Install A New Humbucker: Guitar Basics

[@ScienceofLoud]

Learn how to install a new humbucker in your electric guitar with this Guitar Basics video. View the appendix of things to consider when choosing a new humbucker here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2alfIWYiMxkaqM Wind your own pickups - www.nebulabelgium.com?aff=2 #humbucker #pickup #csguitars More from CSGuitars: Gain access to exclusive content at: www.patreon.com/csguitars Buy CSGuitars Merchandise - www.csguitars.co.uk/store Website - www.csguitars.co.uk Contact - [e-mail] Affiliate Links: Thomann - www.thomann.de/gb/index.html?offid=1&affid=367 Sweetwater - imp.i114863.net/2mGGg CSGuitars uses: LEWITT Microphones - www.lewitt-audio.com/ Hoffnine Cabinets - www.hoffnine.co.uk/ Hosa Cables - hosatech.com/ Dragon's Heart Guitar Picks - www.dragonsheartguitarpicks.com/ Title graphics and logo by: www.studiosmithdesign.co.uk/ Join the discussion at: Facebook - facebook.com/csguitars Instagram - instagram.com/csguitars/ Twitter -twitter.com/CSG_Scotland Music available at: Amazon: amzn.to/2HUdXgV iTunes: apple.co/2JvpCjp Google Play: bit.ly/2KgSzkl Or stream on Spotify: spoti.fi/2HuYPTP

[@GuitarGoddess]

Nice shirt ;)

[@thanosinfinity1589]

Lol it matches ur name😂😂😂😂

[@juangonzalez9508]

@@thanosinfinity1589 well that’s the whole point

[@ScienceofLoud]

Since a lot of people are asking: Yes the process is different if you are changing active pickups for passive ones. Fortunately, I made a two part video on the very subject several years ago. If you don't mind taking a trip into the days before HD quality then you can check out the playlist for those videos here: Active to Passive: kzbin.info/aero/PLaM1FGKAH5Tlnwgj9g0AVtvbpsapahZSG

[@AliJr_MetalGames_MetalGuitar]

You want to be a guitar goddess, are you a woman? : )

[@likeanuuk6612]

do active pickups

[@MosheAlvarez]

Ha doesn't like active pickups so that's probably not going to happen

[@likeanuuk6612]

Moshe Alvarez thats the joke ;) (besides active pickups not only sound much better but are easy install and dont need tutorials!)

[@MosheAlvarez]

HAHA indeed!

[@timmiaster5]

Love the look of white guitars with the black binding.

[@tobiastk5391]

Could you make a video on how to coil split a humbucker with a push-pull tone knob? it would be awesome if you did! And i think my favorite guitar pickup must be the bare knuckle warpig.

[@ScienceofLoud]

I'll look into doing a video on that for you.

[@theresnoway440]

I second this

[@Blackfuture420]

+CSGuitars pleaseeee

[@havelpavel1870]

He doesn't need you to do that, I wouldn't bother, m8.

[@ukultur9237]

I love how simple and detailed your video is! Though I would recomend to inform that there are three comon types of mounting rings; flat, flat/angled, and arched. but that's all I can pick on, Great job Colin!

[@JoshuaBatch]

All I got from this video is that I have the same screwdriver as you. I need to learn more about wiring it seems.

[@sleepingturtle8888]

Hey Colin, love your channel since the day I found it. I hope you can do a "How to Coil Split Humbuckers" video sometime. Rock On!

[@davidhollowelljr949]

Colin - thank you for being able to mention things in a video under ten minutes that people completely ignored mentioning in 40 MINUTE LONG ones

[@guitarist100]

A little tip i do is when fitting the pickup into the ring is to put a crocodile clip to hold the spring back whilst you screw in the screw .

[@Joeobrown1]

I always test the wiring by tapping a screwdriver or something on the pickup and checking the controls do what I expect them to do - will save a bunch of time if you're no expert at this kind of thing (such as myself). One question, what does each lug of the pots do? Feels like such an obvious thing - I can follow a diagram easily enough, but have no idea how people come up with mods and such.

[@ryandow2383]

Hey Colin, Would it be worth making your pickups "ringless" on a guitar with a see-thru finish? Seems a bit impractical and refinishing the screw holes would probably be pretty difficult, but I love the way it looks!

