Dimarzio Solderless Pickguard

[bassplayer1494]

Anyone try these out yet? Is it worth the $150 with pup?

I am resurrecting my first bass which is a knock-off P copy. I bought it for $50 when i first started bass and ever since I upgraded to different basses, my Johnson Precision has been collecting dust. Im not too fond of the sound of it, but i absolutely love the feel of the neck. I think if i were to upgrade the thing it would be a great backup/change-of-pace bass in my arsenal! Plus I really love the sound of Dimarzio pups!!
Ive always wanted a roadworn precision but money is tight...So Ive already began to relic it by means of sandpaper, hammer, and blowtorch . (Ill post pics soon guys)However, I am not very good with a soldering iron... I wish I was, but i just dont have the steady hand and I dont wanna pay someone to do it for me. Hence, this is the reason I am asking you guys about the prewired pickguard.. I feel it would be more cost effective to get this pickguard and do the installation myself because it looks "idiot proof" and can be done in 10 minutes or less.

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[bassbenj]

Anyone try these out yet? Is it worth the $150 with pup?

I am resurrecting my first bass which is a knock-off P copy. I bought it for $50 when i first started bass and ever since I upgraded to different basses, my Johnson Precision has been collecting dust. Im not too fond of the sound of it, but i absolutely love the feel of the neck. I think if i were to upgrade the thing it would be a great backup/change-of-pace bass in my arsenal! Plus I really love the sound of Dimarzio pups!!
Ive always wanted a roadworn precision but money is tight...So Ive already began to relic it by means of sandpaper, hammer, and blowtorch . (Ill post pics soon guys)However, I am not very good with a soldering iron... I wish I was, but i just dont have the steady hand and I dont wanna pay someone to do it for me. Hence, this is the reason I am asking you guys about the prewired pickguard.. I feel it would be more cost effective to get this pickguard and do the installation myself because it looks "idiot proof" and can be done in 10 minutes or less.

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Even though I can solder, I've done wired pickguards on guitars (not the Dimarzio) and they are easy and a time saver IF everything fits properly. But if the pickguard doesn't fit exactly you may be filling screw holes with toothpicks and drilling new mounting holes. (The worry here is that the bass is a knock-off and the pickguard holes somehow are not in the standard Fender places)

Another thing is that "solderless" terminal block can loosen up from vibration in the bass and at some point in the future you may have to take the pickguard off and retighten it. No biggie, but something to be aware of.

Personally I solder the "solderless" wired pickguards because of the loosening thing. But if that scares you, then let me point out the key item here. When you insert more than one wire into the screw terminal block you must be very careful. Strip each wire slightly longer than the stripped space you need on the end. Then carefully and tightly twist the several ends into a single wound mass of fine wires. Then once all wires are twisted together and you are sure they all go to the end of the twist, you THEN clip the end of the twisted mass off so that it fits properly in the terminal block. Tighten it down and it should last forever. But note that if ONE of the wires is not fully twisted into the mass of wires you can have a situation develop where say two wires remain in the block but the improperly twisted one pulls out at some later date. It sounds more complicated that it is. You just have to be sure that each wire end twists around the others evenly so it doesn't come loose and pull out. That it.

Sure go for it. I love Dimarzio pickups anyway, and provided everything lines up properly it will be an easy mod that should make the bass sound great.

 

[bassplayer1494]

Even though I can solder, I've done wired pickguards on guitars (not the Dimarzio) and they are easy and a time saver IF everything fits properly. But if the pickguard doesn't fit exactly you may be filling screw holes with toothpicks and drilling new mounting holes. (The worry here is that the bass is a knock-off and the pickguard holes somehow are not in the standard Fender places)

Another thing is that "solderless" terminal block can loosen up from vibration in the bass and at some point in the future you may have to take the pickguard off and retighten it. No biggie, but something to be aware of.

Personally I solder the "solderless" wired pickguards because of the loosening thing. But if that scares you, then let me point out the key item here. When you insert more than one wire into the screw terminal block you must be very careful. Strip each wire slightly longer than the stripped space you need on the end. Then carefully and tightly twist the several ends into a single wound mass of fine wires. Then once all wires are twisted together and you are sure they all go to the end of the twist, you THEN clip the end of the twisted mass off so that it fits properly in the terminal block. Tighten it down and it should last forever. But note that if ONE of the wires is not fully twisted into the mass of wires you can have a situation develop where say two wires remain in the block but the improperly twisted one pulls out at some later date. It sounds more complicated that it is. You just have to be sure that each wire end twists around the others evenly so it doesn't come loose and pull out. That it.

Sure go for it. I love Dimarzio pickups anyway, and provided everything lines up properly it will be an easy mod that should make the bass sound great.

Thank you I appreciate the advice.

After looking at my bass and the pickguard, i realized that my bass has 9 screwholes for the pickguard and the Dmarzio has 12... Looks like its back to the drawing board..

 

[RBS_Johnson]

Don`t let that completely stop you. If you like the new pickguard and it covers the old holes I would just put a couple new ones in and call it good enough. I mean, we aren`t talking about a several thousand dollar vintage instrument, so if it doesn`t bother you, then who cares?

 

[bassplayer1494]

Don`t let that completely stop you. If you like the new pickguard and it covers the old holes I would just put a couple new ones in and call it good enough. I mean, we aren`t talking about a several thousand dollar vintage instrument, so if it doesn`t bother you, then who cares?

I just plugged in my Johnson with no strings on and i was twisting the tone and volume knobs up and down and there was no hum or scratching through my amp so i think i could get away with just getting the new pickups and leaving the old wire in the bass. I was gonna get the new wire because i thought it would make a huge difference, but honestly, I dont think it really will.

I watched a video on soldering the pickup and it doesnt look too difficult. I dont have the steadiest of hands but my dad says he can do it and his hands are very steady

 

[RBS_Johnson]

Just changing the pickup is pretty straightforward. If everything else is fine, I would go for it.