Les Paul Pickup Swap pt 1 (introduction and soldering tutorial)

[elScorcho2008]

Great video, thanks!

[drfeelgoodTO]

Just opened the casing of my les paul, noticed inside the cavity the wires arn't soldered to pots, instead the wires lead into this plastic case. Anyone know of a tutorial for this type of wiring for replacing the pickups?

[stratocasterrelic]

Sounds like your saying sodering.

[smbstressfest]

@stratocasterrelic That's what I'm saying. In American English, the word "solder" is pronounced |ˈsädər|

[stratocasterrelic]

@smbstressfest No worries i wasn't trying to be rude. I have a Traditional LP and it has factory fitted covered pickups but i prefer the uncovered look and it is supposed to be a better tone. Do you know if the pickups under the covers look like a normal uncovered set or are they a raw looking pickup because there not supposed to be shown?

[smbstressfest]

@stratocasterrelic Placing the covers on pickups slightly changes its inductance, resulting in a VERY SLIGHT "darkening" of the sound. If you remove yours, don't expect to notice a big difference or you might be disappointed. Typically, if you remove the cover from a pickup, you can expect to see a "normal" looking humbucker. However, the bobbins may be matte black and not polished (perhaps a little ugly) and sometimes the coils aren't taped as well as open coil models (consider adding more).

[GuitarzMyThing]

What is the % of flux you use for the solder? I know you have to use a certain solder for it to work...

[smbstressfest]

@GuitarzMyThing I'm not sure in regards to the specs on my solder other than the brand name is Kester and that I've been using the same 1lb spool since '04. Any solder that's designed to be used for electronics projects will work just fine on guitars.

And I realize you didn't ask for my opinion about this specifically, but I'd also like to add that in my experience, it's more common for people to have trouble with soldering due to improper technique than improper material or equipment.

[Gregchilcott]

@smbstressfest Thank you so much for this video. I am just getting into this sort of thing but love it like a drug. This video was great and I am sure the others will be too! (I am putting together an LP style guitar as well)

[xMrWalkwayx]

Thanks for the video. I'm buying a double neck SG guitar kit online so i needed to know how to do this.

[alembicbassguy]

Thanks for sharing, your work looks great!

[maripocita37]

Thanks! You rule!!!!

[gonickogogo]

What is the wattage on your soldering iron?

[smbstressfest]

@gonickogogo 40w I believe.

[WaRtOrN3596]

how much does it cost for a professional to do it?

[RocknRollParadiase]

is the smoke form soldering poisonous

[smbstressfest]

@RocknRollParadiase In sufficient quantities, almost any substance is toxic. I wouldn't recommend doing lots of soldering everyday in a room with poor ventilation, but you'll probably be just fine. If you're concerned, make sure you solder where there's plenty of fresh air and/or run a fan.

[RocknRollParadiase]

@smbstressfest if I run a fan, wouldn't that be the same as blowing on it? making it a "cold solder joint"?

[smbstressfest]

@RocknRollParadiase You'd be running a fan in the room to get the fumes away from your face, not directly on the work.

[YouOnlyDeleted]

@RocknRollParadiase just get one of those masks like the painters use. and wear glasses too.

[SpeciousHistory]

@RocknRollParadiase you could try "manning up". It helped me out.

[myfairvanity]

definately gonna pick up one of those automatic strippers, looks so easy :O did you make that stand with the clips on it or are they for sale somewhere?

i'm a novice but i'm planning on trying out a lot of pickups. it'll save time and money if i do it myself. thx.

[smbstressfest]

@myfairvanity The "helping hands" device?  I think you can find those at a lot of hobby and electronics stores, mine probably came from Radio Shack.

[myfairvanity]

@smbstressfest ok thanks homie.

[stonedrocker666]

Question Sir. Does the wire have to be in contact with the lug? Or can it conduct through the solder?

[smbstressfest]

@stonedrocker666 It's nice when the wire can penetrate the lug, it makes for a stronger connection mechanically. But the wire itself need not touch the lug to maintain electrical continuity.

[stonedrocker666]

@smbstressfest thanks my friend., i have some dummy guitars im working on, i do need help on my soldering skills.

[azombiestool]

Id like to know tricks around soldering the output jack more so than anything... I have electric fence allumuminum wire which SHOULD be melting.. but the tip of this soldering iron has never been tinned, so I dont know..

[djmm1397]

youre a fucking genius

[agrijag]

Very informative my friend. Good work. 

[RockAddict311]

Are you actually touching the wire with the rod?

[smbstressfest]

@RockAddict311 You mean while tinning the ends of the wire, absolutely yes. You have to put the heat where the solder is going to go.

[HerrStoneman]

77 likes, 0 likes ? Well, I've never seen anything with more than 10 views have no likes. This should be good.

