Tips for soldering the wire to the lug.

[Mario5150]

I'm going to be buying a Evo 2 bridge pup. I've soldered joints before, but I've never checked to see if I'd done it right (with an Ohm-meter, which I don't have). Does anyone have any tips for soldering the joints?

And what about de-soldering the old pickup? Do I just heat up the solder on the joint and lightly pull at the wire?

Thanks in advance

[-Rhaab]

to take off the old pickup it should come off easily by lightly pulling on it while heating the solder with the iron. theres a small chance the pickup could be hooked onto the lug, in that case do not pull hard, or you will get hot solder sprung at you, you can either cover it (from your face and arm/hand) and wear a glove and pull it, but you can get hot solder on your guitar. or get a new pot and cut the wire near the lug. You can also try to get a solder pump for like less than 10 dollars that sucks globs of solder, i just got one yesterday and never tried it yet. You can also get a cheap ohmeter for about 10 dollars which is all you really need.

[DBDbadreligion]

if the wire is hooked.
i use a desoldering braid, i find it the most effective out of any method.

[Shredder87]

Mario,

Don't worry about soldering, it's actually quite easy (I do it most days in my job at an electronics factory though, so maybe I'm a little blinkered). The trick is not to put too much solder on at once, and not too little... it will depend on your iron and how hot it is.

Make sure you use Flux, you'll be able to get this at an electronics shop. Flux cleans the joint and stops you from getting "dry" solder joints - this is when the solder joint looks "cloudy" and not shiny as it should be. This means the joint isn't right and you'll probably get dodgy sounds from your guitar.

Apply a touch of flux, then apply the iron, and a second later apply solder. All you need is a touch of solder; perhaps another second at the most. Then remove the iron and it's done. Easy!

The best way is to apply the iron to the lug, but not directly on the join. This means that the iron won't get in the way when you apply solder directly to the join, so the lug will heat up and the solder will melt onto the join without the iron getting in the way. I found this out from personal experience! I'd recommend a pair of safety specs too... hot solder does not mix well with eyes!

Hope this helps you my friend. If you have any other questions then just PM me.

Cheers

'87

[rty13ibz98]

...and tin your wire before you try to solder to the lug, it will make your joints easier to solder. try not to over twist your wire when you strip the insulation, the oils from your hands will make the wire dirty and the wire won't want to accept the solder, especially when you pre-tin. its also better if you heat the lug, wire, or whatever surface and melt solder to the suface instead of to the iron, you may need a bit on the iron intially, but more so on the surface due to letting the solder spread more evenly.

rich

[Shredder87]

Indeed Rich, good advice... I forgot to mention the tinning of the bolt first. Sorry!

'87