Hello BKP people,
I've installed an old, cheap Centralab 0.020 uF ceramic cap in the tone control of my Strat. I knew that these caps are not very good technically speaking: capacitance varies dramatically with temperature, they are microphonic, they distort, they introduce some unpredictable sonic debris whilst not blocking effectively all frequencies allowing some high end to stay in the signal, etc.
Well, I had one round here not doing much so I thought I'll compare it to the PIO i had in place. Well, I think I really like the CRL old cap. Yes, it exhibits all the faults mentioned above but it somehow makes sense in the context of the tone control of a relic style guitar. At ten, the guitar sounds bright and crisp, as soon as you start rolling the tone knob down, the tone becomes musically darker while retaining some highs. Also there is a subtle yet noticeable heartwarming microphonic 'grit' to the sound that screams 60s!
All in all, this cheap cap has made me smile... I made a quick recording comparing both caps but I recorded badly and it clips nastily.
