Why 22 AWG?

Almost all guitar manufacturers use 22 AWG for the inside wiring.

Is there any particular reason for that, considering that thinner wire will probably be cheaper?

Solid core or stranded?

And so, are there things to consider when opting for a different gauge? I have some nice old waxed wires I pulled from a radio that I would like to use but it is somewhat thinner than 22 AWG. Yeah I know, pure cosmetics :rolleyes:

Good questions. I don't know all the answers, but...

CIJ Tele pickups I've seen have skinnier lead wires, maybe 24?

I like solid for short segments between switch lugs. When I didn't have a spool of that I used excess I had clipped from the end of a cap. I haven't tried solid for the other uses.

I'm more concerned about function than form inside the control plate, I don't have any historic instruments.

Almost anything goes except for solid. It breaks too easy. You can bend or vibrate a stranded wire a lot with no problem.

You don't want to go too small or it will be fragile. Too big, and it's hard to work with and takes up too much space. 22AWG is a nice middle-of-the road gauge. I like 24AWG too.

Any wire guage larger than 22, would be hell to work with in a guitar cavity.
Try soldering 18 guage wire to a mini-pot, hell-on-earth!!
Steve

ok, thanks for the answers.

To my first "Fender" purchase.
Bought a strat.
Turns out what I got was a Mighty Mite ash body (whew! heavy)
Some dimarzio pups
a black, brushed, anodized guard.
A real '65 strat neck!:grin:

But the wiring.....
it was straightened out paper clips twisted together with daubs of rubber cement at the joints. Paid $80 bucks for all new wiring/pots (didn't do nuthin' myself them days.....I was 17)

Didn't know what I had with that neck either. Drooled over and bought a Warmoth Pau Ferro/Ebony neck I saw at a store and sold the '65 neck cheap to a buddy. He sold to another buddy who had removed his '61 strat neck for a new Fender replacement neck. That guy wasn't happy with the new neck but when the 61 body came together with the '65 neck, it played real nice.
At the beginning of all this ('79 or '80) I wasn't hip to the vintage market, but later I was bummed. Live and learn

Is 26 guage from Guitar Fetish too thin??

I suspect all pickups come standard with 22 AWG so you really shouldn't mess with those leads. The wires going to the ouput jack are probably the same.
Leo designed these guitars with quick service in mind. You can experiment with any gauge. It will have no affect on your sound.
The comments from all of the preceeding threads pretty well cover it,

So - it´s not really counting much, whether 22, 24 or even 26 awg?


(I used 24 awg aircraft wire for a vintage tc200 bk (http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop_image/product/aaaa04374e4d39d52813a4f1658f7338.jpg) "tele" when re-wiring it to standard tele and installing new pots. Didn´t notice any change on sound quality except that the new proper big casing "A" pots gave it more range to dial, but the 24 awg looks quite thin (http://cache.gawker.com/assets/resources/2006/12/Skinny%20model.jpg) though...)

tt

That is what Leo did. That is what we THINK we are SUPPOSED to see when we look inside.
Just another opinion,
Rob

the current running thru the wires is measured in miliamps so the gage is pretty unimportant as the total length of the circuitry is probably not 5 feet.
there will be no apreciable loss of current. the frequencies carried thru the cicuit is strictly midrange and there is no audible frequency loss or capacitive filtering effect from wire gage.
what is important is that you neatly strip the ends without nicking the conductors and you should use tinned multistrand wire that won't oxidize.
tinned solid strand wire is good for the ground circuit.
sheilded wire from pups to control cavity is a good idea esp on single coil pups.