Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

E

Edward203

New member
Hi,

I am in the process of gathering the supplies I need to rewire one of my guitars from actives to passives. Since I'm basically rewiring everything and I run into shielded vs. not shielded wiring, should I get the shielded one? This is a new guitar, the inside has some black paint which I assume does something to shield, there is also the aluminum foil on the back of the plastic opening doors for the cavity.

The price is pretty much the same, 22 awg, this is what I was going to get:

https://www.philadelphialuthiertool...elded-cloth-push-back-wire-for-guitar-5-feet/


I guess it wouldn't hurt anything to get the shielded one?

Thanks!!!
 
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

JB_From_Hell said:
Are you talking about insulation on the wire? If so, yes.
Click to expand...

Another vote for shielded wire here.

However, you have a choice of what type of shielding: either the vintage braided shielding like what you shared a link to, or PVC shielded wire. I find the braided wire more difficult to work with. That braiding itself has to be soldered to the back of a pot to form a ground connection. It takes a bit of experience and skill to do that without risk of overheating the braid in the process and accidentally burning through it and damaging the inner wire. Unless you have a older guitar where you want to use the braided wiring for the purpose of maintaining existing vintage aesthetics, i would recommend you go with PVC shielded wire.

Following is one example of the PVC wire available online.

Also, regardless of the shielding type, i would highly recommend that you choose a product that is:

-Tinned
-Stranded
- the gauge of the wire is 22 Gauge.

The product i link to below meets that, and i see that the braided product you linked to also meets those specs, which is good.

https://guitarelectronics.com/stran...MzdN9tvw_bPlLWXCk0WLzYpIvOi3cprAaApo0EALw_wcB

PicsArt_02-03-10.12.06.jpg
 
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

For wiring, if there is a choice, then absolutely get shielded wire.
 
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

if you've got shielding tape (copper or aluminum) already in a guitar or graphite resin paint such as Squier, Jackson to a ton of other companies use inside the cavities I wouldn't bother with shielded wire.

Now a hifi stereo system or so is a whole different story as it's more current and so forth but a passive guitar. I'd just stick to cheap PVC wire. Interesting fact the only reason Leo Fender used cloth wire on early builds is because of the Korean war of 1950-1953 and the US Navy was using all the PVC wire. The only tricks with wire are
use as little as possible - Eric Johnson "float wire technique"
if you're using single conductor twist the wires up.
if you go with copper shielding tape make sure to connect each cavity on a tele or les paul and ground it.
I saw years ago willseasyguitar (youtuber) did an interesting trick i don't remember 100% but it involved wrapping a wire around a single coil and grounding it. I've seen cheaper rail single coils put copper tape and ground it too.

if hum is an issue I highly suggest a power bar that cancels out RFI and EMI. Plug all your pedals, amps and all into it before it hits the outlet especially if you're playing in an older house.

this is a great example of how twisted the wires in Steve Vai's guitar EVO was before madhatter upgraded the stock electronics on the guitar.
View attachment 103143
 
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

Thanks for the great info. I guess manufacturers/retailers use the word insulated or sometimes shielded just to make it sound better? It appears to be the same. I just wanted to make sure I'm not using something that will actually be detrimental, I'm buying small amounts just to rewire one guitar, pots, switch, output jack and pickups.

I didn't know about the twisting up the wires, I'll look it up in You Tube just in case so I don't screw up. My first time re wiring a guitar and it is a new guitar so I'll keep my fingerss crossed. Also I'm using hambuckers (Thrash Factor / Sentinent) so I guess chances of getting hum / noise are slimmer. I may do the split coil though, we'll see.
 
Last edited:
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

I believe twisting the wires together makes it noise rejecting because any coil is an omnidirectional antennae and twisting positive and negative opposite of each other in a coil I would think cancels out most interference. Similar to humbuckers, dummy coils, the Ilitch System and all the other techniques we use to defeat noise.
 
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

The term “shielded” is sometimes used when insulated is what is meant. Guitar wiring typically does not have shielded wire outside of some pickup leads. You can use shielded wire, but unless you are have serious RF interference, it is not necessary
 
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

kingswebe said:
Another vote for shielded wire here.

However, you have a choice of what type of shielding: either the vintage braided shielding like what you shared a link to, or PVC shielded wire. I find the braided wire more difficult to work with. That braiding itself has to be soldered to the back of a pot to form a ground connection. It takes a bit of experience and skill to do that without risk of overheating the braid in the process and accidentally burning through it and damaging the inner wire. Unless you have a older guitar where you want to use the braided wiring for the purpose of maintaining existing vintage aesthetics, i would recommend you go with PVC shielded wire.

