Changing Pickups

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Changing Pickups, Soldering question

mhskeide View Member Profile	Jun 23 2011, 06:07 PM
Jun 23 2011, 06:07 PM	Accomplished Tone Guru Posts: 959 Joined: 13-July 08 From: Oslo, NO	Hi guys! I am about to change the setup of my guitar to one humbucker, and one volume pot. No tone or pickup switching (obviously). Do I need any form for capasitor, or is that only if I would have a tone control? You are at GuitarMasterClass.net Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! -------------------- Take your music seriously, but not yourself

Ivan Milenkovic View Member Profile	Jun 23 2011, 06:45 PM
Jun 23 2011, 06:45 PM	Instructor Posts: 25.396 Joined: 20-November 07 From: Belgrade, Serbia	Usually there shouldn't be any caps involved with such a simple setup. What kind of humbucker you are putting on?? You are at GuitarMasterClass.net Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! -------------------- - Ivan's Video Chat Lesson Notes HERE - Check out my GMC Profile and Lessons - (Please subscribe to my) YouTube Official Channel - Let's be connected through ! Facebook! :)

mhskeide View Member Profile	Jun 23 2011, 06:57 PM
Jun 23 2011, 06:57 PM	Accomplished Tone Guru Posts: 959 Joined: 13-July 08 From: Oslo, NO	Bare Knuckle aftermath for 7 string.....one angry beast I recieved in the mail today I will also install a Shadow kill-pot, so I can have a supereasy and reliable kill switch And are there some generel Do`s and don`ts regarding soldering? I have for instance heard: Put some soldering iron on both the volume pot and the wire before soldering Make sure parts are clean, and well heated enough (not too much though) Don`use grease / use grease.....what is correct here? You are at GuitarMasterClass.net Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! -------------------- Take your music seriously, but not yourself

Ivan Milenkovic View Member Profile	Jun 23 2011, 07:21 PM
Jun 23 2011, 07:21 PM	Instructor Posts: 25.396 Joined: 20-November 07 From: Belgrade, Serbia	Just take it easy, and practice a bit on some scrap wires. Some practice will help you get the hang of it. Here's a nice video tutorial: EDIT: PS I've changed my bridge humbucker on my strat, and it was even complicated task, although I never done it before. However, I did get some soldering practice. It's very easy to make a bad connection, so I strongly advise rehearsing on at least 10-15 wires before going for the real thing. You are at GuitarMasterClass.net Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! -------------------- - Ivan's Video Chat Lesson Notes HERE - Check out my GMC Profile and Lessons - (Please subscribe to my) YouTube Official Channel - Let's be connected through ! Facebook! :)

Azzaboi View Member Profile	Jun 23 2011, 07:35 PM
Jun 23 2011, 07:35 PM	GMC:er Posts: 1.486 Joined: 23-March 09 From: New Zealand	No caps I think, unless you want a resister across the pot connections wiring for tone smoothing? When I got my pickups replaced, I got them professionally installed. He said the tone (darkness or brightness) of your pickups comes down to the types of pots being used and some also apply a resister across them. I think it was 250k vs 500k pots made the guitar sound darker or brighter? You should look at 'Stellartone Tonestyler Tone' pot for the best option of both worlds. You are at GuitarMasterClass.net Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! This post has been edited by Azzaboi: Jun 23 2011, 07:36 PM -------------------- Play Games Arcade Take a break, Play Games! Play the best free online flash games at Aaron's Game Zone like Bloons Tower Defense 4!

GregH View Member Profile	Jun 23 2011, 07:54 PM
Jun 23 2011, 07:54 PM	GMC:er Posts: 169 Joined: 30-July 10 From: Oregon, USA	Make sure that the soldering iron tip is clean. You can wipe it (when hot) on a wet sponge or rag (just enough to get it shiny). Put a little solder on the iron tip so you have a little puddle of melted solder. The melted solder transfers the heat to what you are soldering. If you are soldering two wires then tin them first. Tinning a wire means heating it up with the iron and melting a little solder on the bare end. It holds the strands together and provides the solder surface that will hold the joint together. When heating the wires for soldering (or wire and lug if you are, for instance, soldering to a pot), pick the item that will need the most heat, like the biggest wire or the pot lug and heat it first. When the solder on it is melting, add a little more and then put the other wire on it. When the solder on both parts has melted, remove the heat. Do not move the solder joint until it has cooled well below the melting temperature of the solder. Also, do not cool it by blowing on it or putting water on it. This will crystallize the solder joint, giving it a dull appearance (called a cold solder joint). This weakens it a lot. It is better to use a small diameter solder, like 22 gauge. It takes less heating time to melt the solder making it less damaging to the wire. You typically want a small iron, like 25 to 60 watt. In general, a smaller iron will do less damage but if it takes longer to heat the joint up, then the part will actually get hotter then a bigger iron for a shorter period of time. I personally like to go on the bigger side but I have been doing it for a long time. Just like playing the guitar, practice is your friend. Try it first on scraps. Hope this helps. Feel free to ask questions. Greg You are at GuitarMasterClass.net Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

