December 5, 2009

Replacing the Pickups

Semi-Hollowbody Electronics Electronics, Epiphone Riviera P93, Pickups, Video 78

I’m finally all set to replace the pickups on my Epiphone Riviera P93. I’ll be using a set of Vintage Vibe Guitars height adjustable dog-eared P-90’s. I’ll do a detailed review of these pickups later, but for now I’m focusing on how to do it.

In part 1 of this video series, I remove the old pickups, position the new pickups using a spacer, decide if the existing holes can be reused, and then show how to fill the existing holes in preparation for drilling new ones. I was planning to use a 1/8” dowel to fill the holes, but it turned out that the factory positioned some of the holes too close to the edge of routed recesses, and the screws had breached through the sides. So instead of dowels, I’m using Elmer’s Carpenter’s Interior/Exterior Wood Filler.

78 Comments

tremelo68
December 8, 2009 @ 8:24 am

Nice use of the burpie blanket. They are great for that. FYI, a good
practice is to ALWAYS cover the body of the guitar with a towel or cloth of
some kind to protect it from screwdriver drops, slips, or other
finish-scratching accidents… better safe than sorry. Nice video!

Reply
tremelo68
December 8, 2009 @ 8:28 am

Also, you could use a toothpick and wood glue for filling the holes. They will take stain too if you want to make the filling disappear. A little dab of cherry stain maybe?

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jack
December 8, 2009 @ 12:59 am

Really useful stuff. Great videos. I really appreciate the way you set up and did the comparisons b/w pots and caps and so on.

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John
December 8, 2009 @ 10:12 am

Yeah, good suggestion – toothpicks are great! I use them a lot in handyman
jobs around the house, like moving a door hinge. A typical toothpick is
about 1/16″ diameter – the skinniest dowel you can find. So with bigger
holes like these, you need to shove two or more toothpicks into the hole,
sometimes whacking them in with a hammer.

Reply
John
December 8, 2009 @ 10:14 am

One downside is that they can look a bit messy, unless the diameter of the
hole is a perfect match (e.g. 1/16″). In this case, the holes were about
3/32″, so I would’ve had to use two toothpicks. It could’ve worked ok since
the holes are hidden under the pickup covers, but I wouldn’t want to use
them in an exposed area, unless it was a perfect fit.

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zmang
March 19, 2010 @ 7:11 pm

could you use soap bar style pickups in this guitar instead of dogear p90s? or are the pickup holes too deep and must have dogears?

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John
March 23, 2010 @ 1:29 pm

I don’t think soap bars will work here.

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danne9501
June 25, 2010 @ 1:23 pm

could i play with the pick up without the pick up cover

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John
June 25, 2010 @ 2:14 pm

@danne9501 – yes you can play with/without the pickup covers – and it’s
interesting to compare. Some pickups sound really different without the
covers.

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Despotes518
July 14, 2010 @ 8:29 pm

omg.. what an annoying process to me, makes me not want to replace my pickups.. lol, nice guide tho

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joeypaint
July 17, 2010 @ 9:06 pm

Is that the Epiphone Riviera? If it is, I understand why you’re changing those pups, the original ones sound way too muddy.

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John
July 17, 2010 @ 9:51 pm

@joeypaint – yes, it’s the Riviera P93. For the results with the new
pickups, see my video “Epiphone Electronics Overhaul, Before and After
Comparisons”

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5mcarter
August 1, 2010 @ 9:04 am

Thank you for all your how to fix the Riviera P93 guitar. I own one and have had all the problems your videos describe. For me this guitar was a huge dissappointment. The factory pickups bring out to much bass. You have to play the strings close to the bridge to get a more lively sound .No matter how you adsust the three pickups it sounds the same. The bridge is horrible sounds like strings buzzing. I give your video 100 THUMBS UP.

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John
August 18, 2010 @ 6:22 pm

@MyLesPaulcopy – yeah, i use epoxy mixed with sawdust when filling visible holes when making furniture. but it can be kindofa pain – and my experience is that this wood filler is strong enough to hold screws for something that isn’t being torqued around much. but you’re certainly right- if you have epoxy on hand, there’s no need to go buy wood filler. even toothpicks or some paper shoved in the hole are probably enough in this situation.