[@michelkoning5294]

wow all that time I just could've done it myself :/ my fav pickup is the prs tremonti treble pickup. that thing is sooo loud I love it

[@PhoenixBodhi999]

You explaining things so clearly was a big help. Thanks

[@michaelgarland1337]

Thank you for the wiring instructions !!! Rock on , “ Dog “ !!!

[@danb6701]

I really enjoy your videos, you seem to have a natural ability to teach.

[@PierjanVadeboin]

Nice to see you in HD ! hope your chanel will grow !

[@MobileDecay]

And I have new pickups installed! Woohoo!

[@Steph-de6ne]

How the F does not he have more subs? He's awesome!

[@CarbonatedCocaine]

He looks like toki from metalopacalypse

[@cloudvsephiroth215]

TOKI IS AWESOME.

[@MosheAlvarez]

EMG-81 favorite pickup DiMarzio Super Distortion favorite passive pickup

[@sukdufai4368]

Great video man! Such a fundamental skill but so hard to find a good walkthrough like this.

[@ashpighetti6970]

Simplest tutorial ive seen, big help. Thanks!

[@nightraven5760]

Got a 60 quid rock wood les paul. Its neck pickup is tasty but the bridge is a bit shite, so I got an sh4, (yep, the pickup is more than the guitar) this us very useful for helping me save 30 quid on getting it installed for me

[@antoniusfaskal_]

Amazing Humbucker :)

[@godzilla964]

Could you make a video about balancing neck heavy guitars?

[@SgtStinger]

Thanks for the video! Next time, could you record some "before" footage? Would be perfect to hear the difference :)

[@LoosegripGR]

Lately I've replaced the stock DiMarzio Super Distortion pickups on my Dean V with a DiMarzio Crunch Lab in the bridge and a Phat Cat P90 in the neck, it made me feel dumb because I wanted to sell my guitar because of how shit those Super Distortions were. A guide on various coil splitting options (push-pull, 2 way switch, 3 way selector for split-parallel-series...) would be really good, as you are very good at explaining electronics-related things.

[@therideneverends1697]

The super distortions can be a bit muddy

[@hughbrenner69420]

I have the same problem with my ML, I really wanna change them out sooner or later. Is it possible to resell pickups after you've removed them? Sorry for a dumb question, I'm really new to this stuff

[@LoosegripGR]

+Hugh Brenner of course you can, they still work perfectly. You might wanna make sure that there's enough wire left

[@synderonline5317]

So professional now we've come along way with production since the shite Paul and shredded videos Well done man

[@autizmo2963]

Have you ever tried Dimarzio's. Carlos Cavazo uses them and they seem pretty good for that style of music.

[@mattb4rd]

Just came up with a mnemonic device to help me remember that the hot wire goes to the lug: "Well I'm HOT LUGGED ... check it and see ... got a fever of a hunnerd and three" (Currently removing some modern 4 wire pickups and putting in a set of Seth Lovers)

[@marnixreemst5158]

Thanks man! Good video, clear and to the point \m/

[@STRmw2]

Seymour Duncan Nazgul is my favourite

[@josephbrandenburg4373]

I'm thinking of getting a new axe with those. All I have right now is a cheap (but very good) Ibanez with stock pups.

[@STRmw2]

They're great I put them in a super strat I built :D

[@josephbrandenburg4373]

Nice man! I want to learn to do that one day. I want to try one of those stacked humbuckers he used in the will it shred video.

[@TheCrimsonIdol987]

I had a tough choice between the Nazgul/Sentient set or the Black Winter set. The Black Winters won just barely because they were hotter and they sounded close enough to each other. But definitely a badass pickup that's for sure.

[@PantheonLincoln]

this makes it seem simpler and less daunting than I thought. i have an Epiphone that needs upgrading, but i think that may just need gutting anyway. As for pickup preferences, I have an Edwards (ESP) LP copy that l love, which I had Iron Gear pickups put in. Cheap, but sound great. I'm planning a change to some Shed Hot Bastardos, as they're used by James Dean Bradfield and I'm a HUGE Manic Street Preachers fan. I also have an Epiphone Dot with Bare Knuckles in it, also great.