Following is one example of the PVC wire available online.

Also, regardless of the shielding type, i would highly recommend that you choose a product that is:

-Tinned
-Stranded
- the gauge of the wire is 22 Gauge.

The product i link to below meets that, and i see that the braided product you linked to also meets those specs, which is good.

https://guitarelectronics.com/stran...MzdN9tvw_bPlLWXCk0WLzYpIvOi3cprAaApo0EALw_wcB

View attachment 103142
Click to expand...

You are saying PVC shielded wire. It is not. It is PVC insulated. There is a big difference between shielding and insulation. And in fact they are near opposite.
 
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

Yes. If you have long runs like in a Les Paul from the switch to the control cavity, shielded wire may be important. Within the control cavity shielded wire is not necessary. Insulated wire is a must to prevent shorting to other wires or grounds. I always use shrink tubing on exposed wires like grounds or cap wires.

Just to clarify...PVC, rubber, silicone, etc are good insulating materials, but horrible conductors. Therefore they are NOT used as shielding, which has to be made of a conductive material (metals like iron, copper, gold, aluminum, etc).

The gauge is not very important. I've used 18 - 28 gauge with no ill effects. Use a size that is convenient and manageable. I generally use 24 stranded wire with silicone insulation. It's very flexible and small enough to use on p/p pots and micro switches. Smaller than 28 and it is not very strong and will break with repeated bumping and bending...especially at a solder connection.

Twisting wires together MAY have some benefit on long runs, but is only beneficial for aesthetics in a control cavity.
 
Last edited:
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

shadowfire90 said:
if you've got shielding tape (copper or aluminum) already in a guitar or graphite resin paint such as Squier, Jackson to a ton of other companies use inside the cavities I wouldn't bother with shielded wire.

Now a hifi stereo system or so is a whole different story as it's more current and so forth but a passive guitar. I'd just stick to cheap PVC wire. Interesting fact the only reason Leo Fender used cloth wire on early builds is because of the Korean war of 1950-1953 and the US Navy was using all the PVC wire. The only tricks with wire are
use as little as possible - Eric Johnson "float wire technique"
if you're using single conductor twist the wires up.
if you go with copper shielding tape make sure to connect each cavity on a tele or les paul and ground it.
I saw years ago willseasyguitar (youtuber) did an interesting trick i don't remember 100% but it involved wrapping a wire around a single coil and grounding it. I've seen cheaper rail single coils put copper tape and ground it too.

if hum is an issue I highly suggest a power bar that cancels out RFI and EMI. Plug all your pedals, amps and all into it before it hits the outlet especially if you're playing in an older house.

this is a great example of how twisted the wires in Steve Vai's guitar EVO was before madhatter upgraded the stock electronics on the guitar.
View attachment 103143
Click to expand...

Wow! I'm actually agreeing with shadowfire90!
 
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

kingswebe said:
PVC shroud *IS* shielded wire. And someone doing wiring in a guitar wants to use wire with some kind of shielding - whether its braided, PVC or something else -regardless of whether the guitar cavities have copper foil tape or shielded paint applied or not. The copper foil or shielded paint is optional, whereas the shielded wire is the "mininum requirement."
Click to expand...

You are greatly confusing shielding with insulation.
 
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

GuitarDoc said:
You are greatly confusing shielding with insulation.
Click to expand...

Yes, you are right. I didn't even know they were separate things; thought insulated and shielded meant the same thing. Thanks for the informative replies, i got it straight now and learned something.
 
Last edited:
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

kingswebe said:
Yes, you are right. I didn't even know they were separate things; thought insulated and shielded meant the same thing. Thanks for the informative replies, i got it atraight now and learned something.
Click to expand...

Easy mistake to make. You're not alone.
 
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

I learned something, too! I'd like to know more about the twisted wires, and if that is a thing that actually works.
 
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

Mincer said:
I learned something, too! I'd like to know more about the twisted wires, and if that is a thing that actually works.
Click to expand...

I’ve seen it typically in amplifiers. Sure it makes a cleaner layout but there’s also a power supply in there with big transformers nearby and hundreds of volts passing through, so my understanding is it’s an attempt to reduce any hum or noise interference. Don’t know how much it helps passive guitar with only fractions of volts generated. I’ve done it in my strats and they are quieter, but I also shielded the heck out of everything which probably did much much more.
 
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

As long as it doesn't *hurt* to do it. It *might* help when combating noise (if that is an issue).
 
Re: Guitar wiring: Shielded or not?

Twisting the wires aggravates arthritis in your fingers. It may give you better toanz, but it won't affect your tone at all. Period!
 
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