epig55 Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Simple as that. I've tried searching this forum (and others), and I can't seem to find a definitive answer. I did find one person on this thread (http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/epiphone-les-pauls/60092-project-rewiring-ultra-ii.html) that had clipped the pickup wires leading to the molex connector - and then soldering the clipped ends to the ends of the new pickups. I *could* do that, but I think I'd prefer to solder the leads of the new pickup into a new pair of molex connectors. Does anyone have an idea who sells 'em, what the part name/model is? Like I said, I'm having a hard time finding many success stories out there. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Welcome to the forums, a great group of geet geeks around here, I hope you like the place. I have 2 Ultra-IIs and have never thought about a pup swap, I don't remember anyone else doing it either, best bet with the connectors is to measure them (probably better in metric) and go to a decent electronics shop who stock separate components. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epig55 Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Thanks, RaStUs. Yeah, I'm a proud owner of four Epiphone LPs (Standard, Custom, Ultra II, and Baritone). I love everything about my Ultra II *except* for the pickups in a live setting. In the studio, and at low volumes, the tone is just fine. But put it anywhere near bright lights (especially fluorescents) moderately-loud amps, and it squeals beyond control. It's dramatically worse in that setting vs. any other guitar I own. But, damn, that Ultra II just *feels* so nice - I've gotta make that my main guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epig55 Posted March 3, 2012 Author Share Posted March 3, 2012 Just wanted to confirm that, yes, the pickups on an Epi LP Ultra II can indeed be swapped. Last night, I installed a pair of GFS Fat Pat's - sounds just wonderful now. And the Nanomag pickup is still operational, and nothing pot-wise/cap-wise/circuit-board-wise had to be touched. For my application, the Ultra II's non-potted pickups were pretty darn noisy when in front of a high-gain tube amp. The potted GFS pups are far superior in this particular respect. Basically, I did the following: * Removed each of the pickup's connectors. The pickups connect to the circuit board on the left side, and they're stacked on top of one another (top = neck, bottom = bridge.) These are the 2-wire connectors - leave the others alone! * Pulled the pickups out of the Ultra II * On each pickup lead, snip the shrinkwrap tubing to reveal the ends of the leads to the connector. * Cut the lead right where the wire "wishbones" into the two holes on the connector. You should have about 1" or so of lead left attached to the connector. * Solder your new pickup's hot and ground leads to the wires sticking out of the connector (black is ground). Cover your solder joint with shrinkwrap tubing * Install your new pickups, route the wires through the cavity, and re-attach the connectors to the circuit board (remembering that the neck pup is the top one.) I did it in about 90 minutes while multi-tasking - not too bad. Soldering your new pup to the connectors this way is a bit MacGyver-ish, but it's the only way I could think of (short of Epiphone publishing the exact part # of the molex connector. Shoot - if I could buy a small quantity of those molex connectors, I could swap pickups in-and-out of this thing at-will. No, it's not old-school, but it certainly could be convenient. If anyone wants pics of the experiment, let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Yes, pics would be very nice............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordy01 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Definitely pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epig55 Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Ask and you shall receive... Step 1 - Pull off the control plate on the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epig55 Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 The top two molex connectors (two-wire) are for each of the pickups. The left one (blue) is for bridge, and the right one is for the neck pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epig55 Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Step 2 - Pull the molex connectors (gently!) off the circuit board. Each has a little arm that you have to squeeze to unlock it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epig55 Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Step 3 - Now that the pickups are no longer connected, get 'em out of your Ultra. Clearly, you're taking off strings and unscrewing pickup screws to do this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epig55 Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Step 4 - Here's where the MacGyver-ish part begins. Use a knife to strip the wrap of the pickup lead. Ultimately, we want the molex connectors with about 1" of lead for both signal and ground. See the third picture for where we're going in this step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epig55 Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Step 5 - Attach your new pickups to the molex connectors you "freed" from the Epi pickups in the last step. Signal goes to signal, ground goes to ground. Use shrink tubing to cover your solder joints. Repeat for both pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epig55 Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 Step 6 - Install your new pickups. Be careful threading the pickup leads (with those molex connectors) through the cavities. After securing the new pickups in-place, re-attach the molex connectors to the circuit board. Remember that the neck lead goes on top. If you had to disconnect the NanoMag to gain access to the molex connectors for the regular pickups, you'll want to remember to re-attach that as well. Worked for the the 1st time - no trial-and-error required. I really wish Epiphone would provide us with replacement molex connectors (or at least refer us to a third-party that would have the part) so those wonky middle-steps wouldn't be required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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