[@noahfaber8303]

That's what I pay the monkeys at guitar center for :(

[@brandongore711]

+Quikdeth Why is that? I do think it's better to do things yourself but if you can't or you're new why not let someone more experienced do it?

[@ScienceofLoud]

+Brandon Gore I think the widely held option is that guitar centre staff don't have the experience or skill to be doing the job they are in. I wouldn't know though, the shops here all have very excellent and trustworthy techs and luthiers working in them.

[@brandongore711]

+CSGuitars Ah, didn't know that. Thank you for the explanation!

[@QuikdethDeviantart]

+Brandon Gore yes, that was in fact my point. perhaps they've improved (the one near me finally has in house techs rather than sending them out) but years ago before I found a good luthier to show me how to be self sufficient I made the mistake of having a GC do an install on my new pickup and they reversed my switch so the default was out of phase...it cost me even more to figure out why it sounded so different than i had expected. I also have had small dings etc after a setup. These days you have youtube and a bunch of other great sources, learn to do it yourself from guys like +csguitars!

[@brandongore711]

+Quikdeth Oh man, I don't want my guitar to get scratched or dinged up at all by them. I honestly didn't even consider that. I think I'm going to look into setting up my guitar myself, thank you!

[@CF-yc2bm]

Destroyed a few volume knobs getting it too hot I guess. Good tip about not using a point style soldering tip. Do you ever change caps? Thanks!

[@roboshuffler555]

one of the most common upgrades is changing pickups. unless your changing from active to passive

[@anyday82]

Can do a video of putting a 1.67" nut on a 1.65" and why that is a good/bad idea?

[@isaiaharriaga4977]

Bro is it really that simple lol 😂thanks bro this made installing pickups very easy

[@JDODify]

Favourite pickup is a Duncan JB. I've got this weird unnamed pickup in my 70s Washburn Hawk which is good too, seems really hot coz it sounds similar to the JB but not as middy. Duncan 59 in the neck position they sound great coil split too

[@user-sq4dy2hz3u]

*laughs in active PU quick-connector* There is this cool thing called P-Link coming on kickstarter tho.

[@Aaradorn]

can you show one with the new emg pick ups? they look really easy to install.

[@dionr1168]

Colin generally doesn't like Active pickups.

[@Deac0n_Blues]

you've come to the wrong channel, he hates EMGs.

[@Aaradorn]

true. But they are very easy to install. Its like a computer

[@ZachKyew]

Two questions. What gauge of strings did you put on there? Do you think that the EMG solderless system would work just as well as solid, soldered connections?

[@troublingleaf]

That sounds amazing, would've been nice to hear the before sounds as well, but I suppose it's a tech tip video not a review, is it the same process for coil splitting humbuckers? I'm looking at changing them on my custom 24 and since it's already a coil tapped guitar so it'd be nice to keep it that way!

[@shermanator6594]

Quick question, why are the two coils connected by a long wire that needs to be connected by us rather than them being connected internally? Is that for optional coil splitting?

[@frenchbread147]

Why didn't you discuss setting the pickup height? That seems pretty important, and worth discussing.

[@himbo7772]

frenchbread147 i believe he did in anotber video of his, he did mention it in the staggered pole pieces video. But that was more about the pole pieces than entire pick up

[@FloydManFloyd]

you could easily be on tv, great job.

[@gordongreene7360]

Hey Colin! Not sure if you've answered this and I've missed it, but what bridge and tail are on that guitar? Looks super neat, and I'm currently researching wraparound/rolling bridges as potential replacements for my own! Thanks for your time man, cheers!

[@jonathanherman2686]

Very helpful!

[@himbo7772]

Hey Colin, no idea if you get comments from all the way down here. But I've had trouble with my humbuckers humming, I've finally learned enough to where I can open up my guitar and look inside. I've heard people talking about running a ground to the bridge but my guitar doesn't have that, as far as I can tell there's just two wires and those are for the pots. Should I, or can I, ground those pick ups? I tried putting copper tape inside my guitar for noise reduction but that did nothing as far as I can tell. Thank you!

[@jerbear1601]

Nice hair harmonic technique!

