Amazing what a small change can make

[Prawnik]

I had written earlier about a Les Paul with what seemed to be a muddy tone, at least in the lower strings.

I put in a set of NOS 1960's .022 Astron caps, and I was shocked at the change; suddenly the guitar became much brighter and fuller.  The same cap value, but the sound was totally different.

Normally, I'd think this is just perception or snake-oil, but settings that were muddy on my Line6 Pod suddenly became sharp and focused.  Settings that were bright on the Pod became painful.  

I definitely like the NOS caps on the neck pickup.  I am not sure what I think about the bridge.  I wanted a brighter, more harmonically rich sound, but this may be a bit much.  

Maybe I just need to get used to it?

And BTW: will a larger cap value give a darker tone or a smaller cap value?[/code]

[Philly Q]

And BTW: will a larger cap value give a darker tone or a smaller cap value?

Larger - you could try 0.033 or 0.047.

[Fikealox]

IIRC capacitors can have tolerances up to +/-20%, so it's possible your first capacitor was 20% higher in value and your second 20% lower (though the actual tolerances are likely to be lower... hopefully). Plus, capacitors tend to drop in capacitance as they age (especially if they are out of circuit), so if your 1960s Astron is actually from the 1960s, it's possible that it has fallen in value, helping to explain the brighter tone.

That said, different capacitor types definitely vary in quality and in their properties. I know oil film capacitors are touted as being quieter, stabler and more accurate than ceramic ones. And I'm pretty sure the more expensive capacitors have tighter tolerance values than ceramics, and some types age in a more linear fashion than others, etc.

As for your bridge capacitor... I'd give it a while to see how you adjust to your new neck capacitor. You may find you change your EQ settings and want even more treble from your bridge as a result. Or maybe you could get a slightly higher value vintage capacitor.

[Fikealox]

I just looked it up, and orange drop capacitors usually have a +/-5% tolerance. Not as bad as 20%, but still, even between two capacitors of the same type and value, that's a possible 10% difference between them :)