Rewiring

warrenpridgeon

I sold my EMG 81 and 85 after a mishap...
So I figured I would drop the old pickups back into the Epi and play it for now.
Problem...I previously wired in one active and one passive before getting the second active and wiring kit, so the original wiring is pretty klaar.

I spent a good 30 minutes staring at the wires and various wiring diagrams trying to figure out how the wires USED to be... gave up and started with this:

After scouring the net for hours (previously) on guitar building and wiring I used this valuable tip:

Almost complete:

Pretty much done with as much as I could do outside the guitar:

Everything back in the guitar:

I know it's not the NEATEST job...But hey, I am a programmer not a guitar tech...lol... And the wire is not the best...
not sure what is best?
I should figure it...
Perhaps I shall build a guitar some day and shield the insides and use proper wire etc...

BUT...I am learning something through this episode... What I thought I liked in tone...I don't anymore... shock... The actives were cool... but not really my "style"...

MikeM

There are 2 ways to get better at soldering (IMO)

1. Watch people that know how to solder.
2. Practice.

You're doing one of these already ? I learnt from my electronics guru that you put on some good jams, set yourself up on a nice workspace, and take your time to do the job properly. Looks like you have that in the bag too.

One tip however, scuff the back of pots before you solder to them, makes life a bit easier, and usually you can get a good joint a bit quicker. It's not easy to overheat a pot, but I don't think keeping them hot for long does much good for their life span.

warrenpridgeon

MikeM wrote: There are 2 ways to get better at soldering (IMO)

1. Watch people that know how to solder.
2. Practice.

You're doing one of these already ? I learnt from my electronics guru that you put on some good jams, set yourself up on a nice workspace, and take your time to do the job properly. Looks like you have that in the bag too.

One tip however, scuff the back of pots before you solder to them, makes life a bit easier, and usually you can get a good joint a bit quicker. It's not easy to overheat a pot, but I don't think keeping them hot for long does much good for their life span.

should you try connect all the earths to one spot or like I did, multiple spots?

my soldering iron needs a new tip. it's very tired so I actually battle to heat the pot up enough for it to take solder...

I tried to keep the wires as short as possible. the original wiring was very messy... imo. hehe.

MikeM

Star grounds are usually effective. As long as you work carefully and methodically, you shouldn't end up with ground loops. Things only start becoming tricky when you work with busses and shield ground etc, and even then, there's very little to gain.

It might be that you need a higher wattage iron for the pots, I use a 30 watter or something for normal stuff, and a bigger 80 watt iron for pots.

Yea I can see, nicely done! However sometimes shorter isn't always neater. If I'm not using a thick bus, I'd have run those blue wires along the corners at the bottom of the cavity.

Keep it up man ?