[originalmatthew]

I'm sure we could quibble all day long wether you can audibly tell the difference between different grades of wire inside the guitar. In the electrical world, less resistance=less signal degridation. I was lucky enough to score a roll of vintage .22 ga. silver wire (not the tinned copper, but real silver wire) and maybe my ears are shot, but I "think" I can hear a difference between the silver wire and the cheap thin stuff used today. Of course, it could all just be in my mind, but silver wire has a certain cool factor. I agree that shielding is far more important to sound quality (ie, reducing hum and such) than the wire is. The pots, switches, and especially the pickups are still what they are. Maybe we could get pots and switches with silver or gold contacts?!?!?! I wonder what pups wound with fine silver wire would sound like? Might be an interesting experiment, but even then, resistance is resistance. How many Henries does it take to make a Hank? I dunno. I'm sure a fancy machine could actually measure the difference. I just know I either like a sound or I dont. :o)