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Post subject: Changing the pickguard.
Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 11:49 am
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I know I sound stupid but I'v never changed a pickguard before and would like to know how because I might be getting an Olympic White American Vintage '62 strat but want it to look more unique.
Great if you could 'elp me out 'ere. :wink:


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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 7:47 am
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Start off by taking off the strings on your guitar, allowing access to the pickguard in which you are going to remove. It is recommended that you unwind the strings first, and avoid snapping it, otherwise you may cause unwanted tension on parts of your guitar, resulting in damage.

You now need to remove, the pickup switch tip, the two tone knobs, and the one volume knob which are located on the bottom right of your guitar. This could need a little assistance by simply using a knife to lever the three knobs, as in most cases just pulling them off could prove difficult. Obviously try to use as little force as possible with the knife, as it could result in very minor damage. After removing the plastic tone knobs, there will be small square washers on the top of the pickguard, holding the three pots in place. Remove these with either a spanner of the correct size, or alternatively a pair of pliers could be used to grip the washers and twist. Once these are removed you are ready to move onto your next step.

On your Stratocaster, you will have screws going all around the outside holding your pickguard in place. On a recognized Fender Strat Guitar, there is normally 11 screws, but this will vary (some have eight). Once removed your pickguard will simply lift off. Now dont let the wiring inside frighten you, just be careful not to break any of the soldering applied to them, while carrying out your next step.

You will now need to remove the pickup selector pot, and the pickups from your guitar. This is easily done by unscrewing each of the screws holding each article in place. Once this is done, put your old pickguard out of the way as you will not be needing it anymore. Now just place the pickups, and pickup selector pot, into your new pickguard, and follow this procedure backwards, start with screwing in the pickups, to replacing the strings.

It sounds harder than it actually is...good luck!

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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 7:52 am
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Make sure you measure the height of your pickups so you can get them back to the same height they were.

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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 6:32 pm
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Be careful using a knife or screwdriver to remove the volume/tone knobs, you can damage something really quickly. You obviously aren't too concerned about the current PG but a blemish in the finish just makes you go "Oh $h!t".

A nifty hint I found for removing those stubborn volume/tone knobs is to use two pieces of string (regular string/twine, not a guitar string). Wrap a string under and around a knob in one direction and wrap the other around in the opposite direction. Hold both ends of the strings tight on the shaft of the pot and gently pull up with both strings. It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it and will not damage anything.

An added bonus to this method is that you're not putting any side pressure on the pot that could cause damage.

Hope this helps.


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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:38 pm
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Me when I pop the knobs off I use two spoons one on each side and push down on the handles of the spoons and the bowl end rises up along with the knob.

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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 5:56 pm
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5not4 wrote:
Be careful using a knife or screwdriver to remove the volume/tone knobs, you can damage something really quickly.
A nifty hint I found for removing those stubborn volume/tone knobs is...

I have heard people say to use a heavy pick to start out, but
the spoon technique sounds nice & rounded.


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