Newbie Installation ?

[deanzat]

Greetings. I've got the diagrams, I've got most of the tools, and I think I'm ready to replace my pickups. But I have two questions:

1. When I "solder and tape" two wires together, are we talking about plain old vinyl electrical tape? (Hey, I said I was a newbie!)

2. How essential is solder wick and the removal of old solder in general? Can I get a clean connection with a little bit of old solder in the mix?

3. I notice that my new pickups (A2P neck and PG bridge) are not caked in wax. Should they be?

Obviously, my urge to do things right and my lack of patience are once again at odds. When impatience wins, disaster usually follows, but I never seem to learn. As the saying goes, "we never have time to do it right, but we always have time to do it over."

Thanks, DZ

[Jeff_H]

Re: Newbie Installation ?

#1. Yup, just strip the ends of the wire, twist together and tape off with plain old electrical tape. You can put a dab of solder on there if you like before taping.

#2. Solder wick. I've never used it. I wouldn't worry about using it. The old solder shouldn't prevent a good connection provided there's not so much that it's touching other connections.

#3. They should not be caked in wax. SD sends them out ready to go, so don't worry about it.

Have fun and ask more questions. None of them are dumb. Welcome to the forum.

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Newbie Installation ?

Welcome to the forums friend...I Like using heat shrink tubing because the tape gets gooey after awhile and loses it's ability to hold....Here in Florida the tape is a problem with our humidity...LOL

Always try to remove as much of the old solder as possible and use fresh solder...A Radio Shack soldering sucker works great,better than the wick does and this is what I use on my pedal mods..

Always remember this...
"The only dumb question,is the question you don't ask" Where have you heard this statement before... ;o)

[Jeff_H]

Re: Newbie Installation ?

Oh sure John....throw the heat shrink in the mix. You trying to make me look bad?

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Newbie Installation ?

Oh sure John....throw the heat shrink in the mix. You trying to make me look bad?

No way Jeff....I Love you buddy...Just another person's way of doing things.. You probably meant to say heat shrink,but instead you said tape? Right?

John

[deanzat]

Re: Newbie Installation ?

Thanks! As always, new questions arise. Wire stripping sounds so simple, but there must be an art to it, because on anything smaller than lamp cord I seem to require multiple attempts to strip without damaging the wire; any secrets to this technique?

It sounds like I can get the heat shrink tubing and solder sucker at Radio Shack, one of the only "chain" type stores here in Ojai! I'm really excited about doing this myself. My first attempt was installing a pre-wired pickguard into one of my strats, and the place where I got careless and burned the pickguard is like a badge of DIY honor.

Besides, I'll be sending the guitar to a tech next week for nut work and fret leveling, so if I screw up the pup installation he'll fix it for me.

Thanks again! DZ

[Jeff_H]

Re: Newbie Installation ?

DZ -

Stripping those small damn wires can be tricky. You can always pick up a specialized wire stripper to handle the small guage wires. What I have will strip the outer shell quite nicely to expose the 5 wires inside. Then I use the wirecutters we're all supplied with....teeth. Works best for me, well...and I'm cheap. I've got a half dozen pups laying around with no guitars for them, but I won't drop $14 on a smaller guage wire stripper...go figure.

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Newbie Installation ?

I Use a lighter and just as the wire melts,I quickly pull it off with the nail on my thumb and the wire between my index finger and thumb nail...Sometimes I burn the hell out of my fingers but with a light touch,it works everytime for me...

John

[deanzat]

Re: Newbie Installation ?

In the immortal words of Radar O'Reily: HOLY MOLEY! That control cavity is tiny! If a strat layout is like three groupies on a king size bed, the Agile 2500 layout is like four groupies on a folding chair: a wonder to behold but hard to work with.

How on earth do you guys get a soldering iron in there without hitting sixteen other wires?

Thanks for all the guidance so far, but my confidence is officially shaken. Of course, I'm still going to try it, but DANG, I'm not sure I can get my fingers anywhere near the terminals! DZ

[Kent S.]

Re: Newbie Installation ?

How on earth do you guys get a soldering iron in there without hitting sixteen other wires?

Practice ... another job for extra hemostats, lightly clamping them out of your way...

In addition to what Jeff and John have said ... Don't use your teeth to strip wire (bad for the enamel on the teeth),but a wire stripper that locks to the diameter you are stripping (you can get an el cheapo from radio shack, and they have a wire cutter built in). I don't like the idea of reusing solder, you can do it though, better to put a little new solder down on a clear place on the pot back, desoldering braid, or a solder sucker is real important for switch contacts, pot backs and pot lugs you CAN get away with not using it, again not recommended, but it will work. While your at Radio shack buy a pair of hemostats as well, they are wonderful for holdings things and make great heatsinks. The also sell eveything else you could need, lead free solder is recommended for health reasons, they have that too. Lastly, no matter how permanent you think this installation will be, don't twist and wrap the wires thru the soldering lugs, you'll be sorry you did if you have to change something. A small twist and solder the red & white lead together, and insulate well. Again, if you need to separate them for something latter you'll be sorry you twisted them together 10 times. About 1/4" of wire is all you really need exposed to solder with (if that), to much sticking out can cause problems if it touches something else.
That and, plan ahead, take your time, and observe all safety precautions. Let all joints cool before moving a wire, if the wire moves while the solder is cooling, you'll wind up with a cold solder joint (by cool I mean it becomes solid ). That's my thoughts.
Practicing on some scrap wire, and metal first is recommended.