Members ash-13th-step Posted April 26, 2005 Members Share Posted April 26, 2005 i recently brought a prs setana SE and am looking to replace the pickups but dont want to pay a fortune for my local guitar shop to do the work. problem is i have no idea where to start and dont want to ruin my brand new guitar. does anyone know a site or can they guide me through the steps of how to change pickups that is clear?? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheDarxide Posted April 26, 2005 Members Share Posted April 26, 2005 Tis a doddle! Firstly though, can you solder? Secondly, what pickups are you putting in it? (doesn't matter if you don't know, but i can be more explicit if you do) Thirdly, in very basic terms, and i can edit this later to suit you: Unscrew the cover from the rear of the guitar. You should see two thick wires coming from a hole near the center of the guitar, these are your two pickup wires. Not knowing PRS colour codes, I'm going to have to try and wing this. Each pickup will have at least two wires coming from inside the larger sheath, one will connect to the pickup selector switch, and one will most likely go to the back of a knob or other metal location to be earthed. There may also be a third wire, such as a bare shield which goes to a ground point, and possible two wires which are taped together. I suggest you either make a drawing or take a photo of your current setup. Desolder the pickups from their current locations. From the front of the guitar, unscrew the four screws in the corners of the humbucker mounting rings. Remove the pickups, and pull the cables through the body cavities. Remove the pickups from the mouting rings, paying attention to the spring orientation (you'll need to remember this when you put the new ones in). Put the mounting rings on the new pickups, in a kind of backwards fashion to taking them off, and then tuck the pickup cables through the body. Assuming standard, no name humbuckers, you'll have two wires, a hot and a ground, possibly white and black respectivly. The hot goes to the selector switch, in the same place as the one you removed (make sure you get bridge and neck the right way round). The ground goes to the back of the pot or whatever ground point there is in your PRS. Assuming humbuckers such as Seymour Duncans (colour codes vary from manufacturer), you will have four cables, a hot, a ground, and two for coil tap. You should get a colour guide with the pickups, so just know that the hot goes to the toggle, the ground to earth, and the other two can be soldered together will a little insulation tape over the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ExtraGum Posted April 26, 2005 Members Share Posted April 26, 2005 Here's a couple of resources to get you started. It's trivial to change your own pickups, but soldering requires a tiny bit of skill (and know how.) You likely have a friend or family member who could show you some basic soldering (they don't need to know anything about guitars.)Guitarnuts.com (theory, shielding) Guitarelectronics.com (schematics) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mad axe man Posted April 26, 2005 Members Share Posted April 26, 2005 Originally posted by ash-13th-step i recently brought a prs setana SE and am looking to replace the pickups but dont want to pay a fortune for my local guitar shop to do the work. problem is i have no idea where to start and dont want to ruin my brand new guitar. does anyone know a site or can they guide me through the steps of how to change pickups that is clear??cheers whose brand are you going to be using?duncan? dimarzio? etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dwerlin Posted April 26, 2005 Members Share Posted April 26, 2005 you should be able to get the pups installed for much less than a fortune. I recently had my local tech install my BurstBuckers for $65 including new strings...to me that's much better than f'ing up my guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ash-13th-step Posted April 28, 2005 Author Members Share Posted April 28, 2005 either seymour duncan or dimarzio pickups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheDarxide Posted April 28, 2005 Members Share Posted April 28, 2005 They use different colours You'll get a guide, just know that hot goes to the switch, ground/neutral to the ground point, and the other two together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mad axe man Posted April 29, 2005 Members Share Posted April 29, 2005 Originally posted by ash-13th-step either seymour duncan or dimarzio pickups they(dimarzio and duncan) both use different color codes so when you decide excactly what pups you want to put in PM me and i will be glad to help you along installing them:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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