Approach to testing an ES wiring harness before installing it.

If you have every wired an ES style guitar with a center block, you know that you want to do it just once. From hard experience, however, I know that I don't always get everything right on the first go-round. So how can you test the wiring harness before it is installed? After thinking through and rejecting a number of other options here's what I came up with:

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I replicated the hole pattern on the bass on a piece of thin fiberboard, and installed all the electrical components. I then used a soft nylon rope to hang it just outside and below the bass when it is in playing position. The rope takes the weight of the fiberboard/harness so that it is not pulling on the wires.

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This also allowed me to hang the bass on the wall with a little table under it, where I could work on soldering in all the components.

Overall this worked pretty well. I was able to test the harness, which worked beautifully. I was also able to A-B test a few tone caps before making a final decision about what to put in the bass. All without putting the harness in the bass.

This approach, however, is not idiot-proof. You may notice that I glued a piece of white paper to the back of the fiberboard to show me where the F-hole would be. You may also notice that there is a wire going across it. [Insert forehead slap here]. It took a ridiculously long time to correct that problem...