How to Replace Gibson SG Guitar Pickups

The Gibson SG electric guitar is popular for its wide range of tones, sleek look and durability. However, despite being durable, the Gibson SG electric guitar can still suffer from the typical wear and tear associated with daily usage. Regularly upgrading your Gibson SG is a safe bet to keep its resale value high and keep its tone sounding crisp and clear. Unfortunately, Gibson SG guitars are very expensive, and replacing old SG pickups with new ones can be pricey at local guitar shops. Luckily, you can replace the pickups on your own with just a few simple tools and the right know-how.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pillows
• Philips screwdriver
• Small cup
• Wire cutter
• Wire stripper
• Wire nut
• Soldering iron
• Solder
• Protective work gloves
• Electrical tape

1. Place several pillows on the floor to protect your guitar from scratches or dings.

2. Gently place the Gibson SG electric guitar on the pillows.

3. Using a Philips screwdriver, unscrew the plastic rings located around each pickup. Unscrew the corner screws first, saving the two screws in the middle of the cover for last.

4. Remove the screws and plastic rings. Keep the screws in a small cup so that you don't lose them. The pickups should be exposed and freely removable from the guitar cavity.

5. Pull the pickups out of the guitar body only as far as the wires will allow. Don't yank them out further, risking wire damage.

6. Snip the wires coming from the old pickups, using a wire cutter.

7. Strip about 1/2 inch of insulation off the ends of the recently cut wires, using a wire stripper.

8. Strip about 1/2 inch of insulation off the ends of the wires coming from your new pickups.

9. Match up the black and red color-coded wires coming from your new pickups to the identically color-coded wires coming from the guitar's body. Twist the wires together using a small wire nut. In most cases, wire nuts will fit into the cavity just fine; however, if you don't think a wire nut will fit into your guitar's body cavity, then you'll want to solder the ends together using a hot soldering iron, solder and protective gloves. After soldering ends together, make sure they are insulated and that they don't touch each other by wrapping electrical tape around the soldered ends.

10. Insert the new pickups into the body cavity and place the plastic pickup rings around them.

11. Screw in the larger, middle screws first, then screw in the smaller corner screws.

Tips & Warnings

• When shopping for replacement pickups, keep in mind that Gibson SG electric guitars use standard-sized humbucker pickups; do not purchase the wrong-sized pickups by mistake.
• Replacing Gibson SG pickups by yourself will usually void your guitar's warranty; only replace them on your own if your warranty has already expired or if you do not mind risking warranty coverage.