Guitar Mod Project: Soldering Success Edition
I was not having success soldering things my first go-round, because I had the wrong stuff!
Sorry for my European friends, but man, leaded solder melts and flows much more easily than the lead-free version they included in the iFixit kit. (This isn’t RoHS certified now.)
Following some tutorials, I learned how to heat up the lug on the part, then feed the solder into it, which worked really well.
Your iron needs to get hot and stay hot. I invested in an older made-in-USA Weller WTCPT soldering station, which plugs into a TC201 iron. These take the PT series tips which use magnets set to a specific Curie point; once the iron gets to its indicated temperature, the magnet loses strength and disconnects, and reconnects once it cools again.
The tip that came with it was a fine conical point which might be good for intricate stuff but it was just not transferring enough heat to bigger guitar parts, namely the lugs on switches and pots. I got a PT8 ‘screwdriver’ tip instead which heats to 800 degrees, and its flat surface transfers that heat really well.
I had bought some “traditional” cloth-covered pushback wire (doesn’t need stripping like plastic coated wires) but I found it a real pain to work with. Got a set of 22AWG coated wires in various colors, which is perfect for identifying which ones are signal (hot) and which ones are ground.
The iFixit kit came with a very el cheapo tiny cast iron pair of “helping hands,” aka alligator clips on a base, plus a cheap magnifying glass that just got in the way. I ditched it for a better unit, a flat steel base with alligator clips on four adjustable goosenecks. So much easier to hold wires for tinning and to get parts at the correct angles.
So far I’ve made all the wired connections between my one volume control and three-way toggle, and miraculously managed not to cut the wires too short for them to mount correctly. The solder connections look fairly shiny, not dull and grey, so no cold joints that I can see. I will have to examine for solder blobs that might be shorting things, but so far so good. (I really should get a cheap multimeter for continuity testing.)
One thing I did learn is the value of having some sort of wood or metal jig to hold your electronics in place when soldering, ideally with holes spaced the same as your guitar. I tried using a foam block but forgot that the shaft of the iron also gets hot, not just the tip… thankfully there was only a tiny puff of smoke.
Next steps:
Install switch and pot into the guitar
Trim wires from pickups to correct length
Solder a ground wire to the pickup wires’ braided shields and connect to common ground; shrink wrap the connection
Connect pickup hot wires to switch lugs
Solder ground wire from bridge to common ground
Connect copper shielding to ground
Solder output and ground wires to the jack before installing it
Test for signal (tap on pickups, use switch)
String it up, tune, adjust intonation
Test again
Probably take it to the shop to get a proper setup…
