guitar advice

[Siva]

i want to buy an american strat, but put in my own pickups. Is this hard to do, i really have no clue about it, would I be best just taking it somewhere and having them do it?

 

[Orsorum]

What difference in pickups? If it comes with two or three single coils and you want to put in two humbuckers (etc)... it might be difficult. I'd check with a music shop/luthier and see how expensive it would be.

 

[Siva]

I want to put in a humbucker at the bridge, and I might replace the two stock single coils, because i can get some better ones for free.

 

[Colt45]

pretty simple. easier yet if you get one of the humbuckers that is the size of a single coil.

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: Siva
I want to put in a humbucker at the bridge, and I might replace the two stock single coils, because i can get some better ones for free.

Not totally sure... depends on the placement of the stock coils. If there's enough room for the humbucker to go in the existing space, you'd have to make the space for the humbucker... if you have to move the single coils... well, I suppose that can get a little more complicated.

Colt45 has a good point.

 

[pac1085]

My friends got an American strat and he had no problem installing new pickups. Hes a tool when it comes to that kind of stuff too, so I'm guessing its easy.

 

[SludgeFactory]

Instructions (with Pics!!!)

Eventually I'm planning to swap out some pickups too. If you can solder, you can do it yourself.

Just out of curiousity, what pickups are you putting in?

 

[Siva]

I am getting a seymour duncan sh-6 for the humbucker. I am not too sure about the other too, they have to be fender (that's what i can get for free). I was looking at the vintage noiseless, but i'll have to figure something out.

 

[Harvey]

It's not hard to do, but you'd better know what you're doing.

1. Can you read a schematic? It helps to know how you're going to wire them.

2. Do you know how to solder? If not, you'll make a mess and possibly damage the pickups, the switches and/or the pots.

3. Are you any good with a router? Humbucks won't fit in the same cutouts as single coil strat pickups. Side by side coils are wider, and stacked ones are deeper.

If you're OK with all of these questions, I'd still ask why you'd want to screw up a perfectly good strat to install humbucks. I prefer humbucks, but a strat is not designed for them. Get a guitar with a body that is, and changing pickups will be far easier. There are some Strat style bodies that are already routed for humbucks. You can find them on "build your own" custom guitar sites, as well as from a number of regular manufacturers.

Screwing up a real American Fender Strat is a bad idea.

 

[Siva]

anyone got an recommendations on what i should do for a decently price guitar that's really nice clean, but also got good sustain and packs a punch.

 

[KEV1N]

Pickups are really easy to wire up. Just follow the diagram.

For ease, if you have the money, I might suggest getting a whole new pickguard assembly and installing your new pickups in that. So you can swap out entire pickguard assemblies with your old and new pickups really easily. Remember to ground the circuit by running a metal wire to the bridge.

Seymour Duncan makes some nice pickups.

 

[Siva]

i was gonna get a whole new pickguard, but i didn't realize i'd actually have to cut into the strats body (yeah i'm that dumb) so i'm not suer what to do.

 

[Colt45]

Im not sure how they do them come to think of it..

my newer mex strat, everything is mounted on the pickgaurd.. (easy for you to cut, if you use a fullsize humbucker.. can probably dremel it or something)

but my old american strat (say.. 80 something i guess) has no pickgaurd, so naturally the stuff is mounted to the body. in which case you'd have to use a router, as harvey suggested.

I dont know about you, but I'm not one for ruining a new expensive guitar..

 

[Siva]

bizump for the musician crowd. Any recommendations on a decent guitar comperable to a fat strat for around $800.

 

[silverpig]

More of a Gibson/Epiphone/PRS guy myself...

 

[BL0RT]

Originally posted by: Siva
I want to put in a humbucker at the bridge, and I might replace the two stock single coils, because i can get some better ones for free.

the fat strat has the setup you discribe, just take those free ones and sell them

 

[Siva]

the diff between a strat and a fat strat is a lot more expensive than the cost of 2 pickups

 

[psycobreed]

Originally posted by: Siva
anyone got an recommendations on what i should do for a decently price guitar that's really nice clean, but also got good sustain and packs a punch.

if you can find one, get a dearmond m-72 or s-73. they're set necks, lp and sg wannabe's (respectively), and the goldtones give a beautiful creamy clean sound. they sustain well because they're set necks. check them out. i have an s-73, and at 150, it was the greatest deal i'll ever find on a guitar.