Want to switch out a Majesty 2018 with Bare Knuckle Pickups but what is going on

[Medic05]

My goal is to remove the 'what I believe' are Illumintors out of my EBMM JP Majesty 2018 guitar and replace them with a set of Bare Knuckle Humbuckers, more importantly with Covers. (I sweat like a mo'fo onstage). I've contacted BKP and they've been so responsive and kind, it's incredible. But when in comes to the actual 'swap' some things are so murky;
Some say I'll need to shave off the inside cavity for the Buckers a bit for a direct fit.

Then there is the whole wiring not so basic feature which I knew getting this guitar.

So can anybody who has swapped out some 'factory' buckers for another; please tell me your experience and how I can succeed here.

Trav

 

[LordRiffenstein]

It will be challenging, covered or uncovered. The dimarzio pickups used in the Majesty and JP 15s at least use the quick connect system so they don't have "legs" which will make most traditional pickups too tall to fit in the route. I detailed the issues I had with changing out pickups of a JP15 with standard pickups on this forum http://forums.ernieball.com/ernie-ball-music-man-guitars/68721-jp-15-pickups.html. For the pickup routing, standard pickups will usually be 1) too tall and 2) the base plate too square to fit. I had to route the body AND alter the base plate of the pickups themselves to get them to fit.

Then there is actually wiring the guitar. Now the JP 15 has different circuitry than the Majesty but the pickup leads had to be soldered to the PCB rather than pots/switch. I'd guess this is similar in the majesty. The spot where they're wired on the PCB is color coded for dimarzio pickups so you would have to compare the BKP diagram to dimarzio and find out which wire corresponds to what.

In my opinion, this is a lengthy process that was not worth it in the end. If you do what I did, it will alter the guitar and this will hurt badly in the event that you ever have to sell it. It's also difficult and you risk damaging an excellent guitar.

 

[mildew]

I have put normal pickups in my Majesty without routing the body, but it took a bit of work. As posted above, the pickup routes on the Majesty are tiny. You can "just" fit uncovered pickups in them with some modding, but im not sure if covered ones would fit. On the last post in my "modding Majesty to passive" posts here Tips on modding an EBMM Majesty to passive operation. | The Gear Page i detail the process...

 

[Jaspergep]

I have put BKP Juggernauts in my JP7 Koa and had its body routed by a notable luthier. The cavity was indeed too shallow to fit in the pickup. I have no complaints about the procedure as the luthier also re-lacquered the cavity

 

[Medic05]

Very thankful for all the above insight. Now I'm thinking I just go with a set of DiMarzio's that will work flawlessly without the body cavity routing/sanding option. Anyone know if his newer HH will be an exact fit. This sucks as I really wanted to try BKP, but another guitar perhaps...in the distant future. I just wanted something a little more PAF with balls instead of the Illuminators, which I find to be flat and lack punch. Maybe it's me or my MB Fillmore setting but I just have never got the tone I want. The play-ability and feel are to die for though, so I'll figure out the tone over anything else.
Don't know what to do now though, as the covered part was almost essential due to my sweating nature and I already have these pole pieces looking Brown.

 

[Fro]

I haven't played any of the earlier models but I can vouch for the pickups in the latest model of Majesty. They sound fantastic. They sound fantastic at both high and low gain sounds.

 

[mildew]

I have a DiMarzio Paf Pro in the neck position of my Majesty and it sounds awesome. (And a Suhr SSV in the bridge, but im sure you could find a Dimarzio hot PAF style bridge pkup that can be ordered with Majesty spec)