I'm new here. I was wondering if there's a way to wire up a new jack in my bass without solder? Currently broke and can't afford the necessary equipment.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
Welcome to TalkBass! Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Solderless repairs
- Thread starter AustrianBassist
- Start date
-
- Tags
- repairs solderless
The short answer is no. You could wire it up and twist the wire and hope but it will not last. Soldering irons can be had pretty cheap and you don't need anything fancy for a simple repair like that. Do read on how to solder properly and you will save far more than the cost of the iron and solder in being able to do your own work. Just an idea, a friend may have an iron you can use.
Welcome to TalkBass.
Actually, you could put quick disconnects in there and have solderless joints. The equipment to do that will cost as much as a soldering iron, and generally isn't as reliable.
Getting connectors small enough may be a little tricky though:
In addition the the connectors you would need one of these:
@96tbird's soldering iron is about 1/2 the cost of the quick disconnects and tool for them.
Actually, you could put quick disconnects in there and have solderless joints. The equipment to do that will cost as much as a soldering iron, and generally isn't as reliable.
Getting connectors small enough may be a little tricky though:
In addition the the connectors you would need one of these:
@96tbird's soldering iron is about 1/2 the cost of the quick disconnects and tool for them.
Last edited:
In my experience, a twist and some tape will work just fine. I had a FrankenStrat for about 4 years hold together this way through two deployments and 5 (rather rough) moves while I was in the Navy. It didn't break, I just got rid of it to pay for a new bass. The trick is to twist it together properly. Assuming you have solder points with holes like most jacks do, make a hook with your wire and loop it through the hole then wrap it around itself. It should kind of look like a noose when you're done. I wrapped mine with electrical tape because it was handy, but really there isn't enough electricity moving through there to need it -- also, it's normally an uninsulated joint anyway, so what's the difference if you just use normal tape?
It's not going to be pretty and it won't last forever, but you won't see it and it'll last at least a couple years.
edit: use at least 2cm of wire to wrap, I would say, or more if you have the wire to spare. Make sure the wrap is tight around the wire and right up against the jack's terminal.
It's not going to be pretty and it won't last forever, but you won't see it and it'll last at least a couple years.
edit: use at least 2cm of wire to wrap, I would say, or more if you have the wire to spare. Make sure the wrap is tight around the wire and right up against the jack's terminal.
Last edited:
If you had the bass/jack opened up and ready to solder, a repair tech at any place wouldn't charge more than $10 to hit it. It's 2 minutes work.
Yeah, this is a perfectly useful option, if you have the cavity space for it. The contacts should even hold up under vibration, and corrosion.
IME, you don't need any expensive tools to do this. Wire strippers are great, but a pair of scissors works just as well, if you are very careful with how much pressure to apply. Likewise, a crimper tool is ideal, but you can use other tools, if necessary. Grab a good pair of pliers and crush the hell out of the connector. Make sure you get the right size connector, though. Most hardware stores sell these in red, blue, and yellow. You want the red ones.