Soldering # 22ga solid wire issue

Thread Starter

Bristan

Joined Mar 26, 2016
11
I'm pretty new to soldering, and am having an issue with soldering my wire/solder. I noticed it works better on split wire vs. solid. I'm refurbishing a guitar and am soldering the components. Below is the equipment I am using. Any help is greatly appreciated!


Weller 35W Solder Iron
Lead Free Rosin Core Wire Solder (.062 Dia)
# 22 ga. solid wire
 

tracecom

Joined Apr 16, 2010
3,944
I use Sn63Pb37 and have absolutely no problems with tinned AWG22 solid wire. Is there a reason you are using lead free solder?
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,617
So I assume this is strings? If so you will need other solder and flux paste.
If regular conductor, where does that info come from?
Solid conductor is more susceptible to vibration fractures.
Max.
 

Thread Starter

Bristan

Joined Mar 26, 2016
11
I use Sn63Pb37 and have absolutely no problems with tinned AWG22 solid wire. Is there a reason you are using lead free solder?
Just curious, what size Dia do you use? I'm thinking I may need to go smaller to prevent my potentiometers from overheating.
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,280
Ya mostly because I don't want to inhale the bad fumes.
The fumes are mostly from the flux. A negligible amount of lead is vaporized at soldering temperatures.
I think all the concern about lead in solder for electrical connections is a large red herring. I seriously doubt that anyone has been harmed by lead in solder, unless they eat it. :rolleyes:
Of course, it should not be used for soldering copper pipe.

Lead-free solder is harder to solder with than lead solder so I don't use it unless I have to.
If you have trouble soldering, apply some rosin flux to the wire before soldering.
 

Thread Starter

Bristan

Joined Mar 26, 2016
11
So I assume this is strings? If so you will need other solder and flux paste.
If regular conductor, where does that info come from?
Solid conductor is more susceptible to vibration fractures.
Max.
I'm not sure if you're familiar with Mogami instrument cables, but they are some of the top instrument cables in the industry. The reason they use solid vs. split is because it's less susceptible to crackling noises over time (according to them).
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,617
I'm not sure if you're familiar with Mogami instrument cables, but they are some of the top instrument cables in the industry. The reason they use solid vs. split is because it's less susceptible to crackling noises over time (according to them).
I am not familiar with them but I do use stranded cables for carrying many frequencies particularly in precision servo positioning applications, it would be slightly disastrous if 'Crackling' occurred while operating?
Just never heard that reasoning before.
Max.
 

Thread Starter

Bristan

Joined Mar 26, 2016
11
I am not familiar with them but I do use stranded cables for carrying many frequencies particularly in precision servo positioning applications, it would be slightly disastrous if 'Crackling' occurred while operating?
Just never heard that reasoning before.
Max.
When it comes to guitar, most definitely especially if you're playing live in front of an audience. Imagine playing on stage, and all of a sudden all everyone hears is this terrible crackling noise. It sucks lol. 9/10 times it's because the instrument cable has a bad solder, the cable wires have split, or the guitar components have a bad solder.
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,617
When it comes to guitar, most definitely especially if you're playing live in front of an audience. Imagine playing on stage, and all of a sudden all everyone hears is this terrible crackling noise. It sucks lol. 9/10 times it's because the instrument cable has a bad solder, the cable wires have split, or the guitar components have a bad solder.
Having experience with a solid conductor used in a mobile application I would consider it far more prone to fracture than a stranded!
Max.
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,280
I'm not sure if you're familiar with Mogami instrument cables, but they are some of the top instrument cables in the industry. The reason they use solid vs. split is because it's less susceptible to crackling noises over time (according to them).
I don't see how stranded cable can generate a "crackling" or any other kind of noise that would be any different from a solid cable.
That's one one those audio myths that's promoted by vendors to make their product appear better.
It goes in the category of "oxygen free copper" and magic power cables as affecting the sound.
 

tcmtech

Joined Nov 4, 2013
2,867
So when does scientific fact Vs personal speculation start to play out in this? o_O

Personally I have never ben to live performance where I was expecting any decent level of sound quality let alone the band to sound anything like they do on their recordings. Heck I would be thrilled if the worst thing they did was crackle a bit. :oops:

Why are you still playing with cables anyway? Pretty much every band I have ever seen in the last 20+ years was runing on wireless gear just so that they don't have to put up with cable issues. :rolleyes:
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
There is a well known phenomenon called, "cord rustle". It usually happens with high impedance sources on old co-ax where the woven shield layer has accumulated an oxide layer on the strands. When you move the cord, the strands rub against each other and rub through the tiny oxide layer, making and breaking connections that didn't exist a minute ago. This has nothing to do with bad solder or bad solder joints.

The wires inside the guitar should never move. That would eliminate cord rustle, even if the stranded wire was rather old. On the other hand, wires that never move are perfectly OK in solid core style. I think you are chasing a ghost. It isn't caused by the wire, it's caused by bad solder joints. I spent years cussing a band for not giving me their noisy cords before we showed up for a gig. It was almost never a problem with the cable, it was always the ends...except for the rare, noisy, and very old coax. When the braid gets that crusty, it's time for a new cable, but making a mic cord or a guitar cord out of solids only is begging for problems.
 

Thread Starter

Bristan

Joined Mar 26, 2016
11
So when does scientific fact Vs personal speculation start to play out in this? o_O

Personally I have never ben to live performance where I was expecting any decent level of sound quality let alone the band to sound anything like they do on their recordings. Heck I would be thrilled if the worst thing they did was crackle a bit. :oops:

Why are you still playing with cables anyway? Pretty much every band I have ever seen in the last 20+ years was runing on wireless gear just so that they don't have to put up with cable issues. :rolleyes:
I've thought about using wireless, but I still use cables for my pedal board. Not to mention I don't have a budget that big label bands have lol.
 

Thread Starter

Bristan

Joined Mar 26, 2016
11
There is a well known phenomenon called, "cord rustle". It usually happens with high impedance sources on old co-ax where the woven shield layer has accumulated an oxide layer on the strands. When you move the cord, the strands rub against each other and rub through the tiny oxide layer, making and breaking connections that didn't exist a minute ago. This has nothing to do with bad solder or bad solder joints.

The wires inside the guitar should never move. That would eliminate cord rustle, even if the stranded wire was rather old. On the other hand, wires that never move are perfectly OK in solid core style. I think you are chasing a ghost. It isn't caused by the wire, it's caused by bad solder joints. I spent years cussing a band for not giving me their noisy cords before we showed up for a gig. It was almost never a problem with the cable, it was always the ends...except for the rare, noisy, and very old coax. When the braid gets that crusty, it's time for a new cable, but making a mic cord or a guitar cord out of solids only is begging for problems.
Thanks for the input, I think I'm gonna make the switch to stranded wire based on the replies from this thread.
 

Thread Starter

Bristan

Joined Mar 26, 2016
11
Thanks for the input everybody it was very insightful. Like I said I'm pretty new to this, and am doing it as a hobby. I think I'm going to switch to stranded wire and buy new .32 Dia leaded solder wire.
 
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