Guitar pickups and wiring in Charleston, SC

Adam swaps pickups, rewires guitars and tracks down crackles, cut-outs and dead switches. A single pickup swap is $50, an output jack is $25 and a full rewire with the harness included is $125. If you do not know what is wrong, start with the $35 diagnosis, which goes toward the repair if you go ahead.

Wiring harness and pickups mounted to a tortoise pickguard on a raw body — A wiring harness and pickups mounted to a tortoise pickguard.

Pickup swap prices

Pickup swaps

Single pickup Labor only; pickup not included $50

Two pickups Labor only; pickups not included $65

Three pickups Labor only; pickups not included $85

Active pickups, e.g. EMG Labor only; additional wiring complexity $170

Semi-hollow or archtop More involved, quote on inspection From $220

Acoustic, under-saddle transducer $165 if routing is required $85

Acoustic, soundhole pickup, complete Includes endpin reaming and jack $80

Acoustic, soundhole pickup only Guitar already has an endpin jack $40–$50

Acoustic, endpin jack only Endpin reaming and jack installation $35–$45

Acoustic, complex pickup install Needs additional modifications From $100

Electronics and wiring prices

Electronics and wiring

Output jack replacement Parts not included $25

Potentiometer replacement Per pot; parts not included $40

Switch replacement Selector, toggle or mini toggle; parts not included $45

Full rewire or harness Harness included $125

Diagnosis and bench fee Applied toward repair cost if you proceed $35

Prices are labor estimates. Parts are quoted separately unless noted, and complex or vintage instruments may need an in-person quote. Working and gigging musicians get 10% off labor, so just mention it.

Adam also does electronics cleaning and body cavity shielding.

Crackles and cut-outs

The output jack takes more abuse than most players realize. Every time a cable gets plugged in, pulled, bumped or stepped on, some of that force goes into the jack. Get it checked if you notice:

A cable that feels loose in the jack
A jack plate that moves when the cable is touched
Signal cutting out when the cable moves
Crackling or popping from the amp
A nut that keeps coming loose
A jack that spins when you tighten the nut

Not every crackle is the jack. Dirty contacts, a bad cable or other wiring can sound the same, which is why it pays to check before replacing parts.

If the jack spins, stop

If the whole jack turns while you tighten the nut, the wires soldered to it are turning too. Do that enough and you can break a wire or a solder joint. On a Les Paul in the Bench Diaries, Adam held the jack still with a StewMac Jack-the-Gripper and snugged the nut down, so the wiring inside was never disturbed.

Fixing a bad mod

Sometimes the fastest fix is to start over. An American Telecaster came in with a 4-way switch that a previous rewire had left inoperable, and the control cavity had several questionable connections. Instead of chasing them one joint at a time, Adam installed a prewired Mojotone harness, soldered the pickup and output connections and tested every switch position before closing it up.

Clean wiring is not just about looks. It makes a guitar more reliable and easier to work on years from now.

Absolutely stellar work, loved my new pickups. Would recommend anyone who needs work on an instrument to see what can be done. Work was cheap, quick, and precise. Couldn’t have asked for anything better, no complaints!
elwayfan001, Google review