Pickup Installation and Guitar Wiring in Manhattan
Swapping pickups is the fastest way to change what a guitar sounds like, and bad wiring is the fastest way to ruin it. Our tech does clean, quiet installs on solid-bodies, semi-hollows and acoustics, with the mods people actually ask for: coil splits, treble bleeds, blenders, out-of-phase switches.
Electric pickup installs
$100 for the first pickup and $60 for each additional on a solid-body. Semi-hollow and hollow-body installs add $50 to $100 because everything goes in through the f-hole. A pre-wired pickguard or harness drop-in is $125. We stock and install Seymour Duncan and can order anything else.
Acoustic pickups
Soundhole pickups are $125 to install. An undersaddle transducer with endpin jack is $185, which includes fitting the saddle and drilling the endpin. K&K and other bridge-plate transducers are $175. Every acoustic install gets a setup check since the saddle usually moves.
Wiring mods
Push-pull, push-push or push-in pots for coil splitting, $85. Specialty switches (series/parallel, phase, kill) $80 including drilling. Treble bleed so your volume knob stops muddying up, $20. Blender pot for a Strat neck-and-bridge combo, $80. New leads on an old pickup, $75 single coil or $100 humbucker. Pickup rewinds, $125 per coil.
Noise
If it hums when you're not touching the strings, it's shielding. Copper foil in the control and pickup cavities is $160, conductive paint is $100, and the two together get a single-coil guitar close to silent.
Prices
| Solid-body Pickup Install, First Pickup | $100 |
|---|---|
| Each Additional Pickup | $60 each |
| Semi-hollow / Hollow-body Add-on | $50 to $100 |
| Pre-wired Pickguard or HarnessStrat or Tele style | $125 |
| Soundhole Pickup Install | $125 |
| Undersaddle Transducer + Endpin | $185 |
| K&K / Bridge-plate Pickup Install | $175 |
| Push-pull PotCoil split and similar | $85 |
| Treble Bleed Circuit | $20 |
| Copper Foil Shielding | $160 |
See the full repair and setup menu for everything else we do.
Parts are extra. Bring the pickups and we install them, or we order. Most installs are done within the week.
Get a free quote
Common questions
- How much does it cost to install guitar pickups in NYC?
- At Brothers Guitar Shop a solid-body pickup install is $100 for the first pickup and $60 for each additional. A pre-wired pickguard drop-in is $125. Parts are extra.
- Do you sell Seymour Duncan pickups?
- Yes, we carry and install Seymour Duncan and can order any model. Bring your own pickups if you already have them.
- Can you add a coil split to my humbuckers?
- Yes, a push-pull pot install is $85. We'll also tell you if your pickups are 4-conductor, which they need to be for a split.
- How much is an acoustic pickup install?
- $125 for a soundhole pickup, $185 for an undersaddle transducer with endpin jack, $175 for a K&K or other bridge-plate system.
- Why does my guitar hum?
- Single coils hum by design, but if it gets worse when you let go of the strings the cavities need shielding. Copper foil is $160, conductive paint $100.