His buddies sat there and laughed, but getting a wire soldered to your head is NOT FUN.
My brother-in-law needed a new switch installed in his Epiphone Les Paul. I bought a new switch at Guitar Center and swapped it out for him. But I discovered that two of the existing metal contacts could be reused, so I kept them original. Black electrical tape is great for covering wire connections, but also for taping things down – on a poly finish, it sticks and then peels off with no residue.
If you’re going to do any soldering, ever, I’d strongly recommend buying a GOOD soldering iron. Not the cheapest one Radio Shack sells. I have a 15 year old super cheap Radio Shack special, and it’s simply awful. Just spend the money and get something decent.
Tips for Swapping Out Guitar Switches
- Buy a good soldering iron. Meaning anything that is NOT the cheapest one at Radio Shack.
- Make sure you know how to solder. Solder is cheap – practice on something that doesn’t matter.
- Do your homework – Google your guitar’s make, model, and year. Find out what direct replacement switches will work.
- There’s a YouTube video for whatever switch you’re trying to install. Trust me. There is. Go watch it.
- Put something down on the table so that your guitar doesn’t get scratched up.
- Always remember to heat up the PART, not the solder itself. Hold the wire against the metal part, heat up the part, then apply the solder. As soon as the solder goes on, remove the soldering iron.
- Black electrical tape, as mentioned above, is your friend.
