Is it a good idea when a repair shop recommends that a customer try some do-it-yourself wiring? Erick Coleman's customer rewired a Les Paul, but ran into trouble. Now Erick's re-rewiring...

Erick Coleman has a 50-year-old pickup that's nearly dead: It's making a little bit of sound, but not much. Erick opens it up to find the trouble, and we get a good view of the guts of this vintage Fender pickup before he rewinds it.

How to install the 3PDT Stomp Switch as a true bypass in old and new effects pedals.

Installation and wiring diagrams for the 3-way CRL Lever Switch.

Installation and wiring instructions for the 3-way Lever-action Switch.

Installation and wiring instructions for the 5-way CRL Lever Switch.

Installation and wiring instructions for the 5-way Lever-action Switch.

Installation and wiring instructions for the 6-way Oak Grigsby Lever Switch.

Erick Coleman opens up a 1973 Fender Musicmaster Bass and is surprised by what he finds!

In this week's newsletter, bad sound from a good acoustic guitar pickup: the problem and the solution.

Erick Coleman gets an urgent call on a Friday night: the Heavy Metal band Skeletonwitch needs some custom pickup work in time to head to Ozzfest in 24 hours!

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Barden Humbucking pickups.

Installation instructions for the acoustic or solidbody battery box.

Installation instructions for the solidbody only battery box.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Benedetto Humbucking pickups.

Manufacturer's installation instructions.

An explanation of various wiring options with a blend pot.

Erick Coleman's got a simple wiring project that most guitarists need: a true bypass stomp switch to take your effects pedals in/out of your signal chain.

It's surprisingly simple to swap out your amp's tubes for something different. Tech Matt Clouston walks you through how to change tubes yourself.

Get ready to upgrade your amp.

Erick Coleman shows tricks you can do with those four colored wires coming from your humbucker pickups.

Directions for using conductive shielding paint.

Typical Jimmy Page Les Paul wiring setup using the SPST CTS Push-Pull Pot.

The multimeter tells Erick Coleman that this pickup is dead, but nobody told the pickup: it's still playing!

Winding and assembly instructions for the Deluxe Mini Humbucker Pickup Kit

This mounting set is for installing mini humbucker pickups using our Deluxe Mini Humbucker Mounting Rings.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for DiMarzio Humbucking pickups.

Sample wiring of Dual Concentric Control Pots.

Build your own high quality pedal from EarthQuaker and StewMac.

Inside a "miniature Les Paul case," Dan Erlewine finds a beautiful 1958 Gibson in 3/4 size. Cleaning the electronics gets it playing again. PLUS: Dan shows his shop-made "Guitar Testing Gizmo"

Installation and wiring diagram for Strat^® with Emerson Pro CTS Blender Pot.

Installation and wiring schematics for the E-Model Megaswitch.

How to use the Eyelet Setting Tool and Bit set to install eyelets in flatwork.

Winding and assembly instructions for the Firebird Mini Humbucker Pickup Kit

Erick Coleman's got a guitar with one dead pickup and a volume control that spins around when you turn the knob. That's trouble. And it's inside a semi-hollowbody guitar -- that's double trouble!

Installation instructions for the Five-Star Banjo Pickup.

After 55 years, the original owner sells a 1957 Gibson Les Paul Junior because the pickup's dead. Erick Coleman tells the story of bringing that pickup back to life.

Dan Erlewine does some emergency surgery on an undersaddle transducer in time for it to make it on stage with Emmylou Harris.

Dan Erlewine's fixing nasty-sounding control pots on a great-looking Supro lap steel from 1960.

Installation and wiring diagrams

Installation and wiring diagrams

Explore the possibilities of a 6-position toggle switch. Coil tap, 3-pickups, piezo activation... you decide!

Installation and wiring diagrams

Wiring diagrams

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Gibson Humbucking pickups.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Golden Age bass pickups.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Golden Age Humbucking pickups.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Golden Age Humbucking pickups.

Wiring diagrams and color codes

Wiring diagrams

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Golden Age P-90 pickups.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Golden Age Parsons Street Humbucking pickups.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Golden Age Tele pickups.