[@James0208]

I have a question.. All pickups are the same size? I wanna change pickups of my guitars but i don't know if the new oned would fit. I have jackson s12 and ibanez rg7421 7 strings

[@bob-eu1jq]

After I reinstalled the new pickups, in my SG I notice they were alot wobbly, then before. I put some foam in the holes but still wobbly. Any suggestions to make the pickups stay put and firm?

[@rkillian7233]

thanks a lot for that. I'm new to guitars and making one for my son. I doubt Ill have any problems making one, I hope! Any tips for me? I'd like to get a good pickup , where can you recommend, and what type? Cheers Rich

[@himbo7772]

R Killian ask your son what style of music he likes, if he likes classic rock, get him some pick ups made from or for that era. Same with any other style. Honestly though, in the beginning the gear isn't very important, most beginner's are pretty bad so everything will sound bad. As long as they're good quality pick ups he should be fine for a few years

[@w.rustylane5650]

I want to change the neck single coil pickup on my Ibanez to a humbucker pickup. I cannot find any stacked humbuckers that will fit into the single coil neck position. Will I have to cut out the pick guard so that a side by side humbucker will fit?

[@RavenMadd9]

thank you brother

[@MrBX5]

Hey Colin, if you broke an headstock, would you rather fix it or just change the neck entirely?

[@ScienceofLoud]

Depends on the break. If it is a clean break then I'd re-glue it every time. If it has crush damage or a fragmented break then repairing it may not be an option. Also depends on the construction of the neck. If it's a glued in or through body neck then repairing it will always be less work that attempting to replace the neck.

[@rodmills6750]

I have recently bought a pair of Humbucker's from Epiphone.they have quick click plugs on the end.5 wires. My guitar has one volume and tone pot. Do i need push pull pots?. If so where do i go to get quick click pots from?.

[@melexdy]

I bought a second hand duncan bucker and the cable are too short. Man, any advices? Can I ad extensions made from plain cables? Cause Im about to take a Jb Humbucker designed for a les paul bridge position and install it on my neck cavity. Which means the screws are facing the tremolo and not the headstock.

[@guitargogden]

How's about: 1) String a guitar properly - so it stays in tune and 2) adjusting the intonation?

[@alexwhitehead8264]

Intonation*

[@jettzafonik]

Hi can you install new pickup rings without uninstalling the humbucker pickups? Newbie here

[@charlcoetzee93]

looking good!

[@x7stringinJSCx]

@CSGuitars I know this video is a few years old.. but does it Matter the mounting leg length? Sites like Seymour Duncan have the option of having vintage Long or standard Short legs pickups.. If i were to buy a pickup with Short legs would it fit in a Les Paul? or if i were to buy a pickup with Long legs would it fit into an Ibanez RG or something that normally has Short leg pickups in it? I'm just wondering if Mounting Leg length matters or if you can get by with putting either kind into any pickup slot.

[@tbt_jerry9238]

Question/s for you Collin Would you ever review EMG HZ pickups? Have you tried them already or ? I'd like to know your opinion on them Since I know you favor passive pickups over active Thanks in advance -Jerry

[@joshbailey7576]

but what if I'm trying to change humbuckers on a superstrat style guitar with a 3 way blade? do i have to solder/desolder anything from the switch?

[@Eddies_Bra-att-ha-grejer]

Is there some kind of standard for pickup sizes that most new guitars use? I want to get a guitar and equip it with lipstick pickups because I like the sound.

[@shumakriss]

Inherited a budget guitar and wondering if I can make it sound nicer for heavy metal. I also play some progressive/experimental rock that isn't as heavy but willing to dedicate this guitar to the metal gods. Will it sound better just by buying aftermarket pickups or is it just a change of preference? How do I select the pickups considering all the other gear in my rig?

