How Much Does Guitar Center Charge To Have Telecaster Pick-ups Change?

[Prince]

Im getting a Squier Arctic White Tele for Christmas,and I want to start upgrading it as soon as I get it. I already have the black pickguard Im going to use to make it look like a Classic Vibe Tele.

But how much would they charge.

[Clutch442]

Usually too much unfortunately. There's a mom and pop store here that will install the pu's for free if y9ou buy from them. Thier prices are good too. I would look around or do it yourself. If you are mechanically inclined it's relatively simple.

[TeleTim911]

If you don't know how, learn to solder! You'll appreciate this advise many times over later in your life.

There are literally dozens of places with instructions online.

You don't need to buy a big commercial soldering rig. A simple 30 watt iron, a small pack of solder, a sponge, and you're set. Read your instructions, and practice on some scrap wire pieces.

It's not hard, and there are only a few rules to follow, and proper care of your equipment should be in the instructions you choose.

Good luck!

[Tonetele]

I agree with TeleTim911, It is so easy to put in your own p/ups, I do it all the time. There are lots of great diagrams on the net. Also, you'll feel good about your doing the job yourself.A few tools, a diag/schematic, and you'll be fine. I know you're young but you'll eventually be doing this like everyone else- not much more than changing a bicycle tyre- will do your confidence the world of good. One tip, make sure you get the p/up heights right-to your satisfaction.Good luck and Cheers from Australia. Tonetele.

[FenderNic321]

When I first started to play I took all my guitars to GC for setups, pickup changes etc....well I never was completely satisfied so I decided to do it all on my own. I learned how to solder, practiced on an old radio until I was comfortable. Then I learned how to do a complete setup, to include truss rod adjustments and setting the intonation (from the Fender website). All of the above are the best things I have ever done. Not only do I save money but I can setup all my guitars the way I want. And quite frankly, all of it isn't really that difficult, all you need is patience.

GC will charge around 65 bucks.

good luck

[Will Chen]

GC will be the highest priced place because they (at least in my area) farm out their work meaning you'll be paying for the actual work and a GC mark up. Replacing pickups is very easy and the only tools you'll need are a screw driver and 40 watt soldering iron (15 watt want generate enough heat to get a good ground connection to the back of pots). The trick is to heat up the joint and then flow the solder rather than heating up the solder. Good luck!

[Jakedog]

Another vote for "do it yourself". You can pick up a 30 watt iron at a hobby or craft store for less than $10. Get a small pack of solder, and you're set. Lots of instructions on line, as has been mentioned, and if you need diagrams for wiring pickups, the Seymour Duncan website has a HUGE selection, pretty much all anyone would ever need.

I did my first replacements by just opening up a strat, and un-soldering one wire, then connecting the new one in the same spot, then moving on to the next one. Lather, rinse, and repeat as they say. After doing a few of them, I could wire a whole strat from scratch without even having to look at a diagram. It's really very, very, simple work. If you've ever built a model kit, this is ten times easier. The only tricky part is getting the pickup height set correctly, and even that isn't tough. You mostly use your ear, there are basic guidlines, but it's mostly a personal taste thing that you find through trial and error.

I haven't paid anyone to work on my guitars in more years than I can count. It's a racket. Period. The prices you get charged for such simple braindead work are criminal. Learn how to do this stuff yourself and you'll be a much happier camper, with a lot more money in your pocket.

[CharlieO]

I think that the guys who say "do it yourself" are right. There is no reason why you can't handle it. I was doing this kind of work in a music store when I was sixteen, back in the 60's. Nobody complained, so I must have been doing it okay. Go for it.

[johnreardon]

Why not ask Guitar Centre the price themselves? You are not committed asking a price and anyway, you may find branches charge different prices.

Better idea, if you aren't comfortable at doing it yourself, is to check out local guitar techs.

Good luck

[woodman]

if you're only swapping out the pickups and pickguard and not messing with the wiring harness, it's a piece of cake — mount new pickups to new pickguard, remove old pickguard and pickups, snip old wires and solder new wires where the old ones went (one at a time, as Jake said.) take the plunge!

[JohnnyCrash]

I don't think the GC near me even does it in store. They have a shop they use for their own repairs that they referred me to once (a repair issue).

