Replace pup

DavidLylis

Aspiring Bluesman
I am going to replace the bridge pup in my strat as it was replaced with a humbucker. I have found an appropriate American made bridge pup for my liking. Before I go any further I will say that I have personally restored two classic roadsters and rewired both vehicles. My question is simple. Is it OK to remove the neck with the strings intact, and replace same to get the guard, etc. off, or is it necessary to remove the strings. I am pretty sure the answer is the former but sometimes you don't know what you don't know. Thanks
 

Danno

Blues Newbie
I am going to replace the bridge pup in my strat as it was replaced with a humbucker. I have found an appropriate American made bridge pup for my liking. Before I go any further I will say that I have personally restored two classic roadsters and rewired both vehicles. My question is simple. Is it OK to remove the neck with the strings intact, and replace same to get the guard, etc. off, or is it necessary to remove the strings. I am pretty sure the answer is the former but sometimes you don't know what you don't know. Thanks
You shouldn't have to remove the neck to get the pickguard off. Regardless you can slacken the strings enough to remove the pickguard to get at the pickup. And if you do need to remove the neck, definitely take all the tension off the strings at the very least.
 

DavidLylis

Aspiring Bluesman
You shouldn't have to remove the neck to get the pickguard off. Regardless you can slacken the strings enough to remove the pickguard to get at the pickup. And if you do need to remove the neck, definitely take all the tension off the strings at the very least.
I just want to be sure, you know we are talking about a strat here. There is enough clearance once the guard screws are removed that the connections, et al, under the guard can clear the edge of the body hole? If so, this will be easier.
 

Danno

Blues Newbie
It should be fine. I replaced pickups in an American Standard just a few months ago and just loosened the strings so I could lift the bridge end of the pickguard high enough to slide it back just a bit so it would clear the fretboard extension and slid it off the body toward the control side.
 

Al Holloway

Devizes UK
Is the replacement Humbucker a standard side by side or a stacked humbucker. If the former you will have a large hole to fill and may be better replacing the whole pick guard.

cheers

Al.
 

DavidLylis

Aspiring Bluesman
Is the replacement Humbucker a standard side by side or a stacked humbucker. If the former you will have a large hole to fill and may be better replacing the whole pick guard.

cheers

Al.
It is a stacked Dimarzio. Same size and shape as the original. I would live with it (maybe) if the former owner had not used a black one)). I know to some that means little but to me. . .
 

Elio

Student Of The Blues
I have two different loaded pickguards set up with different pickups, so I just swap out the pickguards completely. I can usually do that by just loosening the strings and sliding the pickguard under them. There's no need to remove the neck that I can think of but if you want to get fancy, you can splice solderless connectors into the wires for quick changes.
 

snarf

making guitars wish they were still trees
Like the others have said, if it's a Strat, you can just loosen the strings and get the pickguard out. I've got several Strats and had never actually pulled a neck off of any of them until I got one that the truss rod adjustment was in the butt of the neck instead of at the headstock. Before I got that one, I swapped, pups, pup covers, pickguards, etc and only ever loosened the strings to do it. Sometimes, the pickguard can be a really tight fit around the neck so that you have to work it off.

That said, if you restore cars, you may just want to take the neck off (among other parts) just to see how it all fits together. If that's the case, pull it all apart. Compared to your roadsters, a Strat is extremely simple (and pretty modular imho), so disassembly and rebuild wouldn't even be an afternoon's project for you.
 

TwoNotesSolo

Student Of The Blues
Why are you so set on leaving the strings on? I'd remove the strings do you have plenty of room to work with to pull the pickguard off, then restriging with fresh strings when you are done.
 
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straightblues

Blues Junior
Either approach will work, as well as loosening the strings. I like to wait until I am ready for a string change and do it all at once. Remember, strings are cheap.
 

snarf

making guitars wish they were still trees
You do know you are meant to regularly replace strings don't you. At least every decade or so. When they talk about 50's and 60's strats thats the last time the strings were changed....:whistle:

cheers

Al.
Now you tell me. Last time I played I had to get a tetanus shot. Guess it's time to break out the rasp and file and knock the rust off the strings. lol

I actually replace my strings more often than most folks I know. For the ones that stay out on the stand, it's about once every 6 weeks (unless they go dead quicker). For the ones that sit in the case in the closet for long stretches, it's just whenever I happen to pull them out and start playing them again.
 

CapnDenny1

Student Of The Blues
Yes you can, but.

I put a 90 degree bend in the strings when I install them. If you loosen them and move them out of the hole in the tuning post, it will most likely break when you put them back in.

I also put a few wraps around the post when I put the string on. The heavy strings are OK to loosen, but the higher strings tend to unwind when you loosen them enough to get the pick guard off. If I have several cycles of this, I put tape around the strings and neck at the 5th fret to hold them in place.

I have also scratched the front of the guitar with the sharp screws sticking out the back of the pickups.

I think the best is to just remove them and replace with new. A new guitar deserves new strings.
 

PapaRaptor

Father Vyvian O'Blivion
Staff member
I concur with @CapnDenny1. I always keep a 1 inch roll of blue painters masking tape in my kit. After taking the tension off the strings I'll wrap at the first fret and again near the 12th. Taking the neck off is a 5 minute job and I will always do it, for the very same reasons the Capn mentioned. I tend to disassemble every used guitar I buy (and 3/4s of mine were purchased used) just to get the previous owner's DNA out of every nook and cranny. I don't have a Fender or Danelectro guitar in my collection that the neck has not been removed at least once, even the ones I bought new.

That said, you can usually get the pickguard off and back on without scratching the finish, but Murphy seems to like visiting my workbench, so I take extra precautions. Do whatever you're comfortable doing. It's your guitar!
 

DavidLylis

Aspiring Bluesman
You do know you are meant to regularly replace strings don't you. At least every decade or so. When they talk about 50's and 60's strats thats the last time the strings were changed....:whistle:

cheers

Al.
The strings were just changed, but having said that they are not expensive))
 

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
I always keep a 1 inch roll of blue painters masking tape in my kit. After taking the tension off the strings I'll wrap at the first fret and again near the 12th. Taking the neck off is a 5 minute job and I will always do it...

The Spincaster went through three major version changes, and countless minor tweaks (who says those are over?). In each case I used velcro cable ties in those same areas and popped the neck off. Between the end of the pick guard being trapped under the lower end of the neck, and the general convenience of being able easily to lift and flip the guard to work on stuff, it's always made sense to me to do so. I've always layered the body in micro fiber towels before setting the flipped guard back down on the body. Strings are cheap, sure, but if I can avoid burning a set needlessly I'm game. :Beer:
 
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