Wire Connections...(please forgive a dumb question)

If used properly and there's enough space and they aren't shorting on anything or jiggling into the jack or something, I'd think they would be ok. Probably better than a bad soldering job tbh.

But really, if you are getting into making kit guitars and mods etc then I'd encourage you to learn to solder. It's really not that tricky. There's tonnes of how-to videos etc online...

 

Not a problem at all. Wire nuts will work great.

Spoiler

Until your solo in the crowd’s favorite song at a high-profile gig. Then they will fail, and your bass will go silent.

 

Does anyone have a source and/or a link for buying quick connects?

I know EMG is famous for theirs and they are proprietary, but I'm thinking of a simpler, 2 wire setup. It would be more elegant and probably more reliable than wire nuts... but where would you get those?

 

I have purchased “Electop” connectors from eBay in the past. They apparently are available with a number of different pins.

 

Soldered connections is just the industry standard for guitars.I guess it is a good way of adding a bit of mechanical stability to a wiring harness and fit more stuff into a tight control cavity or narrow route.

 

Very cool, thanks for the tip!
I guess they call these "JST connectors" and they seem to be used in RC vehicles.

 

Connectors are kinda overkill for a one-off.

You can just twist ends and use either electrical tape or a bit of shrink tubing to finish things off and prevent the twisted pair of wires from accidentally unwinding if you don’t want to solder. I’ll do that myself if I’m auditioning multiple pickups for a bass.

 

When I'm experimenting, for a temporary connection I just tack solder the leads, which is faster and a better connection than messing around with wire nuts, shrink tubing, tape, etc.. However, I've been soldering since I was 7 years old, so I don't give it a second thought.