What do I do with all this wire?

[RW James]

I bought a wiring upgrade kit from Acme Guitar Works (4 pots, caps, switch, jack) and 4 different kinds of wire:

Teflon Silver-Plated Copper
Cotton Push Back w/ Tinned Overcoat
Shielded, 4 Conductor
and one not listed in their specs
a single conductor with a braided metal jacket

The 4 conductor would be great if I needed to extend the pickup leads but I'm good there--I will save it for the future.

What about the others? I feel like each one must have a special application, but I can't figure out which goes where.

Any ideas?

 

[RW James]

Re: What do I do with all this wire?

no thoughts or experiences? nothing to share?

 

[greco]

Re: What do I do with all this wire?

Hi Rick:

I don't have enough time now to answer your question in detail.

The quick answer, IMHO, is that you can use many of the wires interchangeably *( * ? spelling) for a variety of applications.

I often use shielded wire as the ground is always going the "hot" and this tends to reduce noise and makes for fewer individual wires to have to think about.

Can you post a diagram of what you wiring you want to do?

I'm sure that others will give opinions.

With the small levels of current/voltages involved, the wire type/guage is not that critical...IMHO

Many forumbros like the cotton covered as it is easy to use and has a "vintage" mojo element.

Dave

 

[RW James]

Re: What do I do with all this wire?

Hi Rick:

I don't have enough time now to answer your question in detail.

The quick answer, IMHO, is that you can use many of the wires interchangeably *( * ? spelling) for a variety of applications.

I often use shielded wire as the ground is always going the "hot" and this tends to reduce noise and makes for fewer individual wires to have to think about.

Can you post a diagram of what you wiring you want to do?

I'm sure that others will give opinions.

With the small levels of current/voltages involved, the wire type/gauge is not that critical...IMHO

Many forumbros like the cotton covered as it is easy to use and has a "vintage" mojo element.

Dave

Thanks for the response... I was thinking of just going with a standard wiring - link but the diagram Acme sent was - I think - what I've seen referred to as the "50s" option??? Anyway, the cap is placed between the tone and vol pot.

By the way, the kit also included volume kit - to prevent treble roll-off.

When I go home I'll scan the diagram and post it here.

And yeah, I was thinking that the shielded wire would be good for the ground - but the shield is exposed (no jacket). Should I try to keep that isolated from everything? I assume the actual ground would be attached to the core wire - NOT the jacket.

 

[greco]

Re: What do I do with all this wire?

Rick...again, no time. Sorry.

Don't start soldering yet, please. The braided jacket is typically used as the the ground.

Dave

 

[RW James]

Re: What do I do with all this wire?

Rick...again, no time. Sorry.

Don't start soldering yet, please. The braided jacket is typically used as the the ground.

Dave

Okay - that makes sense - so I just ignore the core wire - or solder both... or?

 

[greco]

Re: What do I do with all this wire?

Rick

Do you want to use your new thread for the wire related questions also?

The threads will eventually "interconnect" with information.

Saves going back and forth.

Dave

 

[RW James]

Re: What do I do with all this wire?

Rick

Do you want to use your new thread for the wire related questions also?

The threads will eventually "interconnect" with information.

Saves going back and forth.

Dave

Well - I created the other one because it really dealt with the placement of the caps. This one is more about the wire.

I e-mailed Acme, and George said he includes the extra wires just so I could have choice. He personally prefers the cloth covered. But I could see in a tight space where the Teflon covered might work better.

The four conductor he said was for the run between the switch cavity and the pots cavity - but on my guitar they are all in the same cavity.

I'm still wondering about the best way to use the metal jacketed wire. You said to use the jacket itself for ground - which makes sense. Then just ignore the center wire, I assume.

 

[greco]

Re: What do I do with all this wire?

Well -
I'm still wondering about the best way to use the metal jacketed wire. You said to use the jacket itself for ground - which makes sense. Then just ignore the center wire, I assume.

The centre wire is the "hot" (for want of a better word). This way you have 2 wires (the shield being considered the ground "wire", always running together. I use thais all the time (to help reduce noise, and for convenience). I prefer the shielded wire that has plastic insulation on it, so that the ground does not touch any of the "hot" parts of the circuit...like the shielded 4 conductor you were given, only with a single inner conductor (i.e., like the braided style you were supplied with only with anadditional plastic covering)

Dave