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BELOROYAN
August 22, 2010 @ 6:22 am

Nice job….Never done this and would like to change my Gibson es 137 Classic pickup set for Bare knuckle ones…How many hours of work ? Won’t it be simplier to ask a luthier fot it ? …thanks

Reply
- John
  August 24, 2010 @ 9:25 am
  
  @BELOROYAN – if the new pickup is the same size as the one you’re replacing, then it really is easy to replace. Just some screws and some soldering.
  If you need to drill, etc, then it may take you quite a few hours, if it’s your first time.
  In any case, it’s certainly simpler paying a luthier do it – but DIY can be more fun and more satisfying, if you’re that kind of person. Good luck!
  
  Reply
Darrell999
September 15, 2010 @ 6:40 pm

Hey John, I love your videos–so helpful! I have a question for you–you mention that if I want to change the pickups without changing the electronics, I can cut the wire and then connect the new pickup’s wires to the old wire–how do I do that? Pardon my stupidity, but I have no experience with this. Twist and tape? Solder?

BTW, I also have the P93 Riviera, and I’ve found that adjusting the pole pieces and replacing the metal covers with plastic ones does brighten it up a bit.

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- John
  September 16, 2010 @ 9:42 am
  
  @Darrell999- twist and tape is not the best solution, as it will inevitably fail. Solder is better. Unscrew and pull out the pickups, and use wire cutters to clip the leads under the pickup. Leave yourself enough slack both on the guitar side and the pickup side (if you might reuse the pickups). Then solder your new pickup leads to the old wires, and bundle up the slack with a twisty tie and tuck it behind the pickup.
  Cool that using plastic covers brightened the sound- I didn’t try that.
  
  Reply
  - Darrell999
    September 16, 2010 @ 6:09 pm
    
    @johnplanetz -is there more than one wire inside of the main ones coming from the pickups (I mean under the rubber casing of the main wire)–and if so, is it ok to solder them all together with the wire(s) from the electronics? Again, please pardon my ignorance. Thanks!
    
    Reply
    - John
      September 17, 2010 @ 12:38 pm
      
      @Darrell999 – depends on the pickup, sometimes it’s a single shielded wire coming from the pickup, and the shield needs to be soldered to ground while the inner wire is the signal. however it sounds like you’re describing typical stranded wire, where the inner wire is actually made up of lots of thinner wires, twisted together. If so, yes, you just solder those together for the signal wire. See my video “Wiring Up Guitar Electronics 1: Component Layout, Selecting Wire, Stripping and Tinning”
      
      Reply
      - Darrell999
        September 17, 2010 @ 3:24 pm
        
        @johnplanetz -Excellent! Thanks again for all the help you give us, John.
        
        Reply
NevinJarek
December 11, 2010 @ 11:22 pm

Who can tell me more about this guitars?? Im looking forward to buying a new guitar, and I was thinking about in between a nylon acoustic and an electric. I used to have an expensive spaniard classical guitar and I want something that isnt so inclined to distortions and wammy bars and I thought maybe this guitars are what I should go, for, are they??

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- John
  December 15, 2010 @ 9:25 am
  
  @NevinJarek – this is a semi-hollowbody steel-string electric. the sound is different from a full hollowbody which sounds a bit more open and acoustic (and is more prone to feedback when playing loud), and different from a solid body which has a tighter punchier sound and is the least prone to feedback. you need to get to a guitar shop and try out some different style guitars to find what you like. good luck!
  
  Reply
STimo95
March 26, 2011 @ 10:13 am

hey man this is really helpfull, but i have a question, did you choose this guitar especially because you knew of the possible mistakes it might have cause, and wanted to show other people how to prevent them, or was it just coincedence?

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nevikmoore
March 29, 2011 @ 11:24 am

Great demo. Got a lot of good ideas — esp the use of the tape to protect the surface, the needle nose pliers to lead the wires, and even the blanket. It’s good to see basic stuff like that, because I know in my rush I would overlook it. I plan on putting new pups in my humble dot studio soon. I’m gonna subscribe to your feed – lots of great instruction to be found. Thank you.

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mrbass604
May 12, 2011 @ 2:33 pm

beautiful guitar you should be proud i would be bye the way im guessing thats a gibson es 335

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- John
  May 12, 2011 @ 2:34 pm
  
  @mrbass604 – it’s an Epiphone Riviera P93. Yes, aside from the pickup configuration, it looks a lot like an ES-335 🙂
  
  Reply
  - mrbass604
    May 14, 2011 @ 10:46 am
    
    @johnplanetz thinks for telling me
    
    Reply
VenicesKurt
May 16, 2011 @ 7:36 am

Great Video… Maybe I’m being a bit anal, however, you are very concerned about the finish on your guitar (and rightfully so) so I would think you should take off that giant bulky watch so it doesn’t hit/nick the finish. And maybe even your ring (if the wifie allows it)

Thanks for sharing, I plan on changing pots, and pickups on my Gretsch to TV Jones pickups and this video (as all your videos) will help greatly!

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- John
  May 18, 2011 @ 5:43 pm
  
  @VenicesKurt – you have a good point. But so far i haven’t ever had an issue with the watch or the ring, so they stay on. I’m not even sure I can get the ring off anymore 🙂 Good luck with the gretch project!
  
  Reply
HiDantheBear
June 12, 2011 @ 10:09 am

i really wish the wires were attached to the knobs and not the pickups. then you wouldnt have to work anywhere except the pickup chamber

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- John
  June 14, 2011 @ 10:54 am
  
  @HiDantheBear – if only life were simpler! 🙂 the wires need to be connected at both ends to make it work! Yes, solid body guitars with the scew-on cavity cover are so much easier to work with.
  
  Reply
StephenFiorentini
July 12, 2011 @ 5:51 pm

Wonderfull work mate. Very educational, enjoyed waching, thanks.

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bradynbear
August 2, 2011 @ 3:14 pm

Looks like surgery 🙁
It was kind of scary watching.
I really love your videos, and the way you talk is really calming or something that makes me like you even more 😀 Thanks for the videos.

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mitchroyer
September 6, 2011 @ 3:33 pm

What kind of filler do you use?
By the way, your videos are very helpful.

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carmenlcrane
November 30, 2011 @ 12:40 pm

Your a legend, thanks for taking the time to make this film.

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bricey1999
March 5, 2012 @ 9:15 am

Is that an Epiphone Riviera custom????

Reply
- John
  March 6, 2012 @ 9:49 am
  
  @bricey1999 – it’s the Riviera P93
  
  Reply
rjarcusa
April 3, 2012 @ 7:28 am

So, what was wrong with the original pickups? Sounded fine. But, the signal was too weak? That’s about the only issue I have with my Epiphone Sheraton II. But, I love the tone of it. So, I just play a little louder……..

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- John
  April 8, 2012 @ 8:59 pm
  
  The epiphone P-90s just weren’t very bright, and I wanted more brightness. You can see my video “Epiphone Electronics Overhaul, Before and After Comparisons” for the differences.
  
  Reply
ChickenVendetta
April 8, 2012 @ 12:42 pm

So let’s say I had a 335 style guitar, like a Dot, or a 339…

How hard would it be to put dog ear P90s into the existing humbucker cavities, and if I were to pay someone to do it, how far would that set me back?

Reply
- John
  April 8, 2012 @ 9:01 pm
  
  I think putting dog-eared P-90s in place of the humbuckers would be quite easy. You’d have to drill new holes into the body for the dog-ear covers, but otherwise, the cavities should be large enough to fit the new pickups (but please do confirm measurements rather than taking my word for it!) If you had to route the cavities larger, it would be a significantly bigger job. Price to pay someone completely depends on the person- I can’t really tell you!
  
  Reply
AllStyleNoSubstance1
April 20, 2012 @ 8:56 am

i also have a riviera p93 and i was thinking of replacing the p90s with filter’tron magna’trons fitted with dogear rings. i have a few questions tho. how well will the english mounts fit this guitar? will i have to drill new holes? and also since the magna’trons are only made for two positions, should i consider two neck pickups and one bridge or one neck and two bridge?

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- John
  April 25, 2012 @ 2:28 pm
  
  I don’t know the measurements of those pickups. You’ll need to check with the manufacturer for the specs/measurements of the new pickups/mounts, and compare them with your current hole positions.
  The stock P-90’s on this Epi Riviera are the same way- only two types. When you open it up, you’ll see they are labelled Neck, Neck, Bridge.
  
  Reply
tecnodicks
September 29, 2012 @ 4:10 am

how would you aline the strings with active pickups ?

Reply
- John Cooper
  October 2, 2012 @ 4:10 pm
  
  If your polepieces aren’t exposed, can you remove the covers? If not, you can guess the usual 50mm e-to-e spacing, centered over the pickup.
  
  Reply
- JACKSONLEWISOFCANADA
  January 15, 2013 @ 4:26 pm
  
  p90s are also less consistend spaging ingeneral from diferent companys so actives should be easier to do.
  
