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Murphy - 1437 Update - Finale!

  • Thread starter Thread starter whyachi
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Just got in two boxes, one from Warmoth and one from Tubby.Twins who sent me some Delanos(!) which I am now going to have to try and wire up and play with..
 
Sorry about the feets,
148gorm.jpg


Rosewood makes everything that much more sexy..
2gwi3rm.jpg
 
Looks good!
I've seen zebra P-bass covers before :P
Personaly, I think all cream would look better (if white pickguard) or all black (on this tortoise), would take less distraction from the entire thing
 
NonsenseTele said:
Looks good!
I've seen zebra P-bass covers before :P
Personaly, I think all cream would look better (if white pickguard) or all black (on this tortoise), would take less distraction from the entire thing
Click to expand...

That's still an option, definitely.
 
Okay now Knucklehead. Wrap this baby up and start practising!  :toothy12: :headbang1:

+1 @ NonsenseTele's comment.
 
I have a wiring kit from Warmoth with white, red, black and coax cable. I assume the coax is for the grounding, but how do I use it? Do I have to pull back the braided stuff to solder it?
 
I tried using the wire in the Warmoth kit, and gave up using the coax wiring since it kept breaking on me.  I ended up buying a few spools of regular 24AWG wire from my local Radio Shack, which worked just fine.

But yeah, you have the right idea.  You need to pull back the braid, and use that for the "ground" connection to any pots/jacks, then use the center conductor for any signal connections.
 
That's my kind of bass, and not just because it reminds me of my Strat.  :laughing7: The zebra pickup covers are a neat touch, but for my money I'd go with creme.
 
knucklehead G said:
I have a wiring kit from Warmoth with white, red, black and coax cable. I assume the coax is for the grounding, but how do I use it? Do I have to pull back the braided stuff to solder it?
Click to expand...

Strip the plastic insulation back an inch or so, then unbraid the outer shield and twist it up into a wire shape that you can solder to a convenient ground point. Be careful soldering it, as it can get hot and melt through the insulation on the inner wires. The inner white, red and black wires you can use to do what needs to be done for moving signal around.
 
Okay so I've got the wiring soldered up, mostly, and successfully (multimeter thingy reads no resistance) but sticking stuff to the back of the pots is proving impossible. I sanded the back of the pots with 60 grit (all I have) and the solder keeps sticking to the iron tip instead of the pot. Any tips?
 
did you just try to solder the wire directly on the pot? you should solder a little puddle on the back of the pot, put a little solder on the tip of the wire and it will require less heating to solder both of them together that way.

In any case if that's what you where doing, never mind me!
 
The trick to soldering is getting the parts hot enough to melt solder. If the parts are colder than the soldering iron, the solder will ball up on the iron and fall off - it won't flow. Often, this is because the iron is too low of a wattage, or the tip is too pointed, so the parts act like a heat sink. But, sometimes it's just a contact thing. You need to be able to put enough pressure on the parts to be soldered that there's a good heat transfer - simply touching them won't do it. All that has to happen fairly quickly, or you risk melting/burning insulation, or even the parts you're soldering. So, it's kind of a dance. It's important to have a good mechanical joint to get a good solder joint, but that's tough to do when you're soldering to the back of pots. There's really nothing to attach to. Sometimes, it's easier to just heat the pot until you can get a good puddle of solder on there, then move the wire(s) into that. But, be careful. If it takes more than 3 or 4 seconds to get the pot hot enough for solder to flow, your iron is probably too lightweight and you're just going to cook the pot to death.
 
Cagey said:
The trick to soldering is getting the parts hot enough to melt solder. If the parts are colder than the soldering iron, the solder will ball up on the iron and fall off - it won't flow. Often, this is because the iron is too low of a wattage, or the tip is too pointed, so the parts act like a heat sink. But, sometimes it's just a contact thing. You need to be able to put enough pressure on the parts to be soldered that there's a good heat transfer - simply touching them won't do it. All that has to happen fairly quickly, or you risk melting/burning insulation, or even the parts you're soldering. So, it's kind of a dance. It's important to have a good mechanical joint to get a good solder joint, but that's tough to do when you're soldering to the back of pots. There's really nothing to attach to. Sometimes, it's easier to just heat the pot until you can get a good puddle of solder on there, then move the wire(s) into that. But, be careful. If it takes more than 3 or 4 seconds to get the pot hot enough for solder to flow, your iron is probably too lightweight and you're just going to cook the pot to death.
Click to expand...

I think its a 30W iron, but the tip is super pointy. I'm taking it to a friend's place in the morning who knows how to solder. In the meantime, I'm putting it safely in the case and getting snockered.
 
Sounds like a good plan. 30w is too light, and pointy tips are no good for what you're trying to do.
 
A 30 W is fine.  But, you do have to have flux, and wait for it to get hot.  Melting the solder will sap the heat, of course, and so you put a drop on the back, clean the tip wait for it to heat up, and then melt it on well.  You will see the edges of the drop go from being curved inwards to settling in.  If the solder gets dull, or starts to make sculptures, add a bit more flux to get it to behave.  Tin the wire, and melt it into the drop on the pot.  Sometimes it works easier than others, it generally works the best when it is of no consequence.  Another one of those patience building experiences.
Patrick

 
I have no direct experience with the following, but I recall reading a tip somewhere about soldering to the back of pots:  If you scuff the surface of the pot slightly with a file, it helps form a better joint.

Can anyone weigh in knowledgably about the accuracy of the foregoing?

Thanks.

Bagman
 
I've never been able to solder to the back of pots the "right way".  I tried scuffing but it didn't work, and the solder always came off when it cooled down.

Eventually I gave up and relied on a combination of "star" grounding as well as letting the pots contact the copper foil shielding, and I haven't looked back.

If you're serious about soldering the pots, and if the pots can be disassembled to remove the back cover, this may be a safer way.  That would remove the need for melting any of the innards.  Just be sure to re-assemble the pots correctly!
 
Patrick from Davis said:
A 30 W is fine.  But, you do have to have flux, and wait for it to get hot.  Melting the solder will sap the heat, of course, and so you put a drop on the back, clean the tip wait for it to heat up, and then melt it on well.  You will see the edges of the drop go from being curved inwards to settling in.  If the solder gets dull, or starts to make sculptures, add a bit more flux to get it to behave.  Tin the wire, and melt it into the drop on the pot.  Sometimes it works easier than others, it generally works the best when it is of no consequence.  Another one of those patience building experiences.
Patrick
Click to expand...

Patience is a part killer when soldering. You don't want the part to get hot, only the leads to it. In the case of pots, it's more difficult because it's not the solder sapping the heat, it's the pot's housing. It's thin metal with a large surface area, so it acts like a heat sink and cools both your soldering iron and the solder. That's what makes the stuff ball up and roll away instead of flowing. You don't need to add flux to the joint unless you're interested in a huge mess. There's very little solder sold that doesn't have a flux core. If you think you need more flux than that, it's because you've been on the joint for too long and you've burnt it off, and likely wrecked the part in the process.

That's why a 25 or 30 watt iron is no good for that kind of work, especially if it has a pointed tip. It can't hold the heat. You need to get on and off the parts to be soldered as quickly as possible to prevent heat spread. You can't be waiting around for the iron to heat back up after you apply it to the part, because you'll overheat the part. By the same token, too much soldering iron is just as bad. You put a 60 or 80 watt gun on there, and it'll heat things up way too fast and burn things up. A 40w iron with a small chisel tip is best.
 
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