need wire!

[fenderfrk10]

I'm trying to shield my strat but can't find the materiels!

Does anyone have any idea where i can find the '2 conductor with a braided shield" wire/cable that John Atchley specifies in the plans

-Also, is that the same type of cable that microphones use. Could i just use the middle section of a balanced mic line?

[UnklMickey]

that stuff is gonna be large diameter and bulky. won't be fun to work with.

try some of the places here:
guitarnuts2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=coffee&action=display&thread=1129956856

look under electronic parts or guitar parts & lutherie supplies.

if you can't find something appropriate, shout back here and we'll try a different approach

[fenderfrk10]

i suppose your talking about the mic cable being big and bulky?

-right, anyway i'll try a few more radioshacks in my general area and see if they carry the 2 conducter wire

-hmm.. a thought.. could i use speaker cable with the 2 conductors and shield it with aluminum foil?

[fenderfrk10]

by the way the www.valuesurplus.com/ link is dead because that online store closed down

[UnklMickey]

fenderfrk10 said:

by the way the www.valuesurplus.com/ link is dead because that online store closed down

thanks,

i'll edit that one out right now

[UnklMickey]

fenderfrk10 said:

i suppose your talking about the mic cable being big and bulky?

-right, anyway i'll try a few more radioshacks in my general area and see if they carry the 2 conducter wire

-hmm.. a thought.. could i use speaker cable with the 2 conductors and shield it with aluminum foil?

YUCK! real messy arrangement. if you feel you must make your own, a pair of 20~22 ga wires, twisted and then spiral wrapped by third 20 ga wire, might do in a pinch.

but do yourself a favor and get some real pickup cable. it'll look better and work better. and you'll feel better about the work you've done.

[fenderfrk10]

where can i get "real pickup cable" i've never seen that before

[UnklMickey]

"real pickup cable" is just shielded cable of the appropriate ga. (20~28). i was just using that terminology in contrast with your "home-made pickup cable" idea

here are two examples:

www.guitarpartsresource.com/electrical_wire.htm

[fenderfrk10]

i'm not quite sure were on the same page here. sorry if this is causing you any trouble. I need a cable where there are two insulated conductors inside a single braided shield. i need this for new leads from the input jack and for "star grounding"

[UnklMickey]

i think we're in sync.

the 2 conductor pickup cable on that page should be what you described.

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

fenderfrk10 said:

I'm trying to shield my strat but can't find the materiels!

One place I've ordered from with good results is Superior Sound (Monte Allums). I got the link from that PDF file that somebody made up for John A.'s site, the one with a list of suppliers of shielding materials.
From his home page, go to "Pickguard Shields" or directly to www.monteallums.com/Product_links.html. A little over halfway down the page is "22 AWG Silver-Plated Copper Stranded Inner Electronics Guitar Wire With Silver-Plated Copper Braid Shield." It's single conductor, but small enough outside diameter that you could run two lengths of it side-by-side and taped if you needed two conductors.

I guess I'm going to have to use some of that stuff to make my new "Silver Bullet."

--
Doug C.

[fenderfrk10]

woohoo!! found it at the radioshack

thanks for your help guys time to whip out the soldering iron and "quiet the beast"

[vroom]

Hey all. I'm trying to Quiet the Beast, and am in need of the 2 conductor pickup wire, as well as the capacitor.

I've tried all of the above links and those on the links page, but have come up empty handed. It would be best if I could order everything in one place, but at the very least I'll order the capacitors from Mouser.com and go elsewhere for the pickup wire. The problem now is the pickup wire. Guitarresource has the right stuff, but it won't let me order it. Paypal gives a shopping cart error whenever I try.

Any ideas?

EDIT: I spoke too soon. Ebay had what I was looking for. Thanks anyway.

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

unklmickey said:

"real pickup cable" is just shielded cable of the appropriate ga. (20~28). i was just using that terminology in contrast with your "home-made pickup cable" idea

here are two examples:

www.guitarpartsresource.com/electrical_wire.htm

Has anyone here used the WR-4CON variety? I think it's four-insulated-plus-a-bare; hard to tell from the pic, but the other type looks like there are three individual conductors, counting the bare wire.

I like the idea of the shielded stuff, but also like Wolf's idea of using single-strand for less grief when connecting 'em to switches, etc.
I was thinking GPR's stuff might be an improvement over anything at RadShack.

[UnklMickey]

ministratmaine said:

...I like the idea of the shielded stuff, but also like Wolf's idea of using single-strand for less grief when connecting 'em to switches, etc...

any short run is more sensibly handled by unshielded wire of whatever type (stranded or shielded) you like best.

longer runs do need shielded wire.

i'm remembering now that the cable i bought years ago, is 4 conductor + shield and is extremely small gauge. it was actually pick-up arm cable. (you know: vinyl discs, turntables, phono cartridges).

don't know if belden even makes that any more.

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

unklmickey said:

any short run is more sensibly handled by unshielded wire of whatever type (stranded or shielded) you like best.

longer runs do need shielded wire.

Okay, thanks. This one will be a "long run" (that'd make a great song title) until I get everything terminated at where it needs to go. (And using the "measure twice, cut once" rule. I hate having something a ¼" short of where it needs to be soldered.)

i'm remembering now that the cable i bought years ago, is 4 conductor + shield and is extremely small gauge. it was actually pick-up arm cable.

Yow! I'd be wearing my headband magnifier and looking through the magnifier on my Daylight Lamp.

[UnklMickey]

ministratmaine said:

...Okay, thanks. This one will be a "long run" (that'd make a great song title)...

Maybe, maybe not, "... we'll find out..."

ministratmaine said:

...Yow! I'd be wearing my headband magnifier and looking through the magnifier on my Daylight Lamp. ...

the one plus to that stuff, is that it easily fits through a hole or rout that was intended for small diameter, single conductor + shield cable.

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

unklmickey said:

ministratmaine said:

...Okay, thanks. This one will be a "long run" (that'd make a great song title)...

Maybe, maybe not, "... we'll find out..."

Good catch!

I did order a WR-4CON from GuitarPartsResource.com, but haven't had a chance to get to RS yet. I could go now, but around here, heavy rain seems to bring out earthworms and idiot drivers. (I don't want to be either one. ;D )

[crunchypotato]

Sorry, I'm not too sure of your problem with the wire. I think that you need a shielded four pole wire for a humbucker. If you can't get it you can make a little improvisation by using the wire of an old PS/2 mouse or even a new one that you can buy in any informatic's store for a couple of bucks.