Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello everyone. So I am in the process of rewiring my 4001, but I've come to realize that the shielded grey wires leading to my output jacks have become a bit too short. It seems that the only source where I can locate accurately spec'd replacement wire by the foot is Mojotone... which would be fine except that I only need a bit and the shipping cost would exceed the cost of the wire.

The Rickenbacker style wire, according to how it is described on the Mojotone website, is essentially a 22 awg shielded single conductor wire. At my local electronics supply store, I was able to find 26 awg shielded single conductor wire (RG 174 coaxial cable) which many pedal builders often use for internal wiring applications, but I'm not confident that this type of wire would be an acceptable substitute. Is the gauge a bit too high (much smaller lead wire) to adequately conduct the output signal to the jacks? Any and all of your advice would be greatly appreciated.

26 AWG is just fine, there is a minuscule signal going through it.

Actually....the problem with smaller gauge wire is not that it won't transmit a signal as well. It's that it will break more easily when stressed. The connection where the output jack wire comes off of the neck pickup volume pot is a good example. That's why I no longer do this connection the way RIC does it. Instead, I use the shielding on this wire as a ground on that pot to act as a strain relief when I build a harness.