  Reply
TGunn1986
March 19, 2013 @ 10:24 am

Are the pickups you decided on Alnico 2, 3,5, or ceramic? Is the middle reverse wound? I am considering replacing the pickups in mine with Reilander’s P90s (Alnico 5 with a reverse wound middle). How would I know if this is going to be an improvement before I drop the cash on them? Thanks

Reply
- John
  March 19, 2013 @ 11:05 am
  
  I used Vintage Vibe Guitars, Alnico 5, middle RWRP. New pickups will dramatically change your sound. You can’t really know in advance, but get in touch with Pete at VVG, or Mike at Reilander’s, and tell them what you do/don’t like about your current pickups and they can work with you on getting what you want (over/underwinding, magnet choices, etc).
  
  Reply
  - TGunn1986
    March 19, 2013 @ 11:12 am
    
    Thanks. One more thing, would I be able to use the gold pole pieces from my original pickups without negatively affecting the sound? Not a deal breaker or anything but it would be nice to keep it all gold
    
    Reply
    - John
      March 19, 2013 @ 11:13 am
      
      Talk to your pickup guy on that one. Not all pole-pieces and bobbins are compatible.
      
      Reply
Dennis
March 21, 2013 @ 1:51 am

hi john thanks for your great video. Before i change the pickups which as you said and it`s true are a little bit muddy I tried to unwound a few turns from the neck pickup I am trying to get it down to 8k and try it out would do you think ?

Reply
- John
  March 21, 2013 @ 7:59 am
  
  Sounds like a fun project, and may yield great results. Please let us know how it goes!
  -John
  
  Reply
  - Dennis
    March 21, 2013 @ 10:15 am
    
    I manage to do unwinding the neck and the middle pickup from 9.4k to 7.7k but no luck with the bridge pickup. I am going to try them on the guitar anyway using just 2 pickups using the middle as the bridge pickup and leave the middle cable unconnected . have to buy a new bridge pickup any help which pickup i should buy please. thanks
    
    Reply
    - John
      March 22, 2013 @ 8:52 am
      
      Curious to hear how your pickups sound after the unwinding!
      
      I bought my replacement P-90’s from Pete Biltoft at Vintage Vibe Guitars. He’s very helpful in talking with you about the pickup parameters to get the sound you want.
      
      -John
      
      Reply
      - Dennis
        March 22, 2013 @ 9:18 am
        
        I have tried them and they are much more brighter now,probably more brighter then the ones you changed but it all depends the kind of amplification that you use. in the mean time I had ordered two GFS p90 from guitarfetish because of the good reviews I read about them when I get them I fix these two as the neck and bridge and the middle epi unwound pickup in the middle position I will let you know how it goes when I get them for now thank John
        
        Reply
        
        John
        March 22, 2013 @ 2:06 pm
        
        Cool. I’ll be interested to hear about those GFS pickups.
        John
        
        Reply
        
        Dennis
        March 22, 2013 @ 11:47 pm
        
        I will sure let you know . Another thing I would like to ask you I have made a pushpull switch on the middle pickup volume pot to be more quicker to turn off the middle pickup but when I use the switch which is part of the pot there will be a lot of hum is there any thing I can do to eleminate the hum and also I was wondering if I could fix a master volume pot because when you play live it will be very handy gretsch uses a master volume for there guitars, maybe i could fix one instead of the tone pot which i always set it full .woant do you think ?
        
        Reply
        
        John
        April 6, 2013 @ 9:43 pm
        
        Sorry for the delay- just back from vacation.
        
        Replacing the tone with a master volume would be trivial. I agree a master volume is very handy. See a strat wiring diagram for a typical master volume setup: http://www.guitarelectronics.com/product/WDUSSS5L1201/Strat-Style-Guitar-Wiring-Diagram.html
        
        As for your push/pull hum- it shouldn’t do that 🙂 Are you sure it’s wired properly? See my post on push/pull kill switches: https://www.planetz.com/pushpull-pots/
        
        Hope this helps,
        -John
        
        Reply
        
        Dennis
        April 11, 2013 @ 2:13 am
        
        Hi John welcome back hope you had a nice vacation. I have fixed the GFS pickups at the neck and bridge they fit precise in the same screw holes and I have also replaced the poles screws with the stock ones to keep them gold which also were the same size and tread. Sound wise they are nothing like the stock pickups you are right new pickups will revamp this guitar.
        As the middle pickup I left the stock one which I have unwound which is much better now than it was but to be honest I do not like the middle pickups not even on strats so now I have some ideas to do which I like to share them with you and tell me what you think,
        The hum I told you about when I used the kill switch is the same hum like when I turn off the volume of the same middle pickup so the hum sure came from the amplification used. solved by keeping the instrument more far away from the amplification
        Now my next project on this guitar which I would like to see your views is to put the middle pickup on the pullpush switch used as a kill switch for this middle pickup that is directly with no volume and the pot of the same pushpull switch used as a master volume for all pickups this I think will give me the advantage to kill this pickup when I want that most of the time and gain a master volume, on the other side still will have a kind of volume when I want to use the middle pickup.
        before I close i like to tell you that everytime I turn on the volume of the middle pickup although not that much as before I changed the pickups the sound still become less brighter.
        sorry John for the long explanation an hope to hear from you soon.
        
