Ceriatone Forum

I have a VC kit and I am getting ready to build it. Emphasis on "getting ready". I have made countless cables, I recently modified my crybaby with a true bypass and have wired pickups but I have very little actual practical electronics knowledge. I've recently started going through some material at allaboutcircuits.com because the site is more like a book. I mention it because it seems like a good resource.

The question: What are some "best practices" when building the VC or some of the common problems that come up when someone having not built one before does it for the first time. Solder choices? 60/40 rosin core or silver, pots in first, wire them first etc.

I would like the build to be as good as possible of course and it would be great to get some perspective from experienced builders for a beginner like myself.

Thanks
Keith

Practice soldering before you build the VC.  Bad solder joints is a common build problem.  Often beginners use to much solder and end up with sloppy looking (yet functional) construction.

A Variac, signal generator, and scope are good tools for testing and debug.

I really appreciate the reply! I've done lots of soldering, mostly cables and a couple pickup jobs.  Is there a best place to start? Is there a better solder than any other? What pairs of wires should be twisted? "I did it that way and it was a mistake." or "When you wire the chassis don't mount the PT and OT until the end" or does none of this really matter. Just thought I'd find out any pitfalls before I fire up the iron.

Keith

I guess everyone builds amps differently, I like doing it like this...

Mount all the parts but don't put the board in... and wire the hearters first, than wire PT and OT and the power cable, switch, light...

Put the board and solder on flying leads... just clip the wire to length and solder those into the tube sockets.
The last thing I do, is wire up the pots and input jacks.