noonoobob Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 I am planning on installing an EMG afterburner into my guitar what are the tools needed and how hard is it to install? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaintNick Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 If you already have a set of EMG's with the separate terminal block you won't have to solder anything. If you don't have the quick connect block you will have to do some soldering. Skill level is nill if you can solder and understand the diagram. If you don't yet have a soldering iron it's important to realize a good one will make a world of difference. Most beginners will do horrible solder jobs just because they have a POS radio shack iron that's either too cold for soldering ground connections to the backs of pots (this is especially true with emg pots!) or too hot (because there is no temp/voltage control) and end up burning everything. Here is a decent and affordable station with a voltage controller. tiny.cc/0iv4j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 I have never had a problem with a radio shack iron the trick is knowing that different wattage irons have different uses. Low wattage irons are made so u don't burn a board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 I agree with NSN about the iron. I put EMG harnesses in all of my guitars, usually an Afterburner, EXG, and SPC pots, and usually use them on non EMG pickup assemblies, so there is a lot of soldering going on with mine. Having said that, I used to work for a computer repair firm back in the early '80's and soldered every day for years, it was just part of the job, so my soldering skills are tops, I have no worries in that dept. What I wanted to add is that if you want to use an Afterburner or any pre-amp for that matter, what is extremely important besides your soldering skills is the fact that you need a very quiet guitar for pre-amping. Very quiet pickups to start out with, and you need to shield the entire guitar, top to bottom, or you will wind up with a ridiculous amount of noise that will make the unit unusable and have wasted your money and time. So if you want a pre-amped guitar, plan on having a very well-shielded quiet guitar as well, or abort the idea alltogether, it won't be worth it otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 I just wanted to add that although I had a top shelf Weller iron for many many years, when it broke I just went out and bought a cheapie Radio Shack iron as I needed it on a Sunday, haha! So, what I'm trying to say is that I don't think you need to go out and buy a $150.00 soldering iron to install a $50.00 pot. A cheapie will do the trick, but certainly a higher end model would be more useful, just not absolutely necessary to get one pot installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 I use a cheap-ish Weller iron...25 watts.It seems to be the perfect size for all of my wiring uses.I use very small diameter solder wire and I make sure to preheat the iron thoroughly. I solder the back of the pots by tinning the tip of the iron first(after cleaning it upon initial startup),then I tin the pots by just melting off a blob of solder onto the pot and sticking the flat part of the tip right smack in the middle of the blob until it melts and I see it flow into the metal of the pot.Then I stick the braided wire of the EMG pup(or whatever else) right on top of that and do the same thing,but it's a bit trickier and harder to explain...I melt it into the solder on ther back of the pot first and then melt it into the braid,since the wires inside the braid are so sensitive to heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 I use a cheap iron too. That said, be careful with EMG parts. I bought an afterburner at the start of my first build. By the time the build was done it was too late to return it... it was DoA. Still have it though lol. Dunno why... Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therizky Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 its much easier to use soldering grease....after file off the plating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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