Archtop Humbucker Mods

[2bornot2bop]

sgosnell: “. I don't blame old wiring, I blame new wireless devices. The electromagnetic spectrum in modern homes, and everywhere else, is very active and noisy.”

This! Ironic in amateur radio years ago we had to worry about interfering with others TVs and stereos.
NOW we have to contend with noise coming into our receivers from, as you said, cheap Chinese wall power blocks, washing machines (esp Samsung), and the worst of all LED lamps.
The thin lines you see are real digital comms. That nasty big line to the right is sweeping across this spectrum and back. It will blank everything in its path. No filter will kill it. Neighbors washer… tough to explain it’s their fault)

Attachment 93333
jk
KC4XU

Was that in Hryvnia?

[2bornot2bop]

This is the sort of job a guitar tech, not just a luthier, should be able to handle easily.

Kalamazoo prices are probably lower, especially if you prepare the guitar but would be $50-60.

I'd take the strings and bridge off, make an appt, and see if the tech will allow you to watch him/her do the work. If the tech is efficient and skilled, I'd guess it would take half an hour. I'm clumsy and slow but could have it done in an hour. Next time you can do it yourself. The time after that you can teach how to do it. (I exaggerate a little.)

Perhaps cheaper to ship it to you? I could throw in that PB humbucker

[jazzkritter]

Need a Zoom call for 2Bop with those of us who’ve done this! Guide Him through it all.
But no internecine arguments, we would all Need to agree before hand on what procedure we talk through.
What say thee?

jk

[Marty Grass]

An experienced luthier once told me that it's easier to change out a pickup in an archtop. This was a decades ago, before pickups sprouted a lot of new wires.

He didn't explain why. I think that it might be that his hands allowed him to reach into the cavity and position the pots without difficulty. I don't know how he dealt with the ground wire. Probably much harder to do on a semi than a full body.

But, quite easy on a solid body because all the connections are exposed, at least, in the guitars I've seen.

The ground wire usually comes out or near the end hole. A new replacement wire is put from the tail end into the cavity and pulled out the f hole if you are pulling the harness out of the top. You can then solder the new tailpiece wire to the harness and remove the old. You then can pull the wire still sticking out of the tail end of the guitar once you put the harness back in place and trim off the excess ground wire.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

You then can pull the wire still sticking out of the tail end of the guitar once you put the harness back in place and trim off the excess ground wire.

The unfortunate tendency when doing this is to pull the wire until resistance is felt, then cut it leaving only enough to make good contact with the tailpiece. The problem with this is that it leaves insufficient wire to allow subsequent removal of the harness without replacing the wire again.

I’ve always used a simple trick to prevent this. After soldering the wire to the chosen ground point on the harness or a pot, I wrap it around a pencil or dowel a few times to create a short segment of coils that resembles a little spring. As you pull the free end out through the hole in the body, the coiled area goes into the body.

Reinstall the pup, pots, and harness. Stop pulling the ground wire when there’s little enough slack so that the coiled part is suspended inside without touching anything, and cut the excess. The “spring” section will let you pull out the electronics once or twice without having to replace the ground wire each time. Just press the stretched out coils with your fingers as you feed the assembly back in.

I’m an auto racer, so I have a roll of SS safety wire that’s strong and less prone to work hardening than ordinary wire (stranded or solid) for electrical use. This should be fine with good copper wire, but don’t reuse wires because any areas that were bent and straightened are weaker and prone to break if rebent.

[sgosnell]

Yes, you do need to leave enough slack to allow everything to be moved around. Putting coils in the wire is one way, but it might take a lot of coils, depending on the guitar. Just allow plenty of slack, however you do it.

[2bornot2bop]

As I suggested, it’s too much for a rookie to tackle. Darn shame there’s no Pete Moreno’s in my area!