ES-1TL Build by MrMayhem Thread

[Nickosaurus]

Looks awesome mate

[MrMayhem75]

Dropped off at the shop today for electronics install. I would have done it, but I have no idea how to solder, or set the guitar up. Should be done in a week or so.

[wokkaboy]

Hey Mr Mayhem, you should have asked for some help/advice on soldering and the electronics install, it's not that hard and you can practice some solder joins before you attempt the wiring. The only way to learn how to do it is have a crack yourself. If the shop hasn't started work on your wiring and setup I would ask for it back and have a crack yourself.
Have you got a soldering iron/solder ? If you plan building more kits (which is well likely) then a heat adjustable soldering station would be a good investment.
Dr Nomis has even done a tutorial on soldering and sure he (and many others on the forum) can give you some good pointers on where to start.

[andrewdosborne]

Yes its worth giving the soldering a go. When I first started kit building my soldering skills were almost non-existent but I can now tackle any guitar wiring/soldering with confidence. There are a lot of good (free) tutorials around. Once you have the knack you'll find it very satisfying and never look back.

[UpperCaseH]

You should definitely give it a try, if not on this build then on a future one. Have a 10 minute practice by joining some wire offcuts together and you're unlikely to have any troubles with a guitar. Guitar wiring's quite forgiving to solder. Since it's mostly wires to lugs there's no need for you to do the tiniest neatest little joins in the world, and it's pretty easy to undo a wiring mistake even without a desoldering braid or pump.

Soldering worried me before I started my first kit, but I bought a little "overdrive pedal" kit for about 10 bucks and practised on that. Got it together in about 30 minutes, spent 5 more minutes correcting my one mistake, and it was all good. That's 10-20 times as many joins as on a complicated guitar. I did it with the cheapest soldering iron from Jaycar, but I'd much prefer to have spent $80-$120 on a heat adjustable one

[gavinturner]

The blue body and black headstock combo looks really great. Wiring a semi-hollow can be a bit of stress the first time out, especially for a first ever build, but it's nothing really that complicated. I'm looking forward to seeing the axe finished and hearing how she sounds.

cheers,
Gav.

[MrMayhem75]

I appreciate the encouragement, I'll do it on my next build. I'm planning a pretty wicked LP or Firebird style, I haven't decided yet. I just didn't want to mess this one up, due to the hollow body build. This one is my son's birthday present, so accuracy is key.

[wazkelly]

Lucky fellow.

[UpperCaseH]

I'd have been stoked with this guitar as a gift when I was younger. Or now, to be honest. It looks fantastic.

[MrMayhem75]

She's done! Big reveal later today!