Step-by-step Swapping Pickups

Special thanks to Evan Elmendorf for shipping me his Seymour Duncan Invader! newyorkhatecore.com

[@skatterpro]

Louis, you're COLD SOLDERING. You're supposed to warm the two parts, then put the solder on the coldest of the two parts and let it creep to the hottest (smallest) of the two parts. The way you're doing it, you will get brittle and oxidized solder joints that will eventually break! Solder on the tip of the iron is only to get a better heat transfer and protect the tip from oxide once it cools, again to prevent bad heat transfer for the next time.

[@louistorres]

Funny you should say that, because I had to do them over again! Hahaha!! I'm no expert but she's alive!!!! : ) Thanks for the heads up, bro!

[@riffnastyhubanks5714]

Dude hell yeah I didn't know you did any pickup installation videos lol I've been doing my own for years but it's still educational for those who haven't and that are looking to upgrade. Quality information as always keep it coming brother and cheers from Texas

[@louistorres]

Texas!!! Bro, my older brother was a Drill Sergeant in Texas and loved living there! So many of my KZbin brothers live there and I'm always jealous!!! I'll get 14" of snow here in NY and Scott from Deadhorse will text me that it's warm there! Hahaha!

[@ValSchnitzel]

This ia great! I was actually just planning on doing this since i am building a guitar from some scrap parts i found.

[@parkkingery9216]

Pickup changes are pretty easy as long as you take your time and dont rush. Great video.

[@louistorres]

I learned that the hard way! Rushing and having to literally do the soldering ALL over again! Thanks to you, I've done just that and go much slower now. : )

[@Sengir712]

Awesome video turotrial sir! Saved me time and money bringing my guitar to a luthier. Question sir: i soldered my open wire and green wire to the previous wire that says ground on the switch. Or should i solder it to the pot? If so, which pot? The volume or tone? Thank you very much sir. Hope you answer back. Cheers!!!🤘🤘🤘

[@subzero8410]

Im planning on installing a new pickup which has 5 wires(red,black,white,green and bare) and my original pickup only has 2 wires which is signal and bare wire.The new one says to tape the white and black together and do the same thing to bare and green.So I will have only 2 wires to solder which is the red one as hot and green/bare as ground.The question is should I solder it the same way as the original one?Being the red is now soldered to the same place as the signal one before and the green/bare too being soldered to the same spot?

[@kevo11209]

Just got done soldering a set of invaders into my new Schecter, dude you make it look easy haha. I had to set it up split coil push pull switch, nightmare. Did a tap test and got sound. Fingers crossed if it works once I set the string tomorrow in the FR.

[@louistorres]

Yeah bro, it sucks at first but when you get the chance, literally pull them out and install them again! It gets easier every time bro! So glad you installed them yourself!

[@kevo11209]

@@louistorres yeah, next time I'll gut it all to get at the small points. Thanks for the idea though

[@newo3585]

A random question but what size is stamped on the block on the tremolo?

[@27dgonzalezzz]

Do you know what size screws you use to attach the pickup to the body of the guitar? Did you have to do any modifications to the feet of the pickup baseplate?

[@louistorres]

It's the same pickup screws it came with, so I didn't have to do anything other than swap and screw back in. :)

[@christophercolumbus8944]

try number ONE wood screw flat head philips (fullythreaded) 1/2" long

[@psychomantis2881]

The red and white wires are for the north coil and south coil. It is used for coil splitting. I make my pickups with Red as hot, Black and bare as ground. White as North coil and green as south coil.

[@louistorres]

What! You know how to make pickups?! Stop it! From scratch? Or do you just swap the colors somehow? Haha! I'm new to pickups, swapping, wiring, soldering! :)

[@christophercolumbus8944]

so color doesn't matter ?

[@RomanDido]

Nice video brother..💪

[@lewiskeller97]

How do you identify which wires are for which pickup? My luck I’d wire a bridge pickup to the neck position lol

[@louistorres]

You just solder one pickup at a time and solder the neck pickup to the "rhythm" side of the pickup selector. Once you get one done, then you have to move to the bridge and wire it in the "down" section of the pickup selector switch. Not that hard... it's like having a threesome. If one guy is in her mouth, you can't utilize her mouth anymore, I mean you CAN but that's a little too crowded for me... you then have to go to the other end. Hahaha!!

