Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Tech => Topic started by: cjs1975 on September 28, 2007, 02:27:09 AM

Title: Bumble Bee Caps
Post by: cjs1975 on September 28, 2007, 02:27:09 AM

Anyone out there have any experience with upgrading to bumble bee caps? I hear a lot of buzz about them.....no pun intended... but I a havent run into anyone that can tell me exactly what is better about them. ie. what effect on the tone will there be replacing my orange drop with some.

Title: Bumble Bee Caps
Post by: HTH AMPS on September 28, 2007, 08:50:38 AM

I tried changing caps round years ago - OD's, PIO, the lot.  Couldn't hear much difference that couldn't be explained by tolerence of each cap... Then I tried some Bumblebee caps.

It's like this really, there are Bee's then everything else.

All other caps I've tried have a really severe rolloff that sounds muffled and doesn't integrate with your overall tone very well.

Bee's are more subtle and are like an extension of the pickup (imo).  Rolling back to around 5 on the tone pot will give you a sweeter treble response, clean up your tone ever so slightly and bring out the midrange - perfect for soloing.

I've got Bee's in all my guitars now and they really do work like no other cap I've found.  This time the hype IS true.

 :twisted:

Title: Bumble Bee Caps
Post by: Jonesy76 on September 28, 2007, 09:58:11 AM

Every time I now rebuild one of my guitars the first things that I order are a pair of Bumblebees for the job.  The only guitar in my collection that doesn't have them is my soon to be finished SG, but that's running silly SD pickups for that added punch, and is more of a silly toy rather than a working guitar.

Just hunt down some of the dedicated audio sites on the web and you'll run into a lot of the audio-philes who swear by paper and oil capacitors (Bumblebee and the likes) for their audio equipment, so it's not just us guitarists who love 'em.

My Orville has just literally yesterday had it's new Stormy Mondays wired into place with CTS pots, Switchcraft switch, vintage braided cable and one pair of bumblebees and it sounds amazing!

Title: Bumble Bee Caps
Post by: sgmypod on September 28, 2007, 10:11:17 AM

don't the hovland one compare?

Title: Bumble Bee Caps
Post by: Will on September 28, 2007, 05:07:54 PM

so is this just any paper and oil one, or specifically bumble bee's?

Aren't the newer ones fake paper and oil?

Title: Jonesy, Heavier
Post by: cjs1975 on September 28, 2007, 10:41:23 PM

Where do you guys buy your bumble bees?

Title: Bumble Bee Caps
Post by: FELINEGUITARS on September 29, 2007, 12:37:04 AM

Here maybe? (http://www.betterbee.com/?gclid=CICh_P-n544CFQ0eEgodPXxcEA)

More seriously - WD music for Hovland or Allparts for Vitamin Q

Some light humour
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs-tl6GBOBo

Title: Bumble Bee Caps
Post by: Philly Q on September 29, 2007, 01:56:43 AM

I notice Vitamin Qs are very much cheaper than Bumblebees - is there a big difference in performance?

Title: Bumble Bee Caps
Post by: HTH AMPS on September 29, 2007, 01:41:48 PM

Bumblebees aren't PIO, they're aluminium film afaik.

I've had various PIO caps and can't see what the fuss is about (for use as tone caps in guitars).

 :twisted: