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bumble bee caps


ken374

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What a joke. Gibson's Bees only look like the part but they are referred to as fake Bees because they're not paper in oil capacitors like the original ones Gibson used. If you want real PIO reproduction Bees, they cost around $40/pair and are a hundred times better than those. Google "Luxe capacitors".

 

PIO Bees are an upgrade but they often have little to no effect if you keep everything on 10. They more so work their magic as you roll down the tone pots. Having said that, I replaced only the caps on two historic LPs and they made no difference on one guitar but a huge difference in the other (even with everything on 10).

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... Having said that, I replaced only the caps on two historic LPs and they made no difference on one guitar but a huge difference in the other (even with everything on 10).

 

Try flipping them around (one at a time). While technically those caps have no "direction" do like some other electronic caps, there can still be a noticeable difference in tone between directions.

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I see the musician friend sell bumble bee caps for 112 for 2 wonder if it would help in the tone. Bad review on it though

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gibson-Historic-Bumble-Bee-Capacitors-2pack?sku=H65441

 

I bought a set of vintage Bumble Bees for less than $50 about 6 months ago. Each are .022uF. They were installed on my '76 SG, but are now on my '82 LP. See 1st pic.

 

I have the Luxe BBs and they sound great (on my '71 ES-175), but I learned thru trial that Russian PIO caps are just as good as Luxe at about a quarter of the price. There's a rumor about the similarities of the Russians and the Luxe...

 

Second pic shows the Russians now on my SG. .015uF on the neck, .022uF on the bridge.

 

IMG_0962.jpg

 

IMG_1352.jpg

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Try flipping them around (one at a time). While technically those caps have no "direction" do like some other electronic caps, there can still be a noticeable difference in tone between directions.

I thought about doing that but don't think it would have made a difference. Either way, that guitar's long gone now.

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I bought a set of vintage Bumble Bees for less than $50 about 6 months ago. Each are .022uF. They were installed on my '76 SG, but are now on my '82 LP. See 1st pic.

 

I have the Luxe BBs and they sound great (on my '71 ES-175), but I learned thru trial that Russian PIO caps are just as good as Luxe at about a quarter of the price. There's a rumor about the similarities of the Russians and the Luxe...

 

Second pic shows the Russians now on my SG. .015uF on the neck, .022uF on the bridge.

 

IMG_0962.jpg

 

IMG_1352.jpg

so these do sound better then stock?, when the guitar is all the way up?

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so these do sound better then stock?, when the guitar is all the way up?

 

IMO, it sounds way better across the range of the pot. Stock caps on the '76 SG were very small green cylinders - not sure what they were in terms of material and value. Stock caps on the '82 were little pink aspirin lookin' ceramics. Worthwhile to note that I changed the pots on each at the same time I changed the caps.

 

- It demonstrates different cap materials and micro farad (uF) values.
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IMO, it sounds way better across the range of the pot. Stock caps on the '76 SG were very small green cylinders - not sure what they were in terms of material and value. Stock caps on the '82 were little pink aspirin lookin' ceramics. Worthwhile to note that I changed the pots on each at the same time I changed the caps.

 

- It demonstrates different cap materials and micro farad (uF) values.

thanks for the reply i just bought a new SG so im wondering what to do. I bought a Radial buffer/clean boost pedal, really brings out the pickups

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thanks for the reply i just bought a new SG so im wondering what to do. I bought a Radial buffer/clean boost pedal, really brings out the pickups

 

There's a lot of no-cost things you can do before you acquire and install parts - like adjusting your pickup height (just turn the screws until you hit a sweet spot). You'll know it when you find it. Wrap the stop bar (push strings through the opposite side of the bar and wrap around the top, then onto the saddles to the tuner posts). Good luck, and good choice!

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FYI - LUXE Caps are Russian PIOs painted to look like the originals. They are K40y-9s - normally they use the 1000V series due to their size. I bought a bunch of NOS K40y-9s (200/400V) from Russia a few months back and have replaced all my caps in all my guitars and all my 'friends' guitars. I pickup up .022, .047 and .1s They really do make a difference if you know how to set your amp and use the tone knobs correctly. I also have a bunch of vintage Orange Drops from the 60's and 70's along with a few Chocolate Drops from the early 70's. They're good too - just not as woody. My SG has 'Blue Drops' from ITW Paktron in the .022 flavor. Nice sounding caps but like an earlier post said - if you don't move your tone knob from 10 - the cap isn't gonna make any difference. 50's wiring versus Modern Wiring does make a difference too and despite what other people say, I believe cloth wiring does add a little 'omph' to the sound. I recently rewired a guys Epi LP and left the Poly wire in it initially and he asked me to swap it out cause mine sounded much better and when I put the cloth stuff it - there was a little something more there.

