Change pickups myself?

Im going to change the pick ups in my tanglewood les paul. I want to drop in some active EMGs. At the moment its got 'Entwistle' stocks. How hard is it to do the wiring myself. Ive heard that all of the volume and tone pots need changing. is this true? also, where is the best place for the battery. Ive never soldered before so i'm gonna be usless. anyhelp?

If you buy a complete set of EMG active pickups at a guitar store they should come with the neccessary pots, wires, battery box etc. And yes, you need to change pots... Active pickups use 25k pots rather than the 250k for single coils and 500k for humbuckers... The best place to put your battery box is somewhere sturdy where it won't rattle against any wiring. Somewhere out of the way preferable... depending on your guitar this could be a problem so just do the best you can without having to do any excess routing or fabrication. Good luck.

has anyone got any advice or wiring diagrams? how do you solder? :D seriously, i have never tried.

do you even have a soldering iron. if you dont you have to take it to a pro to do it.

Originally Posted by: 83261_siddo you even have a soldering iron. if you dont you have to take it to a pro to do it.

no but i know a shop that sells them. Its not the end of the world because i dont have one. Anyway doesn't matter anymore. Egnore this thread. I have sold the Tanglewood.

If you're looking to get into soldering... go pick up a soldering iron at a store. Get a low output one... something around 5 watts or so... They take awhile to heat up but they are good for beginners. When you're working with electronics like pots you don't want to expose them to too much heat or you could ruin them... So it's important to start with a low output gun or wand at first. Get some cheap wire to practice with... Here's a beginners walkthrough:

1. First plug the soldering iron in and let it heat up.

2. Get a rag or cloth and dampen it with water. This is to clean the tip with and also can be to cool surfaces off if you need to...

3. Get your practice wire ready and whatever piece of metal you're going to solder to.

4. Place the tip of the soldering gun on the object that you want to solder. Let it rest there a few seconds to heat the surface of whatever it is you're soldering to.

5. Put the solder in the opposite had that you're holding the soldering gun with and touch the tip of the solder next to the tip of the soldering gun. If the solder melts to the object you're soldering the gun and the object are both hot enough. Once you get the desired amount of solder, remove the solder and the gun at the same time and the solder will dry.

Practice with a scrap piece of metal or a scrap potentiometer if you have one. Practice making small solder joints while still covering the piece of wire completely. Try not to use too much solder on your joints. This can be a cause of a bad connection in the future... There you go, thats the jist of it! Good Luck

thanks alot man ;)

And watch those fingers, man. If you nick yourself with the tip you have to hold your hand/fingers under cold running water for 15 minutes.

Use COOL running water... not COLD running water... Running a burn under cold running water can cause permanent nerve damage. Just some basic first-aid for you...