Guitar Pickup Installation & Repair in Redding, CA
Swaps, upgrades, dead or squealing pickups, and fitting a pickup where it wasn't meant to go.
Pickups are where your tone starts. When one goes dead, starts squealing, or just doesn’t sound the way you want, we can fix it, swap it, or fit something new.
Most pickup jobs are straightforward: pull the old one, install the new one, wire it to the controls, and set the height so every string comes through even. We also handle the fiddly stuff like crumbling tubing, stripped screws, broken leads, and pickups that hum until you touch the strings.
Want something the guitar wasn’t built for, like a humbucker in a Strat, actives, a piezo bridge, or a MIDI pickup? We’ll look at the cavities and tell you what it takes before any work starts.
Bring it in with your pickups, or tell us the sound you’re after and we’ll help you pick. Most swaps are done in a day or two.
Pickups services
25 services. Don't see your problem? Call or text, we probably fix it.
Pickup replacement
Remove a dead or unwanted pickup and install a new one, wired and set to the right height.
Sounds like: pickup dead, new pickups, replace pickup, pickup not working
Full detailsPickup swap
Install the pickups you bought, or trade positions between the ones you have, and balance the output.
Sounds like: swap pickups, install my pickups, upgrade pickups, change pickups
Full detailsPickup rewind
Rewind an open or damaged coil so you can keep the original pickup. Quoted after a look.
Sounds like: pickup open coil, vintage pickup dead, rewind pickup, pickup broken coil
Pickup wax potting
Soak the pickup in wax to stop loose windings from squealing at high gain or volume.
Sounds like: pickup squeals, pickup feedback, high pitched squeal, pickup howls with gain
Microphonic pickup repair
Track down why a pickup picks up tapping and squeal, then pot it, tighten it, or fix the mounting.
Sounds like: microphonic pickup, pickup picks up tapping, pickup squealing, hear knocking through amp
Pickup cover install
Fit metal covers to humbuckers, soldered and grounded so they don't add noise.
Sounds like: add pickup covers, humbucker covers, nickel covers, chrome pickup cover
Pickup cover removal
Take the covers off humbuckers cleanly for a brighter sound or an open coil look.
Sounds like: remove pickup covers, zebra pickups, uncover humbucker, brighter humbucker
Pickup magnet swap
Change the magnet in a humbucker to shift its tone, like alnico 2 for smoother or alnico 5 for brighter.
Sounds like: change magnet, alnico 2, alnico 5, pickup too harsh
Pickup magnet recharge
Recharge weak magnets on older pickups so they get their output back.
Sounds like: pickup weak, low output pickup, old pickup quiet, magnet lost strength
Pickup mounting ring replacement
Replace cracked or wrong height humbucker rings so the pickup sits right.
Sounds like: pickup ring cracked, humbucker ring, pickup ring wrong height, broken pickup surround
Pickup spring replacement
Replace tired or missing height springs so the pickup holds its height.
Sounds like: pickup sinks, pickup won't stay up, pickup height springs, pickup loose
Pickup surgical tubing replacement
Swap old crumbling tubing for fresh tubing so the pickup holds its height without rattling.
Sounds like: pickup tubing, pickup rattles, pickup won't hold height, single coil loose
Pickup mounting screw replacement
Replace stripped, rusty, or missing mounting screws so the pickup adjusts smoothly.
Sounds like: pickup screw stripped, missing pickup screw, pickup won't adjust, pickup tilted
Pickup ground repair
Fix a broken pickup ground that causes hum or buzz when you touch the strings.
Sounds like: pickup hums, buzz goes away when i touch strings, pickup ground broken, loud hum
Pickup lead replacement
Replace a broken or short pickup lead so the pickup reaches the controls and works reliably.
Sounds like: pickup wire broken, pickup lead too short, pickup cuts out, pickup wire snapped
Humbucker install in single-coil route
Fit a humbucker or rail pickup into a single coil spot, routing only if needed. Quoted after a look.
Sounds like: humbucker in strat, put humbucker in single coil, hss conversion, fat strat
Single-coil install in humbucker route
Install a single coil in a humbucker cavity using an adapter ring or a humbucker sized single coil.
Sounds like: single coil in humbucker slot, p90 in humbucker route, single coil adapter
Noiseless pickup install
Swap single coils for noiseless pickups to cut hum without losing the single coil sound.
Sounds like: single coil hum, noiseless pickups, quiet single coils, stop strat hum
Active pickup install
Install active pickups like EMG or Fishman Fluence, with battery and wiring set up right.
Sounds like: emg install, active pickups, fishman fluence, install battery pickups
Active pickup conversion to passive
Go back to passive pickups, rewire the controls, and remove or close off the battery setup.
Sounds like: remove emgs, active to passive, get rid of battery, convert to passive
Piezo bridge install
Add a piezo bridge for acoustic sounds from an electric, with the preamp and controls it needs. Quoted after a look.
Sounds like: piezo bridge, acoustic sound from electric, ghost piezo, graph tech saddles
Sustainer install
Install a sustainer system for endless sustain, with driver, circuit, and switches. Quoted after a look.
Sounds like: sustainiac, fernandes sustainer, infinite sustain, sustainer install
MIDI pickup install (GK)
Mount a Roland GK or similar MIDI pickup so it tracks cleanly and the cable sits out of your way.
Sounds like: gk pickup, roland gk install, midi pickup, guitar synth pickup
Hexaphonic pickup install
Install a hex pickup for per string output to synths, modelers, or tuners. Quoted after a look.
Sounds like: hex pickup, hexaphonic, per string output, boss gk
Pole piece cleaning
Clean rust and grime off pole pieces so they look better and stay free of corrosion.
Sounds like: rusty pole pieces, pickup rust, dirty pickups, pole pieces corroded