Lack of technical knowledge once again confuses!
I have some 500k pots that I want to use as tone pots, so I figured Il just get some .47 caps and bingo! Job done.
Well, no. Iv learnt that using the .47 will give a broader tonal range, but cant find anything on the best voltage rating to use.
I see everything from 1v - 400v - what will be the difference in guitar terms? Does it even matter?
I stripped down every guitar I own hoping one would have a marking on, but no, that would be too easy wouldnt it?!
Any help gratefully received!!
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Good score Randy Rooster! I saw the linky. Those are nice ones, in that they are rated within +/- 5% tolerance of the stated value. Cheapo ceramic discs are usually rated within +/- 20% of the stated value, which is not good at all for consistency. At 20% tolerance an .047 mfd cap can actually measure from about .037 to.056 mfd. This amount IS noticeable.
Also, a person can play around with caps microfarad values if one does not have the exact value on hand. A person can combine two .047 mfd caps "in series" (in a chain) to yield .023 mfd. Two .022 caps wired "in parallel" (piggy-backed/ganged) will yield .044 mfd.
Thanks guys, and welcome on board Western Sun. I second Ted - great post. I think you'll like it here!
Iv taken the plunge (all £3 of it lol) and ordered some Orange Drops and some non-orange drops. Im gonna try them both and see if I can sense any difference - though its unlikely as I cant even tune a guitar without gadget assitance!
Hi Ben
I always use Sprauge Orange Drop Caps , seem to work very well .022 will give a Bluesy sound , .047 will give a bright sound i have used both and this does seem to be the case , but having said that , i have used .022 on the humbuckers and the .047 on single coil pups but i have never tried them the other way around
they are available in .022 large @400v small @100v £3.00 a pair
.047 large @400v small @100v £3.00 a pair you can also pick which two you would like , so you could have say a .022 @400v large and .047 @100v Small or whatever you want .
This is my first post here, so bear with my answer as an electric guitar fan with wound pickup (non-piezo) knowledge.
Just about the best cap for the money are Sprague "orange drops". They are not fancy, and about a $1 each by the piece. There are people who claim better guitar tone with more expensive types of caps but the general consensus is that as long as the pot is of good quality (USA), a nice Sprague orange drop variety will get you 95% of the tone you will ever get.
Higher voltage ratings get more play by people have a preference, but electrically this is moot point in guitar circuits, as the we are dealing with a fraction of a single volt. Higher voltage ratings are said to sound cleaner and more airy, but I will leave that to the tone-freaks. Some people are extreme gearheads. I am not. Even a lot of gearheads feel no need to spend more on caps in A/B testing with more expensive caps than orange drops. Some people DO say there is a difference, so I don't want to come off as discounting what they perceive. A person can always remove an inexpensive orange drop, and try a wunder-cap later. An orange drop can always be installed in other instruments...just keep the leads long, and secured.
A problem I see with the theory that an expensive wunder-cap or two can be better, is the fact that the dollars spent on some fantastic wunder-cap or two can be as much as a better speaker for the amp the instrument is played through!
I would kinda be disappointed in my juvenile knowledge CBG's, that people would get too hair-splitting. I want this stuff to remain rather primitive.
Replies
Good score Randy Rooster! I saw the linky. Those are nice ones, in that they are rated within +/- 5% tolerance of the stated value. Cheapo ceramic discs are usually rated within +/- 20% of the stated value, which is not good at all for consistency. At 20% tolerance an .047 mfd cap can actually measure from about .037 to.056 mfd. This amount IS noticeable.
Also, a person can play around with caps microfarad values if one does not have the exact value on hand. A person can combine two .047 mfd caps "in series" (in a chain) to yield .023 mfd. Two .022 caps wired "in parallel" (piggy-backed/ganged) will yield .044 mfd.
Iv taken the plunge (all £3 of it lol) and ordered some Orange Drops and some non-orange drops. Im gonna try them both and see if I can sense any difference - though its unlikely as I cant even tune a guitar without gadget assitance!
I always use Sprauge Orange Drop Caps , seem to work very well .022 will give a Bluesy sound , .047 will give a bright sound i have used both and this does seem to be the case , but having said that , i have used .022 on the humbuckers and the .047 on single coil pups but i have never tried them the other way around
they are available in .022 large @400v small @100v £3.00 a pair
.047 large @400v small @100v £3.00 a pair you can also pick which two you would like , so you could have say a .022 @400v large and .047 @100v Small or whatever you want .
heres where i get all my Caps and pots from
http://www.axesrus.com/axeknobs.htm#orange
these guys offer a great free delivery and the orders with you within 2 days
enjoy
juju.
Just about the best cap for the money are Sprague "orange drops". They are not fancy, and about a $1 each by the piece. There are people who claim better guitar tone with more expensive types of caps but the general consensus is that as long as the pot is of good quality (USA), a nice Sprague orange drop variety will get you 95% of the tone you will ever get.
Higher voltage ratings get more play by people have a preference, but electrically this is moot point in guitar circuits, as the we are dealing with a fraction of a single volt. Higher voltage ratings are said to sound cleaner and more airy, but I will leave that to the tone-freaks. Some people are extreme gearheads. I am not. Even a lot of gearheads feel no need to spend more on caps in A/B testing with more expensive caps than orange drops. Some people DO say there is a difference, so I don't want to come off as discounting what they perceive. A person can always remove an inexpensive orange drop, and try a wunder-cap later. An orange drop can always be installed in other instruments...just keep the leads long, and secured.
A problem I see with the theory that an expensive wunder-cap or two can be better, is the fact that the dollars spent on some fantastic wunder-cap or two can be as much as a better speaker for the amp the instrument is played through!
I would kinda be disappointed in my juvenile knowledge CBG's, that people would get too hair-splitting. I want this stuff to remain rather primitive.
Sprague "orange drops" images:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=sprague+orange+drops&am...
Im still no clearer on what voltage to buy though! Maybe its one of those black magic things....
I don't know enough to answer the rest of the question.