Do unwound guitar strings work for fine wiring jobs?

The answer is no, for a list of reasons that I'm sure has been covered. You can get solid core wire, it can be nice for the connections in the cavity.
 
uOpt said:
Likewise. Gotta scratch that itch. Hopefully not buy more guitars in the process :D
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Amen to that. I remember we had a good thread several years ago about non-RWRP vs. RWRP single coils and if there is a positive tone difference by going non-RWRP. I think you brought some charts and went into depth about magnetic fields or something. It was nice. I learned a lot.

I'll get to try that out. I have some non-RWRP SSL-2s and some RWRP APS-1's for a couple project guitars. The reason for this is that was what was available used and finding flat polepieces is much harder than staggered ones in my experience.

Even though most people now probably have flatter fretboards, the staggered polepieces give a more vintage look, so I am guessing they are more popular.
 
Inflames626 said:
In my experience, shifting and moving does happen if the star washers and other items that hold the pots come loose, which causes the pot to shift, which can potentially weaken or break a delicate connection.
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Those "star washers" are a type of lock washer. If tightened correctly, they "lock" the nut so it won't come loose. I have never in over 60 years had a pot come loose that was properly tightened. Yes, certainly IF a pot comes loose and IF it is rotated a lot, a delicate wire can weaken and even break. But you'd be crazy to continue to use a guitar with a pot that rotates. But if everything is tight, shifting and moving of wires in a control cavity does NOT happen.



Inflames626 said:
This is especially the case in situations like mine where you are using larger diameter domestic pots in Asian built guitars with smaller holes and a taper reamer has to be used to slightly enlarge the pot holes. Usually the resulting hole is slightly too large, or movement of the pot threads in and out against bare wood over multiple installs widens the pot hole a bit, causing the pot to wiggle. In short, something reamed by hand isn't going to be as snug as something that was drilled to the correct size from the factory.
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Well, this is just user error. Obviously, if you ream a hole too much it will be too large resulting in a loose fitting pot. When I ream holes I work the reamer from both sides so a conically-shaped hole is not formed. My reamed holes are actually tighter than drilled holes.




Inflames626 said:
Thanks for the link to your preferred wire, GuitarDoc . Out of curiosity:

1) Why did cloth covered vintage wire fall out of favor? In my experience cloth wire is easier to strip, the wire inside is thicker and stronger than insulated wire (at least the cloth wire I got from Stew Mac is, but is too thick for DPDT eyelets), and the coating doesn't melt like insulated wire whenever the iron graces the wire in a tight cavity.
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Cloth wire is WAY harder to strip than plastic insulated wire! The advantage of cloth wire is that it doesn't have to be stripped...you push back the insulation instead of stripping. That is easier, yes, but it can be messier with cloth fibers getting in the way. Stripping plastic coated wire is much, much cleaner.

Obviously thicker wire is stronger than thinner wire, but you can buy wire in many different gauges to fit your needs. If you like the cloth push-back wire that's certainly fine. To make it fit through tiny eyelets, just cut a few strands off. It won't hurt a thing, even if you only end up using 2 or 3 strands.

I have never melted the insulation on plastic insulated wire, especially using silicone insulated wire. Again, that is not a problem with the product, but user error.




Inflames626 said:
My guess is insulated wire is just that--better insulated from electrical interference--and perhaps it was easier to source multi colored plastic/rubber coated insulated wire than it was to make multi-colored cloth wire.
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Either wire insulates perfectly fine. There is nothing wrong with the cloth push-back wire. To my understanding, cloth wire is only available in black, white, and yellow. Plastic insulated wire is available in just about any color you can imagine.



Inflames626 said:
Rick Hunt, a tech at EMG, and I once discussed using silver wire as a conductor for guitar wire in the early 2000s. Apparently it brightened the tone according to tests EMG did.
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I could be misunderstanding what you're saying here but the type of wire used in guitar control cavity wiring will not have an affect on the tone. The wire used in winding a pup will.




Inflames626 said:
My understanding of soldering is solder needs to be applied to the iron first to transfer heat and to PREVENT oxidation, especially when the tip is hot and not being used. Then it is better to coat the tip with solder before the solder tip gets hot, burns out, and the solder no longer bonds to the tip surface (a problem I had with 40 watt irons).

Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks.
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I think you are misunderstanding what you have learned. A soldering iron tip needs to be "tinned" with solder to prevent the TIP of the soldering iron from oxidizing. The solder can also oxidize on the tip, and that's why it is necessary to use a damp sponge or brass shavings to keep that oxidized layer of solder cleaned off of the iron. Metal (like in the solder) oxidizes in the presence of oxygen. Heat (like in a soldering iron) and moisture (like the humidity in the atmosphere) accelerate that process. The longer the solder is hot and in the presence of oxygen and water, the more oxidized it becomes. The more oxidation present, the less the solder "sticks". That's ONE reason why it is best to heat the metal (pot, wire, etc) first, then apply the solder...less time for the solder to oxidize. But the main reason is to facilitate a good connection without creating cold solder joints (which can happen when the metal isn't hot enough for the solder to flow like water, or when there is too much oxidation present). Many people are afraid that they won't get a good or a strong connection so they blob on the solder. This actually creates the problem they were trying to avoid. Getting the metal hot first will allow the solder to flow onto it and create the electrical and physical connection desired.

Just remember, "meat follows heat". That means that if you heat the metal, the solder will flow toward that heated metal. But don't heat the solder in hopes that it will heat the metal...that's got it backwards.


Sorry for being so wordy, just wanted to be as clear as possible. I started soldering over 65 years ago and was taught by professionals. Their advice has proved to be true over the past 65 years of personal experience. I hope this answers your questions and gives you a better understanding so you can be expert at soldering.
 
Not a problem at all, GuitarDoc ! I appreciate all the effort you put into my thread and hopefully it will help someone else with the same issues browsing the thread.

When I said applying solder to the iron, I meant the tip. And I think issues with oxidation on my 40 watt iron is why I was having such a hard time. I can work much faster and better with a 60.

I find I am preferring a conical or needle tip to a wedge for guitar work, especially if it is to be neat (just enough length in the wires, everything tied or even bracketed if there is a 9 volt battery, heat shrink on the connections if one wants to be anal about it--usually I see this on jacks).

I am not sure if I reamed from both directions. I know I usually went in from back to front as I feared cracking the finish and paint. I assume this would be covered by the washers in front if a small flaw did occur. There was no exact measurement to it--just ream, try the pot, ream some more until it fits.

Thanks again for taking such time and effort.
 
Shielding seems to be a big thing for a lot of guitars, especially Strats, what with the whole paint and tape thing.

In my passive guitars usually there is just a grounding screw with perhaps some tape near it and a bridge ground. Sometimes there are also ground screws in the pickup cavity. I don't use them as it just means more wires in the electronics cavity and the guitars are quiet enough as it is.
 
If your guitars are quiet there is no need to worry about shielding. Many of the guitars I make have P-90 pups so I shield all of them as a matter of routine. I typically use copper tape to shield the entire inside (all of my guitars are routed to be semi-hollow...a very small center block) but I have also used the shielding paint. I haven't noticed a difference in their function but I find the tape is less messy and much quicker to install (the paint requires at least 3 coats applied a day apart). A ground wire to the bridge is very important.

I don't imagine cloth wire does any shielding of EMI. But that is not important at all. If you are in the presence of EMI that is strong enough to affect anything in your guitar, you've got much bigger problems than just your guitar.

The silicone covered wire is really great to use because it is so flexible and easy to rout it wherever you want without putting any stress on the connections.
 
I have played in plenty of places where I had to switch guitars because all kinds of sounds were coming from them in that particular place. These were humbucker-equipped guitars, too. My guess is that the electrician did not obtain the proper permits.
 
^, or was good friends with or paid off the inspector. Happens alot actually (especially the part about working without permits).
 
GuitarDoc said:
^, or was good friends with or paid off the inspector. Happens alot actually (especially the part about working without permits).
Click to expand...

Oh, I'd believe it. Especially bars. Lots of money changing hands to get the doors open.
 
To update this thread, I got the Jackson KV3 I was working on with this thread in mind working.

It has an OFR, two independent volumes, a Full Shred set with two Triple Shots, a push/pull phase on the neck pickup, and a Shadow killswitch pot on the bridge pickup.

Combining phase/parallel and being able to isolate the pickups in the center toggle position will make the guitar really versatile I think.

The killswitch and Floyd flutter are easy to abuse. :)

It might have benefitted from a tone knob but maybe turning the pickup volume knobs down a bit will chop off highs and simulate the effect of a tone knob. I don't use a tone knob much, anyway.

GuitarDoc , thanks for all the effort going into helping me. I have found that using a slightly higher wattage iron (60 watt instead of 40) and a conical tip works for me. Wiring the pots up completely first and then soldering instead of soldering one connection at a time also seems to help.

Do you have any advice for removing solder from small places like push/pull eyelets and pot terminals? I have a solder wick and bulb but I thought perhaps heating the solder and using an X-acto blade to push the old solder out of the holes might work so I can reuse old pots from previous installations.

Thanks for the help, all.
 
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