On my way to trying solve a buzz in my setup I figured I might as well try a balanced re-wiring technique.

I haven’t held a soldering gun in my hand since 1974. Result: after 1hr 15min all I managed was 2 solders: in the first, I melted the lead of a wire into it’s own plastic insulation because the lead was too long. For the 2nd, having learned my lesson, I shortened the lead and managed to melt the insulation onto the plug with the lead sticking out, not attached to anything, taunting me… like it was sticking its tongue out.

I know just what you mean. I picked up a soldering iron for the first time in years in an effort to do a routine “add resistance” circuit bend to a little battery keyboard. I felt so proud when I successfully unsoldered the circuit at the place where I wanted to insert the resistance. Then I managed to solder the entire circuitry so poorly that I charred everything. I remembered then why I warp things virtually and not in the analog world. But it is a cool-looking soldering iron I own now.