Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Tech => Topic started by: ethan_hanus on August 20, 2011, 11:14:40 PM
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I got sick and tired of having to desolder everything to work on my guitar(hate removing pickguards on strats) so I developed a system that would allow each pickup to be disconnected from the switch, and allow the entire pickguard assembly to be disconnected from the guitar body.
It would be neat if BKP started doing this to their pickup wiring by request, to make it easier to swap out pickups. Here's some pics of my set up. What are ya'll thoughts?
(http://i762.photobucket.com/albums/xx268/ethan_hanus/P1010008-2.jpg)
(http://i762.photobucket.com/albums/xx268/ethan_hanus/P10100102-1.jpg)
(http://i762.photobucket.com/albums/xx268/ethan_hanus/P10100112.jpg)
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Mhhhh looks messy at the first look, but I think that is kinda nice.
Looks like the selfmade, basic version of what Music Man recently did, where basecally all the wiring is going over a circuit board and can be switched around as wanted.
Great first step, there is definetly a lot of potential going in this direction.
Also it is hard to say on those photos, but some of the solder joints donīt look shiny enough^^
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seems there are now a couple of "solderless" method for swapping pickups etc.
Seymour duncan has special pots but they would still require the leads from the pickups to be tinned ideally.
(http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/public/tlFeviUgESxD_tlYhyWssmNTf3G1TkyOgl78HTMdwne2TZKbz8fmmOIH1VFZ9vOmfcPUc8QP80PpwVhyWsHMHVCvrqTMbQDVXHV7ZiRflcJJusb_np-VWY5ge0X2gD-eQBnDp-GGCO5Q568)
I think doing anything like this from a manufacturers point of view could be hard. There is no standard solderless setup, and keeping a stock of various connectors used by DIY'ers to do this might get complex, costly, confusing. If BKP chose a standard connector than I guess most people would have to rewire their guitars to use it anyway, and then if you wanted to ditch the BKP's you'd probably have to buy the connectors again yourself and solder them to new pickups, or rewire your guitar again.
I think if someone has a solderless setup, no access to a soldering iron, but they have something like the Seymour Duncan pot above, then providing leads that are stripped and tinned at the end might be a helpful option. You'd just have to hope someone doesn't need to cut down the length of wire or all that effort would be wasted.
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I hate solderless systems - they are a pain and they bring more problems than they cure
I understand that in theory they offer an easier time for the muso who wants to swap his own pickups , but the connection is never as good as a properly soldered joint.
They can work loose as well which leads to bad connections
Sometimes they end up more complex to put together than soldering would be
I have been putting EMGs in guitars for 25 years but the solderless system they have drives me crazy and feel like an amuteur
I know that soldering can be tough and got a whole lot tougher with the introduction of lead free solder
I spent years getting my solder joints to look and be better and it does take time to get good at it (much like practicing guitar).
Having a decent soldering iron - preferably a temperature controlled one makes life much easier!
Maybe we ought to have a sticky thread on soldering, decent soldering irons and decent solder to buy.
It will always be an important topic on a forum such as this and maybe a reliable source of info would be welcome.
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Such a thread would be nice Feline, as I personally am in need of a new iron and solder (using my fathers stuff and well...itīs not good stuff) and the experience of guys like you would be of great help to me and many others.
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I agree with Feline, solderless systems seem unnecessary and - in their own way - every bit as fiddly and annoying as soldering.
Soldering isn't easy, it takes a while to get good at it, and you'll still find me burning myself or swearing loudly at wires which are hard to reach or won't stay put! But once it's done, it's done - and I have to say a good soldering job looks a lot neater than the jumble of wires and connectors in a solderless system.
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Maybe we ought to have a sticky thread on soldering, decent soldering irons and decent solder to buy.
It will always be an important topic on a forum such as this and maybe a reliable source of info would be welcome.
Brilliant Idea!
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Maybe we ought to have a sticky thread on soldering, decent soldering irons and decent solder to buy.
It will always be an important topic on a forum such as this and maybe a reliable source of info would be welcome.
Brilliant Idea!
It would be nice if that thread could be limited to people who have lots of experience at the hot end of a soldering iron - so that it reamins full of the best info and doesn't become a rambling mess.
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it should just be posted, stuck, and locked. if someone has anything to add im sure a mod will unlock it.
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I commend you on following through with an idea and also getting it to work, but it does seem like a lot of time and effort to get away from a fairly easy job(after some practice that is). To be honest, a neatly done control cavity is just plain sexy and you know it's going to stay as it is.
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Incidentally, should the grounds all be connected to just one single position to avoid potential ground loop problems?
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Incidentally, should the grounds all be connected to just one single position to avoid potential ground loop problems?
Yes, that would be best practice. However, since no significant current flows within the guitar you will most likely get away with a ground loop and have no hum. Just look at the way most Les Paul style guitars are wired - a ground wire ring soldered to the back of all pots.
Cheers Stephan
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Incidentally, should the grounds all be connected to just one single position to avoid potential ground loop problems?
Yes, that would be best practice. However, since no significant current flows within the guitar you will most likely get away with a ground loop and have no hum. Just look at the way most Les Paul style guitars are wired - a ground wire ring soldered to the back of all pots.
Cheers Stephan
We use star grounding on ours as well as screened cavities - seems to help
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Star grounding, what's that?
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Star grounding, what's that?
What Roo said .....
Incidentally, should the grounds all be connected to just one single position to avoid potential ground loop problems?
All earths go to a single (star) point and then off to earth via the jack socket - prevents earth loops
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Star grounding, what's that?
What Roo said .....
Incidentally, should the grounds all be connected to just one single position to avoid potential ground loop problems?
All earths go to a single (star) point and then off to earth via the jack socket - prevents earth loops
I've never quite got my head around star grounding or the issue/non-issue of ground loops.
So in an LP (or Strat) would you still have a wire connecting the backs of all the pots, or would you have separate wires connecting them individually to your "star" point?