How to replace the pickups in your guitar

If you’ve ever daydreamed about replacing the pickups in that old axe of yours but thought it would be too difficult or risky, your waiting days may be over.

Written by a fifteen year-old – yes, fifteen! – this article details how to remove and replace your existing pickups, ending up with something a little more to your (ears’) liking. Though it wasn’t a perfect ending, it demonstrates very well that with a little time, money, and patience, you really can get a great new sound from that old guitar!

My first foray into working on (rather than playing) guitars was when, out of desperation, I experimented with adjusting the intonation on a faux Stratocaster I owned. The results were beyond encouraging, as detailed in this article. I always figured swapping pickups would be too involved to tackle myself…but now I’m getting ideas. Aren’t you?

What do you think? Are you up to the challenge? If this has pushed you over the edge, please let us know! And if you’d like to chronicle your upgrade, we might even post an article about your travels. Drop us a line; we’d love to hear from you.

Keep playing,
Mark

Note: If you’re shopping for pickups or other gear, please consider supporting your PartTimeMusician.com advertisers! Just follow the links in the right-hand column to explore your upgrade options. Thank you!