Can a beginner do wiring?

[Syntheticocean]

I've never wired a guitar before however I just got my Warmoth in the mail. I have some time to research how to install pickups so I figured I'd start by asking here.

I'm putting in an EMG-X 81, and an EMG-X 85. For the most part I know EMG uses solderless installs. Will it be difficult to wire it up to the pot/blade switch?

 

[Dan025]

depends on the beginner. also did you get the pots and switch from emg? if you got all solderless componants from them then it should be almost 100% plug in and your done. there will be instructions to follow.

 

[Syntheticocean]

I haven't ordered the pots yet, but I did order a 5 way blade switch from Warmoth. I didn't get the pots because from what I'm reading I need 25k pots and warmoth only had as low as 250k.

 

[Syntheticocean]

I just looked on their site and saw that the pickup sets come with pots. THe wiring diagram looks easy enough.

 

[Dan025]

well have you ever soldered before? the 5-way should not be difficult to solder on.. also about pots. emg has several type of tone circuits other than the traditional type, part of the advantage to active electronics is the flexibility in the tone circuits because you dont need to worry about losses as much. you may want to look into it. you might also want to get the emg blade switch just to make life easier, otherwise you might need to interperate some of the instructions to adapt them to your switch.

 

[Jusatele]

wiring a guitar is really a simple thing, and there are many wiring diagrams on the internet you can download with many configurations.
the only skill you need is to solder, which fortunately is a easy skill to learn.  You can get cheap solder guns, but I suggest a mid priced one or better as it really makes it easier to have a good gun, then practice a bit, you will soon be able to tell a good joint from a bad one

here is a google search with results on how to learn to solder

http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+solder&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a

 

[line6man]

Soldering is a very basic skill that I think EVERYONE could benefit from mastering, even if you won't be doing it every day. You're only dealing with solder terminals and wire. It's a lot easier than doing other things like PCB work. Get yourself a soldering iron kit from RadioShack, do some research and watch some YouTubes, and practice a bit, and you should be able to master the skill in no time.

 

[Syntheticocean]

I have done soldering. I typically change all my LED's in my PC and home theater gear to blue, rather than orange/green/red. So, I have done basic soldering, but I have been known to have an LED blow up because I soldered it in backwards ;-)

 

[mayfly]

I have done soldering. I typically change all my LED's in my PC and home theater gear to blue, rather than orange/green/red. So, I have done basic soldering, but I have been known to have an LED blow up because I soldered it in backwards ;-)

If you can do this you can certainly wire a guitar.

 

[drewfx]

How were you planning on wiring the 5-way switch?

 

[Cagey]

I've never wired a guitar before however I just got my Warmoth in the mail. I have some time to research how to install pickups so I figured I'd start by asking here.

I'm putting in an EMG-X 81, and an EMG-X 85. For the most part I know EMG uses solderless installs. Will it be difficult to wire it up to the pot/blade switch?

Holy Moses! There's no way you can wire a guitar! Are you kidding? You oughta be bitch-slapped for even asking the question! How do you even come up with this stuff? Are you insane? The only exception would be if you can tie your own shoes. But, if you can do that, you're over-qualified, which is almost as bad <grin>

Seriously, there's nothing to it. There are no active components, no high voltages, and outside of destroying pots or caps by overheating them with your soldering iron, no way to hurt anything. All you need are some rudimentary soldering skills and some easily available wiring diagrams (and of course, the parts) and you're there.

There's plenty of help here, so don't sweat it. But, as I said, it's not tough, so if you would rather somebody else do it, it shouldn't cost much. It's not like it requires a masters degree in electrical engineering or anything like that. It's just a couple/few coils and pots.

 

[Damon]

As with most things, good soldering has two components: the right tools/materials and proper technique. The good news here is that the tools aren't that expensive and the technique is pretty easy to learn.

As for tools, you don't need a $200 iron for casual hobby soldering, but you do need the right one. Realistically, 30-35 watts with a chisel tip would work fine. Use 60/40 rosin core solder. You probably can get by without using separate flux for this stuff (the rosin core is flux), but it certainly doesn't hurt to have it. A little isopropyl alochol for cleaning the components before soldering and a small sponge for cleaning your tip and you're good to go.

