Wire colors

[asfastasdark]

Hi guys,
I had this question. Well, it's more of an "I wonder..." type thing, but whatever.
If any of you use different color wires to color code builds (a certain color for pot wires, a certain color for board IN and OUT, etc.), which colors do you use for what? I have just been using black wire so far but soon if I'll build something new I'm going to be buying some more colors, so this is why I ask.

[kurtlives]

Red Vcc, Vref
Black grounds
Yellow input and fx in

then I also have blue and green wire that I use as I please. For pots I mix yellow, green, blue and black (if there is a ground). Yellow always goes to lug two for some reason as well

My only rules are grounds must be black wire and positive voltage must be red.


Smallbear stranded pre-tinned 24 wire, GOLDEN!
Seriously get some, you won regret it.

[Zben3129]

V+ = red
GND = Black
In and Out = white
Vb, Vref etc = light blue
Pots = green, yellow, purple, orange, blue

[asfastasdark]

You know, pictures like this just make me want to spend millions on every color of wire possible:


All those colorful little rainbows... 

Pic is from Frequencycentral by the way.

[96ecss]

V+ - Red
Gnd - Black
Pots - Blue, Orange, Purple, Yellow and Green
In - Blue
Out - Green

The V+ and Gnd are obvious choices for me. I guess I came up with the In and Out colors by habit. For some reason, I always seemed to use Blue for In and Green for Out. I've thought about standardizing the colors on the Pots but I never do. All my wire spools hang over my bench on a holder I made and when it comes to the Pots, I just grab whatever color, except for Red and Black.

+1 for the Smallbear 24AWG pre-tinned wire. I love it.

Dave

[frequencycentral]

You know, pictures like this just make me want to spend millions on every color of wire possible:


All those colorful little rainbows... 

Pic is from Frequencycentral by the way.

Damn! That does look good doesnt it! 

I bought a reel of that stuff years ago from Maplin in the UK, they dont stock it anymore! I need to find some more - I have enough left for about two pedals, used most of it for my modular synth.

As for colour coding, I agree with kurtlives as far as +ve and ground goes. Everything else is just arbitary - whatever gives the neatest build. I usually write down the wiring colour scheme on the back of the schematic.

[SonicVI]

nope, no codes.

[Mark Hammer]

My own personal standard is red and black for power, white for in, blue for out ("clean" and "bluesy", get it?).  If there is something like 3-band EQ, I'll use yellow for treble, orange for mids, and brown for lows.  For LFO rate, or mode-change toggles, I tend to use grey.  For LFO depth or regen, I'll use purple.  For 2-knob overdrives and fuzzes, I tend to use brown for Drive/Fuzz ("brown" sound, get it?).   If it's a perf build and I need to connect ground points, I'll use solid core, and make sure it is the same colour for all connections, though it doesn't really matter what colour. If a circuit uses a bipolar supply, its red pos, green gnd, and black neg.

In general, I find it helpful to have an assortment of wire colours and associate them with function on a consistent basis so that when flipping boards up and down, I am able to keep track of what control does what and is located where.

[bumblebee]

I don't have specific colors I use but I always use a different color for ground, usually blue, and what ever color I feel like at the time for everything else.

[Zben3129]

I actually don't think color-coding is necessary in stompboxes, unless they have a significant amount of parts, such as 5+ pots or 2 stomp switches, or some mod switches. The only reason I use colored wire is because I got used to doing it in tube amp builds, where it is VITAL. Worst case scenario in a stompbox if you forget what wire is what you just trace it a couple inches to the pcb. Different story in tube amps where you have very sensitive wires, very "noisy" wires etc.

If you have multiple colored wires already then may aswell color code a bit, but if you don't I wouldn't sweat it.

[kurtlives]

I like different colors because if you have a bunch of the same color wire and you are trying to trace a wire with your eye it is easy to get lost or "jump" to another wire.

[frequencycentral]

I like different colors because if you have a bunch of the same color wire and you are trying to trace a wire with your eye it is easy to get lost or "jump" to another wire.

+1

[cpnyc23]

V+ = red
Gnd = black

I usually keep my in/out signals on green but that might be updated soon.

-chris

[ConanB]

Red V+
Black G

I've now started using White for In/Out, and then use Orange and Blue for pot wires, but don't really have a standard for the pot combinations yet. Thinking of getting one more colour and use it with the pots for a seperate colour each lug.

[gmr1]

re: rainbow wire - is this the same stuff?:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110321704896

[cheeb]

Well I buy my wire from Radio Shack because it's always the first thing I run out of and I can just run across town and grab some. Radio Shack wire only comes in red, green, and black, so I use red for V+, Black for ground, and green for signal, but these rules aren't set in stone.

[asfastasdark]

Well I buy my wire from Radio Shack because it's always the first thing I run out of and I can just run across town and grab some. Radio Shack wire only comes in red, green, and black, so I use red for V+, Black for ground, and green for signal, but these rules aren't set in stone.

I do the same. But they don't have green at my RadioShack, only black, red, and white.

[Ripthorn]

I'm colorblind, so I use black and white.  Black for ground and white for anything signal related.  Keeps things simple (sort of) and plus I had boatloads of white.

[frequencycentral]

BONDED COLOUR-CODED RIBBON CABLE:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=COLOUR+CODED+RIBBON+CABLE&_sacat=See-All-Categories

[oldschoolanalog]

V+ = red
GND = black
Everything else is what's on hand (good quility, of course), fits the job, and is free.
If I were selling f/x there would have to be some color coding standard. But I'm not, so, I prefer to spend $$ on pots, enclosures, and the things where $$ really adds up.
However, when you see that beautiful rainbow wiring  , you think, hmm...
Dave