Wiring sizes and options; stuffed and lengthy wire routes in a guitar body

[Eddododo]

TLDR: running 12 to 20 wires in a 'trough' routed in a guitar, to connect the pots/switches up top (jazzmaster) to the PCB lower control cavity. Curious how thin of wire is reasonable, and what wiring options / forms I don't know about

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Working on a bass build with an active pre; the circuit/pcb will mostly be down in the classic control cavity, but the active pots/switches will be in the upper bout like a jazzmaster etc

There will be a wiring trough routed, and I'm trying to strike the right balance between overstuffing it and keeping the trough size somewhat in check.

I'm working on some consolidation, like components and smaller connecting nodes up with the pot cavity, but I'm still looking at 12+ wires, and it could be a lot more if I can't consolidate a huge amount

So with that, I guess the basic question is how small of a wire can I use, or alternatively are there some stompbox-unusual wiring options I may not have thought of

The circuit is 18v /9Vref, but none of the wires should have basically anything more than negligible current on them.

Also worth noting that the routed trough will be enclosed (top glued on, not a ditch under a pickguard). I could certainly pre-lay the wires to avoid a tedious fish-through, But I need to at least consider having to repair and reroute anything later.. so I'm not sure something like a flat ribbon or anything would be great

One random idea, for example is to use something like Cat5 or HDMI.. Im sure there are better options than that, but just as a jumping off point.. as opposed to just stuffing spaghetti in there and hoping hoping I don't get weird crosswalk issues.

Appreciate any thoughts on this!

[Rob Strand]

So one issue in packing cables together is unwanted crosstalk/capacitive coupling issues.  You might need to bundle the conductors in groups so you can put distance and/or shielding between groups.

You might want to checkout cutting up a USB-C cable.   They have quite a lot of conductors also have shielding on some of the conductors.   Many products use custom cables for multiple conductors (MOQ could be 100m/300m/1000ft/4000ft) but the USB-C cable is easy to source in small quantities.

So a biggie for this type of thing is robustness of the wires.   In some places hand-soldered loose wires could flex and break.  Connectors and strain reliefs might help but that has a whole lot of headaches to go with it for small quantity builds.

[PRR]

As said: if you go too thin it will break. Long before you reach the point that signal won't get through. Break at first, or on a long tour.

Can you still buy "kynar wire-wrap"? Yes indeedy, in 26, 28, or 30 gauge. This stuff will wire a mainframe computer and tends to be very-best quality wire.

https://www.amazon.com/Syrisora-Wrappg-Wrapping-250meter-Bntechgo/dp/B0CZ8H24QL
https://www.amazon.com/Electronix-Express-27WK30WWR100-Insulated-Spools/dp/B01CK9GZV6