wiring/soldering basics ------------------------ so you want to learn to solder and wire up your own guitar? the following are the basics of getting the job done. first, you will need a soldering pencil(iron) and solder. i'd recommend getting a soldering iron that is at least 30 watts. a more powerful wattage is not necessary but would also work. solder is usually sold in small tubes or in larger spools. for guitar wiring a small tube will be fine. in fact, you can do quite a few wiring projects with just one tube of solder. *make sure you get solder that says "60/40 rosin core" on some part of the package. my soldering pencil and a tube of solder was purchased for less than $10 usa combined at a large department store. both have served me well, so don't be fooled into thinking you need expensive equipment. safety: -be VERY careful not to touch the metal part of the pencil. the tip itself as well as the metal part that holds the tip both get VERY hot. -it's a good idea to wear some sort of eye protection just as a precaution. -there are fumes produced from soldering so you may want to wear a mask of sorts to avoid inhaling them. if you're going to be soldering on a regular basis you should consider a good mask. if you're like me and only do it on the rare occasion and for short periods of time a cheap paper type mask could be okay. that's up to you. do your soldering in an area with good ventilation too. caring for your soldering pencil/iron: it is important to take care of the tool in order to assure longer life. when you first get the iron plug it in and let it get hot. when it's hot enough it will melt solder. take a piece of solder and let the tip heat it up. the object is to let the solder cover the very tip of the pencil. this is called 'tinning the tip'. after a few seconds take a damp cloth and wipe the tip off. make sure that the cloth is thick enough that the heat doesn't pass through the cloth and burn you (ouch! that doesn't feel good, obviously). this is a process you should repeat regularly to keep the tip in good condition. if the tip is not kept tinned and cleaned it may not get the job done. basic principles: solder is a metallic like substance (it looks like wire before used) that when heated turns to liquid. when the heat is removed it solidifies within a matter of seconds. the soldering pencil is used to first heat what the solder is applied to and then the solder itself. the solder then runs onto the wire and lug that you are connecting the wire to and dries to leave a solid connection when the tip of the pencil is removed, if done correctly. how to solder ------------- there are certain principles to follow, but there is a little bit of room for personal preference too. soldering is not that difficult, it just takes practice. get some spare parts to practice on. it's even worth buying some parts to practice on to learn. when applying solder to anything, this is the method i use: -plug the iron in and let it get hot. -tin the tip. -get your solder ready. -place the tip of the soldering iron on what you want the solder to go on. -let the iron sit on what you want the solder to go on for just a few seconds to get it hot before applying the solder. -keeping the tip in place, put some solder on one side of the tip where the tip meets where you're wanting the solder to go. -quickly move to put solder on the other side of the tip *try to use just enough solder to make a good connection you want to surround it in a sense but a large amount is not necessary. *for best results DO NOT move the tip at all while applying the solder. lift it only AFTER you have applied the solder. -lift the tip of the iron from what you're soldering *be careful not to hold the iron on too long. too much heat can cause damage. it should only take a few seconds from the time you first put the tip down until it's time to pull it back up again after applying the solder. *once the tip is removed the solder will dry very quickly. avoid blowing on the connection. this is NOT necessary. *NOTE: the IDEAL solder joint will look SHINY and SILVER. this is what you're going for, and it will come with practice. if you're not getting this, you may be holding the iron in place too long. also, make sure your iron's tip is clean and tinned. -------------------------------------------------------- guitar wiring -------------- *i think this is a no brainer, but don't wire up the guitar while it's plugged in! *a lot of people recommend that you tin (get a little bit of solder) on the wire, and what you are connecting it to before soldering the two together. this is not a bad idea and may make the process easier for you, but i do not find it absolutely necessary. i don't don't do it myself. experiment to see what works best for YOU. wiring a guitar generally consists of some or all of the following procedures -- -soldering two wires together: take the bare ends and twist them together. then apply solder to them. give the solder a few seconds to dry then cover with electrical tape. -soldering a wire to another connection (such as a lug on a tone or volume pot): i find it best to first make a good mechanical connection by taking the bare wire and wrapping it through and around the lug. make sure the wire is making good contact with the lug. once this is done you can then apply the solder. -soldering wires to the bottom of a volume or tone pot for grounding: to me, this is the most difficult procedure. it is more difficult because you are soldering on to a flat metal surface so you have nothing to wrap the wire(s) onto. my method for doing this is taking my ground wire and taping part of it down onto the pot using electrical tape. it needs to be taped so you can still see the bare wire and the bare wire needs to be making contact with the bottom of the pot. i then apply the solder. after that, just leave the tape in place. it gives strength to the connection. it's also a good idea to cover up the wires you just soldered to the pot with electrical tape. *if you have multiple wires that need to go to ground, and likely you will, twist the ends of all those wires together to make them as if they are one wire at the end. then solder this to the bottom of the pot. those are the basics of wiring a guitar. this site does not list wiring diagrams but you can get those from the manufacturer of your pickups and other places on the internet. a lot of manufacturers provide the diagrams as a free service and they can be downloaded or viewed from their website. if you need specific help contact the manufacturer. most will provide you with any custom or special wiring diagram you might want free of charge. *if you see a wiring diagram from a manufacturer that shows a wire going to ground but doesn't show where the ground is, it's because you choose the ground point. the central ground point is usually on the bottom of a volume or tone pot. make sure ALL the ground wires go to this same place to avoid grounding problems. a good learning resource for guitar wiring and shielding is: http://www.guitarnuts.com search at yahoo.com for others.