| Most beginning guitar players start with a rather | | | | The first thing you need to do is remove your guitar |
| inexpensive instrument. They usually have a mass | | | | strings. I usually leave the low E-string on to keep a little |
| production clone of a Fender Stratocaster or a Gibson | | | | tension on the neck. Next remove the pickguard cover. |
| Les Paul. The most popular clones are made | | | | Make sure you save all the screws in a cup as they |
| overseas by Gibson and Fender themselves through | | | | are small and get lost easily. After you remove the |
| the Epiphone and Squier lines. These are built to the | | | | screws you should be able to lift up on it and slide it |
| same specs as the American made models. They are | | | | off under the E-string. You should now see your three |
| decent instruments in their own right but they can be | | | | pickups and the wiring thats attached to them. |
| improved greatly with just a pickup replacement. As | | | | The new pickups come with a wiring diagram that is |
| long as the neck is straight and the tuning pegs are | | | | color coded but take a good look at each pickup |
| fairly tight, this is often all you need to upgrade to a pro | | | | before you replace it in case something isn't quite right |
| sound. | | | | with the color code. It's important that you replace one |
| Iv'e modified several Mexican made Stratocasters and | | | | pickup at a time so as not to mix up the bridge, middle |
| I'll take you through the process. The first thing you | | | | and neck pickups. |
| want to decide on is what kind of sound you're looking | | | | Heat up your soldering iron. Remove the first pickup. I |
| for. Replacement pickups are available with a lot of | | | | usually start with the neck pickup. Cut and strip the |
| variety in sound output. I like to use Seymour Duncan | | | | wires according to the instructions and solder the wires |
| pickups because they have proven to be of high | | | | to the new ones. Repeat the process for the other |
| quality and reliability. They also have a good selection | | | | two. Not too bad, huh? |
| and have a CD of sound samples you can listen to. | | | | When you replace the cover/pickguard, be careful not |
| Most dealers have the CD's and you can also listen to | | | | to overtighten the screws or they might get stripped. |
| the samples online. Choose your replacement pickups | | | | Now would be a good time to clean the guitar before |
| and you're ready to upgrade. | | | | you put the new strings on. |
| You'll need several things for the job. A good stable | | | | Replace and tune the strings and plug in. You'll be |
| workbench or table, with plenty of room to lay your | | | | pleased with the results. I have several of these |
| tools out, makes things much easier. Here's a list of | | | | upgraded strats for the price of one expensive one |
| what you need: | | | | and more versatilty with different pickup sounds. You |
| 1.screwdriver set, both flat head and philips | | | | can do the same thing with an Epiphone Les Paul to |
| 2.soldering iron | | | | produce a sound that rivals the Gibson for about a |
| 3.solder | | | | third of the price. Now you can spend more money on |
| 4.new set of strings | | | | all the cool effects gadgets. Have fun and keep |
| 5.wire cutters/strippers | | | | practicing. |