Installation and wiring diagram.

Installation and wiring diagram.

Installation and wiring diagram.

Installation and wiring diagram.

Installation and wiring diagram.

Installation and wiring diagram.

Installation and wiring diagram.

Installation and wiring diagram.

Installation and wiring diagram.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Golden Age Single-coil pickups.

Trade Secrets On The Road: Dan Erlewine visits the repair shop at Herb David Guitar Studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He brings back this great, simple tone tip from repairman Brian Delaney.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Gotoh Humbucking pickups.

An overview of guitar shielding with the Self-Adhesive Shielding Kit, including a list of required tools.

How to turn a power drill into a pickup winder.

An overview of how a tone control works.

Erick Coleman clears up the confusion about acoustic pickups: separating them into different types and helping you figure out what's what.

Don't ruin your pickup rings by skipping this step! Dan Erlewine nibbles, files, scrapes and sands to create a curve that matches the top of his Les Paul.

A 1994 Fender Telecaster came into our shop recently that plays great, but whenever a player plugs it in there is some popping and cracking noise and sometimes there is no signal at all. The retainer clip that the cup and jack are mounted to has come loose. In this video, Blake demonstrates how to easily install a new retainer clip in a telecaster using the StewMac Tele Jack Installation Tool.

The three basics to keep in mind if you want your work to be as good or better than the guitar's original wiring. -- Erick Coleman

Ever wonder whether a different capacitor would affect your tone? It's between you and your own ears, nobody else can tell you what you hear. Erick Coleman's got a simple way to prove to yourself which cap is the choice for you.

Erick answers a customer question about reversing a humbucker's pickups, and finds that the hardest part is getting the cover off the pickup!

Erick Coleman shows how to rewind a vintage singlecoil in a 1959 Strat.

Assembly instructions for the humbucker pickup kit.

Erick Coleman has been rooting around in the parts drawers at Dan Erlewine's shop, and he's found a 1960s Gibson patent-sticker humbucker. It would be valuable if somebody hadn't cut off the pickup lead. Erick shows how to fix that.

Manufacturer's installation instructions.

Build your own high quality pedal from JHS and StewMac.

Sierra Hull & Justin Moses performing with LR Baggs Radius Mandolin Pickup and Lyric Acoustic Microphone.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Lawrence Research Humbucking pickups.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Lindy Fralin Humbucking pickups.

Lindy Fralin, of Lindy Fralin Pickups, shows how he sets pickup heights. Lindy shows it's not about measuring, it's about listening. Recorded at last summer's Northwoods Seminar in Michigan.

Key to lug positions of popular 5-way switches.

Installation and wiring instructions for the 3-way Toggle Switch, including diagrams for Les Paul, SG, Jimmy Page Les Paul, and other 2-pickup guitars.

Wiring diagrams and color codes from the manufacturer.

In our Money Talk series about operating a repair business, Dan Erlewine tallies up the time and expenses of a profitable pickup installation job.

How to mount and wire a Kent Armstrong Suspended Jazz pickup.

Erick Coleman responds to a tech call emergency: "This guitar sounds bad, and I'm supposed to record with it tomorrow night!"

All wired up, but no sound! It can happen to anybody: you do some wiring or change your electronics, then find you’ve got no sound coming out of the amp. In this Trade Secret video, Matt Brooker helps you troubleshoot.

Erick Coleman answers a frequently-asked question: how (and why) to wax-pot a pickup.

Installation and wiring diagram for the Oak Grigsby 4-Way 2-pole Lever Switch.

I thought I'd fixed this acoustic saddle pickup, but the customer sent it back because the problem wasn't solved (STRIKE ONE)! I took another swing at it... (STRIKE TWO)! I almost struck out! -Dan Erlewine

Assembly instructions for the P-90 pickup kit with modern-style bobbin.

Assembly instructions for the P-90 pickup kit with vintage-style bobbin.

Assembly instructions for the Jazz bass pickup kit.

Assembly instructions for the Precision bass pickup kit.

Kevin O'Brien introduces his homemade pickup winder.

