djroge1 Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 In the never ending search/experiment for excellent tone have any of you experimented with different capicitors? I'm wondering if any of you also have tried the "bumble bee" caps or Jensen oil and paper caps? If so, how did they change the sound? By the way, here is a link to buy both of those RS Guitarworks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 I've not bothered with the paper in oil caps as I've had too many people tell me there's not much if any real difference. I've used rat shacks greenies.. which are fine.. and sprague and mallory.. I intend to try Sozos. so far, I only hear a difference due to quality of the cap.. and if you aren't using ceramic chips, even rat shacks greenies are an upgrade. I prefer Sprague though. I think, may be in my head, they seem to have a snappy kind of response to them even in guitars. But it's generally amps where caps make a big difference. Values matter more than brand in my view. But I like those big orange ones! TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Djr, I agree with TWANG. I changed the caps in my Standard at the same time I changed the pots. It did make some difference. A little cleaner, I think. Since I did them at the same time I'm not sure which gets credit. I went with CTS pots and orange sprague caps. Before I did it I talked to an electronics friend. He didn't think the oil caps were worth the extra money. He also warned me that they can leak in time. So, if you do use them keep an eye on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted September 15, 2008 Author Share Posted September 15, 2008 Those are some good thoughts as I didn't think of leaking. Right now I have the orange spragues in - .47 in the bridge and .22 in the neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layboomo Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Those are some good thoughts as I didn't think of leaking. Right now I have the orange spragues in - .47 in the bridge and .22 in the neck. I think you forgot some zeros.... .47 and .22? In a Gibson try a .022 in the bridge and a .015 in the neck(when it's rolled off it gives a nice subtle woman tone). Anything is an upgrade from ceramic discs! Orange drops sound great to me too! The bumble bees have alot of expensive mojo associated with them but it's your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted September 15, 2008 Author Share Posted September 15, 2008 I think you forgot some zeros.... .47 and .22? You're right, I did forget the zeros. I have these in my Les Paul. I had .022 in the bridge, but didn't like it so I swapped it out for .047. I have a DiMarzio Dual Sound in the bridge and an Air Classic in the neck. I've also wired 2 push/pulls to split the coils and another to put them in/out of phase, and the last one for putting both pickups in and out of series with each other. I think $43 is too much for one cap too (bumble bee's), but I could part with $18 for the Jensens if I had some solid testimony about their sound or another brand that is suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layboomo Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 You're right' date=' I did forget the zeros. I have these in my Les Paul. I had .022 in the bridge, but didn't like it so I swapped it out for .047. I have a DiMarzio Dual Sound in the bridge and an Air Classic in the neck. I've also wired 2 push/pulls to split the coils and another to put them in/out of phase, and the last one for putting both pickups in and out of series with each other. I think $43 is too much for one cap too (bumble bee's), but I could part with $18 for the Jensens if I had some solid testimony about their sound or another brand that is suggested.[/quote'] Yeah agreed too much $$....OK now that I know you have a coil cutter the .047 makes sense because thats more of a fender value. I don't have any rules.....what sounds good is good! Remember that these guitar makers buy in huge quantities and it's more of a one size fits all than what's actually best for a given pickup. Experiment a little... orange drops are cheap and they sound good in guitars IMHO. I really like that .015 value on a neck pickup with the tone rolled off....it's pretty subtle in that it just shaves off the very high freq's but I really like the tone on a couple of my guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacBratt Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 I think you forgot some zeros.... .47 and .22? In a Gibson try a .022 in the bridge and a .015 in the neck(when it's rolled off it gives a nice subtle woman tone). Anything is an upgrade from ceramic discs! Orange drops sound great to me too! The bumble bees have alot of expensive mojo associated with them but it's your money. or you could spare yourself a lot of problems by just using 47 nF, 22 nF & 15 nF. Doesn't make you search for old greek characters ;-) (and you won't need the zeroes either ;-) just a thought ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted September 15, 2008 Author Share Posted September 15, 2008 Doesn't make you search for old greek characters Since I read old Greek that's not a biggie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssgfowler Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Anything is an upgrade from ceramic discs! Orange drops sound great to me too! The bumble bees have alot of expensive mojo associated with them but it's your money. +1 to that. I used Sozo Vintage caps (about $4.00 each, but cheaper than Jensen's) to replace the ceramic ones