[@lewiskeller97]

Louis Torres lol gotcha man. When I gather the courage to do it I’ll probably pm you or something. What I’ll probably end up doing is leaving the 59 neck pickup in and swap the jb in the bridge for a black winter

[@johncrapper366]

I love rail pickups

[@ultimatemetalguitartones]

Really helpful

[@sleevelessace]

wait im confused maybe its cause this is a jackson? but i watched a video and it said the ground wires green n bare go to the back of the bridge pickup pot like yours is but then he said the black wire or the hot wire solders on the lug of the bridge pot, but yours is the selector switch, why is that?, im honestly shocked i know this much as im trying to learn how to do this one my own guitar LOL and yesterday i was like so many wires this is scary LOL

[@fatboysgarage7984]

I'm trying to install some Invaders in my Soloist. I can't get anything from the middle position or the neck position. It's just a 3 way switch with the factory pots and it's kicking my ass. I'm getting countiounity, but no sound. You got any advice?

[@louistorres]

You should find the diagram for three way selector with three pickups from Seymour Duncan's website. I don't know what the other two pickups are, so hopefully the colors are the same as the Invader. If not, use a multi meter to find the hot wire. :)

[@LeoM-zt3pl]

Lois, thinking of swapping the factory duncan custom 5 bridge in my 2015 ESP Horizon FR to the classic JB. Do you have any ESPs with JB bridge ? Its a pickup I've always been happy with 20+ years playing and tinkering. Have tried emg, fishman, dimarzio but always come back to seymour duncan.

[@louistorres]

Yes sir! My 1996 ESP Horizon Custom has the black/ white Seymour JBs and the bridge pickup is fire! Thing is brutal as eff!!! I'm glad you have yours in a Horizon also!! Twinning!!!!!!!! :)

[@LeoM-zt3pl]

@@louistorres yeah, I love the horizons with the mahogany body but the tone is way too dark for me with the custom 5 bridge. I need to wake it's ass up and I think a JB will work as it always does :)

[@agent_mc]

In 2023 you should be able to just snap in the wires in there proper places without having solder.

[@admiralgoodboy]

What if its a different wiring. Tryna install an emg from a Seymour duncan

[@louistorres]

No idea, active are much more complex. My boy Madison would install them in my case.

[@metalheadmaynard2684]

great video. i have never attempted this before. time to put a black winter in my 89 rg760

[@louistorres]

It's literally, remove the old, see where the two wires (three, but the green and bare are always together) attach and that's it! I just learned and was shocked at how easy it is. It gets weird when you go from active pickups to passive bc everything is different. The pots are smaller for active so I had to use a dremel to enlarge the holes in a few guitars.

[@metalheadmaynard2684]

@@louistorres i was always intimidated. im ordering a black winter this week fuck it

[@metalheadmaynard2684]

on my hanneman guitar id like to delete the tone knob, move the volume to where the tone is and put a killswitch where the volume currently is

[@louistorres]

@@metalheadmaynard2684 that would be fun to do! I love it!

[@johncrapper366]

Jusy swapped out a DiMarzio D Activator. for a Duncan El Diablo in one of my Gibson Vs.

[@louistorres]

Did you not like the D Activator? I was watching videos on it and although DiMarzio says it's, "active-like," I'm glad it's really not and was thinking of getting them. That being said, how do like the El Diablos? Are those Scott Ian's? I thought I read that but I could be wrong.

[@johncrapper366]

The D Activator is going into a mockingbird and yes th El Diablo is the Scitt Ian p/u.....before it was a scott ian it was actuall designed for Tony Iommi before Gibson did the T.I. signature p/u.

[@PapaRikkiBalls]

Thanks for this, I've been meaning to learn how to change my own pick-ups cuz I don't wanna waste $50 so someone can do it for me haha, but as usual great video I'm always laughing watching your content.

[@louistorres]

That's why I wanted to learn, I was paying $45 per swap and had to wait five days! Now, I start and 15 minutes later, done! I can't believe it took me this long! Bro, I swear it's as easy what I did. It gets a little weird if you're going from active to passive bc the pots are different and you have to make the hole larger with a dremel. I make custom leather watch bands, so I already had a dremel with 1,000 attachments! Hahaha!

