EMG Hetfield solderless set into soldered Schecter Hellraiser C1 ??

beefyburt

Hi. So I've bought the Het set, and I could of course remove all the Schecter wiring and start from fresh with the full solderless wiring kit. BUT.... is it not easier and quicker to just connect the new solderless wiring to each new pickup, fit the pickup, then snip off the other end of the wire and solder to the volume pots like the old pickups were? Plus... the Schecter has push/pull pots - would that still apply to the Het set, or will they only then function as volume only? Cheers.

guitarfishbay

Edit - what pickups are currently in your Schecter?

Funkfingers

guitarfishbay said:

Edit - what pickups are currently in your Schecter?

Good (and pertinent) question.

beefyburt said:

is it not easier and quicker to just connect the new solderless wiring to each new pickup, fit the pickup, then snip off the other end of the wire and solder to the volume pots like the old pickups were? 

No, in two respects. 

If the current pickups in the Schecter are on a solderless wiring harness with three-pin Solderless block connectors, the task is simple substitution. Only the actual pickups need changing. The remainder of the wiring loom can remain in place.

beefyburt said:

Plus... the Schecter has push/pull pots - would that still apply to the Het set, or will they only then function as volume only? Cheers.

No, sir.

In any EMG solderless wiring harness, EMG push-pull pots would require any solderless active pickup to have the wider six-pin block connector. The EMG-HET set does not have this. There is nothing inside them that a push-pull pot could switch.

*

I deduce that the stock Schecter push-pull pots are either 250 or 500k, to match with passive humbuckers. These are unsuitable for use with active pickups.

Depending on the Schecter body style, it will be quicker to remove the stock wiring harness entirely. On some models it will be necessary to disconnect each humbucker from the controls and withdraw its output cable through the guitar.

beefyburt

guitarfishbay said:

Edit - what pickups are currently in your Schecter?

Hey. Existing are EMG 81/89 Actives but soldered connections not the new solderless.

beefyburt

Funkfingers said:

guitarfishbay said:

Edit - what pickups are currently in your Schecter?

Good (and pertinent) question.

beefyburt said:

is it not easier and quicker to just connect the new solderless wiring to each new pickup, fit the pickup, then snip off the other end of the wire and solder to the volume pots like the old pickups were? 

No, in two respects. 

If the current pickups in the Schecter are on a solderless wiring harness with three-pin Solderless block connectors, the task is simple substitution. Only the actual pickups need changing. The remainder of the wiring loom can remain in place.

beefyburt said:

Plus... the Schecter has push/pull pots - would that still apply to the Het set, or will they only then function as volume only? Cheers.

No, sir.

In any EMG solderless wiring harness, EMG push-pull pots would require any solderless active pickup to have the wider six-pin block connector. The EMG-HET set does not have this. There is nothing inside them that a push-pull pot could switch.

*

I deduce that the stock Schecter push-pull pots are either 250 or 500k, to match with passive humbuckers. These are unsuitable for use with active pickups.

Depending on the Schecter body style, it will be quicker to remove the stock wiring harness entirely. On some models it will be necessary to disconnect each humbucker from the controls and withdraw its output cable through the guitar.

Hi. Thanks for your reply. Currently EMG 81/89 active pickups, all soldered connections. If it was the solderless ones then yes I wouldn't be asking these questions. I deduct from your answer then Im going to replace everything. So, what then do I do with the pickup selector, which is a strat type 3 way. Nothing in the kit about that?

beefyburt

See my profile pick for the inside of the Schecter.

StormshadowGuitars

Damn shame it's an 89 in there not an 85, now you'll have to change the pot and some of the wiring if not all of it. 

Funkfingers

beefyburt said:
I deduce from your answer then I'm going to replace everything. 

This will be tedious but, if your original EMG pickup cables are hard-wired at both ends, the change would have been necessary anyway. 

beefyburt said:
what do I do with the pickup selector, which is a strat type 3 way. Nothing in the kit about that? 

The EMG-HET system will include an EMG 157c Buss board. 

If the existing selector switch is a CRL sprung type, leave it where it is. Leave the input, output and ground connections soldered to the switch. Disconnect them at their respective destinations. Clean up the ends. Connect them to the screw down terminals on the Buss board as per Diagram 3a in the installation instructions.

NOTE: EMG-HET pickups usually come with long shaft pots, intended to fit an arched top solid body guitar. If your guitar is of a flat fronted Fender derived design, it is possible to retain the original pots. 

If the stock selector switch is a generic Asian eight-contacts-in-a-line PCB type, I strongly urge you to change it. No point spoiling two hundred quid's worth of pickups with a two-bit switch.

You could get away with a hybrid wiring harness. Solderless from the pickups to the Buss board. Hard-wired thereafter.

As you already suspect, the push-pull switch associated with the -89 humbucker would be redundant. It would be wasted in the guitar and the pickup would be inoperable without a switch.