choices of capacitor for wiring inside a guitar

[Philly Q]

For what it's worth, I could hear almost no difference at all between the different caps in that YouTube clip - at least no more than could be due to variances in picking.  Not even with the 0.033 cap versus the 0.022s.

[Dmoney]

I believe materials can make a difference in amps based on making a couple of the same circuits with different components, but if the tolerances of the parts are +/- 10% that is probably going to make a bigger difference. Bigger than using polyester orange drops vs polyester tubes (not all orange drops are equal in terms of material or construction).

In amps and pedals the signal you hear is almost certainly passing through a range of capacitors, but in a guitar that doesn't happen. You hear the signal that doesn't pass through the cap, right? That's probably why the value is more critical than the type of cap.

[gwEm]

using a PIO cap gives me a warm fuzzy feeling, and like Wez I do think the sweep of the tone control is nicer.

either way, for the money they cost I will certainly keep using PIO for any new guitar modifications. i won't be going back and changing the sprague orange drops in my existing guitars though ;)

as dmoney more or less already says, an "orange drop" is just a packaging method, and depends on whats on the inside!

i do think that "vintage" wiring does make a worthwhile difference though, even with a less premium cap.

[darkbluemurder]

Do you mean by "vintage wiring" "50s wiring"? If yes, I fully agree.

Cheers Stephan

[gwEm]

Do you mean by "vintage wiring" "50s wiring"? If yes, I fully agree.

yes, exactly  :D

[JJretroTONEGOD]

thought I'd ressurect this thread by asking the question.

do you just leave the volume pot with no caps on? or resistors? when changing the pots in the danelectro yesterday I noticed the old pots had a smaller cap and also a resistor attached.

[WezV]

probably a treble bleed circuit

[JJretroTONEGOD]

this looks like a good replacement: what do you think? ripp off or worth it?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mullard-Mustard-Treble-Bleed-pickup-tone-upgrade-335-Les-Paul-SG-Strat-Tele-KIT1-/121064865310?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item1c30073e1e

[Dmoney]

I'd say rip off.
The mullard cap, NOS, blah blah blah is mostly marketting speak and largely guff.
EDIT: Infact it's mostly laughable

I use a 180pf ceramic in my PRS a la this schematic. http://www.prsguitars.com/csc/schematics/schem08/custom3waytoggle.pdf
It does essentially the same thing. Keeps the highs when you roll off the volume off to a certain point.
I've tried a treble bleed mod that uses the resistor, but this works best for me personally. I found the last mod like this I tried was just too bright when rolling down the volume and made me sound thin. The PRS way sound great for me.

The shipping on my ebay listing is dumb and for the mod it isn't worth it. Maplin probably has the bits but might be expensive still.

all i'd do is go here - http://www.bitsbox.co.uk. A cap and resistor will be less than £2 including shipping.

I'd also do some research about cap and resistor values used for this treble bleed mod. Lots of people suggest using different values or even experimenting till you find something that works best. Already Wez's post above differs from the values shown in that ebay link. There is no need to spend money on NOS caps or resistors for this. 1/4watt metal film or carbon comp will be fine.

[HTH AMPS]

I thought all tone caps were much of a muchness till I tried real deal Bumble Bee caps - there is something in the way they roll off the top end without getting muddy that I really like, plus they seem to bring out the mids a little too. 

As for whether they make a difference with the guitar tone on full, probably not.  As for fully off, its not a setting I ever use.

In the grand scheme of things, £20-£30 to get me closer to the tone I want isn't unreasonable - its all the small things that add together and make your tone special.  Sometimes it can be about degrading your signal too, depends on your goal.  Its all subjective.

For me personally and my style (manipulating the volume and tone a lot), its worth putting in these old Sprague caps.