How to Change Pickups

Changing your pickups isn’t rocket science and the right set of pickups can completely transform the tone and character of your guitar. Sometimes changing pickups can seem a bit daunting for those who have never picked up a soldering iron or opened up their guitar. Below you can find resources to select the perfect set of pickups for the guitar you own and the tone you are dreaming of. We have also included videos and wiring diagrams to easily help walk you through the process of installing your new pickups.

Choosing the right pickups

First, give our Tone Wizard a try. If you are looking for high-gain pickups, click here to listen to sound samples. You can also look at our reviews here or pose your question on our forum that contains over 33,000 tone seekers who are knowledgeable and can help you get the sound you are looking for.

Once you have the right pickups, here is how to install them:

How to change passive pickups

How to change active pickups

How to change passive to active pickups

How to change active to passive

We have wiring diagrams for just about any guitar imaginable, just take a look and you should find what you need.

Still have questions, post in our forum for a quick answer by many other guitarists who have found the answer.

Another great resource is our Guitar Wiring Diploma Course. If you have never picked up a soldering iron before, check out this article for a great tutorial.

If you find yourself changing your pickups a lot, you might like our Liberator system which allows you to change pickups in just a couple minutes with only a screwdriver.

Need help choosing which high-gain pickups are right for you? Check out the sound samples below.

Click here to listen to our other sound samples for vintage and moderate output pickups or visit our YouTube channel for videos.

Learn more about your pickups at our Pickups 101.

Where to buy:

Search Local Music Stores by zip code:

Located outside the USA? Click here to locate our distributor in your country.