Step by step pickup replacing guide with pics?

[Kwesi]

Anyone know where I could find one? I know I could go to a professional but I think this is something that I'm more than capable of doing on my own with a little guidance.

I did actually check the sticky first and did a search and while they did provide me with very useful info (15-30 watt soldering iron, ~.75mm solder, no acid core solder, etc.), I didn't find a visual guide of any sort and I prefer pictures to help me along because I like to see how things are done rather than just read.

The bass in question is my Fender American Deluxe Jazz FMT V so if the guide features a rear-routed bass that would be even better. Thanks in advance .

 

[Kwesi]

bump.

 

[line6man]

Replacing pickups is pretty straight forward if you know how to solder.

1. De-solder pickup leads.
2. Remove strings, or loosen them.
3. Unscrew pickups and remove.
4. Put in new pickups.
5. Solder new leads.
6. Replace strings.

 

[Kwesi]

Replacing pickups is pretty straight forward if you know how to solder.

1. De-solder pickup leads.
2. Remove strings, or loosen them.
3. Unscrew pickups and remove.
4. Put in new pickups.
5. Solder new leads.
6. Replace strings.

That actually helps a lot, thanks man. How exactly do I know which cables are coming from the pickups? Are they usually a certain color? Where does the ground wire for each pick up go?

Would anyone know where to find a wiring diagram for an American Deluxe Jazz FMT or a regular AmDlx?

 

[line6man]

You can just ground the pickups to the same place that the stock pickups were grounded to.

If these are humbucking pickups with a 4 conductor output, the color code varies by manufacturer.

For regular single coils, there will usually be a black wire, which goes to ground, and either a white, or sometimes a yellow wire, which is the hot.

Some modern J style pickups will have a single black wire containing a white wire and a bare wire braided around it inside of the sheath. In this case, the bare wire will be the ground and the white wire will be the hot.

 

[bassbenj]

Replacing pickups is pretty straight forward if you know how to solder.

1. De-solder pickup leads.
2. Remove strings, or loosen them.
3. Unscrew pickups and remove.
4. Put in new pickups.
5. Solder new leads.
6. Replace strings.

Um, just one little point here.

BEFORE you desolder the leads, note the COLOR of each lead coming from the pickup and where it is soldered. Make yourself a nice drawing that shows where things were. Take my word for it, you may THINK you'll remember where everything went and then you end up staring at a bundle of wires wondering what went where. And even worse the wiring diagrams you may find for your instrument or that come with the new pickups may not match the colors you see in your bass. Usually this is not a big deal and the right connections are more or less obvious but it gets a LOT harder if you haven't made careful notes of what you did and are doing!

One more detail. When putting in the new pickups you will need to deal with the springy material under the pickups that allow them to be adjusted in height. Sometimes it's stiff springs around each screw. Sometimes it's rubber foam under the pickup. Springs give a wider range of adjustment but can rattle and let the pickups tilt. Foam has better damping but you sort of have a limited range of adjustment so you have to cut the foam thickness to pretty much match where you want the pickups to be in the final adjustment. And use rubber foam (weather strip) rather than urethane foam as that will self-destruct after a couple of years leaving mush under the pickups with the pickups loose.

 

[dave_bass5]

Just to add to what Bassbenji said, I always take a few digital photos of how mines wired before i start taking it apart. I find it helps me feel less nervious, even though its an easy process.
My worry is if a wire that im not working on comes loose. It happened before and i had to guess where it went.