pickups / pickguard question

[ross]

i am thinking of changing a few things on my strat. these are upgrades, and i am wondering if i can do them myself. would also like some opinions on a few things..

things i want to do:

install locking tuners
change pickgaurd and all knobs to black
install dimarzio d-sonic bridge pickup (i have a hss strat, so i can put a humbucker in the bridge)
install 2 single coils for neck and middle



my question is:

can all of this be done by myself?

currently my strat has a few problems, mostly from use - but the pickup switch sometimes does not activate the pickup correctly if you move it too quick, i think it just needs to be resoldered or something.. and the pickup jack is very loose and even after tightening it it still becomes loose after several days.

i would also like some suggestions on pickups for the single coils. i want to have a strat that sounds like a strat in the neck and middle pickup. ive never been fond of single coil bridge pickups, hence the reason i do not have a SSS strat.. i love the clean neck sound that david gilmour has, and while i realize that is from his near perfection in playing, it is not out of the realm of possibility to get that tone. i am thinking of buying a few pieces at a time and then doing all the installs at once.

are these mods something i have to have professional done? or can i do them myself?

[Shooty*]

Don't know, I'm afraid. My replica Les Paul thing has a loose volume knob, and I can't even figure out how to fix that!

[Sickmont]

The locking tuners and pickguard/knobs is easy as cake. Worst part of the pick-ups is soldering the connections. Can you solder? If so, you should be able to do this yourself. It's mostly just R&R, that's all. If you have doubts about yourself, any decent shop should be able to accomodate you.

[ross]

The locking tuners and pickguard/knobs is easy as cake. Worst part of the pick-ups is soldering the connections. Can you solder? If so, you should be able to do this yourself. It's mostly just R&R, that's all. If you have doubts about yourself, any decent shop should be able to accomodate you.

can i solder? maybe. i think my dad has a kit that i could borrow. or he may know how. i figured the tuners would be easy, which is why im going to do them soon.