How to Connect a Bass to a Wiring Harness
An already wired set of bass controls is referred to as a wiring harness. Using a pre-wired harness significantly reduces the amount of time required to wire a bass. The bassist only needs to connect the pickups and bass jack to the harness. The setup of the wiring harness can vary based on the controls included in the harness, but the same connections need to be made regardless of the harness design.
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Instructions
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1
Plug in the soldering iron. It usually takes approximately five minutes for it to warm up enough for use. This time can vary based on the model of soldering iron used.
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2
Touch the end of the hot wire from the pickup to its wiring harness connector. This is usually going to be on a potentiometer, but can vary based on the design. This is the potentiometer that controls the volume or tone of the pickup connected to it.
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3
Touch the tip of the soldering iron to the end of the electrical solder. A molten drop of solder should be on the tip.
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4
Touch the molten drop of solder to where the wire and connector meet. The wire is held in place by the solidified solder after the soldering iron is removed.
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5
Solder the ground wire from the pickup to the back of the potentiometer with wires connected to it. These are the ground wires that are part of the harness.
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6
Repeat Steps 2-5 for every additional pickup.
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7
Solder the wire connected to the bridge of the bass to back of the potentiometer used to ground the other wires. This grounds the bridge of the bass, preventing it from developing a charge and shocking the bassist.
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8
Solder the hot wire of the wiring harness to the connector on the bass jack. The hot wire is going to be the wire from the harness that is connected to a connector on one of the controls.
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9
Solder the ground wire of the harness to the ground sleeve on the bass jack. The ground wire is the wire connected to the back of the potentiometer with the grounding wires.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are unsure where the pickup wires are attached, consult the manufacturer of the wiring harness. The ground wires are always in the same place, but the hot wires can vary significantly based on the wiring harness design.
If you are unsure of which pickup wire is the hot wire and the ground wire, consult the manufacturer. The color coding system used is not universal between all manufacturers.
Never substitute plumber's solder for electric solder as it corrodes electronics.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