[@himbo7772]

The difference between a 200$ guitar and a 600$ guitar is usually the amount of work put into the guitar. You can get a 100 squier pretty close to a 1000$ fender if you're willing to put the elbow grease in yourself. If you're not willing to do it yourself, then just get a better guitar. Unless there's sentimental value, save the ~200$ and use it onlessons or better gear if you're already an established guitarist. I recommend doing it yourself though, it saves you heaps on guitar repair and maintenance down the road

[@Fedethedangerous95]

Sounds pretty good! I'm not really experienced with pickups but from KZbin samples I'd say my dream would be Pegasus + Sentient from Seymour Duncan

[@CanUSeeRJB1]

I'd go with a set of Seymour duncan black winters or black winter/nazgul combo

[@Fedethedangerous95]

+Ray Grimm I don't remember what black winters sound like right now but from what I remember they didn't hit me particularly... About the Nazgul: it's not bad at all but for personal taste I prefer the Pegasus exactly because it's a Nazgul with a bit less gain, a drier sound, and more versatile for cleans and distorted chords

[@CanUSeeRJB1]

Fedethedangerous95 I checked out the seymour duncan website earlier and apparently you can also get your own custom pickups... But they go for around $160 each pickup, which is pretty steep. Still worth it, I just can't afford any pickups myself currently.

[@Fedethedangerous95]

+Ray Grimm Hahah it's about the same price the pickups we mentioned! Just, I wouldn't really know how my pickup should be made, like "Well sir, how would you like your custom pickup?" "I don't really have a fucking clue"

[@CanUSeeRJB1]

Fedethedangerous95 I know you said you don't prefer the black winters, but the idea I had in mind was a neck pickup to pair with a black winter bridge... With more clarity and higher mids for solos and lead. But I'm basically talking out of my ass. I probably know way less about guitars then you do, I just teach myself on an acoustic and just recently bought a used guitar that comes today. Can't wait to test it out on my KH-15 that I haven't used yet lol

[@reacherstudio]

Hey there, do you have any recommendations for wiring and solder I should buy? I can use your amazon affiliate link if you want.

[@ryanbertie3279]

Anyone know the first song he played?

[@exrad2153]

Any tips on how to identify which wire is which? I have a pair of great sounding, but "off-brand" pickups and I don't really know what color of wire is what I got the guitar with those pickups in quite strange configuration, want to try wiring from Seymour Duncan site for 5-way HH style and still keep the pickups What can I do?

[@ScienceofLoud]

Use a multimeter and pin out the resistance of each pair of wires, that will tell you everything you need to know.

[@crisjohnalvarez6036]

Hi, sir I got a zebra neck pickup from onlinestore, but the wires are too short to reach the pot. Is it possible to solder an extra length of wire so it can reach? All help appreciated

[@MobileDecay]

Damn that looks a lot easier than mort videos made it look! 😍😍😍

[@andrewrutherford1035]

WILL IT SHRED

[@Fidozo15]

What if it is a standard Les Paul model with the switch up?

[@aaronsherman421]

So I bought my friends silvertone Strat for a "guinie pig" guitar and I want a new neck for it. What company do you recommend, I was thinking of a LTD

[@The10000lbGorilla]

I have a cheap Jackson with mounting rings around the pickups and have been thinking it would be cool to ditch the rings to make it look a bit more like the Misha sig. Is it as simple as tossing the plastic and screwing them directly to the body, or is there some kind of mount underneath on those kind of guitars that I am not seeing?

[@ScienceofLoud]

Generally they screw directly into the wood, or into threaded inserts installed in the wood. They may have a foam block, or large metal spring (almost like a big split washer) pushing up on the pickup so you can still get some height adjustment. Or just screw them to the height you want and never adjust them.

[@The10000lbGorilla]

CSGuitars Thanks for the info!

[@philo426]

if you have a 2 conductor stock pick ups and buy 4 conductor upgrade pups is ut hard to wire?

[@Blazikenas]

A bit offtopic. Make Gain Battle: Metal Zone (never gets old xD) vs Fullbore metal

[@rodmills6750]

I have a pair of epiphone pickups with a white wire and a ground. I want to fit them to my guitar that has one tone and volume, and a three way switch. I can't find a wiring diagram . Can you help please ?.

[@philtusmusic6797]

Call Epiphone support idk

[@theangryantitheist2973]

I really like that shirt.

[@ScienceofLoud]

They are out of production at the moment, but if you want one, stick your name down and if there is enough interest they will go into print again. teespring.com/en-GB/GuitarGoddess?aid=marketplace&tsmac=marketplace&tsmic=search#pid=370&cid=6530&sid=front

[@scwalts]

What is the riff at 3:20? Love it!