        regards
        
        Reply
John
April 16, 2013 @ 12:20 pm

Hi Dennis,
A push/pull as an on/off switch for the middle pickup, and a master volume sounds great. That’s exactly the solution I came up with in my post on Feb 9, 2011 about dealing with the treble loss issues: https://www.planetz.com/ideas-for-treble-bleed-problems/

Let me know how it goes!
-John

Reply
HANZEL DA GRIMM
May 22, 2013 @ 11:45 am

i have an epiphoe sheraton made in kore 1993 i am replacing the pickup with gibson burstbucker pro and replacing some parts because trhe guitar is old now i want to hear your thoiught on this one thank you sir

Reply
- John
  May 22, 2013 @ 2:23 pm
  
  Working on the Sheraton should be a very similar process to that shown in this video (and my other semi-hollow body electronics videos)
  
  Reply
HANZEL DA GRIMM
May 22, 2013 @ 11:46 am

is your guitar made in china

Reply
- John
  May 22, 2013 @ 2:21 pm
  
  Yes, it’s made in China
  
  Reply
glassbottleblues
May 24, 2013 @ 6:06 pm

that’s a lot of work huh, wow sucks they missed with the drill at the factory. Nice video and explanations. clean work area too, except doesn’t your back get to hurting down on all 4’s like that. Maybe I’m just getting old but you seem to be my age, too:)

Reply
- John
  May 29, 2013 @ 4:06 pm
  
  Yes, you’re right- working on the floor is back-breaking. At the time, I thought that was the easiest way to set up the video shoot. I’ve since switched to filming my videos on the dining room table! 🙂
  
  Reply
EliteBoxel
June 27, 2013 @ 12:59 pm

Is that the Rivera custom?

Reply
- John
  June 28, 2013 @ 11:01 am
  
  It’s the Riviera P93
  
  Reply
  - EliteBoxel
    June 28, 2013 @ 11:30 am
    
    Yeah the custom one. I like it. I wanted to change the pickups on my wildkat, and this helped a lot mate, thanks.
    
    Reply
mjt11860
July 20, 2013 @ 7:30 pm

great instructional vid. especially like the tip on putting tape over the hole to protect the finish when filling w/wood filler.

Reply
RedBunny
August 28, 2013 @ 5:59 am

This does not look easy… XD

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Sage OfKhaos
January 23, 2014 @ 2:08 pm

I want to know: Would it not be easier to just drill a hole into the pickup
fitting, or for that matter make a custom fitting for the pickup to avoid
modifying the body of the guitar to such an extent?

Reply
nefarious power
April 27, 2014 @ 1:19 pm

This made a lot more sense to re-drill the mounting holes. They did really
poor work when they installed the OEM pickups at the factory.

Reply
sumofone1969
September 7, 2014 @ 7:17 pm

I just did the same thing on my Ibanez Artcore semi-hollow body guitar. The
humbucker pickups were originally offset, so I moved them slightly. To fill
the tiny holes I just used tooth picks and wood glue. Worked like a charm.

Reply
g33kL
June 13, 2015 @ 6:24 am

is there any way to install full sized humbuckers on this guitar?

Reply
Albatross
May 26, 2018 @ 6:33 pm

Hi Jhon, I would like to know where I can buy the same set of three P 90 dogear pickups of the epiphone custom riviera model pls and on the other hand what kind of pickups can you recommend to put instead of these pickups ,(I had a problem with my pickups of the epiphone riviera due a problem with a “luthier ” of my city ) , I am looking forward to hearing from you mate. Thank you very much .

Reply
- John Cooper
  May 28, 2018 @ 2:00 pm
  
  Hi there,
  They are Vintage Vibe Guitars pickups: http://www.vintagevibeguitars.com/windows/dog_p90Win.html
  I actually have two matched sets of these VVG pickups that I’m selling. Contact me if you’re interested!
  -John
  
  Reply

Replacing the Pickups

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