I confess that I have spent much of my career as a guitarist feeling apprehensive of the wiry goings-on concealed beneath the panels and behind the covers of my instruments and amplifiers.
Chalk it up to fear (of getting electrocuted, of ruining valuable gear). Besides, I was always fortunate enough to have a buddy with a soldering iron and an eager attitude who could take care of any minor fix I needed.
But that all changed one day when I brought my ailing Tascam Portastudio down to my dad’s house. My plan was to take it in to a nearby electronics shop that advertised vintage equipment repairs. But when they turned out to be closed, my dad, who once built and repaired radio equipment in the Army, proposed we just do it ourselves—something I had not remotely considered. An hour or two later, I had a working machine and a new passion (not to mention probably the best bonding time with my old man I ever had!).
Since then I’ve been solder-happy: I even built a guitar amplifier (I did electrocute myself in the process). So it was no big thing when one of my guitar’s potentiometers raised its scratchy head. Off the back panel went, and I dived in.
The video above will show you just how it went. My goal with this post is to encourage you to tackle small projects like this yourself! The equipment is affordable; the skill set readily attainable. What’s stopping you?
