Guitar tech work resource

[rvk5150]

So as mentioned in the recent DiMarzio Pup thread I am considering to swap out pups on a second Wolfgang I have. A question; is there a go to resource anyone recommends to learning to do this kind of work (change strings, set intonation, swap pups, etc). I normally take stuff to my local music shop 20m away and they are great but always thought to try some stuff myself...even though I can be quite clumsy.

[nobozos]

This is a good place to start:

https://assets.peavey.com/literature...s/80301829.pdf

It's actually a pretty good beginners guide for setting up your guitar, and if you make the adjustments in the order that they are listed, it's in the correct order of how the adjustments should be done.

[nobozos]

As far as switching out the pickups, if it's a guitar you love, I would suggest taking it to the repair shop to have it done, unless you have been soldering for a while and have the right soldering equipment.

If you don't have a good quality adjustable temperature soldering iron, you can really screw some things up. If your temp is too low and you are trying to solder onto the back of a pot, you heat the pot up a lot before the solder melts, and you can screw up your pot/melt insulation on your wires/get frustrated/throw things.

Also, there is an art to soldering well, and it involves Flux, and acid brush, solid solder, solder wick, a steady hand and a magnifying glass. When something is soldered correctly, it should look like the wire strands are laying on the back of the pot, covered with a thin layer of silver. Same with the wire on the contacts of the pot. If there is a big blob of solder on the back of the pot with wires sticking into it, it will work, but it's a huge pain in the ass to ever change pickups after that, because it's more solder to heat up before you can get the wire out of the big blob. More heat = more chance to hurt components = bad outcome.

It starts with having the right soldering iron that can produce the correct amount of heat for the size of the job you want to do. If you don't have that, I would have a shop do it.

[rvk5150]

Appreciate the responses!

[Eric M]

I’d check out Stewart-McDonald, which sells tools but also has a ton of free info on guitar repair and setup.

https://www.stewmac.com/video-and-ideas/trade-secrets/

They also have a YouTube channel.

[rvk5150]

I’d check out Stewart-McDonald, which sells tools but also has a ton of free info on guitar repair and setup.

https://www.stewmac.com/video-and-ideas/trade-secrets/

They also have a YouTube channel.

Thank you!

[garbeaj]

Yeah Stew-Mac has a relationship with Dan Erlewine and his guitar repair manuals and courses have been the industry Bible and standard since at least the 70s.

You can buy all of his books through Stew-Mac. ‘How To Make Your Electric Guitar Sound Great’ is probably the best place to start.

[MF5150]

Stew-Mac’s YouTube channel would be a good jumping off resource as well.

Lots of videos with Erlewine as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk