Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

Coin

Coin

New member
Out of interest I got a quote on how much my local guitar shop will charge to fit my new pickups in my Epiphone SG. They didn't understand why i'd want to change the pots. Why exactly should I change the pots? Was it suggested to me becasue the epiphone ones might be substandard? They look fine to me, but then again I don't know anything and that makes me feel vulnerable in this situation.

A friend then suggested to me that if all that was being done would be to change the pickups over, all that would be done by the guitar shop would be that they'd probably snip the wires before they reach the switch and solder the new ones to the snipped wire, to save having to rewire everything. Would this have much effect on the sound?
Would they do this?
Should I just get my friend to do this?
Should I instead insist on absolutely everything being rewired? If so, why?

I am so confused, which is the best option?
 
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Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

Coin said:
Out of interest I got a quote on how much they will charge to fit my new pickups in my Epiphone SG. They didn't understand why i'd want to change the pots. Why exactly should I change the pots? Was it suggested to me becasue the epiphone ones might be substandard? They look fine to me.
Click to expand...

Cheap pots genrally have higher mfg tollerances. The cheaper the pot, the more likely it will not measure as it is supposed to according to value.

You may have 500k pots that will only measure 300k for example.

A friend then suggested to me that if all that was being done would be to change the pickups over, all that would be done by the guitar shop would be that they'd probably snip the wires before they reach the switch and solder the new ones to the snipped wire, to save having to rewire everything. Would this have much effect on the sound?
Click to expand...

If you shop does that...ummm...find another shop. You should be getting more for your money. That sounds like something I used to do, not what a professional should give you.


I am so confused, which is the best option?
Click to expand...

Learning to do it yourself. Changing pots is a good way to start.
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

With the snip-and-connect technique, you risk losing some tone through not having a solid connection directly to the pots. There's also a chance the connected wires could come loose during a performance, and you'll lose sound alltogether.
Also, like big_black said, replacing the pots will give you more reliable, consistent sound for very little money. If the shop's unwilling to do the job right, you should either find someone who will or take the plunge and do it yourself. That first surgery is a little scary, but after that, it's no big deal. :)
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

Yeti, you of all people know that a soldering iron isn't my style XD but I will give it a go, which is the easiest type of solderer?
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

Its been awhile since I bought my first (and only roll), so let me go look at it...ok, mine is 40 tin/60 lead rosin core. In addition to an iron, you'll want a "solder remover" (there's probably a more technical name); it looks like a big hypodermic syringe, and you use it to "suck up" any old, melted solder (or any mistakes you want to redo). Also some alligator clips to hold things steady while you work.
Have you watched Seymour's video on installing pickups yet? It's very helpful.
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

Yea all the stuff you should get will cost you, maybe up to $50. Most shops will charge you that much to do anything related to pickups or wiring, but you will gain knowledge on how to do your own from there. Plus that $50 worth of equipment will be there the next time you take on something like this. I def. say do it yourself!
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

I replaced the awful pots in my Epi Exployer and soon will do teh same in my Epi LP...... in fact i have to get off my butt and refret my epi LP..... more things to do then i have time.... Anyways the pots in Epi's are well known to be awful quality... some work fine others are awful
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

Coin said:
A friend then suggested to me that if all that was being done would be to change the pickups over, all that would be done by the guitar shop would be that they'd probably snip the wires before they reach the switch and solder the new ones to the snipped wire, to save having to rewire everything. Would this have much effect on the sound?
Click to expand...

Anyone taking money for repair work that uses this technique should be strung up by their balls. Its flat out shoddy work and should never be accepted anywhere by anyone at any price.

But more importantly, its more work to do it that way if the work is done properly.
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

TheArchitect said:
Anyone taking money for repair work that uses this technique should be strung up by their balls. Its flat out shoddy work and should never be accepted anywhere by anyone at any price.

But more importantly, its more work to do it that way if the work is done properly.
Click to expand...

I don't think a shop would do that.... it does not make any sense to me that anyone in a shop would solder new Pickups by cutting the wire and soldering new and old wire together instead of doing it right.... you'll right, it is more work then heating up the solder at the pot to remove the old wire and connecting a new wire...
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

yeti said:
With the snip-and-connect technique, you risk losing some tone through not having a solid connection directly to the pots. There's also a chance the connected wires could come loose during a performance, and you'll lose sound alltogether.
Click to expand...
A shoddy connection could also cause the pup to "see" a higher resistance from the pot. This could have an adverse effect on the tone, as well.
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

Colin, I've recently been learning to solder. Like anything else, it's tedious at first and not the most fun thing in the world, but you just have to be decent to get some immediate results (gratification). After that, a little more work at it and you get good. Then you can do any upgrades to your guitar for the cost of parts alone.
Be sure to check out the tutorials mentioned above.

