How difficult is it to replace pickups in a semi?

Rowby1

Okay, so my local tame luthier seems to have vanished

I've replaced the PUs in my Les Paul successfully earlier this year. I'm reasonably competent with a soldering iron but how on earth do you get to all the bits on a semi?

The guitar in question is a Heritage H-535. Is this something I could tackle or do I need to get it to a luthier?

 

paulnb57

I suppose it depends how confident you are in your abilities, if there is no access to the pots from a rear cover then the pots and switch will probably have to have their nuts off (!) and with a length of thin string attached to each pulled out through the pickup holes, reassembly is the reverse, pulling the pots back through with the strings, fiddly as a fiddly thing, but doable with patience

Andyjr1515

For a nice guitar like that, I'd get it done professionally.  

Even though I'm a fairly experienced modder and builder, I've only done it once...and that was on a cheapo 335 copy.  

Relatively successfully in the end - but even with that one I'd be reluctant to do it again!

sweepy

I use 4 lengths of heatshrink tubing over the knurled portion f the pot and 1 thinner one for the switch, it's never failed yet,

Chalky

As the man said, heatshrink tubing makes it easy.

paulnb57

Wis'd for the heatshrink tip!

the_jaffa

I did the pickups and loom on my Epiphone Dot. Bit of a pig of a job but do-able. Was the first time I'd done any meddling with guitar electrics.

I tried the piping over the pots, I tried fishing line round the pots and I tried combos but they all just ended in a massive tangle.

I ended up using a metal kebab skewer to manoeuvre things into place using the loop on the end, a pair of tweezers and needle-nose pliers to grab things and old bike spokes to podge things about. Worked well in the end.

I also pretty much covered to top of the guitar and the edges of the f-holes with masking tape to help protect it. Worked a treat

Corvus

I use tubing, it's off an old vacuum brake bleeder kit as it happens. The switch can be fiddled into place with fingers. For the jack socket I made a fake jack out of 1/4" steel rod, shaped like a jack so it clicks into place. Cross-drilled a hole with a guitar string through for fishing it through. A bit of good dowel could prob be shaped the same way.

Last time around I made a stiff card template and poked pots/switch/jack through that and wired everything there. Mainly because I did coil splits and wanted to be sure everything worked before shoving it back in.

Fun it is not, but not too bad a job either.

Sassafras

I've used surgical tubing around the pot shafts but whichever method you choose it's a right fiddly pain in the arse.

OilCityPickups

I use silicone rubber surgical tubing ... makes the job much, much easier. For the jack my tubing is a tight push fit in the socket ... so I just bung it in a 1/4 of an inch or so and 'jobs a good un'. 

JD50

If you just want to change pups just desolder them from the existing wire and solder up the new.
If you want to change the pot etc which In my opinion is not worth it if have them wide open all time then the previous post tell you all.

Rowby1

Hmmm, okay, on balance I'm going to go with finding a luthier then, sounds too much faff and fiddle for my taste

Thanks for the advice everyone.