want a proper blues sounding guitar which will give me a cross-sound between Jimi Hendrix, Gary Moore, and John Mayer. (and possibly even David Gilmour), that warmish blues sound you know..

So what pick-ups to you guys recommend?

(Have o fit a Tele remember)

The last thing I want to do is to talk you out of modifying your guitar, but I think you should understand more about circuits in general before attempting anything. Learn what a pot does, what a cap does, what shielding does and basic circuitry. There are many tutorial, books and web info that will help you. Enjoy.

Believe me i have read MANY tutorials.

I know what Caps, Resistors, Inductors, Transistors and Pots do (seperately).

Well as far as i know Shielding grounds all your pick-ups and controls if i understood well, this decreases hum, (the same effect of when you touch the strings).

I think covering the cavities with copper tape, and adding a cap and a resistor in parallel shouldn't be a problem,

but i like to double check if i am doing the right thing before jumping in and screwing my guitar.

I couldn't find many sites about guitar wiring (for noobs in simple english), if you know any tutorials pls tell me.

the groun on the jack is the middle ring usualy has a braided wire going to it

and for a pic here

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d38/femf...capresister.jpg

you could remove the ground from what ever it connects to inside the guitar

then solder what you removed to one end of this resister/cap then solder the other end

back to where you removed it from

and listen to primal aluminum does not solder well

your better off with self stick copper

Ok thanks , and do you think the Cap should do the job? Or should i consider a Fuse as Primal said?

About the snipping part i will post a pick of my wires later on ,just to double check

So,

First of all , thank you both.

@spazzy: I am a noob and didn't quite understand what you say, would you have a picture or something for my simple mind to feast on :S

(actually i re -read it and i think i under stood,

So i buy the two parts, put a cap and from 1 part i take a wire and sold to tthe Resistor, and from the resistor to the jack (ground), and from the other side of the cap to the tone pot.

Problem is ,which is this jack ground exactly?)

@Primal:

Since the Pick-Ups and Controls are virtally in the same compartment i'm not going to need to weld the alumium. (and i am not even thinking of screwing a screw in my guitar),

I could also use copper tape if you think it won't work but I already have Aluminium foil in the kitchen which is waiting to be used .,

About the Capacitor,

I wanted to fit the Cap , because i was given the advice that it is an apparently 'easy' way of having an extar protection against shock

(Read: Shielding a Strat

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to read about the Cap part.

If you think the fuse makes more sense i can do that if you tell me how.

Thanks ,

PNG123

So, I am planning to do a modification on my Yamaha Pacifica (strat Style Guitar)

Modification: http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php or more likely

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/tele.php

This Modification is know amongst many of you as the 'Quieting of the Beast'

Now i have everything prepared but i just have 2 minor problems:

1) In order to shield the cavity i am going to cover it in aluminium foil instead of copper tape (should have the same effect.

Now what type of adhesive should i use to stick the Aluminium foil to the cavity (ideally non-toxic glue).

and Secondly:

2) I Want to stick a 400 Watt Capacitor as protection against shock incase of a faulty current.

The problem is i can't understand where to stich the capacitor (ie: how do i wire it?)

Thanks for all your help,

PNG123

The guy shown in the auction pictures is our very own GuitarFrenzy - he built one form the plans and uses it a lot. He speaks very highly of it.

Brilliant! Anyone tried it out?

Yeah, GuitarFrenzy.

And it's only $26.50! with Free Shipping! I would buy it if i had where to put it (oh and if i new how to use it )

Pssst ... that's just for the plans ...

Ah, Crap i thought it was too good to be true

And it's only $26.50! with Free Shipping!

I would buy it if i had where to put it (oh and if i new how to use it )

Nice design ,

If your band mate cranks up the volume higher than you , you can ram into him with your guitar (just not too hard you wouldn't want any red stains on that lovely green

Also,

How do you play a 7 or 8 string guitar?

not to screw this up, but most guitars have adjustible height pickups. Ill post my latest:

Name: Strat Rewire

Use/Aim: Squire pickups are terrible, time to upgarde

Difficulty: Intermediate

Time: alot of planning, maybe 1 or 2 hrs of work.

Effectiveness: 8/10 Sounds extremely better and the value in my mind has increased dramaticly.

Expence: I hunted arround and Id say 180ish for 3 Seymour Duncan pickups, a Hot rail, duckbucker and vintage single coil. about $20 for pots and wiring

Source: www.Seymourduncan.com, www.stewmac.com and radio shack.

Comment: I lost alittle of that strat tone from the bridge with the hot rail, but mixed with the vintage its still pretty nice.

The original wiring was terrible, I also changed all of the pots over because the original were fuzzy.

I also changed the second tone to adjust the rear pickup instead of the middle one.

Over-all Rating: 7/10 Its intense.. the gain alone over the stockers is insane.. I could never get a good harmonic, or tap from the old ones and now I'm avoiding slide noise. also one thing that bugs me is I used to rest my hand on the strings when playing high notes to mute the low notes, but now the magnets are so strong that I get to close and it yanks the string down. and even though its muted when the pickup and string contact it makes a tone..

hard habbit to break

(nice review, I know must Guitars have adjustable Pick-ups but some people might not know the effect).

Also you mgiht wanna try lowering your pick-ups You will loose some of the current sound you have but atleast you will rock comfortably, And it is not just the habit, You will need to mute in many songs ,so might aswell ajust the pick-ups.