~MkF!
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

Coin said:
Out of interest I got a quote on how much my local guitar shop will charge to fit my new pickups in my Epiphone SG. They didn't understand why i'd want to change the pots. Why exactly should I change the pots? Was it suggested to me becasue the epiphone ones might be substandard? They look fine to me, but then again I don't know anything and that makes me feel vulnerable in this situation.

A friend then suggested to me that if all that was being done would be to change the pickups over, all that would be done by the guitar shop would be that they'd probably snip the wires before they reach the switch and solder the new ones to the snipped wire, to save having to rewire everything. Would this have much effect on the sound?
Would they do this?
Should I just get my friend to do this?
Should I instead insist on absolutely everything being rewired? If so, why?

I am so confused, which is the best option?
Click to expand...

Why exactly would you want to change the pots?

Most of my customers would be suspicious if I asked them if they wanted the pots changed because they'd assume i was just trying to rack up the charges.

Why would you assume that they are just going to snip the wires and connect the pickups to them? That is not the way a professional would normally work and it's actually harder to do it that way than to desolder the original pickups and replace the connections with new ones.

Unless there is a reason to suppose your pots are faulty, or you particularly want replacement pots of a perceived higher quality or different value then there isn't any need to be railroaded into having new ones.

I don't find Epiphone pots to be of bad quality. Their switches are, but the only lousy quality pots i see are on Korean Jacksons and Schecters…

Sometimes what I read here disturbs me.
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

Coin said:
Should I just get my friend to do this?
Click to expand...

Errr, probably not.

If i had a penny for the number of times i had some wreck on my bench and i heard the words "my friend did it for me"...

I often find myself asking if this is the same friend that is responsible for half the other fookups that come my way.
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

octavedoctor said:
I don't find Epiphone pots to be of bad quality. Their switches are, but the only lousy quality pots i see are on Korean Jacksons and Schecters…

Sometimes what I read here disturbs me.
Click to expand...
I changed the pots on my LP because they were 300k and I wanted 500k.
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

I can`t afford to pay a pro everytime i swap a pu so i do it myself,it really is`nt that hard:)
It`s good to know that i can do easy fixes on my guitar when a pro is hard to find.
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

MonkeyKnifeFighter said:
Colin,
Click to expand...


:chairfall I'm not a Colin, i'm an Erin. That's Coin, not Colin hehehe
 
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Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

octavedoctor said:
Why exactly would you want to change the pots?

Most of my customers would be suspicious if I asked them if they wanted the pots changed because they'd assume i was just trying to rack up the charges.

Why would you assume that they are just going to snip the wires and connect the pickups to them? That is not the way a professional would normally work and it's actually harder to do it that way than to desolder the original pickups and replace the connections with new ones.

Unless there is a reason to suppose your pots are faulty, or you particularly want replacement pots of a perceived higher quality or different value then there isn't any need to be railroaded into having new ones.

I don't find Epiphone pots to be of bad quality. Their switches are, but the only lousy quality pots i see are on Korean Jacksons and Schecters…

Sometimes what I read here disturbs me.
Click to expand...

I don't think the guitar shop would snip the wires, they have a good reputation. I wanted to change the pots as a fresh start for the new pickups, and because I was advised to here.

On Saturday I ordered 4 pots and a switch (because the switch is dodgy) and i've been persuaded to solder everything myself. I just don't know now, i've been led in circles by people's differing opinions, it's my fault -_-
 
Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

Coin said:
I don't think the guitar shop would snip the wires, they have a good reputation. I wanted to change the pots as a fresh start for the new pickups, and because I was advised to here.
Click to expand...

THat's a good policy

Coin said:
On Saturday I ordered 4 pots and a switch (because the switch is dodgy) and i've been persuaded to solder everything myself. I just don't know now, i've been led in circles by people's differing opinions, it's my fault -_-
Click to expand...

That's the problem with forums.

Have a go yourself, there aren't many ways in which you can go wrong.

Two bits of advice:
Don't trim the pickup wires too short; you won't do yourself any favours if you then have to take it to a pro to sort it out.

Careful when soldering to the pot casings. Too much heat can damage the pots. I find that a low power soldering iron (e.g. 25w) with a tip which delivers heat rapidly is better than a higher powered one.
 
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Re: Guitar shop doing a wiring job...

octavedoctor said:
Errr, probably not.

If i had a penny for the number of times i had some wreck on my bench and i heard the words "my friend did it for me"...

I often find myself asking if this is the same friend that is responsible for half the other fookups that come my way.
Click to expand...
You got that right!!!! Happens far too often to me also!
 
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