As for technique, watch this video:

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIDydYIVTqU&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]

 

[iamdavidmorris]

I'm very much a beginner, but with the help of some of the folks on this board, I think I'm getting it figured out.  You learn little tricks as you go, but the basics aren't that complicated.  For my first project, I chose to wire two push-pull pots, a kill switch, a blade switch, and a six position varitone.  It's been a lot to take on (something like fifty solder connections?), and has required a good deal of patience and practice.  But it's important to remember that everyone was a beginner once, and the wiring, soldering, and general electronics knowledge you pick up while doing this is worthwhile.

Yes, you can do it.  If your project is complicated, or even if you want to play around a little, I highly recommend the advice Cagey gave me not too long ago regarding test leads and tuning forks.  I've copied it below.

Usually, you don't need a multimeter to solve these kinds of problems. But, there's a very real possibility you've shorted or opened a coil wire inside or lead wire coming out of the pickup, and while that can be obvious, sometimes it's not. So, instrumentation helps. You don't need a benchtop lab-grade Norton unit traceable to NIST; a $10 Radio Shack one will do.

But, perhaps just as handy might be a set of test leads...

They're real handy, and real cheap. A set of 10 leads at the link above is $7. You can temporarily wire things up a number of different ways, test different caps or pots, jumper suspicious parts out, on and on. Gotta have 'em. Just be aware that they're not shielded or anything like that, so any temporary wiring you do with them is gonna be noisier than hell. Once you have a set you'll wonder how you lived without them.

Also, a tuning fork is a Good Thing. Tapping on pickups is a crude way at best of testing to see whether pickups are wired, or wired properly. Get a little tuning fork like one of these...

and you just bang it on something handy, then hold it over the pickup. You'll be able to tell exactly which coils are hot and whether or not your switches/volume/tone controls work. Plus, you'll have a frequency standard. $6 at Amazon.

:icon_thumright:

 

[ironeddie]

Absolutly! Most pickups come with instructions on how to wire them in your guitar.  On the seymour duncan website there are some great diagrams that I used while I was working in a tech shop with most of the conceivable configurations - complete with color wire diagrams. 

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

How were you planning on wiring the 5-way switch?

Excellent question!  With 2 pickups that are single mode, a 3-blade Tele style switch seems more appropriate, unless you're getting fancy with phase reversal and what not, at which point a superswitch would seem more appropriate.

 

[drewfx]

How were you planning on wiring the 5-way switch?

Excellent question!  With 2 pickups that are single mode, a 3-blade Tele style switch seems more appropriate, unless you're getting fancy with phase reversal and what not, at which point a superswitch would seem more appropriate.

If they're going to be active EMG's, you can't do phase reversal (or series), which is why I asked.

 

[line6man]

How were you planning on wiring the 5-way switch?

Excellent question!  With 2 pickups that are single mode, a 3-blade Tele style switch seems more appropriate, unless you're getting fancy with phase reversal and what not, at which point a superswitch would seem more appropriate.

If they're going to be active EMG's, you can't do phase reversal (or series), which is why I asked.

Sure you can. Just not with a switch alone.

If you want to get into phase inversion, (Totally useless option, though, IMO.) you can use an opamp-based circuit to delay the phase of one signal by 180 degrees. If you want, you can put in a pot to vary the degree of phase delay from 0 to 180 degrees.

 

[jay4321]

It's easy enough for a first timer but there's room for error. Just make sure you buy a good soldering iron though, my first few were with one that didn't get all that hot.

I got through it, but it was a pain and a mess

 

[iamdavidmorris]

Not sure where you are, but if you're in the continental U.S., try Home Depot for a soldering iron.  Around here, they had a much better selection than Lowe's.  I believe the common consensus is that you want a 40W soldering iron, though a 30W iron will work as well.

 

[Syntheticocean]

I'm going to get a 3 way switch. I didn't mean to get a 5 way. I'm just going to do a standard wiring and I can't justify buying all the stuff to solder for 1 guitar switch. I'll ask around and see if any friends have one.