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Wiring?

Rusty2867

Rusty2867

Jan 12, 2014
188
47
De Soto,Ks
#1
I am getting ready to replace the scratchy pots in my Fender Mexi Jazz and figured I would go w ahead and change all three and the jack with Cts and Switchcraft,also new wire.Question is what type of wire do I need and where do I get it? All of the guitar stores around here that I've checked don't sell it or shielding tape! Thanks in advance for your help,Todd ps leaving for work so will check thread on break and in the morning
 
#7
I just went to the local electrical jobber and picked up a few coils of 22 AWG stranded copper wire with plastic insulation. I got coils of black, white, red, and green, a few 4' pieces of shrink tube and a couple tips for my soldering iron and the total bill was right around $25.00.

I've also used the pushback wire and it's much simpler to use (no stripping of insulation required) but I'm not crazy about the potential for trouble with insulation that just slides around on my wires. To be clear this is strictly a personal opinion as I've never had any problem with shorted pushback wires.

Regards the pots in your MIM, all the MIM basses I've opened had CTS pots in them already. Have you considered cleaning the pots instead of replacing them? A quick spritz of deoxit has worked to cure noisy pots more than once for me.
 
#8
If you decide to go with different pots, try the CTS EP885 250k solid shaft model. The CTS pots used in the MIM are basically the "vintage" torque, open top variety and have a little more slop to them. The EP885's have a much more consistent torque and smoother taper then the stock MIM CTS pots. Nothing wrong with them, just personal preference.
 
#9
Well I haven't been able to find 22ga wire but I have some 18ga usa made wire in blk and wht,does gauge really matter?Also the pots that I purchased have EP085 250K 1213 CTS stamped in them,are these good pots? Went to Home Depot and they don't stock that copper tape I found on their website in store but a place called Suburban Lawn and Garden say they have it at their main store.Going there tomorrow.
 
#10
Rusty2867 said:
Well I haven't been able to find 22ga wire but I have some 18ga usa made wire in blk and wht,does gauge really matter?Also the pots that I purchased have EP085 250K 1213 CTS stamped in them,are these good pots? Went to Home Depot and they don't stock that copper tape I found on their website in store but a place called Suburban Lawn and Garden say they have it at their main store.Going there tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Wire gauge does not matter in this application. The current is very low, and you are not in the right frequency range for things like skin depth to come into play. 18AWG is a bit thicker than 22AWG, so the wire will be stiffer.

CTS are average quality pots.
 
#18
Congrats on getting it worked out! We all started somewhere so don't sweat it. As far as how drastic it is, that really depends on the capacitor used and how your volumes are set. In general, A good test I would say is turn up both volumes and tone all the way. Then turn the tone all the way down. When you do this it should go from clear and articulate to deep with very very little highs or none at all.
 
#19
Technotitclan said:
Congrats on getting it worked out! We all started somewhere so don't sweat it. As far as how drastic it is, that really depends on the capacitor used and how your volumes are set. In general, A good test I would say is turn up both volumes and tone all the way. Then turn the tone all the way down. When you do this it should go from clear and articulate to deep with very very little highs or none at all.
Click to expand...

Pretty much. The standard cap value for a typical jazz bass will be .047/.05.
 

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