dark dude View Member Profile	Jun 23 2011, 08:30 PM
Jun 23 2011, 08:30 PM	GMC:er Posts: 1.081 Joined: 27-September 09 From: London, UK	QUOTE (GregH @ Jun 23 2011, 07:54 PM) Make sure that the soldering iron tip is clean. You can wipe it (when hot) on a wet sponge or rag (just enough to get it shiny). Put a little solder on the iron tip so you have a little puddle of melted solder. The melted solder transfers the heat to what you are soldering. If you are soldering two wires then tin them first. Tinning a wire means heating it up with the iron and melting a little solder on the bare end. It holds the strands together and provides the solder surface that will hold the joint together. When heating the wires for soldering (or wire and lug if you are, for instance, soldering to a pot), pick the item that will need the most heat, like the biggest wire or the pot lug and heat it first. When the solder on it is melting, add a little more and then put the other wire on it. When the solder on both parts has melted, remove the heat. Do not move the solder joint until it has cooled well below the melting temperature of the solder. Also, do not cool it by blowing on it or putting water on it. This will crystallize the solder joint, giving it a dull appearance (called a cold solder joint). This weakens it a lot. It is better to use a small diameter solder, like 22 gauge. It takes less heating time to melt the solder making it less damaging to the wire. You typically want a small iron, like 25 to 60 watt. In general, a smaller iron will do less damage but if it takes longer to heat the joint up, then the part will actually get hotter then a bigger iron for a shorter period of time. I personally like to go on the bigger side but I have been doing it for a long time. Just like playing the guitar, practice is your friend. Try it first on scraps. Hope this helps. Feel free to ask questions. Greg Cheers Greg, lots of worthwhile info. here. You are at GuitarMasterClass.net Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! -------------------- Ibanez 2550E LTD EC-1000 VB Roland Cube 30W

MickeM View Member Profile	Jun 23 2011, 08:53 PM
Jun 23 2011, 08:53 PM	Born of NWOBHM, Moderation Team Leader Posts: 8.562 Joined: 9-January 07 From: Stockholm, Sweden	no need for a capacitor then. You are at GuitarMasterClass.net Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! -------------------- My bands homepage All time favourites: B. Streisand - Woman in Love, M. Hopkin - Those were the days, L. Richie - Hello

Sensible Jones View Member Profile	Jun 26 2011, 06:22 PM
Jun 26 2011, 06:22 PM	GMC:er Posts: 7.277 Joined: 2-January 09 From: London-ish. UK.	No need for a Capacitor in the circuit, unless you want to incorporate a 'Tone Bleed' set-up. Personally I wouldn't worry about doing that, you can always do it at a later date if you want to! As for the soldering part, Greg has given some great advice there although I would just add this.. Personally I always have 2 Soldering Irons for a pick-up change. A small wattage one as suggested for 'tinning' the wire ends and connections to the 'Tabs' on the Pot. (The 'Hot' or 'Live' feed from the pick-up) Also a bigger wattage one for soldering connections to the Pot Casing (The Ground feed from the Pick-up). You are at GuitarMasterClass.net Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! -------------------- I'd rather have a full Bottle in front of me than a full Frontal Lobotomy!!

MickeM View Member Profile	Jun 26 2011, 08:13 PM
Jun 26 2011, 08:13 PM	Born of NWOBHM, Moderation Team Leader Posts: 8.562 Joined: 9-January 07 From: Stockholm, Sweden	Yeah SJ, that's a good point to have two irons. I have one at 15W and one at 30 watts for grounding wires to the pot. In the end I often do everything with the 30 watt iron with some burnt wire insultaion as a result. But yes, two different gives a better overall result. Got to be careful with 30 watt iron since a pot can overhear. You are at GuitarMasterClass.net Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! -------------------- My bands homepage All time favourites: B. Streisand - Woman in Love, M. Hopkin - Those were the days, L. Richie - Hello

Ivan Milenkovic View Member Profile	Jun 26 2011, 08:30 PM
Jun 26 2011, 08:30 PM	Instructor Posts: 25.396 Joined: 20-November 07 From: Belgrade, Serbia	Ah yes, failed the remember that. It's definitely important to use stronger soldering iron for pots, as they act as a heatsink. It's hard to get those connections unsoldered/soldered to it. You are at GuitarMasterClass.net Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! -------------------- - Ivan's Video Chat Lesson Notes HERE - Check out my GMC Profile and Lessons - (Please subscribe to my) YouTube Official Channel - Let's be connected through ! Facebook! :)

GregH View Member Profile	Jun 26 2011, 10:14 PM
Jun 26 2011, 10:14 PM	GMC:er Posts: 169 Joined: 30-July 10 From: Oregon, USA	I use one iron, 60 watt but temperature regulated. I have it set at 600f degrees. I usually use a rather blunt tip. The higher wattage and extra mass of the blunt tip keeps the tip from cooling off much while soldering but 600f degrees is cool enough that you have more time before you fry something. Temperature regulated irons cost a little more (or a lot if bought new) but are well worth it if you are going to do much soldering. An example of a temperature regulated iron is a Weller soldering station. I have bought them for as little as $25. But in a pinch, you can solder with anything that heats up. Greg You are at GuitarMasterClass.net Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Sensible Jones View Member Profile	Jun 28 2011, 03:27 PM
Jun 28 2011, 03:27 PM	GMC:er Posts: 7.277 Joined: 2-January 09 From: London-ish. UK.	QUOTE (GregH @ Jun 26 2011, 10:14 PM) An example of a temperature regulated iron is a Weller soldering station. I have bought them for as little as $25. But in a pinch, you can solder with anything that heats up. Greg More good points again Greg! I use a small gas Iron for quick repairs etc at Gigs and so on. At home I have an Antex soldering station as well as a good range of normal Irons. You are at GuitarMasterClass.net Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content! -------------------- I'd rather have a full Bottle in front of me than a full Frontal Lobotomy!!

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