What Is Guitar Wire?

guitar wire

What Is Guitar Wire?

Guitar Wire (aka Plastic Wire or Neoprene) is an important component in the construction of acoustic guitars. This is because the guitar will be utilized in live performances and also for recording purposes. The guitar wire that you will use will help to carry the electrical signal from the amplifier to the pickups in the guitar. There are basically two types of guitar wire: Plastic Wire, or Electrical Wire, and Electrical Cable.

Some guitarists go for a hot pink tone to create a vintage tone to an acoustic guitar. Others are all the bleeding edge of cool new tones yet to be heard. Get a Guitar Wire quote for this purpose today. Choose the type of guitar wire that works best for your purposes by considering its gauge, physical size, its thickness, its color, its length, and its conductivity. Also, make sure to get an outer braid that matches the thickness of the inner guitar wire.

Gauge refers to the diameter or size of the gauge of the guitar wire used for the pickup. Diameter refers to the thickness of the wire, in millimeters, which helps to determine the efficiency of conductivity. Most guitar pickups are constructed using three-conductor wiring, which is one reason why the material is so thin. Three-conductor wiring is almost completely copper, though it may use other metals for the pickup coils, such as brass.

The thickness of the wire is related only to the thickness of the pickup coil, but the two combine to determine the overall quality of the pickup as well. You can get a guitar wire with almost any thickness you want along with an outer jacket that will protect the pickup coils from dirt and dust. Some guitar pickups even have a plain enamel finish to help keep their metal body from rusting.

The outer braid is another important component of the guitar wire, and its thickness depends on the amount of amplification needed by the amplifier. The common practice is to get the shortest of the two wires: about 24 inches long. However, if you only intend to attach the pickup to the guitar’s strap bone, then you will not need the long outer braid.

Finally, there is the core of the wire. The most commonly used gauges are six and twelve volts. If you are using a guitar that plugs into a standard wall outlet, then you will probably want to use a twelve-volt model, but you should check with the person selling you the guitar to determine what size of gauge wire your amplifier can use.