Members mlwarriner Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 OK. So I'm finally getting around to wiring up my P/Piezo bass. SX P-bass, Reverend P pickup, Piezo bridge, Cafe Walter Piezo buffer. Got the magnetic p'up wired fine, no problems. Went to wire up the Piezo bridge to the Cafe Walter buffer and realized... I have no clue how to solder to a board. None whatsoever. I know where the wires go, but before I could get the socket on the board hot enough, I was melting insulation from wires. HELP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 You stick the wire through the board and then flip it over... Touch the soldering iron to the metal ring on the board where the wire comes through it... Heat it up a little and touch the solder to it... Done! Once you're all finished with the soldering, you can go back and snip all of the excess wires so they are nice and neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonjohn Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 you NEED a really clean and shiny tip on your iron , heat the two bits you want to solder at the same time then add the solder.It should take no more then 4 seconds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rowka Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 Pre-tin both parts and the tip of the iron. It takes just a second to get the pre-tined parts hot with the pre-tined iron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassesofalessergod Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 i gotta say, that IS a dumb question! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dDigitalPimp Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 make sure to get the super thin solder. i had a hard time when i first started out because i had solder that was as thick as a shoelace, then i saw you could get stuff much thinner than that. it melts quicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members solderjunkie Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 +1... Thin-gauge solder, tinning, warm the parts simultaneously. A hotter iron helps, too. The cooler (read: cheaper) irons will warm further up the wire before the solder melts (and will burn a PC board). I use a 40 watt variable iron, but usually have it dimed at 40 watts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 OK. So I'm finally getting around to wiring up my P/Piezo bass. SX P-bass, Reverend P pickup, Piezo bridge, Cafe Walter Piezo buffer. Got the magnetic p'up wired fine, no problems. Went to wire up the Piezo bridge to the Cafe Walter buffer and realized... I have no clue how to solder to a board. None whatsoever. I know where the wires go, but before I could get the socket on the board hot enough, I was melting insulation from wires. HELP! OK, strip back a bit more wire so that the remaining insulation isn't melted, trim to desired length, then tin the ends - this consists of melting a little solder into the bare wire... Your socket probably already is tinned - if not, do so... Here's how you keep from melting the insulation on the wire: have the wire ready to be inserted in the socket, then put the heat to the socket - when you see it's tinning solder starting to flow, insert the wire, then keep the heat on long enough for the solder on the wire to flow into the solder on the socket - should only take a second or 2 - then remove the heat, but hold the connection still until the solder sets up... A good solder joint is shiny - if it's really dull, it's *probably* a cold solder joint - that's no good... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 You stick the wire through the board and then flip it over...Touch the soldering iron to the metal ring on the board where the wire comes through it...Heat it up a little and touch the solder to it...Done!Once you're all finished with the soldering, you can go back and snip all of the excess wires so they are nice and neat. Yup - also, try not to keep the heat to the PCB(printed circuitboard) any longer than you have to - otherwise, you can cause the "ring" to lift off the board... If things just aren't working, stop - let things cool off a bit - then try again... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 you NEED a really clean and shiny tip on your iron , Agreed - most pro soldering stations have a sponge to be wetted for keeping the tip clean... For smaller applications, I've had good luck with a clean napkin or paper towel, that's very lightly wetted(very damp)... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 +1...Thin-gauge solder, tinning, warm the parts simultaneously.A hotter iron helps, too. The cooler (read: cheaper) irons will warm further up the wire before the solder melts (and will burn a PC board). I use a 40 watt variable iron, but usually have it dimed at 40 watts. I agree with this line of thinking - to me, a hotter iron allows me to get "in and out" more quickly - which results in less transfer of heat past the work point... Although *some* don't agree with it, if my tip can fit in to get the work done without melting anything else, I use a 120watt solder gun the most - otherwise, I use an iron that's rated around 30 watts... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mlwarriner Posted October 7, 2008 Author Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 i gotta say, that IS a dumb question! yeah, but i'll never know if i don't ask. and i don't have the spare $$ to ruin a $50 piezo buffer trying to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassesofalessergod Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 yeah, but i'll never know if i don't ask. and i don't have the spare $$ to ruin a $50 piezo buffer trying to learn. it wasn't really a dumb question.... i was just utzing you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mlwarriner Posted October 7, 2008 Author Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 it wasn't really a dumb question.... i was just utzing you! i'll utz you here in a minute Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crescent Seven Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 Just use a heat gun. {censored} the soldering iron.C7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonjohn Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 Here is a link that involves a bit of reading , but it does cover all you need to know about soldering http://www.muzique.com/schem/solder.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members solderjunkie Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 Here is a link that involves a bit of reading , but it does cover all you need to know about soldering http://www.muzique.com/schem/solder.htm cool link... I like learning stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonjohn Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 cool link... I like learning stuff Are you taking the piss? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members solderjunkie Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 Are you taking the piss? Quite serious, actually... I drank an entire pot of coffee in the last hour No, really. It was a good link, lots of good info. It's very convenient that most of it reinforces what has already been mentioned here... apparently we have some knowledgeable solder-ers here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonjohn Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 Quite serious, actually... I drank an entire pot of coffee in the last hour Cool.,, Just your name makes me think you may know quite a bit about the subject. That link really helped me out when I first stated soldering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mlwarriner Posted October 7, 2008 Author Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 part 2 - does something look wrong with the attached wiring diagram? my mind says there should be something leading from the tone pot back into the system... or am i crazy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members solderjunkie Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 part 2 - does something look wrong with the attached wiring diagram? my mind says there should be something leading from the tone pot back into the system...or am i crazy? Tone is a "bleed to ground" circuit... the pot shell sheds signal to ground, therefore the shell must be grounded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted October 7, 2008 Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 part 2 - does something look wrong with the attached wiring diagram? my mind says there should be something leading from the tone pot back into the system...or am i crazy? there's no bridge ground in the diagram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted October 7, 2008 Moderators Share Posted October 7, 2008 part 2 - does something look wrong with the attached wiring diagram? my mind says there should be something leading from the tone pot back into the system...or am i crazy? Don't use that as a guide for your project. Use a jazz bass example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mlwarriner Posted October 7, 2008 Author Members Share Posted October 7, 2008 Don't use that as a guide for your project. Use a jazz bass example. was using that for just the magnetic pup, and was going to install the buffer as instructed by the cafe walter site. i s'pose i can back up and use the jazz example instead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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