What wire?

[Pea Turgh]

Hey peeps.  Usually I’d just get a ki0gon loom, but on my most recent project I thought I’d do as much as I can.  Got the CTS pots etc, only a simple volume & tone jobby.

 

My question is, what wire is needed?  I’ve got loads of domestic hifi speaker cable kicking around - is there a reason other than aesthetics to use cloth covered or specialist stuff?  Or shall I just use what ever passes signal?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Geek99]

What would Leo do? 

[BigRedX]

22 hours ago, Geek99 said:

What would Leo do? 

He’d use whatever was the cheapest.

[neepheid]

Having used many different kinds, I will say this for cloth covered - it's lazy boy's wire because you don't need wire strippers, just cut the wire then push the cloth back.  Apart from that, I found it no better or worse than any other hookup wire.  Wire be wiry.

[sandy_r]

23 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

My question is, what wire is needed?  I’ve got loads of domestic hifi speaker cable kicking around - is there a reason other than aesthetics to use cloth covered or specialist stuff?  Or shall I just use what ever passes signal?

 

There's a huge choice of wire types out there: thick, thin, multicore, single-wire - all of it more than happy to pass the signal

 

Really, the only two considerations involved are usually:

 A) "will the assembly need to cope with being flexed at any time";

 B) "how difficult will it be to make the connections"

 

As a very general rule of thumb, choose multicore for A), choose thinner rather than thicker for B)

 

Cloth-covering can last longer than some plastics (which can crack with time), and usually survives unintended brushes with a soldering iron without melting or blackening - but it can be difficult to cut/trim neatly, and may not be available in a wide range of colours

 

Personally, i'd probably use a thinnish (around 5 core?) multicore for ease of soldering good joints and general neatness of loom - i'd consider using a single core of approx 0.75-1.0mm if that was all that was available

 

Make it easy on yourself (...er?) by getting a few decent tools, if you don't have them (60W min. iron; thin solder; sharp, adjustable wire-strippers; point-nosed pliers). Do a few test runs soldering bits of the wire to each other to get a feel for how it behaves with the solder & iron

 

(Avoid trying to solder pot cases to ground - just ensure good and encasing shielding round all wiring routs and under coverplates, etc.  Don't create any ground loops - wire up either with one ground path, or several separate ones, back to the jack shield lug - apologies, if already known!)

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by sandy_r

[KiOgon]

Your domestic speaker wire will do just fine, or if you'd like a bit of 16/0.2 PVC insulated - which I use most often - PM me and I'll send you a bit or two 😉

[Baloney Balderdash]

I use shielded wire, with the ground running as a braided shield all around and along the individually insulated hot wire, made especially for this purpose, which can be had relatively cheap at Thomann.

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[sandy_r]

18 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

I use shielded wire, with the ground running as a braided shield all along the individually insulated hot wire, made especially for this purpose, which is relatively cheap at Thomann.

 

Yes, my Hagström Viking bass uses the same approach (hollow body, no cavity shielding)

 

[ahpook]

On 14/12/2023 at 19:05, Pea Turgh said:

Hey peeps.  Usually I’d just get a ki0gon loom, but on my most recent project I thought I’d do as much as I can.  Got the CTS pots etc, only a simple volume & tone jobby.

 

My question is, what wire is needed?  I’ve got loads of domestic hifi speaker cable kicking around - is there a reason other than aesthetics to use cloth covered or specialist stuff?  Or shall I just use what ever passes signal?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Firstly, good for you for wiring it yourself - I'm a big advocate of people learning to wire (and so repair) their own kit.

 

As for the wire - it's not that important as long as it passes signal well. I always use solid core as I fund it easier to work with and I have plenty on hand.

 

Good luck, and tell us how you get on 👍

 

 

[Pea Turgh]

Hey gang.  Thanks for all the useful tips.  I ended up using an old hifi interconnect of suitable thickness.  My soldering skills are not amazing but it seems to have gone ok.  Will hook it up to an amp in a bit and tap the PU with a screwdriver to see if I get a signal.  I rewired the PU lead too - the previous job was shonky.