What' cap value would be good to use with the APS-1 pickups in neck and mid position of a strat? I've never heard these in person yet, but I'm getting ready to pop them in so I wanted to know what value caps I should pick up. So far I have on hand, a couple of .022 and .047. Probably will be used with 250k pots.
APS-1: What cap value to use?
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kylewrt1986
New member
Re: APS-1: What cap value to use?
Depends what kind of tone you're going for really. I'm pretty sure (the print is small) i'm using 0.047 in my strat with 250k pots (neck and middle APS1 pups, same as your good self) and the tone is gorgeous, just takes the edge off the highs without losing the vintage voicing. I get lovely Little Wing / Wind Cries Mary / Yellow Ledbetter type tones with the tone set at around the middle. What are you using in the bridge, just out of of interest? I've got an SSL-5 which im gonna mod to be wired to a tone pot when i open it up again.
tone said:
Depends what kind of tone you're going for really. I'm pretty sure (the print is small) i'm using 0.047 in my strat with 250k pots (neck and middle APS1 pups, same as your good self) and the tone is gorgeous, just takes the edge off the highs without losing the vintage voicing. I get lovely Little Wing / Wind Cries Mary / Yellow Ledbetter type tones with the tone set at around the middle. What are you using in the bridge, just out of of interest? I've got an SSL-5 which im gonna mod to be wired to a tone pot when i open it up again.
Fresh_Start
New member
Re: APS-1: What cap value to use?
I've got 250k pots, volume & tone, w/ .022 caps in 2 different strats with APS-2s in the neck positions. Can't imagine wanting to cut more high-mids like a .047 would, but it may depend on your amp, etc.
YMMV
Chip
I've got 250k pots, volume & tone, w/ .022 caps in 2 different strats with APS-2s in the neck positions. Can't imagine wanting to cut more high-mids like a .047 would, but it may depend on your amp, etc.
YMMV
Chip
ErikH
Well-known member
Re: APS-1: What cap value to use?
When it comes to the cap value, it's all what you're looking for. Since you have both values, wait until you get them, put the .022 in, play it. Swap it out for the .047 and play it and then decide from there.
I myself like .022 in Strats with singles. When I had the JB in my frankenstrat with a Jazz neck, I had a .047 tone cap and it sounded really nice with it.
Don't just play the guitar with each cap value without adjusting the tone knob. That's where you'll hear the biggest difference between the two (obviously).
When it comes to the cap value, it's all what you're looking for. Since you have both values, wait until you get them, put the .022 in, play it. Swap it out for the .047 and play it and then decide from there.
I myself like .022 in Strats with singles. When I had the JB in my frankenstrat with a Jazz neck, I had a .047 tone cap and it sounded really nice with it.
Don't just play the guitar with each cap value without adjusting the tone knob. That's where you'll hear the biggest difference between the two (obviously).
kylewrt1986
New member
Re: APS-1: What cap value to use?
I'd have said a better compromise would be 250K pots and smaller caps - the volume will have a bigger effect that you can't alter.
Hey maybe you could try 300K pots? You can get them off guitarpartsresources.com I believe. I'm considering if for my Fender Hot Noiseless + lil screamin deamon combo im putting in my other strat, will see how they fair with stock 250s first though.
But yeh, maybe you could try 250K volume with 500K tones, and wire a tone to the bridge and a tone to the neck (or neck + middle), and have maybe a 0.015uF cap on the bridge and a 0.022 / 0.033 / 0.047 on the neck + middle. I personally find 0.047 on the neck. Maybe 0.033 as a good happy medium
I'd have said a better compromise would be 250K pots and smaller caps - the volume will have a bigger effect that you can't alter.
Hey maybe you could try 300K pots? You can get them off guitarpartsresources.com I believe. I'm considering if for my Fender Hot Noiseless + lil screamin deamon combo im putting in my other strat, will see how they fair with stock 250s first though.
But yeh, maybe you could try 250K volume with 500K tones, and wire a tone to the bridge and a tone to the neck (or neck + middle), and have maybe a 0.015uF cap on the bridge and a 0.022 / 0.033 / 0.047 on the neck + middle. I personally find 0.047 on the neck. Maybe 0.033 as a good happy medium
L
Lewguitar
Guest
Re: APS-1: What cap value to use?
Me too. .02. Leaves more mids in the signal when I turn the tone down...sounds better to me for soloing tone and for Clapton "woman" tone,
Lew
Fresh_Start said:
Me too. .02. Leaves more mids in the signal when I turn the tone down...sounds better to me for soloing tone and for Clapton "woman" tone,
Lew
Fresh_Start
New member
Re: APS-1: What cap value to use?
Not really - the pot value and the tone capacitor value have separate effects.
Since a potentiometer is a variable resistor, it allows all frequencies to bleed to ground equally (or not, as you raise the value of the resistor). For reasons I don't exactly understand, as you lower the value of the resistor you hear less of the high end of the frequency spectrum. In other words, as you roll the volume pot down from "10" to "1", the tone gets muddier.
