# Question about soldering EMG pickups



## ibzrg1570 (Apr 26, 2007)

I've had my EMG Zakk Wylde set (81/85) for about 5 months now and I'm STILL not done installing them.  Basically Ibanez does not like routing the pickup cavities deep enough, my 3 way pickup switch that I got for $4 on eBay was complete shit, and my volume control is fucked up, so while it makes sound, I can't use the volume effectively. Anyways, to the point.

How are you supposed to solder the pickup braid to the volume pot? There was a lesson here that said you had to heat the joint, not the solder (can't find the thread right now). However, if I heat the joint AKA the pot, wouldn't I risk frying it?  

I think that might have happened the first time I wired it up, because whenever I turned the volume knob it made lots of noise, and it wouldn't make any sound at all if I turned the volume all the way up and didn't have any pedals between my guitar and my amp. Right now the wiring is the only problem left, I've fixed all the others myself and I got a new wiring diagram without the tone control just to make it a little easier for myself. When (or if) I finish I'll post lots of pics.


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## fathead (Apr 26, 2007)

ibzrg1570 said:


> However, if I heat the joint AKA the pot, wouldn't I risk frying it?



Heat the joint. Most of the electronics stuff you solder can be fried with too much heat. You want just enough heat to get the solder to flow where you need it. And remember not to move anything until the solder sets because you can get a bad connection that way too. It's just something that takes practice. Matt Bruck did a video on one of the Guitar World cds a little while ago, and I learned a few things, and I've been soldering for years.


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## Stitch (Apr 27, 2007)

Here is a better question; did you use the original pots or the ones that came in the EMG-ZW set? Because it sounds from the volume troubles like you aren't using a 50K pot.

Since the ZW is relatively new, i would have thought ALL the pickups and connectors used the Quik-connect wires. So soldering seems a bit nuts. But hey. Pics?

The pot shouldnt fry unless you heated it for more than a few seconds, which is really all it needs. Besides, pots and resistors are remarkably resistant to heat - they are big so they take ages to heat up. The things you should be careful with are diodes, transistors, etc.


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## D-EJ915 (Apr 27, 2007)

oh yeah, sand the pot a bit and it'll be way easier to solder


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## ibzrg1570 (Apr 28, 2007)

stitch216 said:


> Here is a better question; did you use the original pots or the ones that came in the EMG-ZW set? Because it sounds from the volume troubles like you aren't using a 50K pot.
> 
> Since the ZW is relatively new, i would have thought ALL the pickups and connectors used the Quik-connect wires. So soldering seems a bit nuts. But hey. Pics?
> 
> The pot shouldnt fry unless you heated it for more than a few seconds, which is really all it needs. Besides, pots and resistors are remarkably resistant to heat - they are big so they take ages to heat up. The things you should be careful with are diodes, transistors, etc.


 
I used the pots that came with the ZW set (25K IIRC). The quik-connect wires only quickly connect to the pickup housing, not to the pots, so there's still soldering involved. I don't have any actual pictures because my camera sucks and it can't focus very well, but here's a diagram to show you what I mean.





This isn't the diagram I'm using, but it's similar. Basically the wires have a layer of metal braid between the two insulated layers.


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## ibzrg1570 (Apr 30, 2007)

Let me know if this is correct. (According to the Matt Bruck video) I have to melt solder onto the wire and the pot first, then heat the wire and pot and manually connect them, then place solder on the heated joint, allowing it to melt over the joint.


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## ibzrg1570 (May 3, 2007)

Anyone? Please?


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## Regor (May 3, 2007)

ibzrg1570 said:


> Let me know if this is correct. (According to the Matt Bruck video) I have to melt solder onto the wire and the pot first, then heat the wire and pot and manually connect them, then place solder on the heated joint, allowing it to melt over the joint.



That's exactly right. The white wire coming from the pickup has the hot lead, and the ground wire all inside of it. The black terminal end that is connected to the p/up is the wire that is surrounding the inner wire on the white wire. So that needs to be soldered to the pot. Heat the solder and the wire to connect it to the pot. Just like you've said above.

It's not that hard dude. You'll be fine.


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## jaxadam (May 3, 2007)

I've put quite a few EMGs in quite a few Ibanez guitars.

There's no right or wrong way to do it. I would suggest heating up some solder, and melt it on your outer cable. Put that area of the cable right by the volume pot, and heat the solder on the cable until it flows on the pot. If you need to, grab another dab of solder and throw it down there. Hold it very still until it sets, and you should be good to go.


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## ibzrg1570 (May 4, 2007)

Ok, thanks guys! Hopefully I'll get finished with this soon once and for all.


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