Is there a way to test a Triple Shot solder joint before full installation?

[Inflames626]

Hi guys,
I'm trying Triple Shots for the first time, but I'm not the best solder-ist (?) and this will be a relatively complex design. I have a dual volume knob setup with a Shadow killswitch pot on the bridge pickup volume knob and a phase push/pull switch on the neck pickup volume knob. Both pickups (a Full Shred set) have Triple Shots.

Before putting all this in, I want to make sure my Triple Shot solder joints are good. I am concerned that I will either have cold solder joints or I will accidentally burn up the Triple Shot PCB. Additionally, the guitar is a Jackson KV3, so the guitar body is pretty shallow. I want to leave plenty of pickup lead, but I'm also concerned that coiling the wire and muscling the pickup down into the cavity may physically break the fragile Triple Shot solder connections.

I thought I could take a multimeter and measure resistance from each point on the Triple Shot board to the end of the Triple Shot lead somehow, but I'm not sure if this would work.

I assume I would get 0 if it doesn't work, and some number of resistance if the solder joints are good and the PCB is working.

That way if the guitar doesn't work I'll know it's probably from a solder joint that isn't part of the TS--most likely the little posts on the Bournes push/pull phase pot.

Thanks.

[piblock]

You can use the multimeter to test the leads coming from the Triple Shot just like you would a single coil pickup. When the switches are set to series, you should get whatever the pickup ohms are according to specs. You can check each coil individually to troubleshoot if the reading you're getting seems wrong.

Be careful with the cable connecting the ring to the pcboard, it's more likely to break off than the solder joints. It's delicate and I've ruined at least two by pulling that off. I saw a suggestion here (I think, maybe another forum) to use crazy glue around where the cable connects at both ends to help keep it from pulling apart.

[Inflames626]

Thanks piblock. I know one of the leads is supposed to go to the PCB, but does the other go to the end of the lead?

Also, I haven't had as much of an issue with the gray connector as the location of the grounding spot on the PCB. It's hard to apply solder without burning the insulation of the lead cables. I've ordered a conical solder iron tip just for this job, as it's difficult to impossible with a regular chisel point.

[piblock]

There will be white, black and bare coming out of the pickup. Twist the bare and black wires together, and touch that with one of the probes on your multimeter. Use the other one to touch the white wire. That should give you the ohm reading of whatever your humbucker is rated for when the TS ring is set to series.

[Inflames626]

Thanks much. I was only thinking about touching the PCB and then the end of the lead before the pickup was installed into the body, but that would have been hard to do after installation if inserting the pickup had broken one of the connections. It's helpful to know I can do it with only the TS lead. Thanks again. This is a lot of work but I hope it will be worth it. I also hope SD listens to feedback and tries to improve the design.

[piblock]

Glad to help!

And yep, the design could definitely be improved, but they have to weigh the cost vs benefits of any changes. Just securing the ribbon cable better would be a big improvement. I've read that people have problems with the switches themselves after a while, but I haven't encountered that at all. It's a cool product.

[Inflames626]

The ring itself seems very robust. I have stock plastic pickup rings from 20+ years ago that broke at the corners long ago, but this seems like much thicker, tougher stuff.

I get that the switches were buried a bit to keep them from being hit easily during playing, but they seem a little stiff and hard to move. Also, unlike most players, I think they make more sense at the bottom so you can hold your pick and switch tones on the fly with your other fingers.

Since EMG, Gibson, and SD themselves on their active pickups have a plug style system, I would think the physical plug could be improved very easily somehow, perhaps with the gray ribbon lying flat but still being durable like an old style IDE hard drive data cable. This could go from pins on the back of the pickup to the switches via the ribbon cable.

It may be expensive to implement changes, but it may be more expensive not to in terms of lost sales. These rings are so much better than drilling through a guitar body to insert a mini toggle. I think the TS rings--and pickups generally--would sell much more if they were easier to install for a person with no soldering experience.

I do love the tonal flexibility that passive SDs and other brands' pickups give me, but I admit, I have to weigh that against whether or not it is easier just to use newer solderless EMGs or SD's active lines. Swapping out a mono for a stereo jack is a small price to pay for ease of installation.