Don't snip any wires. Unsolder their connection from the pots carefully (avoid overheating the pot and/or pickup). You can get a cheap soldering iron and a small roll of solder for much less than paying for someone to do it.

The net is full of photos, instructions, and TDPRI members to walk you through it

[XinTX]

Agree. GC will charge you BIG bucks for it. It's not that hard to do. There's lots of info on line to teach you how to make a solder joint. Replace one PU at a time and it will be a snap. There's even soldering instructions on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLfXXRfRIzY

Or on how to replace Tele pickups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP41-01JHf0

[woodman]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCrash

Don't snip any wires. Unsolder their connection from the pots carefully (avoid overheating the pot and/or pickup).

Crash is right, of course, but i was describing a short-cut easier for a noob ... soldering to the pot was the hardest thing for me to learn when i started working on my own guitars.

[Drunkinminer]

+1 for do it yourself. I've changed the pickups on both of mine and it wasn't as hard as I thought. Though one bit of advice I'll give is "Slow and Easy" espacilly first time doing it. There is alot of info out there to help. And one final thing is to don't be afaraid to ask questions no matter how stupid or silly you may think they are. After all we all start somewhere.

[Agave_Blue]

Here's another good "How to Solder" vid:

[bradpdx]

Soldering is easy. It's having to redo the whole freakin' bridge setup every time that annoys me...

Still, even a complete Tele electronics overhaul takes about an hour at a leisurely pace with beer.

[43mmNut]

Last week, i swapped in 2 OV"s for Tex-Mex pu's on my tele. The GC where I am, wanted $30 per single coil pu.
So, after a stop at the hardware store, I did it myself, and it was a piece of cake. Just watch a video, like the one in this thread, which is excellent.

[flyingbanana]

Six months ago I couldn't solder a thing.

I bought some thin copper bar stock and some wire and just practiced.

You can save a lot of money by doing things yourself.

Or....it could have the complete opposite effect. You may find yourself wanting to replace things more often because of the new found skill.

It's the yin and the yang of life I guess.

[boris bubbanov]

Great idea, Flying Banana!

Prince, some (very few) GC locations have an independent contractor tech on hand who can do this job well. Most of the rest have nobody who can do the job any better than you can do it, once you practice a while. Also, GC is just stupidly expensive when it comes to this sort of thing. In all the USA, the only GC based tech I could suggest (that I know of) is a guy who is now in Tampa (was in Clearwater) FL.

You'd be better off getting the Arctic White MIM Std. Tele and sticking with the stock pickups. The net expense will be less, if you do your research on the prices.

[giantslayer]

Like everyone said, learn to do it yourself. I've replaced all the electronics on both of my guitars. I had no prior soldering experience. I also learned how to do my own setups. It took me several setups (over a few years) to get good at them, but now I am very glad that I can do it myself. It is very empowering to be able to know how to work on your guitar. It will also save you a lot of $$$. You can get a cheaper instrument, replace some parts, set it up right, and have something that sounds better than it should for the amount of money you've sunk into it.

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

You'd be better off getting the Arctic White MIM Std. Tele and sticking with the stock pickups. The net expense will be less, if you do your research on the prices.

I'm not quite following you here. New, a MIM tele is $500. A new Squier is $180. Spend $100 on pickups and you're at $280. A used MIM tele is ~$350. The Squier with $100 pickups will probably sound better than the MIM.

[pullchord]

Don't go anywhere near GC for service or repair work on anything. They are in the retail sales business, period.

[Tim Armstrong]

Here's a novel suggestion: buy a soldering iron and do it yourself!

Oh, I'm not the only one to suggest this?



Do check out the "how to solder" vids above, and remember the number one* rule of soldering: heat the wire and whatever it's being soldered to, and flow the solder onto it. Don't pull the prime rookie mistake and just put a blob of solder and stick the wire into it!

Tim

*number two rule is: remember that the darn thing is HOT!

[Will Chen]

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

...number two rule is: remember that the darn thing is HOT!

And the joint/pot/wires are hot for a short time after soldering has been completed. I still grab a pot a little too soon once in a while (though my fingers are calloused enough that I've never seriously burned myself).