[1pozz1]

we need pickups that can be changed without soldering...just by buttons. I mean, just imagine: *click* old one is out, *click* new one is in...

[segunricardo]

Thank you so much for sharing this Jason. I´ve been struggling when looking for good tutorials on how to solder, specially when it comes to the back of the pots and the pickup switch. My fender strat has been stripped down for quite a while, and now that I've seen this clip I finally got the courage to change the pickups myself!

Great lesson, you are very thorough and you surely know what you´re doing my friend.

[fendercal77]

Are you going to talk all day or are you going to demonstrate what you posted who cares how long he played guitar

[smbstressfest]

@fendercal77 Do a search for a YouTube video player tutorial. There's an ingenious round icon in the timeline that allow you advance a video to any point you wish. And proceed with caution if you attempt this kind of work. I often find that impatient people such as yourself are ill suited to electronics work.

[tehnoobischshow]

I got the same soldering holder

[homersimps1]

This is the most useful soldering vid on Youtube. Thank you for posting.

[JazzyJunior]

Thanks very helpful.

[Eldererr]

fuck, where can i good find a good guide for strat like this..

[WhoKnowsMrLoons]

@Eldererr well, its kinda the same..

[smbstressfest]

@Eldererr Just get a wiring diagram for the strat, and apply these same concepts to that job.

[KamiDisturbed]

@smbstressfest Um i have an problem, i did this kind of soldering job (my first time xd) and i was doing very simple bass pickup system: 2 single coils, 1 volume, 1 tone, and a long stereo jack BUT i was meant to make it in mono wiring and so on. well i screwd it kinda the pickups dont take much of any kind of sound with mono instrument cable. I was thinkin could you give me some diagram for that kind of work cause i couldnt find any.

[skatinsince97]

dude awsome!you explained what im goin through right now..i just got some new pickups and a soldering iron,i really want to get into guitar work also and i dont know if you have heard of buckethead but his killswitch is a momentary button.I was wondering if you know any special(safer) ways to install a killswitch

[liquidphuk]

@skatinsince97

Yo...I'll tell you a great style killswitch you can you and it has more control than BucketHead's...google "Gibson Les Paul BFG"...doesn't matter which one (Gary Moore BFG, Gator BFG, etc.)...It has an ON/OFF toggle killswitch where the 3 way would usually be...and the 3 way is down by the pots...I've got the Gary Moore BFG...anyway if you need some close up pix just let me know and I will take some pix of the killswitch top and bottom...

[skatinsince97]

@liquidphuk Thats a sweet set up i really like the toggle by the pots for taps rather on top like a usual les paul.i have installed the buckethead Sanwa Arcade button and it works perfect.theres some non clicking micro switch or something in it that works great(better with distortion).i use it in my new video

[PeanutButterGtr]

Don't inhale the lead vapor. Nasty stuff.

[skyguitar321]

that seem'd helpful except for the fact that i'm not allowed to do any of this because i'm only twelve.

Anyway i hope to become a luthier someday

[mmim4]

i got new emg 81/60 but need the green,red,white, wire to connect to the toggle switch what kind of wire do i need?

[coal1987]

would any kind of solder work or do you need a specfic kind for this job?

[smbstressfest]

@coal1987 Any rosin core solder suitable for electronics work is adequate. DON'T use acid core, it will likely corrode the parts over time causing something to fail or short out.

[coal1987]

question: 9:52 that's the kind of wirt that's on my gibson burstbuckers. it is mandatory to solder the metal braid on the pot right? you can't just solder the lead to the #3 lug and leave the metal braid floating in the air correct? is it to avoid any unwanted noise from the pickups? why exactly should that be done? someone please help me?

[smbstressfest]

@coal1987 Yes you'll want to solder the braided shield to the back of the pot.

[coal1987]

@smbstressfest Thanks for the info, I just installed Burstbuckers in my Epiphone les paul and I soldered the braid shield to back of the pot like you said. I was about to use the acid core solder but then thought twice about it. I used Rosin core like you said. Your videos really helped me a lot. Without you i would have no idea what so ever in what I was doing. Thanks a bunch!

[8x26x08]

I have that same shirt!

[richcanoe]

Cool tutorial....do you recommend a 50 w soldering iron or is 25 enough to do the job on guitar electronics.

Also how do you clean a dirty iron...been practicing on some junk wire etc and my iron is all black and crusty now....cant figure out how to get rid of it!!

Cheers

[smbstressfest]

@richcanoe 25w is definitely enough for this type of work. To clean the tip you'll want to tin it, then wipe it off on a damp sponge repeatedly. If it's really filthy a scouring pad might be a good option. But if you keep it clean each time you use it, the damp sponge should be all you'll need.

[coal1987]

@smbstressfest question: 9:52 that's the kind of wirte that's on my gibson burstbuckers. it is mandatory to solder the metal braid on the pot right? you can't just solder the lead to the #3 lug and leave the metal braid floating in the air correct? is it to avoid any unwanted noise from the pickups?

