? About pot ohms and .001 vs .0015 capacitors

[Dave Locher]

Ok, I think I know the answer to both of these questions but want to check with bigger wiring brains:
1) Would two 500k volume pots inline [pickup volume + master volume] be the same as one 250k volume pot in terms of how the guitar would sound with everything on 10?
2) Is there a functional difference between a .001 capacitor and a .0015? I was looking at doing the Fralin "magic cap" on my guitar. (https://www.fralinpickups.com/product/fralin-magic-cap/) He sells a .0015 cap. I have a .001uf capacitor laying around from a treble bleed kit. Will .0005 difference matter at all?

 

[Flake]

? About pot ohms and .001 vs .0015 capacitors

To answer the first question:
practically yes, theoretically no, wires still have resistance and inductance.
To answer the second question: yes, there is a significant difference, this is because an increase of .0005 is 50% of .001 and that should correspond to an 50% increase to the value of the cutoff frequency for a tone pot, ceteris paribus


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Clint 55]

Re: ? About pot ohms and .001 vs .0015 capacitors

A 1nf should work fine. I've hardwired in down to 100pf.

 

[Hank-]

Re: ? About pot ohms and .001 vs .0015 capacitors

There is a good chance that the 1.5nF cap won't be exactly that value with tolerance in mind, in most cases I've found that caps often read lower than their printed values. I'm not sure what price that cap is being sold for since haven't checked the link but you can use two caps in parallel to raise the total value. So if you have a capacitance meter at hand it should be fairly cheap & easy to reach a particular value that isn't readily available in stock online or elsewhere.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: ? About pot ohms and .001 vs .0015 capacitors

Thank you all!
Clint55, I am not sure what "I've hardwired in down to 100pf" means? I know just enough about this stuff to be a menace to my equipment. Do you mean there is a way to run the capacitor so that it is always in the circuit and not just when the tone control is cranked down to zero?
I think Flake is saying it would be a noticable difference between the two values, but you are saying give it a try and see?

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: ? About pot ohms and .001 vs .0015 capacitors

Fralin cap is $3, plus $8 shipping. (Flat shipping rate but I don't need anything else from them.) I don't have a way to measure capacitance.
I see a bunch of .0015 capacitors on eBay for less. I think I will try my .001 cap and go from there.

 

[Hank-]

Re: ? About pot ohms and .001 vs .0015 capacitors

Thats pricy for a cap. I guess he measures them individually before selling, maybe.

A 1.0nF & 560pF in parallel will get you in the ballpark of 1.5nF(0.0015uF), if you have those values on hand give it a shot.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: ? About pot ohms and .001 vs .0015 capacitors

If I want this always on rather than on the tone pot like Fralin recommends, how would I wire it in? Is it just one lead to the hot signal and the other one to ground?

 

[Clint 55]

Re: ? About pot ohms and .001 vs .0015 capacitors

Yas

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: ? About pot ohms and .001 vs .0015 capacitors

Thank you all. I appreciate the info.

 

[PicoRiveraTele]

Re: ? About pot ohms and .001 vs .0015 capacitors

Ok, I think I know the answer to both of these questions but want to check with bigger wiring brains:
1) Would two 500k volume pots inline [pickup volume + master volume] be the same as one 250k volume pot in terms of how the guitar would sound with everything on 10?

At 10, yes, because both pots are parallel resistors across the pickup.

2) Is there a functional difference between a .001 capacitor and a .0015? I was looking at doing the Fralin "magic cap" on my guitar. (https://www.fralinpickups.com/product/fralin-magic-cap/) He sells a .0015 cap. I have a .001uf capacitor laying around from a treble bleed kit. Will .0005 difference matter at all?

You can buy that exact same cap and a many more for $5 https://www.ebay.com/itm/300pcs-15-...063724&hash=item1eb16bbc70:g:CkQAAOSwhilZX14K The difference between 1nF and 1.5nF is a matter of preference. Just use alligator clips to find the value you like the best. A lot of times guitarists just want specifics, like how high to set their pickups, but it's all just preference.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: ? About pot ohms and .001 vs .0015 capacitors

At 10, yes, because both pots are parallel resistors across the pickup.



You can buy that exact same cap and a many more for $5 https://www.ebay.com/itm/300pcs-15-...063724&hash=item1eb16bbc70:g:CkQAAOSwhilZX14K The difference between 1nF and 1.5nF is a matter of preference. Just use alligator clips to find the value you like the best. A lot of times guitarists just want specifics, like how high to set their pickups, but it's all just preference.

Holy moly, talk about markup! I ordered that set. I tried the .001 and it made a tiny difference. I am going to use a rotary switch to give myself several options and mount it all into a pedal enclosure that I already have.
Thanks again to everyone for the answers and information.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: ? About pot ohms and .001 vs .0015 capacitors

Help me understand what is going on here. I built a stompbox with a rotary switch and 5 different capacitors, .001, .0015, .002, .003 and one or two with much higher values. It works great and does exactly what I was hoping for - knocks off really high freqs without changing much else in my tone. At low amp volumes I mostly use it on the .001.
Here is the part I don't understand: when one of the low value caps is in the signal path lowering the volume on my guitar it drops the highs dramatically, much more so than when it is bypassed. More like a tone control.

It doesn't bother me, I just want to know what is going on there?