in an SG (same value, .022uf) and it sounds much better, IMHO. I also tried an Orange Drop to replace the Xicon cap in a new MIM Strat and got similar results. It's a subtle difference in both cases, but its there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carverman Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Putting in $43 caps (bumblebees/VitaminQ PIO) or even Jupiter Beeswax is a waste of your hard earned money in a guitar tone circuit which is basically a low pass filter to rolloff the highs. It probably wouldn't make any difference to the audio tone even if these things were in series with the input (output) jack as there is very little current involved in a guitar pickup..millivolts and microamps. Gibson used the pio sprague bumblebees years ago, because they had a lot left in their stock and these are pre war caps. Sprague came up with some new technology for their capacitor dielectrics and the polyester orange drops were used in the late 60s on a lot of the Gibsons. I guess for those that somehow think that those Bumblebees are the holy grail of tone, nothing will satisfy them until they buy a couple to try out, but as the guy with the Austrian sounding voice on the "ING bank commercial" says .."Save your Money!...buy orange! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted September 15, 2008 Author Share Posted September 15, 2008 I've never heard of Sozo caps. I went to their home page and they are using the same style of lettering as Jimmy Page on Zep IV. Sozo - it's another one of those ancient Greek words meaning rescue, liberate, keep from harm, heal, preserve, and save. Perhaps in this case it's saving one $35 by not buying bumble-bee caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted September 15, 2008 Author Share Posted September 15, 2008 polyester orange drops were used in the late 60s on a lot of theGibsons. It seems that polyester was used extensivly in the late 60s... makes me think of some cool and hip suits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacBratt Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Since I read old Greek that's not a biggie Ah, but its not the reading, it's the writing that's the problem ;-) .047 means nothing, .047 uF isn't correct .047µF would be though (but that's the same as 47nF) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolcarl Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 I'm suprised that not more folks noticed a difference? I yanked out the original green chicklet ceramics day one and put in .015uF 400V Bumble bees which by now now have drifted up to .022 anyway. I think they sound much warmer and they react smoother. I put some Soviet millitary .022uF 400V PIO's ($20 pair)in my son's Studio Lord and they are great too, but a little darker. Don't pay more than $25 a pair. I got 8 Sprague Bumble Bees for $11.00 a lucky find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larkin38 Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 In the 70`s Guitar Player had an article about changing them. I did it and went to Lafayette electronics and got one that gave me a more trebly sound on my SG. Can`t remember what it was though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 I've heard great things about the Hovlands. Extreme clear and transparant up till the point of almost clinical. Maybe they'd work for you aspiring Jazz-cats or Metal-dudes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I've not bothered with the paper in oil caps as I've had too many people tell me there's not much if any real difference. I read about some $44 boutique 'paper-in-oil' cap the other day being nothing but a re-coated Mallory! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill V Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 What cap would you use in an Explorer .022uf or .047uf? Both pickups share one tone control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layboomo Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 What cap would you use in an Explorer .022uf or .047uf? Both pickups share one tone control. .022uf is correct for humbuckers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shartom Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Tone is totally subjective. What sounds great to one person may sound..pretty good..or it sucks to another. I've tried a lot of caps over the years and have found the value of the cap is what really changes the sound. It is just part of the whole signal chain. If I really want to change my tone, I go to a heavier or lighter pick. At around 20 cents apiece, they are a bargain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuthbertg Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 I've ordered some of the Russian surplus bublebee caps for my epi LP std - cant wait! also waiting to fit CTS pots, switchcraft switch and some silver braided wire - mwahahah. Already got Gibson burstbuckers 1 + 2 in ito:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socalshocker Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 What size caps should I use for a pair of Harmonic Design PUs? They are single coil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted October 1, 2008 Author Share Posted October 1, 2008 What size caps should I use for a pair of Harmonic Design PUs? They are single coil. 0.47µF - 0.050µF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socalshocker Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Thanks Djrmusic777 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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