How to Install New Pickups on a Strat-Type Guitar

If you are new in installing new pickups on your Stratocaster-type guitar, the following is what I have done to upgrade my Yamaha Pacifica 112 guitar with Dimarzio pickups. (DP100 Super Distortion: bridge, DP116 HS-2: middle, DP217 YJM: neck)

1. First thing to do is to loosen the strings and remove the neck mounting screws. Take note that you don’t need to remove the strings from the tuning pegs. And when you are done, detach the neck from the body gently. In this way, you will save you time when you need to put them back together. However, if you need to put new strings, just remove only the strings and not the neck anymore.

2. After this, you can remove the volume, tone and selector switch caps. And when these are removed, you can immediately detach the volume pot, tone pot, and selector switch pot from the pickguard.

3. Then take out the pickguard screws.

4. Remove the stock pickups from the pickguard.

5. To completely detach the stock pickups, find for the 3 lugs which are found under the selector switch where the 3 stock pickups are connected then de-solder the 3 wires from the stock pickups. Please take a note that before you de-solder the wires, keep in mind which is for or label which lug is for bridge, middle or neck.

6. De-solder the ground wires of the 3 stock pickups from the back of volume potentiometer. When they are totally removed, you can keep them in a box for safety.

7. Then get the replacement pickups and connect them to their proper positions.

8. For the new pickup, verify the wiring diagram for the color coding. With the Dimarzios, it has 5 wires which have colors of red, green, black, white and a bare wire. Solder tips of the black and white wires together then wrap tightly with electrical tape.

9. Join the green and bare wires as one then solder properly to the back of the volume pot for grounding. Make use of higher wattage soldering iron ( >45 watts ) for the soldering lead to stick and for a nice good connection.

10. Fuse the red wire from the pickup to its the equivalent position in the selector switch lug which was stated in Step # 5.

11. Now, for the remaining two pickups, you can do again the steps # 9 and # 10. When you are done with all the soldering, inspect all soldering connections to make sure they are fixed firmly and solid.

12. Put back the volume pot, tone pot and selector switch to their corresponding places and fasten their screws firmly. Then, re-place the pots and switch caps.

13. Restore the pickguard and join screws on the guitar body. Make sure that stray wires will not stick out and they reside inside the guitar cavity.

14. Re-attach the neck to the guitar body's neck joint and screw tightly.

Very simple, you can do all of these 14 steps at home even by yourself only. Try it now!