Digital Black
Well-Known Member
This is taken from some old guides I wrote on another forum.
It seems that a lot of people ask the same questions about this stuff. Rather than explain it every time, refer them here. This is aimed at the beginner to moderately educated guitar player. Seasoned pro's and players who have done it all (setups, rebuilding, ryv) won't get anything from it, though, you are more than welcome to comment.
So, you decided to change those old pip's? Firstly, wire colors and non-OEM wiring are beyond the scope of this thread post. To get into those areas I suggest these links.
www.guitarnuts.com
www.guitarelectronics.com
Soldering for Dummies:
First you must have some basic equipment. I'll quote Radio Shack part numbers because they are common stores. You don't have to buy from here and better deals can be found. A good soldering gun would be a 30 watt "pencil ", Radio Shack number 64-2067 for $7.69. Any higher wattage is unnecessary and could possibly damage the components / wire if heated to long. Stay away from the 100 watt "guns", with the hooked tip. This is overkill for a beginner and hard to use in small spaces. A good solder would be a rosin mixture ("rosin" is used to help the bonding process of metal to metal), RS # 64-013 $3.99 and is in roll form . This should last anyone a while. The most important piece is a multimeter. A small device with an analog meter/needle (or digital if you prefer to spend more) with two leads. Cheap ones measure DCv,ACv, Ohmic resistance / continuity and sometimes Amps ( RS # 22-218) ..Measuring ohm's is important for guitarists. Finding shorts or unconnected leads helps to solve many problems. To check for a short, measure two points of a circuit ( a wire for example, both ends) if the meter goes to zero(no resistance), it is short or open (on the wire, this would be normal to measured this since the wire is one piece, if it didn't then there is a break in the wire somewhere). Volts, amps and ohms can be confusing at first.
To simplify, think of this water analogy.
Voltage :water pressure
Ac :water moving back and forth
Dc : water flowing in one direction
Amps :amount of water
Watts : force/work of water
Ohms : resistance of moving water
This is just to simplify for someone new at this. It's a little more complex than this, but enough to get one going.
It seems that a lot of people ask the same questions about this stuff. Rather than explain it every time, refer them here. This is aimed at the beginner to moderately educated guitar player. Seasoned pro's and players who have done it all (setups, rebuilding, ryv) won't get anything from it, though, you are more than welcome to comment.
So, you decided to change those old pip's? Firstly, wire colors and non-OEM wiring are beyond the scope of this thread post. To get into those areas I suggest these links.
www.guitarnuts.com
www.guitarelectronics.com
Soldering for Dummies:
First you must have some basic equipment. I'll quote Radio Shack part numbers because they are common stores. You don't have to buy from here and better deals can be found. A good soldering gun would be a 30 watt "pencil ", Radio Shack number 64-2067 for $7.69. Any higher wattage is unnecessary and could possibly damage the components / wire if heated to long. Stay away from the 100 watt "guns", with the hooked tip. This is overkill for a beginner and hard to use in small spaces. A good solder would be a rosin mixture ("rosin" is used to help the bonding process of metal to metal), RS # 64-013 $3.99 and is in roll form . This should last anyone a while. The most important piece is a multimeter. A small device with an analog meter/needle (or digital if you prefer to spend more) with two leads. Cheap ones measure DCv,ACv, Ohmic resistance / continuity and sometimes Amps ( RS # 22-218) ..Measuring ohm's is important for guitarists. Finding shorts or unconnected leads helps to solve many problems. To check for a short, measure two points of a circuit ( a wire for example, both ends) if the meter goes to zero(no resistance), it is short or open (on the wire, this would be normal to measured this since the wire is one piece, if it didn't then there is a break in the wire somewhere). Volts, amps and ohms can be confusing at first.
To simplify, think of this water analogy.
Voltage :water pressure
Ac :water moving back and forth
Dc : water flowing in one direction
Amps :amount of water
Watts : force/work of water
Ohms : resistance of moving water
This is just to simplify for someone new at this. It's a little more complex than this, but enough to get one going.