A capacitor, on the other hand, acts as a filter that allows some frequencies to pass by and blocks lower frequencies. A .01 cap passes a narrow band at the top of the frequency range. A .047 cap passes a much wider band, reaching down into the upper-mids. As a tone cap, those frequencies that pass through the cap go to ground instead of into your signal.
So a 500k tone pot rolled down to the point where it's a 250k resistor, connected to a .047 cap, will dump more upper mids to ground than a 250k tone pot at "10" with a .022 cap. At "1", the 250k pot with a .022 cap will sound brighter than the 500k pot with the .047 cap.
I'm not saying that there's a wrong answer here! So much depends on your pickups, guitar, playing style, cables, effects, amp, speaker - basically everything between your fingers and your ears - and most importantly, what you want to hear.
This forum wouldn't be any fun if Seymour could just type out "Thou shalt only use .022 caps with single coil pickups" and solve everyone's tone-quest
Hope this helps more than it confuses...
Chip
tone said:
Not really - the pot value and the tone capacitor value have separate effects.
Since a potentiometer is a variable resistor, it allows all frequencies to bleed to ground equally (or not, as you raise the value of the resistor). For reasons I don't exactly understand, as you lower the value of the resistor you hear less of the high end of the frequency spectrum. In other words, as you roll the volume pot down from "10" to "1", the tone gets muddier.
A capacitor, on the other hand, acts as a filter that allows some frequencies to pass by and blocks lower frequencies. A .01 cap passes a narrow band at the top of the frequency range. A .047 cap passes a much wider band, reaching down into the upper-mids. As a tone cap, those frequencies that pass through the cap go to ground instead of into your signal.
So a 500k tone pot rolled down to the point where it's a 250k resistor, connected to a .047 cap, will dump more upper mids to ground than a 250k tone pot at "10" with a .022 cap. At "1", the 250k pot with a .022 cap will sound brighter than the 500k pot with the .047 cap.
I'm not saying that there's a wrong answer here! So much depends on your pickups, guitar, playing style, cables, effects, amp, speaker - basically everything between your fingers and your ears - and most importantly, what you want to hear.
This forum wouldn't be any fun if Seymour could just type out "Thou shalt only use .022 caps with single coil pickups" and solve everyone's tone-quest
Hope this helps more than it confuses...
Chip
ErikH
Well-known member
Re: APS-1: What cap value to use?
Holy crap, Chip. This explains why I like the JB with a 500K tone pot and .047 tone cap. When I had one and used it this way, I also had a 500K volume pot and it sounds much better than without the tone pot. I just never realized that the .047 cap was pulling those upper mids out.Fresh_Start said:
Re: APS-1: What cap value to use?
I think I'll start off trying a 250k volume 250k neck tone, and 500k humbucker tone, all with .022 caps. Maybe I can get lucky and measure out some 250k pots that are a little over 250 to use for the volume.
Seems like my stock strat came with 250k pots and .022 caps, so everything looks like a regular Fender setup except using the 500k tone for the humbucker to try and save some high end. I think I should be fine.
I think I'll start off trying a 250k volume 250k neck tone, and 500k humbucker tone, all with .022 caps. Maybe I can get lucky and measure out some 250k pots that are a little over 250 to use for the volume.
Seems like my stock strat came with 250k pots and .022 caps, so everything looks like a regular Fender setup except using the 500k tone for the humbucker to try and save some high end. I think I should be fine.
kylewrt1986
New member
Re: APS-1: What cap value to use?
Hey I opened up my strat again and squinted reeeally hard and I'm pretty sure its actually a 0.022 in there with the APSs Neck and Middle and that gets pretty dark at 0 so i agree with the guy who said 0.047 would be too dark. If you want more Clapton-y woman tone then maybe 0.015 would be good - you cal alwas roll back the tone a lil. and rolling back the volume bleeds off treble too, if you haven't got a treble-bleed mod on the volume pot. (my strat isnt a particularly dark one, its maple neck + fingerboard and the usual alder body)
as to the 250 volume with 500 tones, I'd also be interested...how much does the value of the pot affect the tone with the tone pots?
Hey I opened up my strat again and squinted reeeally hard and I'm pretty sure its actually a 0.022 in there with the APSs Neck and Middle and that gets pretty dark at 0 so i agree with the guy who said 0.047 would be too dark. If you want more Clapton-y woman tone then maybe 0.015 would be good - you cal alwas roll back the tone a lil. and rolling back the volume bleeds off treble too, if you haven't got a treble-bleed mod on the volume pot. (my strat isnt a particularly dark one, its maple neck + fingerboard and the usual alder body)
as to the 250 volume with 500 tones, I'd also be interested...how much does the value of the pot affect the tone with the tone pots?
