Changing Semi Hollow Body Electronics Part 1

[FunkyMrFresh]

Very helpful indeed... thanks for posting! Cheers.

[Despotes518]

Thank you for this!! Was so scared to replace stuff on my semi-hollow. Much more comfortable doing it now.

[Suriyathepjuti]

Excellent John, Thank you very much.

[alchfive]

Thanks. Getting ready to put new pickups in my Artcore.

[jaseonthebass]

f-hole lol

[bluecrow00]

amazing videos they are exactly wath I was looking for, tanks for posting them and greetings from mexico

[jeremydmccann]

first off, these are great videos that you put on here for us all. Secondly, I love the care you show your guitar. It is nice to see people treat their instruments with such respect so as to avoid scratches etc... Keep up the great work!

[johnplanetz]

@jeremydmccann - Thanks for the kind words! It's really a miracle I've made it through the 30+ videos in this project so far without any major accidents or dings. All it takes is one slip of the screwdriver, or one scrape of a pot lug... Being careful helps a lot, but it takes luck too :)

[yuraaa1990]

veeeery interesting !!!! :)

thank man !

[elmorejones]

Excellent John, been waiting for this kind of instruction. Thanks !!!!

[bfv102290]

When putting everything back together, how hard is it for the pickup switch to be pulled back through the hole if you tie string around the bushing? Won't it be sideways when it's inside the guitar and then it will have to turn itself righside up when you're pulling it through the hole with the string tied to it?

[johnplanetz]

Don't worry - it's not so bad. The switch, neck and middle volume pots are so close to the f-hole that you can always stick your finger or pliers through to nudge them into the holes..

[bfv102290]

The switch on my guitar isn't near the f-hole. I have a Gretsch G-5120, and the pickup switch is toward the top of the guitar, like where it is placed on a Les Paul. I don't know if I could actually pull it back through the mounting hole if I just tie string around the bushing. Somehow, it would have to be right side up, and it would still be hard to have the switch's shaft come up through the hole.

[johnplanetz]

Ah! Sorry, I forgot to ask you what guitar you had! :) In any case, you'll have the same concern with the pots - the shaft has to come up through the hole first. If you tie some string or dental floss around the threads, when you pull it through, the threads will come first. Unlikely it'll pull upside down unless it gets really tangled. Once it's under the hole, you can reach through with some needle nose pliers to nudge it or grab it. Will require a lot of patience, but you can do it!

[bfv102290]

I don't really have any way to reach in and push things through. My guitar has a master volume knob on the cutaway, and then bridge and neck volume and master tone are near the f-hole. The switch isn't either. Should I just tie dental floss around the actual shaft of the switch itself?

[johnplanetz]

I meant that you can reach pliers through the switch or pot hole itself (not through the f-hole). In other words, pull the string through the hole until the switch is under it, then reach through the hole with pliers to get the switch head through, then pull it the rest of the way through.

You could try tying around the switch shaft but it might slip off- tying around the threads is better for grip.

[bfv102290]

I'll plan on doing that. I'm also installing DPDT switches for series/parallel and coil-splitting. Those switches each require a 1/4" mounting hole, so hopefully that will be big enough to reach needle nose pliers into. And I have some waxed dental floss that is really strong. Any kind of thread would most likely break since it's so thin.

[DrTahanBlues]

john excelente video

saludos desde caracas venezuela

la calidad de tu video es extraordinaria el sonido es excelente y el contenido es muy util ....te felicito sinceramente

[skatedude513]

are you going to post a video of you reassembling the electronics? Im thinking about doing something like this to a guitar but im worried i wont be able to reassemble it myself. Thanks

[johnplanetz]

Yes I will. I apologize it's taken me so long to get to it.  Lots of other projects intervened.

I'll try to do this in the next week.

Also, don't worry too much, it's not so hard. Just requires patience and determination :)

[bfv102290]

Could you make a video about push/pull pots and series and parallel wiring?

[mydejavooo1]

You could also mark the pot shafts with tape or some type of marke before you drop them into the body, so you don't have to plug in the guitar and find out which one is which, and this will make it a little easier to know which one is which. Nice video!

[johnplanetz]

Good suggestion! :)

[weshawk1]

Thanks for your video. It was very helpful and saved me a lot of time figuring things out. Regards...

[HFDP49]

Hey John.. Instead of using string to fish your pot use rubberbands. Take the rubberband and wrap it around the knurling on the knob and pass one end through the other and slide it tight on the knob you can make a chain of bands depending on how long you need them.

[johnplanetz]

Interesting idea. Sounds like there could be some loooong chains of rubberbands! :)

How about a combination of a rubberband (to avoid slipping off the pot shaft), tied to a string for length... I'll try that next time!

[theoldmacarooni8]

lol this was very very helpful!, it was funny when yuo were pulling out the electroncis its like that john and kate plus 8 show at birth. ok we got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and babies out of that hole there.. LOL

[johnplanetz]

Haha! Wait til you see me stuff it all back in there... You won't see that on Jon and Kate! :)

[theoldmacarooni8]

Haha =)

[paulignacius]

What the! This is the video I have been waiting for!

[Telehtin]

Yeah, thanks for this vid! I've been thinking of buying some quite cheap 335-copy and modding the electronics..

[mattcallao]

Thanks for your vid! I'm actually looking for something like this because I'm also planning to upgrade my hardwares. :)