Wiring my own pickups

[matt99camero]

I have someone who will wire my pickup and set up my guitar for $35. I would like to learn how to do it myself but I took it out and looked at it and it looks kinda overwhelming. So are there any good sites that I can learn how to do it myself. Would it be cheaper to just let him do it instead of buying the stuff to do it and if he does it do you think he would let me stick around and watch him wire it up.

[Kent S.]

Re: Wiring my own pickups

I have someone who will wire my pickup and set up my guitar for $35. I would like to learn how to do it myself but I took it out and looked at it and it looks kinda overwhelming. So are there any good sites that I can learn how to do it myself. Would it be cheaper to just let him do it instead of buying the stuff to do it and if he does it do you think he would let me stick around and watch him wire it up.

For $35 bucks wiring and setup, you can't argue with that at all. There is a book that isn't bad at all called The complete guide to guitar and amp maintenance by Ritchie Fleiger (sp?) is availble thru Hal Leaonard publishing, it's far from complete ... but it's straight forward enough to get you started, as a practical list of tools you'll need. Also you're not going to learn how to do watching someone wire it, chances are no he or she won't let you stick around and watch simply because they have a lot of repairs to do, and yours is one of many, they get to them first come first serve. Stewmac has a good section on their site called *free info sheets* that shows how pups themselves are wired, and switches, it's a start. A basic soldering kit will run around $21 or so, and will have extra tools. Lot's of books by Adrian Legg, and Dan Erlwine ... just about everyone has a guitar electronics and guitar set up book published. A normal setup alone will run you about $35~$55 , sometimes higher depending on what needs to be done to the actual instrument. Then electronics work on top of that, some I wouldn't complain on the price, take the money you're saving and buy a book,I think the one I mentioned is like $15 or so, I know it's under $20.