For 2 humbuckers

Wiring diagrams and color codes for PRS Humbucking pickups.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Railhammer Humbucking pickups.

Over fifty years, this amp’s seen a lot of gigs and garages. Dan Erlewine’s fixing it up for a friend who wants to play it again. While the amp’s out for repair, Dan patches the torn up blue diamond tolex.

A lug map of the Right-angle Toggle Switch for 3-Pickup Guitars.

Dan Erlewine's upgrading an inexpensive guitar with replacement pickups. The job's got to be done quickly at a low price, so he demonstrates some time-saving tips.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Schaller Humbucking pickups.

Installation and general operation.

Jim Rolph explains the importance and use of the Schatten Magnet Polarity Tester.

Downloadable wiring diagrams for Schatten Thumbwheel Controls.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Seymour Duncan Humbucking pickups.

Erick Coleman shares some tips for modifying your guitar wiring: easy mods that give you a new tonal range.

Erick Coleman talks about the causes of buzzes and electrical noise, and how to beat them.

Assembly instructions for the single-coil pickup kit.

Traditional wiring options of the Strat^® 5-way switch for 3 pickups

Assembly Instructions

The do's and don'ts of soldering.

Download the assembly guide and wiring diagrams.

Installation and wiring instructions for the Super Switch.

Pickup manufacturers - specs and color codes

Making new pickups look old: Brand new pickups looked too shiny in this guitar that had seen a lot of gigs. So Dan Erlewine opened the old pickup and put its cover on the new one. This meant cutting the solder joint and resoldering.

We met country picker extraordinaire Dave Gleason at Deke Dickerson's Guitar Festival in 2012. "These pickups are GREAT. Literally. Very sharp and very deep at the same time. I am sold, they are excellent." Dave gives his Golden Age pickups a sonic workout in this live performance from 2013.

Installation and wiring instructions for the 3-way Toggle Switch.

Titan of the Tele: Bill Kirchen explains why he flips his control plate backwards, and shows how he got the famous sounds he recorded on Hot Rod Lincoln.

Erick Coleman's used pickup sounds great, but a broken baseplate makes it useless unless this bobbin transplant works.

If you play a Telecaster, you've probably experienced a loose input jack. This weeks issue offers two solutions.

An introduction to guitar wiring, including how different components work and how they work together.

Understanding impedance and impedance matching

Wiring Glossary

Sample Diagrams

How a magnetic pickup works

What is a potentiometer and how does it work?

How is a volume pot wired

What is a capacitor and how does it work?

Selector Switches

Mini toggle switch basics and push-pull pot basics

Output Jacks

Grounding and Shielding

Erick Coleman installs P-90 soapbar pickups into the dogear pickup frames on an Epiphone Casino. It's an easy upgrade that makes a big difference.

Lots of low-cost guitars play great, even though the manufacturers cut costs on hardware and electronics. Swapping out your control pots is an easy mod with big results. Erick Coleman shows you how to avoid trouble…

Erick Coleman answers tech questions from StewMac customers, and here he answers a popular one: How do I soup-up this low-priced guitar?

This week in Trade Secrets, Dan runs into pickup trouble and turns to Lindy Fralin for help. The simplest possible solution keeps a P-90 pickup from 1957 from falling apart.

Custom pickup builder Lindy Fralin explains the reasoning behind and guidelines to wax potting pickups.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for WD/ Kent Armstrong Humbucking pickups.

An explanation of the different control potentiometers (pots) and when they are typically used.

Wiring diagrams for Wilkinson Single-Coil Pickups for a Tele.

Erick Coleman shows how he modified a Parsons Street Humbucker, turning it into a switchable single-coil/humbucker combination.

Wiring diagram for a Jazz bass.

Wiring diagrams and color codes for Lawrence Research Humbucking pickups.

Wiring diagram for an S/S/H Flametop.

A basic wiring diagram for use with the LP& SG Junior wiring kit.

Wiring diagram for a guitar with Paul Reed Smith (PRS)-style electronics.

Wiring diagrams for a Precision Bass.

How to wire the CTS DPDT Push Pull Pots.