Also i agree with you,

I have a pair of Seymour Duncan Humbuckers on my Fender Showmaster and the sound is much thicker and heavier than when you put on Fender (or Fender like) single coils.

So i came up with this idea to open a thread were we can all post the modifications we have done to our guitar.

This would help you and others, in idenifying usefull modifcation or those tht are just pains in the ass, time consumers or money wasters

This should be presented as follows:

Name: (Enter name of Modification)

Use/Aim: What is the aim of this modification, what will it improve

Difficulty: (Range= Very Easy, Easy, Intermediate, Advanced, Very Advanced) (coulb be Easy-Intermediate (this would indictae difficulty is between Easy and Intermediate)

Time: (Time taken to do this modification)

Effectiveness: How effective was this on your guitar on a scale from 1-10 (ex: 0/10 being 'no difference', 10/10 'changed your guitar totally' (for the better)

Expence: (How much did you spend on materials for this modification (Approx)

Source: (This must be a link to the Schematic and Explanation of your modification) If you invented the modification your self, Just include your own explanation

Comment: (Your Comment about this modification)

Over-all Rating: Was it worth the hassle?/ Would you recommend it? (as above Scale 1-10, 0/10 being 'No it is horrible, a waste of time and money, and 10/10 being 'A must'

NB: PLEASE REVIEW BOTH GOOD AND BAD MODIFICATIONS YOU HAVE DONE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I will go first:

Name: Nicer-Sound (Very original ;D

Aim/ Use: Gives a new and unique(er) sound to your playing

Difficulty: Very Easy

Time: 5 Mins

Effectivness: 6.5/10

Expence: $0

Source: My own brain 8-) :

Explanation:

I did this modifcation on my Yamaha Pacifica.

It has S-S-H Pick-up set-up.

The pick-ups are screwed in as follows:

Layer 1:Screw (top_. ______l====l_________

Layer 2: Pick guard_________| |__________

Layer 3: Spring ___________+++__________

Layer 4: Pick-Ups __________| | __________

Layer 5: Screw (bottom) _____\/____________

--

All you need to do is keep on fastening the screw and you will notice the pick up rising.

Keep on going till the pick-up is about 2mm from the Strings (no need to mesure, but make sure strings are not touching the pick-up

Advantages:

Easy, Cheap and Reversable.

Disadvantages:

Inccreases hum, and picking noise (SLIGHTLY!)

Comment: A must-try modification for beginners,

Over-all Rating: 7/10

Side Explanation:

What is happening:

''it's kinda like when a pretty girl is a block away.

when she gets closer, she looks even better.''

unklmickey

Many moons ago when I played in a band,we did that to our bass cause we thought it was going to get us closer to the "Chris Squire" sound.............it did!.

Aharon

What about the other way round,

A bass pick up and a guitar pick up in a guitar?

Sorry ... I opened 2 topics ny mistake.

(If some moderator can close this topic, it would be great)

I am going to do the quieting the beast Modification, and add a 400Watt Capacitor just in case, that should soleve the problem abit

Just like anything else dangerous, approach it with caution, read labels, ask if you dont know....personally Im more worried about losing a finger or my vision, which is why Im careful and wear saftey equipment while working.

I am just going to assemble or modyify guitars , do i won't be using any wood cutting equipment,

Worstthat could happen would be a burn or getting my finger glued to my guitar

Even if you tried specifically to do so, it would be rather difficult to mod a guitar in someway that it could electrocute you under ordinary circumstances. You can mod an amp in such a way that it can kill you but guitar electronics are pretty much low-voltage affairs as far as I know. Your biggest worry will probably be burning yourself w/ a soldering iron.

As far as chemicals, a lot of the finishes you might use are toxic and should only be used w/ proper protection and ventilation. Some people have allergic reactions to certain woods as well.

So modifying guitars isn;t really dangerous,

I should just watch out when painting and mod amps right?

(oh and what about pedals?)

-----

What do you think about this modification:

Shielding a Tele,

In another article, the author also suggest including a 400V Capacitor (Shielding a Strat )

What do you think?

Hey everybody,

I am new in this forum but have read quite alot over here already.

I have also read, and participate in many othe guitar forums,

Anyway, i have some questions.

1) When performing modifications to my guitar (example shielding it) , do i increase the risk of shock?

2) Are there any poisonous chemicals one encounters when modifying/building guitars?

3) Is there a risk of getting a shock whilst playing guitar (i was never paranoid about this point but recently i read an article and it was got me concerened..Guitar Nuts- Shock

Are there any risks when making your own pedal?

Electrical Shock, Screwing up you Amp, or anything?

I'd like to be able to order some pickups from Brian but he doesn't ship DiMarzio's to Canada

SInce this topic is already open.

I was interested in the TC (telecaster) version Kit.

I have a couple of questions;

1) Is the soldering done ,or can i do it myself??

2) Are there options on the Pick-ups and pick-guards (anr hardware?)

3) Does Brian Ship to Malta?

4) Can the guitar be painted and sent (obliviously for an extra price), since in malta there aren;t companies who paint guitars.

5) What is the quality of the kit (when assembled).. (as good as a Yamaha, an Ibanez, a Fender USA?)

That is it actually ).

Thanks for your help.