Yea I forgot to add the clean your tip part!
Man there's so many ways to solder, I use a medium conical tip for everything. Pcb's, cables, pots, you name it. Just use the flat edge of the cone for pots etc. to transfer more heat.
I also apply solder directly onto the tip and never had any problems, that's how they taught us in school!
Here's what I do: I wipe the tip pretty regularly and then slightly tin it before moving on to the next joint to keep it slightly wet with solder; I feel this makes the joints flow easier / quicker.
Another life-saver when soldering is one of these:
Solder suckers cost a few bucks but are essential when you want to re-do anything with an eyelet / hole. Just heat the solder (always use a small fresh dab of solder to make it flow quick!) and suck it out with the solder sucker to start clean again.
Another helpful part is using a good rosin-core solder. Something like the AIM rosin core solder should get you there, but check out some pedal building suppliers, most of the time they sell pretty good solder. Hardware store solder is prone to leave residue (though some get by with it without trouble). Don't use flux! No really, don't! Most of the fluxes out there are acidic and will fuck up electronics over time. You don't want any plumbing solder; you need electronics solder.
If you like soldering and want to do it more often, pedal kits are a great way to spend the time and practice soldering more precisely, plus you end up with a pedal! Something like a Bazz Fuss or SHO copy are really simple and fun to build.
"If someone duetted with a Bald Eagle, they could rule the Country charts from here to eternity." ~shadowplay