G&L Tribute Legacy HB - Replace humbucker ?

Fri May 24, 2019 5:10 am

Hi!

I recently bought a G&L Legacy HSS (this one: https://www.melodiamusik.com/product/gl-tribute-legacy-humbucker-gloss-black) and I would like to change the humbucker. The last owner replaced the original one with a bad one (at least, that's what I think).
I'd like to have a cover on the new humbucker, I was thinking about this one : https://www.thomannmusic.com/dimarzio_dp223n_paf_bridge.htm?ref=intl&shp=eyJjb3VudHJ5IjoidXMiLCJjdXJyZW5jeSI6NywibGFuZ3VhZ2UiOjJ9&reload=1

Do you know if the Seymour Duncan will actually fit on my legacy ? The pickguard humbucker's location seems to be a little bit rounder in the corners than the pickup itself. :think:

Moreover do you know if I can find any good tutorial about changing the pickups ? I do know how to weld but I never replace any pickup before.. :?

Thanks in advance, and have a good day !

Re: G&L Tribute Legacy HB - Replace humbucker ?

Fri May 24, 2019 7:31 am

The pickguard should be relatively easy to modify if it doesn't fit. Trubute pickguards are different than the USA ones.

I know you can get chrome covers on the HBs on USA Legacys.

You could always get a new pickguard made. A lot of people use Chandler for replacement pickguards.

Seymour Duncan has wiring diagrams that should show how to wire the pickup. Personally, the hardest part changing pickup to me is striping the small wires on the pickups. Soldering isn't very difficult.

Let us know how it turns out.

Cheers, Dan

Re: G&L Tribute Legacy HB - Replace humbucker ?

Fri May 24, 2019 6:11 pm

When replacing pickups the other thing to look into is if the pole pieces line up correctly with the strings (i.e., is the spacing correct). I recently bought a used SB-2 bass and a previous owner had replaced the G&L pickups with Duncans, but they do not line up properly with the strings. Obviously some G&L guitars come with Duncan pickups, so they might work fine, but I would look into that issue too.

Re: G&L Tribute Legacy HB - Replace humbucker ?

Mon May 27, 2019 1:11 am

WitSok wrote:The pickguard should be relatively easy to modify if it doesn't fit. Trubute pickguards are different than the USA ones.

I know you can get chrome covers on the HBs on USA Legacys.

You could always get a new pickguard made. A lot of people use Chandler for replacement pickguards.

Seymour Duncan has wiring diagrams that should show how to wire the pickup. Personally, the hardest part changing pickup to me is striping the small wires on the pickups. Soldering isn't very difficult.

Let us know how it turns out.

Cheers, Dan


Thanks for your answer
First, I'll try to modify my pickguard with a dremel. If I fail, I'll go for a Chandler one then :D
I thought soldering pickup was a nightmare, I feel reassured now

dhgleaves wrote:When replacing pickups the other thing to look into is if the pole pieces line up correctly with the strings (i.e., is the spacing correct). I recently bought a used SB-2 bass and a previous owner had replaced the G&L pickups with Duncans, but they do not line up properly with the strings. Obviously some G&L guitars come with Duncan pickups, so they might work fine, but I would look into that issue too.


Ok, I'll check for it, thanks for the tip!

Re: G&L Tribute Legacy HB - Replace humbucker ?

Thu Jun 06, 2019 12:34 am

Hi again,

I would like to order this humbucker : http://www.tonerider.com/alnico-ii
But this one is a 4-conductor wire, do you know if I still can upgrade my guitar with it ?

Re: G&L Tribute Legacy HB - Replace humbucker ?

Thu Jun 06, 2019 6:28 am

racoune wrote:Hi again,

I would like to order this humbucker : http://www.tonerider.com/alnico-ii
But this one is a 4-conductor wire, do you know if I still can upgrade my guitar with it ?


It will work/fit as well as any standard humbucker; if you don't need four leads, just solder/tape the north & south 'finish' coil wires for a series link (I expect the pickup comes with instructions for wiring.) That said - from your guitar model description it has a push-pull pot, so in truth you need four wires to make that work. One item of caution - depending on the polarity of that pickup, if you want to retain the same hum-canceling configuration when the bridge is split/combined with the middle then you may need to flip the magnet (that may be the case with whatever pickup you buy, depending on the polarity of the existing pickups.)