What Type Of Wire Do I Need?

[Tarquinius]

Ok, I know this is a really........really........really stupid question but I need to know. I'm putting together a guitar with 2 single coil pick ups kinda like a mustang. (Diagram below). The pick ups I am buying come with some wire, which i will use to wire the pick ups to the pick up selectors etc. But what kind of wire do i need to use on the tone pots, voulme, ground, selectors, input etc. Thank you.

Diagram

[Tarquinius]

ALSO! What kinda Pots do I need you think? If you can please, check out the site below (allparts) and point me in the direction of a tone and volume pot i can use (refer to diagram in first post). All i know is that it has to be 250k.

Allparts

[unclej]

for the pots order the ep 0085-000. for the wire the 22 gauge that allparts carries is what you need and they carry the caps too. good luck with your project.

[lovekraft]

I like the mini-pots myself, but that's strictly a personal preference. I also use linear pots for tone controls, because I think it makes the response a bit smoother, but again, that's just me. From that Allparts page, I'd use EP_0185-00 for volume(s) and EP_0227-000 for tone(s). Of course, keep in mind that my using the smaller pots may have something to do with building F/X and obsessing about how to fit it all into a tiny cast aluminum box. Oh, and they're cheaper, too!

[Doeringer]

22 gauge "Sheilded". this may be obvious to some and not to others.

[Tarquinius]

22 gauge "Sheilded". this may be obvious to some and not to others.

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i thought i might want to use a shielded wire. Which one in particular should i get, because i cant find a 22 gauage shielded wire on allparts.

[MerlinTheWizard]

I suggest shielded wire everywhere too, even for single-wire connections. For single-wire connections, solder one side of the shielding braid to the ground.

The gauge doesn't matter in the least actually. Just take whatever is reasonably good quality, and avoid too large gauges, because it will take up more space and will look ugly. But really, gauge doesn't matter. Especially in a guitar, where wires are all pretty short and the currents going through them are very tiny. Given the high output impedance of most pickups, and the length of the wires in the electronic cavity, wire resistance doesn't matter either; so you could really use very small gauges - but don't use too small, because it would break easily.

So don't fixate on a precise gauge, just use your good sense - and shielded wire if possible.

[Tarquinius]

I suggest shielded wire everywhere too, even for single-wire connections. For single-wire connections, solder one side of the shielding braid to the ground.

The gauge doesn't matter in the least actually. Just take whatever is reasonably good quality, and avoid too large gauges, because it will take up more space and will look ugly. But really, gauge doesn't matter. Especially in a guitar, where wires are all pretty short and the currents going through them are very tiny. Given the high output impedance of most pickups, and the length of the wires in the electronic cavity, wire resistance doesn't matter either; so you could really use very small gauges - but don't use too small, because it would break easily.

So don't fixate on a precise gauge, just use your good sense - and shielded wire if possible.

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Does that cloth covering on wire count as being shielded?

[MerlinTheWizard]

Does that cloth covering on wire count as being shielded?

Well, some are shielded and some are not. The cloth covering itself doesn't act as a shield. Take a look here for instance: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics,_p...-Back_Wire.html

These "vintage" wires provide no benefit over plastic-covered wires (except if you really want that look for an old guitar restoration); they are a bit easier to use though, because you can just push back the covering before soldering, instead of having to cut through it.

Edited July 30, 2005 by MerlinTheWizard

[lovekraft]

If your cavities are shielded, using shielded cable in addition is redundant and a lot of extra effort and expense. Unless it's a problem child, like a semi-hollow with no access to the control cavity, it's easier (and at least as effective) to shield the cavity. For shielding advice. see Guitar Nuts for more info than you'll ever need.

[Tarquinius]

If your cavities are shielded, using shielded cable in addition is redundant and a lot of extra effort and expense. Unless it's a problem child, like a semi-hollow with no access to the control cavity, it's easier (and at least as effective) to shield the cavity. For shielding advice. see Guitar Nuts for more info than you'll ever need.

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Thank you so much, the site helped alot. Just one more quick question, what do you mean by cavity and a cavity being shielded?

[lovekraft]

The control cavity is the hollowed out space that the controls are mounted in. Common practice covers the inside of it with a conductive coating, either paint or foil, that's electrically connected to ground, called a shield.