[@shron7]

So if i have new pickup in need to wire with the diagram of the new pickup or just wire it the same way as the stock pickup?

[@Stretchwreckedem469]

i wanna get mark holcomb alpha and omega pickups for my dean vendetta. is there anything different about installing those before i get them installed?

[@ChazOfGod]

sha-d paul yeah, i would try the Mark Holcomb set.

[@MrSocko-bh1jb]

My (metal) rings are touching the pickups, is that a problem?

[@viljarsimonsen4402]

please do a video like this on a guitar with 1 volume, 1 tone

[@ColinRichardsonMUSIC]

Related question, how would one change a tele single coil to little 59? I'm having trouble finding a tutorial

[@lextonhallisey2643]

Can you replace a single coil with a humbucker if you get a new pickguard

[@pjn2432]

//// ///// Yes you can.

[@himbo7772]

You might need to get some of the guitar wood removed but yes

[@ChaosDave2]

Never thought I’d get instruction on changing humbuckers from Shrek.

[@KenwayTheBonker]

What lug would I have solder to?

[@LuciFernato]

What were your tubescreamer settings on the first test?

[@marconavarro5784]

What kinda of model guitar is that

[@djynfxxbdhtbrn6854]

If a pickup sounds overly bassy, (or perhaps not trebly enough) is that a sign that I've done something wrong when installing it, or does it need a new part? Or maybe I'm just being stupid and it's meant to sound like that, i dunno.

[@himbo7772]

Dark Leige Of Chaosmas did you go from single coil to humbucker? If you did, then you probably had 250k pots which are great for keeping single coils from being ice picks, but muddies up passive humbuckers

[@Im_AMA_]

Hey guys... i need some help. Im modding my jackson dinky. It has one general tone and one general volume knob. Im gonna put a SD sentient/nazgul pickup kit on there and id like to be able to coil split the nazgul.. i dont really need a tone for the sentient. So it would just be the coil split(tone) for the nazgul and a general volume knob Is this possible and if yes... what do i need for this?? (Im new to modding so im kind of confused)

[@BumblingFool912]

Trying to fix my humbucking risers and wondering what screws are used...are they metric 2.5 or 3mm diameter screws? Many thanks to anyone that knows.

[@himbo7772]

rambly chapper those might be relative to the guitar or pick up. I recommend looking up the guitar or pickup

[@jellomantv]

where do you get the shirt you're wearing? :D

[@TangleTwister]

hey man,is this possible? you know the fender squier mustang they just brought out their in blue and black and both have black HB pups would it be possible to buy a black one and put chrome pup covers on and heres the key thing for me i want put black pup covers/surrounds like you see on the gibsons is this possible to do or are the HB pups on the fenders to close to the body to fit HB covers around the HBs without causing problems? i want to put a black pickguard on there to. now you cant tell me that would not look cool...

[@stevangajic88]

I have a very noob question.How you know witch side of humbucker goes up on zebra pickups?

[@nicks4802]

Try ejaculating inside of them. That might help.

[@marcocelestino4308]

hello my friend ! great channel, can you please make a video on neck relief and set up of the neck ? I am going crazy with my new les paul. please help a desperate dude cheers

[@Flapswitch13]

Yo Colin i had a question. When i tremolo pick on a distortion channel i feel like i hear the pick scratching the string in between every pick. Its subtle but it bugs me. Any input?

[@ScienceofLoud]

Try a different pick, some will create more string noise than others.

[@Flapswitch13]

+CSGuitars Any suggestions for a pick? I currently use the Dunlop green tortex picks (can't remember the specific name). My downpicks and triplets in a gallop rhythm sound fine, it's just the tremolo stuff that gets to me. Thanks for the reply by the way!

[@ScienceofLoud]

My recommendation will always be Dragon's Heart Guitar Picks: www.dragonsheartguitarpicks.com/ That said, I've heard that Iron Age are producing a new pick that are near silent on the strings, might be worth checking them out too. I should hopefully be getting some myself to try out: www.ironageaccessories.com/Performance-Guitar-Plectrums-s/130.htm

[@Flapswitch13]

+CSGuitars thanks mate. Much appreciated. P.S. All The Gain!