[FlankinspanK]

Your from Evansville?!? I'm from up by Terre Haute!!

[pocketsearch]

@smbstressfest sorry about this, but what's a lug?is it the hole? i know, noob question...sigh

[smbstressfest]

@pocketsearch No, the lug is actually the tab of metal that contains the hole. As long as your wire is soldered to that tab or lug, the connection will be made. The wire doesn't have to actually enter the hole.

[pocketsearch]

@smbstressfest, when i solder the wire onto a input jack, does the wire have to physically touch the hole?

[smbstressfest]

@pocketsearch No, as long as it's soldered to the lug you're good.

[coal1987]

@smbstressfest would any kind of solder work? cause i have metal core solder. its a silver bearing acid core solder

[RatNekk]

It's nice to see someone who knows how to solder Correctly, Bunch of dabber dans out there that dont know shit about soldering. Great job!

[dmohr7]

well im resoldering everything to my volumne cause im making an evh replica but its only dirty around the sides of the solder thats already dry is that alright?

[RockinJamaica]

much respect man....very detail video

[goddardo]

I'm about to rewire my SG.

Some great common sense tips on there thanks.

Just wondering about cleaning the iron on that sponge. Does it have to be genuine sponge so it doesn't melt it ?

[smbstressfest]

No, it's a cellulose sponge. You dampen them with water, wring out the excess and they won't melt. The one I'm using a genuine Weller soldering sponge identical to the one that came with my soldering station. I think I purchased the sponges online from an electronics supply house.

[mudshovel508]

I had a question about the pick guard:

I'm thinking of buying a Gibson LP copy (Agile AL-3100) and i wanted to remove the pick guard but i don't want the holes from the mounting screws to show, is there something i could do to fill in the holes and then match the paint job?

Thanks

[smbstressfest]

That's usually pretty tough to do and have it look really good. What color is the guitar in question?

[mudshovel508]

The guitar is gloss black

[smbstressfest]

Gloss black is sometimes easier to deal with from a color match perspective. I'd probably fill them with the black superglue you can get from Stewart-Macdonald. Then just very carefully file and sand flush and repolish to a shine.

Unfortunately, nothing you would do to fix this will look good AND be easy to accomplish.

[mudshovel508]

Alright bro thanks.

[conspirator9]

thanks for this excellent set of videos!! i am going to attempt swapping out my epiphone's p-90s with some gibsons, plus putting in all new pots, switch & jack.

[wrigglesmca]

Cheers for the good video mate. Keep up the good work :)

[avhcbeaver1]

what I find is an easy trick is you can unbraid the ground from those wires and then pull it off to the side and twist it to get a better ground connection if I'm having trouble soldering it. please let me know if that's something I shouldn't do any more, you seem to be pretty thorough and would know.

[52goldtop]

I just finished installing a new HMB pickup in the bridge position of one of my guitars and it is really quiet in comparison to the stock pickup. I have had this pickup (an EMG Select) in a different guitar and it was HOT. Any ideas on where I should start for trouble shooting?

[smbstressfest]

An EMG select? They're 3 conductor, white is hot, black is ground and the red is the series link or (coil cut output).  If I had to make a guess, I'd say you probably have the red hooked up where the white should be. If that's the case you're only getting single coil output, so just disconnect the red and tape it off, putting the white where it was. Hope that helps.

[TKDKobioshi]

hey i have a les pul, my back pick up has went lopsided shall we say.. basically its pushed its side upwards(drastically and now touches the strings.. how do i fix it?

[smbstressfest]

Post a video response for me, showing the problem and I'll help you out as best I can. I have a hard time visualizing the problem from just a description sometimes...

[TKDKobioshi]

okay i do that ASAP

[tehorix789]

Thanks for uploading the video.

I've noticed that Fender seems to send out their guitars with some brownish oily substance underneath the solder (on the pots). What is that? Is it necessary?

[smbstressfest]

It's probably flux from the solder. If that's the case, it's definitely necessary. Not really sure that's what is it though.

[CustomTabs]

Solder flux. Some wires have it incorporated, most don't. Might be solder paste (NH4Cl), but brown usually is colophony (resin).

[MOGTROG]

Great video, good to see you back on here !

[Alegg1987]

fantastic video, Really helpful, Thank you

[Cacophonyforce]

thank you!!! i always have problems with the pots. this will save me a lot of time. keep up the good work.

[classicrockvdchild]

Finally someone shows the right stuff instead of talking to the camera. Right On Man! Got anything on coil tapping a humbucker? Much appreciated man, thanks again!!!

[evanspeteroy]

Nice one Jason. I'm an electronics engineer & I've been soldering for many years. This is good, you cover all the main points correctly.  Can't fault it!