Music Factory

Within the world of the electric guitar, many people know of and are impressed by the Les Paul. In fact, some people consider it the absolute best of the best in electric guitars for sale. But what makes this particular guitar so revolutionary and so special? For one, the entire idea of having a solid body guitar was relatively new at the time of the Les Paul creation. With the original idea created by Lester Polsfuss (or Les Paul), this guitar was not particularly well received by audiences. Determined that the new guitar could be a hit, however, Paul took the idea to noted guitar maker Gibson.

Passing on the original design, Gibson did remember Paul. Playing on Paul’s notoriety as a recording artist, they decided to attach his name to a 1951 version of the solid body electric guitar. While the noted guitar was obviously named after the artist, there is some question about how much input he actually had into the making and design of that guitar. Many people have concluded that the gold top and trapeze tail piece were both inputs from Paul.

If your pickup is not performing like it used to, or you want to modify your guitar to get a richer sound, you need to install a new electric guitar pickup. Pickups are an essential part of your guitars performance and replacing or adding one can change the sound significantly, especially if it’s done incorrectly. Here’s how to install an electric guitar pickup and get the sound you’re looking for.

• Assess which pickup is giving you trouble, unless you are looking to modify your pickup configuration. On a Strat, it’s easy to tell which one needs replaced by the toggle switch on the board. With others you may have to guess which one is the culprit.

• Acquire a wiring diagram for your electric guitar and take the time to learn how to read it. Pickups are fairly simple to wire, but if they are wired incorrectly, you may fry your whole system. If you have any doubts about your ability to wire the new pickup in place, take your guitar to the shop and let them do it.

• Select your new pickup. Expect to pay about 60 or 70 dollars for a single pickup, or about 110 dollars for a double pickup. Make sure you check compatibility, especially if you are doing modifications to your guitar’s wiring. Get a shops opinion on the brand and style selection for your electric guitar.

• Unplug and remove any battery power source before proceeding.

• Remove the old pickup and modify the body of the guitar, if necessary to accept the new pickup. Unscrew the pickup from the pick guard and gently pull it from the body. Read your wiring diagram and remove the wires from the pickup, being careful not to damage them. Gently open up the body to accept the new pickup, if needed.

• Rewire the new pickup and screw into place. If you have modified the body, you may need to fill and re-drill the holes to screw the guitar pickup in place.

• Plug it in and give it a try. If you’re experiencing any buzzing or other undesirable effects, ask a professional to look at it.

I think at one point or another, we’ve all thought about learning to play the guitar.  But no matter who you are, when you start playing the guitar you’re terrible, and it takes a lot of time, dedication, and practice to get better.  When I was about 13, I told my parents I wanted to learn how to play the electric guitar, and of course they gave me that sort of parental sideways glance.  I knew electric guitars weren’t cheap, and nor were the lessons, plus since I hadn’t played there was no guarantee I’d continue.  My parents made a deal with me, they said they’d pay for half of the electric guitar if I paid for the other. 

I worked for a whole summer as a part time paperboy, and earned my half of the electric guitar.  My parents were true to their word, and paid for the other half.  I think because I worked for it, the guitar was a lot more important to me.  I played it all through junior high and high school, and when I was 18, a few friends of mine formed a band and played together all throughout college.  While I’m not a professional musician now, it was a whole lot of fun!