Wire Types

[Ledzendrix1128]

Does anyone know what kind of wire i should buy at radio shack to wire my pickgaurd for my strat. I have this crappy thin wire here but it seems too weak and the coating around it is old and kinda brittle. Is there anything you guys have used that seems to give good results? (i.e. cloth wire, or sheilded wire)

-Louis

Edited September 24, 2005 by Ledzendrix1128

[marksound]

I have a couple of old computer power supplies that I've been cutting wire off of for a while. I wired a Strat with it about a year and a half ago, no problems, and I wired a Tele today. The Tele has a bad solder joint in it somewhere, but it plays and doesn't make noise and by golly I'm playing it tonight!

Oh, just because I use old found junk to piece tegether my beaters doesn't make it right.

[javacody]

I usually use whatever comes with my pickups. Usually, there is enough extra to wire up the rest of the guitar. Otherwise, I use the red and black kind that comes in little spools at radio shack. Whatever that is. LOL.

[Jehle]

I have an old wire harness pulled from a organ (may have even been a hammond). I've been building things out of that wire for years.

Lately, I seem to have enough extra wire from the pickups themselves. There's more than enough leftover when I cut the wire to length. I pull the four wires (two for single coils) out of their sheilding and use that to complete the rest of the guitar circuit.

Since you ask about radio shack, I have bought some 4 conductor ribbon cable from them in the past. The coating on them is really tough. If you need one wire, you can zip it off the ribbon. If you need 2, zip them both off. It's pretty handy to have wires ganged together like that for running them in tight spaces.

[Nalo1022]

I am also using wire from old computer power supplies. I actually just added a 4 ohm switch to my cab last night using some of that wire and ive had no issues.

[lovekraft]

As you can probably tell, just about any wire will work - 22 or 24 AWG is usually preferred, and some like stranded hookup wire while others go for solid, but literally anything you can get in there should be fine. If you decide to go with shielded cable, remember to only ground one end of the shield on each length to avoid ground loops. Other than that, there's really nothing critical - if you've got room, you could use 10 gauge Romex without compromising the sound.

[marksound]

if you've got room, you could use 10 gauge Romex without compromising the sound.

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Now that you've said it, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if somebody around here gives it a shot.

[Mickguard]

if you've got room, you could use 10 gauge Romex without compromising the sound.

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Now that you've said it, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if somebody around here gives it a shot.

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That's a crack at me, ain't it?

Well, actually, I was wondering...why couldn't I make my own wire...

Only kidding!

[marksound]

Not trying to hijack, but does anyone know if our good friend the rosin core solder ever goes bad? Like the flux drying up or something? The batch I just ran out of got to the point where it wouldn't stick to a pot no matter what I tried. I thought it was my questionable technique because nearly every connection looked like a bad cold joint. A new batch held with no problem, and made the shiniest, prettiest little blobettes you ever did see.

So is it my imagination, or does the stuff go bad after a year or two?

[GodBlessTexas]

I usually use whatever comes with my pickups. Usually, there is enough extra to wire up the rest of the guitar. Otherwise, I use the red and black kind that comes in little spools at radio shack. Whatever that is.  LOL.

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Yep, same here. It's 22gauge stranded copper and works just fine. I buy a couple of the three packs when they run on sale (red/black/green) and use the green for other projects.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

[Jehle]

if you've got room, you could use 10 gauge Romex without compromising the sound.

←

Now that you've said it, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if somebody around here gives it a shot.

←

That's a crack at me, ain't it?

Well, actually, I was wondering...why couldn't I make my own wire...

Only kidding!

←

I've been wondering what to do with all of this spare change I have. With these pennies, you could draw your own wire to wind your own pickups.

[Mickguard]

I've been wondering what to do with all of this spare change I have.  With these pennies, you could draw your own wire to wind your own pickups. 

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Way ahead of you...today I took the box full of old worthless francs we've got lying around here and went over to the tracks...lined up the coins, waited for the high-speed train to come by...

Voila! Instant shielding!