A Question About Installing New Pickups

[Boogie Bill]

Do you trim the wires to fit, or leave the the pickup wire full length?

I'm curious as to how everybody does it?

Bill

 

[Stratcat]

Re: A Question About Installing New Pickups

Do you trim the wires to fit, or leave the the pickup wire full length?

I'm curious as to how everybody does it?

Bill

Seymour Duncan recommeneds that you cut the wires to fit. There is a video on www.seymourduncan.com
on how he does it.

 

[D-EJ915]

Re: A Question About Installing New Pickups

I only have 1 pickup in my flying v, so cutting the wire wasn't the biggest deal for me, but if I were installing 2 I definetely would.

 

[Akrin]

Re: A Question About Installing New Pickups

I usually leave as much on as i can, and tie wrap it neatly in the cavity. You'll never know where that pickup might move to.

+1, except I just leave the wires randomly looped around in the cavity. :laugh2:

 

[Curly]

Re: A Question About Installing New Pickups

it's probably best to trim the leads, but I leave some slack, or if it's a pickup I'm testing, I'll leave the leads to length. Funny, my best sounding strat has full length leads ... I've meant to clean it up, but I don't want to mess with it.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: A Question About Installing New Pickups

it's probably best to trim the leads, but I leave some slack, or if it's a pickup I'm testing, I'll leave the leads to length. Funny, my best sounding strat has full length leads ... I've meant to clean it up, but I don't want to mess with it.

LOL! I know what you mean! I am a firm believer in the adage that, "If it ain't broke, don't mess with it!

Bill

 

[MikeS]

Re: A Question About Installing New Pickups

I prefer to leave a little room for movement. Plus, it's nice to have as much lead as possible when selling a pickup. There's usually enough room in the control cavity to place the excess wire.

After all, given the length of wire wound inside a pickup, what's another inch or two really going to hurt?

 

[ColdHit]

Re: A Question About Installing New Pickups

I usually leave as much on as i can, and tie wrap it neatly in the cavity. You'll never know where that pickup might move to.

This is correct! Don't ever trim the wires.

 

[Al Heeley]

Re: A Question About Installing New Pickups

If this is correct, why would the Masters at SD recommend trimming to fit?

 

[ColdHit]

Re: A Question About Installing New Pickups

If this is correct, why would the Masters at SD recommend trimming to fit?

I don't know. There have been many times where I moved pups to different guitars and the wires would not reach.

 

[lex666]

Re: A Question About Installing New Pickups

Leave the extra slack... Why? Becuz you never know... :smokin:

 

[zionstrat]

Re: A Question About Installing New Pickups

I always thought the reason to trim is that excess wire coils acts as an antenna to pick up noise- Anyone else heard this?

 

[kallsop]

Re: A Question About Installing New Pickups

I always thought the reason to trim is that excess wire coils acts as an antenna to pick up noise- Anyone else heard this?

There are tens if not hundreds of feet of wire wound in the pickup, so an extra inch or two on the lead wire probably won't help or hurt much. Besides, if noise pickup is a problem, pickup lead length is not your biggest problem.

Keep the wire at its original length, and try to neatly route the wires so the pickguard will still fit with room to spare in the body cavity. If you ever decide to sell the pickups later, it might be easier to sell because many are put off by shortened lead wires.

 

[PoorMan]

Re: A Question About Installing New Pickups

I do a lot of pickup swaps, so I leave as much lead wire length as I can. If I was sure that pickup had found a permanent home then I'd cut the lead wire to length.