So you think you can solder....

[Erlend_G]

I remember my classmate bassist wanting me to fix a problem with his bass guitar.

"Well, it's just humming and making no sound".

-Well, it's proably a ground wire come loose, " i said...

And wops, he made me solder it and fix it ...

(I never liked the guy at all, he hit on my crush for valentines day, just to piss me off)

...

anyways, my soldering skills are... allright, but should need some practice. It would be a dream come true, to some day be able to solder my own pedals.!

I did "Electrics and Electronics first year" at high school. .

-Erl

[Mr. 80's]

Most players aren't professional wire-ers, and don't have someone paying for the service. So they just get the thing working. My wiring has gotten neater over the years, but it doesn't yet look like that...but no one is paying me for neat wiring jobs, either.

It's just not really anything that impressive IMHO. If it makes you feel any better it won't look so neat once the pups, jack and toggle are all wired in. This is just a couple caps and grounds that many people can make look just as good with a few tries and basic skills/knowhow. I wouldn't be surprised if these aren't quickly done on a little peg board where they can be quickly bent to spec.

[jeremy]

thats really clean looking but im not payin $90 for that when i do a nice clean, albeit not as pretty, job for nothing. im assuming i could do that if i tried but once you start adding stuff to it, it wont be as pretty anyway. like someone said, the braided shield, then bridge ground, and jack... meh. sure looks nice like that though

[Mincer]

It's just not really anything that impressive IMHO. If it makes you feel any better it won't look so neat once the pups, jack and toggle are all wired in. This is just a couple caps and grounds that many people can make look just as good with a few tries and basic skills/knowhow. I wouldn't be surprised if these aren't quickly done on a little peg board where they can be quickly bent to spec.

Oh I get it...it won't look as neat wired in the guitar. But as many DIY'ers I know, there are 5x as many guitarists that will actually pay for this kind of thing. They might not know how to solder, or be OCD about wiring. It looks like someone saw an opportunity to market to those kinds of people. There are professional pedalboard wire-ers, too. I don't get it.

[Mr. 80's]

Oh I get it...it won't look as neat wired in the guitar. But as many DIY'ers I know, there are 5x as many guitarists that will actually pay for this kind of thing. They might not know how to solder, or be OCD about wiring. It looks like someone saw an opportunity to market to those kinds of people. There are professional pedalboard wire-ers, too. I don't get it.

This would be a headache to some then that can't solder. I've seen tons of people on forums who can't solder but need to simply clean a dirty pot which IMHO is best done pulled out of the cavity to protect the finish from any cleaner soaking through to the front and better access to actually clean it. With standard wiring you can pop it right out without desoldering anything while this you will either have to pull all four or desolder the one you want to clean (or just bend the crap out of everything. So it makes no sense from a simple maintenance standpoint. But again I've always been a DIYer (for everything) and I guess many would just take it to a tech for something even that simple. Even though I think it looks nice I think it's a bad design/way to do it. Just my opinion.

[Lewguitar]

That's for a PRS. A McCarty maybe.

PRS guitars are often ridiculed here.

You either get it or you don't.

Ever see the arrow heads and spear points Seymour makes?

Perfect in a Zen kind of way.

Like a Japanese temple garden.

The pursuit of excellence is a worthy path but some people could care less.

What are you gonna do?

That's just the way it is.

[Mincer]

I don't own a PRS, but no way would I ridicule one. I remember reading an interview with PRS, the man, in the early 80s, and loved his designs then. I appreciate anything done well, and people taking time to do something right. I have no issue with people looking for some kind of wiring that looks neat like that. Most musicians are more practical, and just want it done.

[Dave Locher]

People ridicule PRS guitars??
They are not my aesthetic, but neither are superstrats or flying Vs or what have you. I don't think I have ever seen anyone question their quality, and everything else is just taste preferences. Enjoy yours!

[ArtieToo]

But as many DIY'ers I know, there are 5x as many guitarists that will actually pay for this kind of thing. They might not know how to solder, or be OCD about wiring.

And bless their lil' hearts. They keep me in "guitar" money. (And, I've done a few pedal boards too.)

[Lewguitar]

People ridicule PRS guitars??

Oh it happens. Trust me.

I don't understand it and don't know if it's just opinionated kids who don't know what they're talking about, but think they do, or what.

But it happens.

[Mr. 80's]

Oh it happens. Trust me.

I don't understand it and don't know if it's just opinionated kids who don't know what they're talking about, but think they do, or what.

But it happens.

Even though I don't care for the looks or the feel of them I would never ridicule PRS's quality. Everybody has their preferences for both of those but quality is pretty decent for sure.

[GuitarDoc]

That looks really pretty...neat and organized. Only problem I see is the solder joints almost look like cold joints/blobs. Artie's soldering is WAY better. The difference between the two is so obvious.

I did a tutorial on the forum about the right way and the wrong way to solder. The OP's pic is what I'd use to show the "wrong way" (not NEARLY as bad as the bad soldering in my thread, but not great by any means). I would use Artie's as an example of the "right way" to solder.

If he improved his soldering technique, I could see him asking half of that. But no way is it worth $90. I'm all for making a decent profit on your work. But I'm not into cheating my customers either.

[Mincer]

That looks really pretty...neat and organized. Only problem I see is the solder joints almost look like cold joints/blobs. Artie's soldering is WAY better. The difference between the two is so obvious.

I did a tutorial on the forum about the right way and the wrong way to solder. The OP's pic is what I'd use to show the "wrong way" (not NEARLY as bad as the bad soldering in my thread, but not great by any means). I would use Artie's as an example of the "right way" to solder.

If he improved his soldering technique, I could see him asking half of that. But no way is it worth $90. I'm all for making a decent profit on your work. But I'm not into cheating my customers either.

Yeah, there is no shortage of customers who would pay that rather than learning how to do it themselves. And I've seen people charge way more (and pay way more) for a wiring harness. I'd pay for a PC board of my favorite wiring that I could just drop in my favorite Strat, though. It is a PITA to do.

[GuitarDoc]

I love genuine PRS guitars and the quality I've seen in them...I don't own one however. I even love the looks of the SE line but would never buy any that I've played...not up to my quality standards. IMO they're no better than a $250 Asian knock-off.

[GuitarDoc]

OK, what I posted was only criticism, but not very constructive. Let me rectify that...

It is very clearly evident that he heated the solder with his iron and applied it to the back of the pot. The back of the pot being cold to start with, cooled the solder "upon impact" and caused it to blob up and reduced the integrity of the wire-to-pot connection. The correct way would be to heat the back of the pot with your iron and let the solder flow onto it. If you've done it correctly, the finished product will look like you put a drop of silver-colored water on it. Very thin and showing the contour of the wire underneath. But it WON'T look like a blob with lots of rosin flux surrounding it and hiding the wire. You DON'T need much solder. "More" is not always "better".

I'm sure any of you who do soldering can learn this technique...it's really not as hard as some of you think. Next time you've got your iron out, try doing it both ways and see the difference (assuming you have a decent iron preferably 60 watts or greater).

Yes, it CAN be done with a 40 watt iron, but it takes more time and skill and can cause damage if you're not careful. Yes, a lower watt iron can cause more damage to the pot than a VERY hot iron.