[@Molotov_Milkshake]

Now learn to solder properly because this guy does a terrible job of it. He hasn't even tinned the wires.

[@Maniac_seraph]

Nah bro mines was gonna be 180 $ scam forsure

[@Kris-ex6yk]

Will you demo the seymour Duncan slug? Super interested in that pickup, but can’t vibe any good videos of it. Wondering why because it’s the hottest rail pickup in existence.

[@louistorres]

Don't own it so can't demo it. Actually, there are a bunch of KZbin videos with Ola, Keith and others demoing it. At a whopping 45k DCR, I don't think I'd buy it but check out those videos and determine if it's right for you.

[@Kris-ex6yk]

Louis Torres I’ve seen those videos but both of them have backing tracks no raw tones. And everyone is playing it in a doom style as the pickup supposedly was made for that. I kind of just wanted to you do a chug fest with in a metal format. But I feel ya, I’ll keep an eye out for a good demonstration of it. Gotta know that sucker sounds like in a real amp doing chugs. Maybe I’ll just buy one. Currently use an invader.

[@louistorres]

@@Kris-ex6yk that pickup is insane! Hahaha! It's as high as 45k DCR!! I can't imagine what they have to do to get it that high. From the magnet to the 10,000+ winds of wiring and even then, it would have to be a thicker gauge wire to push it to that level.

[@louistorres]

@@Kris-ex6yk Now I understand why it has such a high output, it's designed to create a natural fuzz which would be ideal for Doom metal, so it actually wouldn't have that much "chug." It would sound like the chugish/ melodic tone from a cranked fuzz box. I'm just not into that fuzz tone, it's just a different kind of metal that I don't listen to but if you're into doom/ stoner metal then you should consider it. For me, I need something that's not as harsh sounding and more in the 14-18k range for a bridge pickup. :)

[@Kris-ex6yk]

Louis Torres I play in a grindcore band and run a bass amp and guitar and kind of run a clean bass scooped eq and boat mids on a the guitar side. My thought was with such high output maybe I would not need a distortion pedal anymore cause there’s no way you can get a decent clean tone. So it would possibly push the bass head into natural distortion. In grind there’s an embrace of all things harsh and not so nice. In the Keith marrow video it doesn’t sound fuzzy at all. So wondering if this thing could be meanest sounding rail ever with its double magnet tone. But also could be used for stoner tone. And on the bass side the tone I go for is similar to fuzz. Very scooped and massive while guitar eq is chainsaw. Sounds cool together.

[@ItsSauIGoodman]

I'm terrified of doing this. My stuff comes friday. JS22 7 and a nazgul/sentient set

[@louistorres]

Bro, you've got this. Take a photo of your electrical with your cell phone and follow the exact color to color. Two literally get taped, so nothing is done with those. The other two, one is ground and just gets soldered to the back of the pot and the other is "hot" and gets soldered on one of the pins. Same as the old one. Heat the wire then heat the other and solder/ hold for three seconds and remove the iron. Make sure both ends are hot, so you don't have any cold solders that crack and disconnect. :)

[@ItsSauIGoodman]

@@louistorres I can heat the wires themselves first? Then heat the pot and put them together?

[@joeylizotte7537]

I want that Jackson pickup...

[@louistorres]

Those 90s Jackson pickups are liquid gold. That thing's output is still on fire, thirty years later. If you can find them on eBay or reverb, you have to grab them.

[@PontLimon]

I am changing my Jackson bridge pickup with Invader now and as I see, the wiring of my jackson is the same as yours - hot output to the switch and not to the volume knob, but this is not how the instruction of Seymour Duncan tells me to do. They say the black wire has to be connected to the volume controls connector. I am really confused now... 15 min. later: I've connected it the way you do and I have the signal, it works. But now I'm wondering - would it work as well if I'd connected it to the volume knob instead? My knowledge of soldering and wiring is pretty close to zero, so maybe you can clear it for me? I have it done your way also because my old pickup was connected this way, but than why do they say it should be done different?

[@sixdubfive2178]

What type solder is required? High or low temp?

[@louistorres]

Always high enough to melt the solder and heat the wire and the pots.

