New pickups in strat

Yeah, just heat it up while gently tugging on the wire and it'll spring loose. It'd help to have three hands.

Three hands is the key - I think you have just asked a general surgeon. :shock:

It helps, with your two hands, to snip the wire first, and then melt it out with the soldering gun in one hand, and tweezers in the other to help wiggle the pieces free, before YOU get burned by the tweezers and have to see a doctor! :lol:

Do not leave the soldering tip anywhere on fragile components too long overheating and burning anything which may fail.

Tin the wire in advance that you will attach, and it helps if you thread it through the blade switch lugs, and hook it back, while keeping it tight, like a shepherds hook; not sticking out. The sooner you do this the better, as excess, melting, loose blobs of solder can run down into the switch and ruin the job. A quick hand is best, and firm not loose connections.

Edit - oh right, what about the humbucker? Something fat from Rio Grande would be lover-ly! Though I use SD Pearly Gates, and love these pickups more than many others. In fact I have no complaints - they come or CAME on the Texas Hot Rod Series Lonestar Strat. There WAS an oddity, running a humbucker through the Strat's 250K pots, and with a really plain .022uF cap. The Pearlies were a little anemic. I replaced the volume pot with 1000K, treble bleed and and NOS .022 tone cap. Here's Rio Grande's already-got-boys, Barbeque and hold the salad bucker; what a sense of humor! They also make Dirty Harry's. Anyway, I think a Rio Grande would fight it's way like a bull, or beef-on-the-hoof through a 250 pot okay :lol: http://www.riograndepickups.com/scart/SubCategories.asp?ProductName=For+Humbuckings&SubCatName=SINGLES

Sweet Lord, listen to rock in Rio! Rio, BTW is one company that has always understood the tonal characteristics of Strats and Teles, is not your typical Les Paul company or doesn't cater to them as much and ain't scared to let it all hang out. :shock: http://www.riograndepickups.com/sounds.htm

Thanks for the advice gents. Hopefully I will get around to it this weekend. Busy work week for me. I am beat when I get home. I DO NOT want to attempt this when I am tired and cranky!

Blue Jay: I will check the Rio Grande out. I have been looking at the SD Pearly Gates. The reviews are good and the price isn't bad either.

One other thing to add, a good mechanical connection between the wire and the lug will make for a better soldered connection.

And when you de-solder the old wires off the lug, you can get the rest of the solder off the lug with an inexpensive wick at a Radio Shack store that is made for that purpose. If you are going to do it often, a spring-loaded "solder sucker" is better.

I'm sure there are a million videos on the web that will show you how to do it.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

I changed the pickups a couple months ago on my Strat and it took all of about 10 minues or so. It took longer to unsrew the pickguard then the soldering/rewiring.

There was so much solder on there already that when I heated it to pull off the old wire I just stuck the new one in the molten solder and that was that. I never even used any new solder.

Put it back together and I was playing in 20 minutes and haven't had any problems since.

There was so much solder on there already that when I heated it to pull off the old wire I just stuck the new one in the molten solder and that was that. I never even used any new solder.
I've often done that. Not ideal technique, but it works! :D

Guilty! :oops: :roll:

That's cool, we went from needing 3 hands to removing solder with wick and then a solder sucker so why not 4 hands? :lol:
http://www.ehow.com/video_4435738_remove-solder.html

Can't we have any tweezers? You guys didn't go by the book? :roll:

Get you'ze safety glasses, a spatter cloth... whatever & hit it! :P Uhh does anybody ever a mention fire extinguisher? :shock:

Thanks for the advice gents. Hopefully I will get around to it this weekend. Busy work week for me. I am beat when I get home. I DO NOT want to attempt this when I am tired and cranky!

Blue Jay: I will check the Rio Grande out. I have been looking at the SD Pearly Gates. The reviews are good and the price isn't bad either.

I hope we didn't get carried away - it has been an interesting topic, as you can tell by the responses. :D

Sure, the Pearly Gates are, or "is" a good humbucker, very suitable for the Strat when it has juiced-up single coils. :wink:

SD would have suitable sound clips on their site, or you can hear a youtube of a Lone Star Deluxe Strat and Hot Rod amp.

Plus, if you go with SD, as you said, it is cheaper - it will more easily match your new noiseless singles. However if you really wanted and money wasn't an issue, you might have Rio Grande make the pickup of your choice in a matching color.

That's the old Lonestar with Texas Specials and PG. I like Rio's too, matching and loud w/Muy Grande giant br. magnets.

Well I got them changed an all I can say is NICE!

They sound awesome. They have this really crisp growl to them. My neck pickup was always anemic but now it has come alive.

It was not to difficult. Took me a little more than 10 minutes Cnev. :D

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Next 2 projects as funds allow: New bridge humbucker and locking tuners.

Good! All the best, enjoy the pups so far. :D

I also found a silver bearing rosin core solder to work swell on aluminum connections.

Have fun...........swearing is not allowed......

I also found a silver bearing rosin core solder to work swell on aluminum connections.

Have fun...........swearing is not allowed......

Freakin' awesome! :shock: :lol:

I'm sure it was said, but just to remind you, tin the ends & all connections. It will solder much quicker & easier.