I've discovered the magic of solid hookup wire...

[Hal]

I got some for free, so started to use it.  I love it!  SO easy to strip, insert (either it fits or it doesn't, no sqeezing like stranded), and no tinning required! Amazing!

so....just to put it out there as an option for those of you (like me) who just accepted convention and blindly used stranded wire.

[phillip]

It also takes and holds a shape very easily so that internal wiring can look much neater.

Unfortunately, the stripped ends will also break quite easily if the leads are flexed too much.

Phillip

[R.G.]

As Phillip notes, you're about to discover the magic of cracked and breaking wires, too.

Solid wire is really only acceptable if you use thermal strippers that can not nick the surface of the wire. Otherwise, breaks at the stripping point are only a matter of time.

[aaronkessman]

the cloth covered solid stuff is great for amp work... just push the cloth back, no need to strip it. Im sure it works good for pedals too, just never tried (not sure why?)...

[Nasse]

, breaks at the stripping point are only a matter of time.

Unfortunately, the stripped ends will also break quite easily if the leads are flexed too much

[/color]

:? I can really say that is very true. The most bad wire is very thin "phone" cable with tough insulation. Maybe you could find a better compromise, solid and not so brittle metal and easily removable insulation... Old Electro-Harmonics used cleverly solid wire for certain wires only, those that are likely be twisted were flexible stuff.

I had to do some repair/fixing job lately for non-guitar or non-music equipment. I work in a company, we have some old and new electronic stuff around the county, and the gear has been done with such wire, a mess of non-soldered wires and screw-on terminals. The latest add-on job was done quick, dirty and cheap, and it looks that in some places the repairman had used whatever wire he could easily find or have in hand. It is not funny when you replace and fix six or seven wires every time you open the lid, and again and again two or three wires goes broken when you took the messy thing out of box or but it back. It is a repairman´s nightmare. I need aholiday

[GuitarLord5000]

Hal, I started using solid hookup wire for my first projects.  I personally like it for its ease of use, but have heard much about breakage.  The only advise I can give is to make sure that everything is very stable after you box it up.  Tape up loose wires to the inside of the enclosure so that they dont move at all.  I strip the wires with my teeth (my dentist LOVES it!) and havent had any problems with breakage at the stripping point.  Just be careful how much you bend and flex those wires!

[Peter Snowberg]

I like solid wire, but I don't strip it with any kind of stripping tool. Instead, I use cutters to 'nick' the insulation all the way around and then I tear the last bit off with my fingernails. That works very well, but a thermal stripper like R.G. mentioned is really the only way to go unless you don't mind spending a lot of time on prep work.

[yano]

I like the blended hookup wire that Small Bear offers, its solid core wire with stranded wrapped around it and tinned together or something, but it works great.

[jmusser]

I worked in the telecommunications industry for about 11 years, and it was a real rareity for us to ever use stranded wire. I have learned over the years to strip wire with short end wire cutters, so I wouldn't have to change tools all the time. Basically it's the same technique as using your fingernails. You are mashing the insulation and tearing it off so you don't scrape the wire. I don't know if any of the rest of you use that technique or not. I check myself periodically to see if I nick the wire by stripping back a little farther than my first stripping to see if I nick it. if I was building something where I had to move the wires a lot, I would use stranded, but basically once it's in the box, I'm leaving it there. Trying to put in tinned stranded 24# wire in a stomp switch or around component leads just makes me nash my teeeth through the entire project. I never have problems with broken wires, and I use a lot of the blue, orange, green, brown, slate, telephone pairs like you find in standard telephone cable. I'm sure all this is a no no, but I've used this type of wire since the early 80s.

[RDV]

My easyvibe is down right now cause I used that crap(solid wire). I've got to rewire the whole thing.

RDV

[petemoore]

I like it on the board sometimes, much easier to 'get in' certain tight spots with solid core, anything off board, I like the flexiblility of stranded.

[vanhansen]

I prefer stranded myself.  There is more surface for the current to flow in stranded than in sold because the majority of the current flows on the outside surface of the wire.  I've always found solid to be more of a pain than anything.

[Paul Marossy]

I only use solid core wire when I know it's something that will never get moved around. That way, the wire can't break.

[moosapotamus]

I switched to solid wire a long time ago and never looked back. Never had breaks or any problems at all, FTM.

Stranded wire is a pain in the ass, IMO... twisting, tinning, trying to breadboard with it... Forget it. Waste of time.

So, I only use solid wire... To each his own...

~ Charlie

[jmusser]

I learn more and more all the time about all of our differences. I use scrap enclosures and metal, scavenged parts and solid wire for instance. I've read where there are people on both sides of the fence on about ever aspect of making these effects. I guess the main thing is, that we share all this information and enjoy are preferences for style and technique. I've also found that there is a huge amount of talent on here, and I'm glad to be a part of it. Some of you build incredibly complex circuitry that's I'd never take on, and there are others who make some of the most beautiful enclosures I've ever seen, that would shame the commercial pedals. I'm just glad to be back at this again. I missed it a lot.

[D Wagner]

I am addicted to the pretinned stranded wire that Small Bear sells for effects.  It holds it's shape well, is easy to solder and doesn't unravel very easily.  (The PCB for the X-Generator is actually suspended by it!     Every wire on the board passes through a strain relief hole, though.)

But for breadboarding, I use solid phone wire.  It is color coded, easy to cut and insert into the holes, and I have more than I'll use in a lifetime.  

The pretinned wire works on the breadboard for a while, but starts to unravel after numerous insertions.

Derek