Whats the best wire

[marley459]

I got 22 solid core wire and i like it.  But sometimes it gets real bendy and crappy looking.  Does anyone know any better wire to use?  Is the stranded stuff better?

[jimilee]

I use Barry's best hookup wire over at guitar pcb. It's not exactly solid core, but it's a stranded and kind of bonded I guess. Been using it for a while now, haven't come across anything i like better so far. It's  24 awg I believe.

[marley459]

I saw that on there but wasn't sure if it was worth buying.  I usually get all my wire and solder from radio shack.

[Beo]

I like the PTFE wire at Apex Jr.
http://www.apexjr.com/wire.html
Teflon sleeve doesn't melt when soldering.

I use a Patco PTS-30 to strip it.
http://patcoinc.net/pts30.html

[candidate]

I saw that on there but wasn't sure if it was worth buying.  I usually get all my wire and solder from radio shack.

Anything is better than Radio Shack wire. 

[Maik]

I use RG74 coaxial cable. 4,2mm and flexible enough

[cloudscapes]

Coax. Excessive in most cases, but still probably the best? 

[R.G.]

Once again, define "best" before you start.

Solid wire can be bent into neat, tidy shapes. But it is prone to breaking if not stripped with a thermal stripper. And any repair work leaves it a mess.

Stranded is more flexible and durable to shocks, movement and mechanical stripping. But it can look messier.

Bonded-stranded has many of the characteristics of solid.

Coax is a PITA to work with and adds capacitance to wire runs that can cause treble loss. But it is sometimes the only way to prevent signal contamination in a tight box.

The "best" wire has to be, in order:
1. A wire that you have or can get. Any wire is better than no wire. That's only partly in jest.
2. Wire that's neither too big nor too small. For pedals, #24 is just about right. For coax, RG174 or salvaged hifi cables is about right.
3. Wire that meets the physical needs. IMHO, solid is most useful for "artwork" wiring, where the placement of the wires in tidy, artistic runs is important. I personally don't care very much what the wire routing looks like as long as it works well. Your opinion may be different.

So what's "best" for me is #24 7-32 stranded with PVC jacket in at least five colors and a spool of RG174 I bought fifteen years ago and have used 1/3 of in that time. I need black and green at about twice the rate of any other color. #24 stranded is stiff enough to take a bend, but flexible enough not to break after a few repair cycles.

[Mark Hammer]

I'm a sucker for the #24 bonded that Small Bear sells.  It strips nicely, and the stripped ends slide through small holes nicely.  It is robust enough to handle most jobs, and turns corners with ease.  That latter aspect is very important if you make one-offs like I, and most people here, do.  If you don't know exactly how long the leads from the board to the toggle lugs need to be, it's nice to have wire that can bend over between the board and chassis-mount controls, without fracturing or being so stiff and bulky that you have to figure out where to put all that wire.

If I was cranking out multiple copies of pedals, where I would know in advance how long each lead needed to be and where it would go, I could use #22 solid-core, and have neat, artful wire dressing like a Dave Reeves amp.  But I don't, so I find that pre-bonded stuff works great for me.  YMMV

[amptramp]

I have used wire-wrap wire.  It is 30-gauge solid with Kynar insulation and you can put several of them in a standard vero hole.  It has low capacitance to the rest of the wiring due to its small size and solders easily.  For anything carrying appreciable current, larger gauge wire is better.

[davent]

I like the PTFE wire at Apex Jr.
http://www.apexjr.com/wire.html

Me too, 22awg.

[italianguy63]

I try to find multi-conductor 22awg stranded wire, and seperate it.  The bonded (tinned) is so much easier to work with because you don't have to tin the tips.  But, stranded is superior to solid because it won't fatigue and break.  I just picked up some 9-strand for $.30 a foot.  That's about $.03 a foot!  I have an electronics surplus house nearby-- very helpful.  I use 24awg when I use the annoying tiny hole boards... My eyes are hardly that good at my age.  Differnt types of insulation are easier/harder to work with too.  For example (silicone-ish) insuation won't melt away when you solder, but it won't keep a bend either.. Depends on what you want really I guess.  MC

[disabled_shredder]

I use 24-26 gauge stranded Teflon military hookup wire or prestressed! Neither shrinks no matter how much heat. I have about 7 different colors and about 5thousand feet of each if anyone wants a small amt just pay for shipping and ill send you some to try. I got the stuff from a friend I know it can still be bought but it costs an arm an a leg but its the best wire I ever used and I'm super OCD about my wire!

[LucifersTrip]

did anyone mention to the OP that not only does solid core break easier, but it's not recommend for stompbox wiring because it pulls up the traces on a pcb or perf...

[GGBB]

it pulls up the traces on a pcb or perf...

I didn't know that - can you elaborate?  I feel like I'm missing something important.

[Mark Hammer]

did anyone mention to the OP that not only does solid core break easier, but it's not recommend for stompbox wiring because it pulls up the traces on a pcb or perf...

It can, to be sure, but it can also serve as a suitable standoff for boards if the layout permits installing any pots or toggles directly above the corresponding pads.

[blackieNYC]

A further question:  I have a lot of wire in one box, and  a 555 chip is in my future.
What is a good small, shielded wire?  I've been using cheap stereo cables, thin as I can find for the flex. Anyone shielding?

[R.G.]

A further question:  I have a lot of wire in one box, and  a 555 chip is in my future.
What is a good small, shielded wire?  I've been using cheap stereo cables, thin as I can find for the flex. Anyone shielding?

2. Wire that's neither too big nor too small. For pedals, #24 is just about right. For coax, RG174 or salvaged hifi cables is about right.

[Thecomedian]

I dunno why, but 22 gauge stranded is impossible to push through perfboard or stripboard holes if it's tinned before putting it through. I use solid core whenever I can to avoid having to work with stranded, but for off-board parts like jack, switch, pot, stranded is supposed to be more resilient to breakages.

[Goodrat]

I only use, 24 AWG stranded ( I guess they tin it with something) and must be teflon. I hate melting pvc and 24 stranded is strong and flexible for most any application.