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Why do i have to solder when changing pickups?

#21
It has been tried, and I believe others would have tried again if they thought it was a commercially valid idea. I think people have crunched the numbers and looked at the market, and come to the conclusion that not enough people would buy such a product.

That's of course just my gut feeling, I have no facts to back that up.
 
#22
Snap-in pickups are a novel idea. It would be interesting but not something that would make we want to have it in the studio. The last thing I want to do when in a creative mode is to stop, slacken my strings and replace a piece. I'm just gonna grab another instrument and keep working!

Still, not a bad idea. Not sure if the 10-15 minutes saved is worth it, but I suppose not having to have tools is something.
 
#24
I have a bronco and a squier P that are pickup testbeds. I have the pots and Jack all soldered together (like it would come from the factory) but I attached leads from the pots, maybe 2 inches long with automotive style crimp on "quick connects" mind you, they are soldered to the leads... But when I want to swap in a new pup I just crimp a pair of the male connectors to the pickup wires and plug it in. Of course I still attach the pups to the body or pickguard securely. I did this more in the interest of saving my pots and wiring from the stress and heat of repeated soldering. I have gigged both of these axes and the only bad noise coming out of them is my playing!
 
#26
For goodness sakes. You learned how to play bass, just learn how to solder correctly. It's really not that hard.

If you are going to keep swapping, just permanently install one of those bare-wire spring clamps that they use on home stereo speakers.
 
#28
BobWestbrook said:
Yesterday my attempts at soldering were a complete failure when installing new preamp, so instead I used small wire nuts and electrical tape. Not the preferred method, but it works.
Click to expand...

Most of the time the problem is an inadequate soldering iron. Keep the tip clean, i use stainless steel scrubbing pads (the wiry looking stuff) and a bit of Rosin Soldering Flux can make things easier as well.
 
#30
I think their definitions of "effortless" and "fast" differs a bit from mine. :)

Anyway, when would this really make sense? If you only sometimes switch out pickups it is still too much work, if you would do it often it will always be more convenient to grab another instrument.

Some form of slot-in system, OK, but having to open up control cavities, loosen strings etc, no.
 
#31
Grissle said:
Most of the time the problem is an inadequate soldering iron. Keep the tip clean, i use stainless steel scrubbing pads (the wiry looking stuff) and a bit of Rosin Soldering Flux can make things easier as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks - I'll try the flux next time - I believe the wires were getting hot enough, but the solder though melting would not flow into the "joint". It dropped off like water off a duck's back.
 
#34
The main reason they solder the connections is reliability. In production, this doesn't take much time but for the weekend warrior or someone who just hasn't come close to mastering the task of soldering, it's the worst of all worlds. In production, it's a lot faster than attaching terminals and connecting them. For the end user, it would be great, but the cost would be reflected at time of sale.

The Markertek parts are for solid wire, not thin stranded wire. What would be a more workable solution is called a Phoenix connector and it squeezes the wire between a thin metal strip and a hole in the metal, making it harder to damage the wire. These are often used on commercial audio equipment and are the replacement for screws and spade terminals and they're in the Duncan video.

Size may be an issue, though. A soldered wire takes up no extra space.

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#35
BobWestbrook said:
Thanks - I'll try the flux next time - I believe the wires were getting hot enough, but the solder though melting would not flow into the "joint". It dropped off like water off a duck's back.
Click to expand...

If the solder is shed like water on grease, the wires may not be clean enough or the wire hasn't become hot enough. The first issue is often easy to see- if the wire was fresh and untouched by hands after being stripped, heat would be the only problem. It's absolutely critical that the wire is hot enough- hot solder won't stick to anything that's colder.

Get some wire and practice making solder stick to it- you need to heat the work (the 'work' being whatever is being joined) before the solder makes contact. You heat the work and THAT'S what melts the solder. The tip keeps the wire from cooling off too much and causing a cold solder joint.
 
#36
P Town said:
If you want to swap out various components easily, try these:

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Each wire entry port can accept multiple small gage wires. They also come in versions with numerous openings.

They take up a lot more space, but they make it easy to make very good connections that are very easy to do, and un-do.

WAGO: The Lego of wiring!
Click to expand...

I've used them many times testing pickups. Quick an easy!
 
#39
Jookbox said:
Pickups should be interchangeable like video game cartridges by now. There hasn't been much innovation in guitars in the past 60 years, but I think that's how instruments are in general.
Click to expand...

Why?
The price of quality affordable basses has never been better.
Buying used is even better.
I like having lots of basses to cover a lot of ground.

Grab a bass, Not a soldering iron.
 

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