How long time does it take to change pickups on a Tele ?

[Alvinfan]

I am beginning to feel that the guy who repairs my guitars is over charging me.
It is just a hunch, since I don´t know much about repairing guitars and therefore have difficulty judging if the time he puts down for repairs is reasonable.
Tomorrow I am picking up a Tele where the only work being done is two new pick ups being put in. Approx how long time does that take ???
And approx how long time does it take to change pickups in a Les Paul ?

Thanks

 

[MATTM]

1 Hour for the Tele
15-20 Minutes for the LP

I'm being generous with those times.

 

[DPaulCustom]

1 Hour for the Tele
15-20 Minutes for the LP

I'm being generous with those times.

^ +1
Yes, he's being Generous, if he's charging for more than that, you're paying him to take lunch

 

[rabidhamster]

Most guitar techs are gonna charge you at least an hour bench fee no matter what you get done. Much more than an hour, unless his hours are cheap, and you're getting screwed.
less than an hour and the guy is more fair than many but might not be able to afford to be around long.

Part of the cost is offsetting risk of his having your guitars. You fix people's guitars long enough and eventually some knock or ding is gonna Happen and you'll have to pay the customer back for it.



For the non-pro-guitar tech, buying a soldering iron and learning is cheapest

 

[Alvinfan]

Thanks for the replys guys !!
I think I have paied for a big lunch - thats gonna stop now !

 

[Jnorm]

I'd say two hours tops with 1.5hrs being a realistic time frame.

Keep in mind that the bridge has to be taken off the guitar to install that bridge pup. If it has the modern bridge then the saddles will have to come off in order to get to the bridge screws. Prol' take the strings completely off rather than deal with them being in the way on the bridge end of things, though it could be done with them just undone from the neck side. Also, if it's a 22 fret tele then the neck has to come off to get the pick guard off for the neck pup. It can be time consuming.

Basically the whole guitar has to be taken apart then put back together and set up.

 

[paco1976]

Thanks for the replys guys !!
I think I have paied for a big lunch - thats gonna stop now !

This is expected from time to time. You don't find the right tech at first try.
It has happened to me also, they tell you a story why it took him 3 hours to do the job, you can't do anything. I don't argue, but I'm not coming back.

 

[Jnorm]

Time aside, how much did it cost anyway? $75-$100 would be a low to high figure in my guesstimation for a two pup job.

 

[questionman]

An hour for pickup changes?

Usually takes me a day to do a single pickup