 

Just my 2 cents.

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...and despite what other people say, I believe cloth wiring does add a little 'omph' to the sound.

 

Golly. That's amazing.

 

Who says it doesn't make a difference? Physicists? Electrical Engineers? People who test with oscilloscopes? What do they know?

 

 

 

Does your guitar sound better with witch hats or speed knobs? If you've never slapped on some Chicken heads, you're missing out.

 

I've also heard that the orange case-fuzz makes your guitar sound better than does the white.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Golly. That's amazing.

 

Who says it doesn't make a difference? Physicists? Electrical Engineers? People who test with oscilloscopes? What do they know?

 

 

 

Does your guitar sound better with witch hats or speed knobs? If you've never slapped on some Chicken heads, you're missing out.

 

I've also heard that the orange case-fuzz makes your guitar sound better than does the white.

 

Pretty funny.

 

I'll subscribe to what I know makes a difference based on my own experience.

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Golly. That's amazing.

 

Who says it doesn't make a difference? Physicists? Electrical Engineers? People who test with oscilloscopes? What do they know?

 

 

 

Does your guitar sound better with witch hats or speed knobs? If you've never slapped on some Chicken heads, you're missing out.

 

I've also heard that the orange case-fuzz makes your guitar sound better than does the white.

 

 

but.....but.....my new SG has WHITE case fuzz, and it sounds great! especially since I adjusted the p'ups, did a proper setup on it, and replaced the SG TRC with a plain one....ohhhhh it's the TRC that made it sound better ! [biggrin]

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  • 1 month later...

What a joke. Gibson's Bees only look like the part but they are referred to as fake Bees because they're not paper in oil capacitors like the original ones Gibson used. If you want real PIO reproduction Bees, they cost around $40/pair and are a hundred times better than those. Google "Luxe capacitors".

 

PIO Bees are an upgrade but they often have little to no effect if you keep everything on 10. They more so work their magic as you roll down the tone pots. Having said that, I replaced only the caps on two historic LPs and they made no difference on one guitar but a huge difference in the other (even with everything on 10).

 

Both the Gibson and Luxe caps are fakes. Gibson is taking modern Wesco 32PL 223J Polypropylene caps and putting them in fake Bumblebee shells. So you are paying over $50 for a new cap in a fake old cap shell.

 

And the Luxe caps are also not PIO. They are General Instruments GIAP009A1 metalized film caps.

 

So everyone can save their money and buy two film caps for under a buck and get the same tone. Besides that, caps don't change the tone unless you have the tone control on zero. ;)

 

http://www.kernelofwisdom.com/02-10/uncloak.html

 

http://classicamplification.net/Guitar/reissueBumblebees.htm

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Both the Gibson and Luxe caps are fakes. Gibson is taking modern Wesco 32PL 223J Polypropylene caps and putting them in fake Bumblebee shells. So you are paying over $50 for a new cap in a fake old cap shell.

 

And the Luxe caps are also not PIO. They are General Instruments GIAP009A1 metalized film caps.

 

So everyone can save their money and buy two film caps for under a buck and get the same tone. Besides that, caps don't change the tone unless you have the tone control on zero. ;)

 

http://www.kernelofwisdom.com/02-10/uncloak.html

 

http://classicamplification.net/Guitar/reissueBumblebees.htm

I seen that!

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Both the Gibson and Luxe caps are fakes. Gibson is taking modern Wesco 32PL 223J Polypropylene caps and putting them in fake Bumblebee shells. So you are paying over $50 for a new cap in a fake old cap shell.

 

And the Luxe caps are also not PIO. They are General Instruments GIAP009A1 metalized film caps.

 

So everyone can save their money and buy two film caps for under a buck and get the same tone. Besides that, caps don't change the tone unless you have the tone control on zero. ;)

 

http://www.kernelofwisdom.com/02-10/uncloak.html

 

http://classicamplification.net/Guitar/reissueBumblebees.htm

 

Although I disagree with the 'tone control on zero' comment (I have a different experience), the links are interesting - presenting what appears to be authentic results. I'm sticking with true vintage bumble bees. They can be had for less than Luxe repros. Patience and persistence, if that's your taste.

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