as far is this goes, i discovered 2 things. first, i was tinning my wires before soldering, which seems to be the normal practice.
i found (2nd thing) if i play "hooky" with my wires, then solder that helpes. if i tinned the wire first, it would not fit around the IC pin.
the things that sucks, as you mentioned, i think i may have fried the chip. no sound, just light static if you listen closely to the tiny speaker.
the thing i love about the bigger SK and MT series casios, is the larger circuit boards, and bigger solder dots, so it is not even nessesary to solder to the IC itself. *sigh*.
note taken though, gordon. cleanliness is next to godliness. i need to get a big ole' can o' contact cleaner. that stuff is not cheap these days either!
it seems like an odd combo, extra hot soldering iron, but too much heat will fry the chip. it would take the wisdom of galolph the grey to know this delicate balance!