Epiphone Explorer pickup change

[CoastToCoast]

Hey guys! As you can see, this is my first post here, but I love the board. First, let me say that I hope this is going in the right area of the forum. I tried to do a search, but couldn't really find my problem, so here goes.

 

I have an Epi Explorer Goth that I've had for about 3-4 years. It's my favorite guitar that I've ever had in my hands...probably because as a huge Matthias Jabs fan, I love Explorers. This thing sounds great. I bought a Seymour Duncan JB for the bridge, and an SH-2 Jazz for the neck. I've never changed pickups in a guitar myself, but since I can solder well and have a good feel with tools, I figured why not save some money and at the same time, get as close as the law allows with the inner workings of my favorite instrument.

 

I also have an Epi Les Paul. When I opened the pot cavity (?) on that, everything is pretty nice with quite a bit of room to go around. With the Explorer, as you know, all three knobs are in-line. This doesn't leave much room for a lava-hot soldering iron to navigate. For those Explorer owners out there that have changed the pickups themselves, do you have any advice? Like I said, I'm confident that I can do this, but if this guitar poses a specific problem that may better be addressed by a more experienced technician, I'll accept that advice as well. (Edit: Tried to attach a photo, but I'm having a hard time getting it sized small enough for the filter)

 

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to talking to all of you guys in the future! B)

[CheapShoes]

Hi Coasttocoast. This doesn't directly answer your question, and I know the quest for tone never ends. Considering your feelings about this guitar:

 

"I love Explorers. This thing sounds great. "

 

You might be disappointed after changing the pickups, unless there is a very specific tone your are looking for.

I find myself in this conundrum quite a lot, and 90% of the time felt let down after a pup change, wonder later why I did that. The 10% were guitars I was unhappy with the initial tone, not questing for sprinkles on top of something that already sounded good.

 

Just food for thought.

[Spamonkis]

CheapShoes has a great point, but if you are determined to change them, the answer to the tight cavity is to take the pots out while you do the solder work. Take off the knobs, unscrew the nuts, pull them out and be sure to protect the guitars finish (newspaper and masking tape) while you work, then re-install the pots.

 

God bless, Spamonkis

[Kong]

When I rewired my Explorer, I took the pots out. I cut some holes in a piece of cardboard spaced the same as the guitar and poke the pots through the cardboard (top of a shoebox works great). Then you can work just outside the cavity, just above it. This helps ensure an easy fit when you put them back in, and gives you plenty of room to work. I also recommend putting some newspaper over the guitar to protect the finish.

 

I do this for Les Pauls as well.

[Bluemans335]

Go to the Seymour Duncan Forum for PU's and there's hundreds of guys there who've changed PU's many times. Ask all the questions that pop in your head.

 

It's very easy to swap PU's, I've done it dozens of times. No prior skill or experience required (as in my case, not a handyman at all).

[CoastToCoast]

Thanks for all of the advice, guys, it's much appreciated. I'll definitely take the pots out using the methods that you've recommended.

 

CheapShoes- Very good points, and something to consider. The reason for the pickup change is that while I love the sound of the guitar, the bridge pickup gets kinda muddy at higher volume. It could be any number of things, but I figured the pickups would be the easiest place to start.

 

Thanks again, guys!

[Old Rocker 59]

Seymour Duncan.com has diagrams for every variation of installing pickups. Click on the support at the top of the page and you'll see the diagram section which you'll find to be very helpful.

[CoastToCoast]

Hey guys, I finally changed the pickups. It was pretty easy once I realized that removing the pickguard reveals a route, which allows for far easier wiring. That may be common knowledge for most of you, but I had no idea. After that, it was a piece of cake. The Ex is sounding better than ever, and I can't recommend the Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz SH-2 combo enough for any Epi Explorer owners. Amazing.