Which wire?

[ichilton]

Hi,

What wire do people use for wiring the offboard stuff (pots, jacks, switches, power)?

Will the thickness affect the sound at all?

I prefer to use stranded as solid snaps too easily when you are moving around trying to solder & test, but then I got some 22AWG stranded from Tayda and it doesn't fit through the holes on the etched boards i've been building.

I've got a load of cat5, which is solid and snaps very easily, but is nice and thin, and neat as it's twisted together in pairs (although, will that cause a problem?) - but it's very thin....will that affect the sound at all?

Also, do you build them loose so you can test before boxing, or do you fix pots, switches etc in the box and solder wires in place?

Thanks,

Ian

[jubal81]

I'm pretty sure most of us use 24 gauge pre-bonded, which is a bit thinner than 22 gauge. It's stranded, but 'pre tinned' so all the strands are sticking together when you strip it.

I pretty much exclusively use 'Barry's best' from GuitarPCB.com. I've gotten spools from Newark of NTE, which are great and pretty cheap, but it doesn't hold its shape like the stuff Barry stocks.

As for technique, I generally cut the wire extra long, solder it to the PCB and then route, measure and cut after it's in the box.

[ichilton]

Thanks - i've seen the Barry's stuff mentioned before somewhere, but the shipping from guitarpcb.com to the uk is extortionate.

Ian

[jubal81]

Thanks - i've seen the Barry's stuff mentioned before somewhere, but the shipping from guitarpcb.com to the uk is extortionate.

Ian

Newark is Element 14, so you can easily get the spools of NTE in Europe.

[ichilton]

Ah, cool - is that this stuff? -
http://www.newark.com/nte-electronics/wh24-00-100/hook-up-wire-100ft-24awg-cu-pvc/dp/33C7358

[jubal81]

Ah, cool - is that this stuff? -
http://www.newark.com/nte-electronics/wh24-00-100/hook-up-wire-100ft-24awg-cu-pvc/dp/33C7358

Yep, that's it. Good stuff.

[ichilton]

Ah, bummer - US stock with a big delivery charge..doh!

At least I know to look for 24AWG now - i'll have a search around.

Thanks,

Ian

[GermanCdn]

Yeah, 24 Ga is a bit easier to work with.  I use the solid wire from Tayda to make my own board mounted pots.  I've never had much success with Barry's wire, although truthfully that's more likely to do with inadequate wire strippers at the time.

I also tend to make my own wire combos (two, three, and four wire) using Jacob's cordless drill technique.

[jubal81]

Newark is the U.S. arm of Element 14, if I understand correctly. You can change the country at the top right corner of the webpage.

[ichilton]

Yeah, but on the UK it shows US stock with a one off delivery charge.

[GermanCdn]

Ah, bummer - US stock with a big delivery charge..doh!

At least I know to look for 24AWG now - i'll have a search around.

Thanks,

Ian

If you're struggling with shipping charges from the States, buy your wire from musikding or banzai, both in Germany.  Shipping's cheap, wire's good, and they sell nice multi packs.

[ichilton]

cool - i'll check them out - thanks!

[ichilton]

This stuff seems to look ok! - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330743588965

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

I finally handled the apex Jr. Teflon wire and I must say its the highest quality I've ever seen.

[Haberdasher]

Newark is the U.S. arm of Element 14, if I understand correctly. You can change the country at the top right corner of the webpage.

It is element14.  I think in europe they go by the name farnell.