Munky Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Im sure Im not the only person here who is scared to death of upgrading the pickups in their semi (mine's a Dot), Ive scoured the internet looking for an idiotproof video demonstration of how to change pups, including the pulling wires through here, yanking things through F holes, tieing string to bits and bobs etc, but to no avail. The closest one ive found has been the Mojo one here http://www.mojomusicalsupply.com/video-335.asp , but for a fool like me, its not much use. Next time one of you semi pup changing geniuses does a change, is there ANY chance you can make a video of it?! I SO want to upgrade my pickups, but without a video holding my cyberhand, im way too nept to try it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Im sure Im not the only person here who is scared to death of upgrading the pickups in their semi (mine's a Dot)' date=' Ive scoured the internet looking for an idiotproof video demonstration of how to change pups, including the pulling wires through here, yanking things through F holes, tieing string to bits and bobs etc, but to no avail. The closest one ive found has been the Mojo one here http://www.mojomusicalsupply.com/video-335.asp , but for a fool like me, its not much use. Next time one of you semi pup changing geniuses does a change, is there ANY chance you can make a video of it?! I SO want to upgrade my pickups, but without a video holding my cyberhand, im way too nept to try it! [/quote'] Have you tried Stewart McDonald? They have a lot of instructional guitar repair stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankS1281734010 Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 I don't know of any videos, but there have been several threads here about the "cheat" method that involves actually cutting the pickup wire and splicing the new pup in with the existing wire. worth checking out, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Strum Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 I never did a pup and pot mod, but this thread has me thinking about the Dot. Not sure if the investment is worth the end result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munky Posted September 14, 2008 Author Share Posted September 14, 2008 I figure if im gonna do something, im gonna do it properly, so im reluctant to use the cheat method. Especially when i'd like to at least change the switch at the same time. So, if anybody DOES do a semi pup change anytime soon, please feel free to make a demo out of it! Ta guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenrirlupus Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Im sure Im not the only person here who is scared to death of upgrading the pickups in their semi (mine's a Dot)' date=' Ive scoured the internet looking for an idiotproof video demonstration of how to change pups, including the pulling wires through here, yanking things through F holes, tieing string to bits and bobs etc, but to no avail. The closest one ive found has been the Mojo one here http://www.mojomusicalsupply.com/video-335.asp , but for a fool like me, its not much use. Next time one of you semi pup changing geniuses does a change, is there ANY chance you can make a video of it?! I SO want to upgrade my pickups, but without a video holding my cyberhand, im way too nept to try it! [/quote']same problem. welcome to my world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbomb76 Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Changing pickups and electronics in a semihollow is a BEE-OTCH. But if you're patient and don't plan on doing it in less than a couple hours you can do it. When you're taking out the old pots, before dropping them out tie a piece of string or fishing line to each pot, switch and jack so that when you've got the new setup ready to go you can pull them back in place the way they came out. Just make sure and anchor the ends so they don't get out of place. Just take deep breaths and if you have trouble with something, take a break. Better slow and safe than sorry! H-Bomb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CM Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 If I was only doing my pickups (Again) on my Sherry II I'd definitely use what we now call "The Cheat Method". Pulling the original Epi electronics out of a semi-hollow body guitar and putting the same ones back in is a bit of a job and doesn't seem justified to me. If you're going to do all that, change the pots, switch, and jack while you're in there. Mojo can help you with that also. If you're completely satisfied with the electronics and just want to try different pickups, then definitely go with "The Cheat Method". There is absolutely nothing wrong with it if it's done the right way. Just like any electronics soldering job. I you do tackle the complete job, let me/us know if you were in any frame of mind to operate a video camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Let me say: it's hard but it certainly not undoable. You string the parts through and if something pulls hard, etc., you'll know.. and that's when you sometimes have to redo it. It's a pain, but it ain murder! As to worth it for a dot, you betcherbutt it is. CTS or Alpha, or as in my Sheri, good mini pots, will feel smoother, give your range of control a smoother curve. Good caps, and again.. the right values for your ears.. worth experimenting, also make a difference you'll notice. To have all really good stuff in there is not a small deal.. will work for years! What I do is build the parts on a cardboard.. then you can wire the pickups to it while it's out of the guitar.. mess with your tone and treble bleed cap values until you've got exactly what you want.. thread it through and when you play it, you'll hear and feel a difference you wont doubt was worth the money. Now.. 90.00 at Mojo tone.. maybe not. That's pretty spendy, they use oil caps which run a lot more. .like ten bucks each or better..and they use CGE pots which are a bit cheaper than Alpha or CTS, but very good pots nonetheless. They hit you pretty good for parts profit, and for bench time. Knowing your soldering is important.. you don't want cold joints or weak joints.. knowing your wiring path and understanding how it threads through without any hangups is something you can figure out pretty easy. But worth it on a dot? you bet. TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwillow777 Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Like Twang said, it is definitely worth it. I redid my Dot and Sherry and I was really glad I did. Make sure you get the 1/4" jack with long shaft, Switchcraft makes them. The regular size are a little too short, I know from experience. It takes a lot of patience, but is very doable. There was a really good thread on the old forum with a lot of pics that helped me, but it is no longer available. If you can do it in 2 hours, all I can say is WOW. It took me a lot longer my first time. One thing I learned by doing it wrong the first time was not to solder everything up first. 1. Pre-wire the pots/switch/jack. I drilled out a piece of plywood I had laying around and used it as a template and soldered all my parts to it. (Use shielded wire.) Then I took the parts off and fished them through the f-hole. 2. Put the pickups in place and fish the wires through the f hole. Solder the wires to the pots, along with the ground wire from the bridge. 3. Test it out BEFORE fishing everything through. Plug in and just tap the pole pieces, if there is sound from each pickup while the switch is in the right position, you are ready to go. 4. Put string or fishing line on everything to be fished in and begin. Patience is key here. I fished my 1/4" jack through first, then my bridge volume, bridge tone, neck tone, neck volume and switch last. 5. Holding the parts in place while tightening them can be frustrating, especially the 1/4" jack. I used a piece of 14 ga. wire I had left over from when I wired my basement. I put a hook in it, fished it into the jack and held it is place while I tightened the nut. After it was tight I pulled the wire out. I was able to get a finger in the f-hole and hold the pots in place while tightening them. Good luck. It takes patience but it is well worth it, and a great feeling when you are done knowing that you did it yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corcoran Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Sentry Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 I'd just do it. I did a pickup test in my Epi Standard recently. Changed 2 sets of pickups 6 times while trying different combinations. I ended up blowing a 500k pot for the volume, but that's a 5 dollar fix. Fun stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billybob Dylan Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 I don't know of any videos' date=' but there have been several threads here about the "cheat" method that involves actually cutting the pickup wire and splicing the new pup in with the existing wire. worth checking out, anyway.[/quote'] That's what I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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