How Much Does It Cost To Have Guitar Pickups Installed

How Much Does It Cost To Have Guitar Pickups Installed

How much does it cost to have guitar pickups installed? How to install guitar pickups on my own? Will I save more if I will personally install new guitar pickups on my guitar? What are the advantages of letting a guitar technician install new guitar pickups on my guitar? When it comes to installing guitar pickups, there are always two choices, whether you should let others do it or do it on your own. One of your considering factors when making a decision about this one is the cost. 

So, let us check out if there are any advantages of letting others do the installation for your guitar pickup when it comes to cost.

Why You Want To Install New Guitar Pickups On Your Guitar

To Improve Your Guitar Tone

One excellent reason why you should install new guitar pickups on your guitar is your old guitar pickups do not sound that good. This usually is the case for stock guitar pickups from budget-friendly guitars. As the heart of the electric guitar, the pickup really is one of the most significant factors in how a guitar sounds. If you have expensive guitars, you can also expect that the pickups that come would also sound really good.

On the other hand, there is a huge possibility that budget guitars are also equipped with low-quality pickups, resulting in an unpleasant guitar sound. So, as a musician, you do not want to sound muddy when playing the guitar, which is why it would really be better to have a new set of guitar pickups to make your electric guitar sound better.

When going for a more expensive set of guitar pickups, you will notice better definition, clarity, and focus, especially when you are playing with a clean tone. If you already have much experience as a guitar player, you can immediately notice the difference in the quality of guitar sound between your old guitar pickup and the new and better guitar pickup.

To Suit Your Playing Style And Preferred Genre

When your guitar pickups do not match your playing style and preferred genre, it would really be a hassle every time you would play, as you won’t feel contented with how your guitar sounds. One example of this is when you have a Fender Stratocaster, but you are a rock guitarist; though many still use Strats for playing rock genre, most of them have modified pickups. One pickup you can replace with your stock single-coil pickups, is Fender’s Noiseless pickups, as they surely fit without making any adjustments.

One thing you always think about as a musician is achieving the best that you can be, including your tone, which is why if you really want to upgrade your guitar by installing new pickups, then you should highly consider it. Though it can be costly, if you have the budget, then do not hesitate to do it, as it will also affect you, especially if you are a professional musician who earns from performing.

Putting A New Guitar Sound On Your Guitar

As single-coil pickups can be changed by any other single-coil pickups, and this is also the same with humbuckers and P90s, replacing and installing a new set of guitar pickups will give your guitar a new sound even if they are of the same type. As all pickups have their own unique sound, having a new one on your guitar gives your guitar a new tone.

You can also mix and match different pickups from different guitar brands to have a unique sound. You can try to use a pickup from Seymour Duncan and Fender into one guitar and try it out if you would love the result from it. There are still many guitar pickup brands to choose from, so you should try to find the best sound you would really love.

How Much Would It Cost You To Install New Guitar Pickups?

Usually, a regular guitar shop will charge you $40 to $100 for installing a new set of guitar pickups, but it could go up to $150 if your guitar has a complex electronic setup for its pickups. For acoustic guitars, it could also cost you $75 to $150, and maybe more, depending on the complexity of the installation. This is only the charge for installation and does not include the price of a new guitar pickup.

Buying one piece of guitar pickup or a set of it could cost you $25 to $200 and can even reach up to $1,000 for the high-end pickups, depending on the brand of the guitar pickup you are going to buy from. You can still choose from budget-friendly pickups, mid-tier, and high-end ones or sets that would suit your budget, so there would not be a huge issue on that part.

All in all, installing a new guitar pickup would cost you from $100 to $350, and maybe even more, depending on the price of the new pickup you have chosen. So, if you are planning to install new guitar pickups, this is the estimated cost that you are going to pay for a guitar technician to install it in your electric guitar.

Should I Install The Guitar Pickups On My Own?

If you have experience in installing a guitar pickup, then it would be ideal for you to do it on your own so that you can save up, especially if you have a tight budget. 

However, if you do not have any experience in installing a guitar pickup, you should not do it on your own and should go to a reputable guitar shop, as you could risk damaging the guitar if you are not sure of what you are doing. This can be more expensive in the end, which you should avoid in the first place, especially if you have a tight budget.

Top Guitar Pickups You Should Consider When Upgrading

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Humbucker

As Seymour Duncan’s best-selling guitar pickup of all time, there is really no reason not to go for the JB if you are planning to upgrade from your old guitar pickups. Known for its impressive midrange and bright highs, it is really the perfect guitar pickup to be used in playing a lot of different genres.

The Seymour Duncan JB is the perfect choice for driving tube amplifiers harder, giving you a dynamic tube response that many guitar players love. Famous guitar players like Adam Jones, Kurt Cobain, Marty Friedman, and Dave Mustaine are just some of those who are known to have the SD JB in their guitars.

Fender Custom Shop Texas Special Strat Pickups

If you own a Fender Strat or Strat-like guitar and are considering upgrading your stock pickups, you should highly consider installing a set of Fender’s Custom Shop Texas Special Strat pickups. Having a set of these pickups will surely take your guitar tone to the next level.

It has the twangy tone that every guitar player loves and also has boosted bass and mids. The pickups are voiced vintage-hot to be able to produce a higher output. Its middle pickup has a reverse wound, which helps in killing the hum from the second and fourth pickup switch positions.

So, how much does it cost to have guitar pickups installed? When installing new guitar pickups, it could cost you starting from $100 and above, depending on how much is the new guitar pickup you are going to use.