[@Cognitoman]

Dude I got the set, and then neck pickup only has sound coming from one pole piece and it buzzes when ai touch it

[@louistorres]

That's really weird. Unsolder it and solder it again.

[@Cognitoman]

@@louistorres yeah I’ve done it 5 times... lol yeah it is weird.

[@3jason3jones3]

I'm legally blind and so it would be far easier to just cut the wires about 1.5" away from the pots and just connect the wires that way. Down side? Trying to avoid the results of a blinded fool with a hot soldering iron lol

[@johncrapper366]

Do you want to sell or trade that Jackson pickup

[@louistorres]

I love that thing so much! I'm trying to think of which other guitar to put it in. : ) Maybe the Ibanez RGA I have.

[@WavyMacofficial]

Sup brother I wanna put some new pickups in my Ibanez . This is macauley

[@louistorres]

You'll need a good soldering iron and the rest is copying where the solder points are.

[@hate8224]

It's giving me anxiety knowing as his pushes the wire through to the back on handed the invader is just scraping over his guitar

[@louistorres]

It's literally a cheap $350 guitar, I would do things differently if it were one of my $2,800 ESP MII Customs but a cheap Jackson? Naw. That's like being upset that your old sneakers got dirty in the mud outside. Trust that I'm not worried and you shouldn't worry about this thirty year old sneaker either.

[@gsupersport6383]

@@louistorres Ce n’est pas une raison valable pour moi.

[@jondavis3582]

i didnt realize jackson made a rail pickup...

[@louistorres]

Early 90s, it was the Jackson J85 pickup and the thing is a beast! Get one if you get the chance!

[@jondavis3582]

@@louistorres what kinda output do they have?

[@louistorres]

@@jondavis3582 This one is 14.5kb, if I remember correctly. I'd have to triple check with my multimeter again.

[@jondavis3582]

@@louistorres do u still have it?

[@louistorres]

I do and have had at least twenty guys ask to buy it. Haha! It's an old school handwired pickup that's in my collection for a while. They pop up on Reverb and eBay from time to time. Check out my Instagram, I just posted one of my other 1992 Jacksons that has the J85 still in it. :)

[@tch8787]

Did u block your term???

[@louistorres]

Nope. If you look closely, you'll see that it's angled back. Only one of my guitars has a block but I rarely is it bc it's a seven string.

[@livingfreelyinspired7400]

Why don’t you just desolder the old pickup

[@louistorres]

Didn't matter, it was going into a box. It's where it's been all these years since this video was made.

[@stevemcgee6853]

That ain't right 🤣

[@ericwilliams7374]

Louis, you need a "camera man" or a "camera stand" of some sort. Would probably help ya out....Oh, or something to strap to your head while doing videos like this......just a suggestion to help you. To free up your hands.

[@louistorres]

Watch the video carefully as I solder... Free hands!! I just didn't want to use the stand at the beginning of the video, but then I eventually used it for the soldering section of the video. :) All of my videos actually utilize a tripod for my camera, not sure if you noticed. It's literally all of my photography gear that I use. :)

[@Young_troubl3]

Way too complicating for my small brain😂😂😂😂😂

[@shelovesthenight8425]

Bro. You about to get roasted over your soldering. Look up cold soldering. And rethink this vid. Just a friendly recommendation.

[@louistorres]

It's all good, it's just to show guys that it's not really that difficult to do and you don't have to spend $45 every time you want to swap pickups. : )

[@shelovesthenight8425]

@@louistorres True! dig the channel btw

[@louistorres]

@@shelovesthenight8425 my soldering is terrible! Hahaha! I haven't soldered since I was 14 years old and then started again a few weeks ago. I'm still learning as I go along and thanks for watching my channel!! I promise I'll do a better video! Haha! I'm waiting to buy DIY pedals from China but have to wait until this Coronavirus craziness is over!

[@shelovesthenight8425]

@@louistorres Hey good luck with that. And by that, I mean not contracting corona virus HAHAHA! Nah! Building kits is super fun though. It is however a gateway. You might end up like me with eurorack. And your wallet will be truly fucked up. Keep shredding bro!!!

[@louistorres]

@@shelovesthenight8425 everyone says I'm going to obsess! Hahaha!