Can I change the bridge pickup...

[chuckbat]

in my '03 Highway 1 Tele myself? What kind of skills do you need? Are the instructions clearly laid out? I have used a local factory trained tech for all my other pickup changes and setups. I was trying to save a couple bucks, but it might be worth it to have him still do the swap. I am almost positive I'm going with a Lil '59 in the bridge and leaving the neck pickup stock.

 

[theodie]

Re: Can I change the bridge pickup...

Yeah you can, watch and learn right here,

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/choosing-installing/installing-pick/

 

[SonofaMitch]

Re: Can I change the bridge pickup...

yea dude, it's super easy......just do a couple on a "test" guitar...( one you'll feel comfortable doing swaps/getting stuff wrong with) then go ahead and swap the P/u on the "good" guitar

~Mitch~

 

[yegbert]

Re: Can I change the bridge pickup...

Watch for an out of phase condition, in which the two pickups together will sound weak. A Lil '59 doesn't have a metal baseplate, right? If so you should have enough flexibility in how you can connect it, to correct the out of phase condition.

Your stock Fender neck pickup has one of its' two leads connected to the pickup cover so if you do a simple reverse of them (instead of the '59) you'll have the cover hot and it will be noisy; you could rewire that cover connection to the other lead, or better yet, to an independent third wire, to correct that. But that requires a bit of work and you have to be very careful doing that so you don't damage the pickup in the process.

So if the '59 has no baseplate, the simple way to wire them in phase is to connect the '59 smartly.

 

[Dills]

Re: Can I change the bridge pickup...

Coming from an amateur , Tele's seem to be simpler to change pickups on since there are only usually 2 single coils and no coil taps involved. You can get to the electronics without unscrewing the pickguard, and once youve installed the pickup you can can experiment with the wiring just by unsrewing the 3 way switch plate thingy. The soldering iron takes a few times to get used to but it's quite fun.

 

[chuckbat]

Re: Can I change the bridge pickup...

Coming from an amateur , Tele's seem to be simpler to change pickups on since there are only usually 2 single coils and no coil taps involved. You can get to the electronics without unscrewing the pickguard, and once youve installed the pickup you can can experiment with the wiring just by unsrewing the 3 way switch plate thingy. The soldering iron takes a few times to get used to but it's quite fun.

Thanks for the replies. By the way I have a Hughes & Kettner Edition 20 too. Best tube amp I've had yet.