Capacitors from radio shack?

motorboy29

motorboy29

New member
Can I get my .47 capacitor from radio shack or do I have to jump through some rediculous hoops to get instrument grade materials?
 
Re: Capacitors from radio shack?

Just picked up capacitors at Radio Shack this weekend. Got a pack of 2 ea .022ufd for my tone pot for about $2. I think they have the size you mentioned too. Check them out.
 
Re: Capacitors from radio shack?

Yes, they have them, for now anyway. They're starting to not stock this stuff. You want .047uf, not .47uf. Get some .022uf caps as well. What you're looking for are the green chicklet (because they look like chicklets) shaped film caps.
 
Re: Capacitors from radio shack?

Yup, the greenies are the thing! I got a bunch at Radio Shack a while back. They work well.
 
Re: Capacitors from radio shack?

What type of caps are they? (ceramic, oil in paper...)?
 
Re: Capacitors from radio shack?

The greenies are polyester film. Much better than ceramic IMO. I've put some red Panasonic film caps in one of my guitars and the tone knob sounded completely different. Same value cap that was there, just a different brand and type.
 
Re: Capacitors from radio shack?

Zhangliqun said:
I do know the Mallory cylindrical types sound better to my ear, and by a lot.
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The 150 Series? Those are metalized film. I haven't tried them but I bet they do sound good. I'll take film over ceramic any day. Too much fluctuation with ceramic. Film tends to stay closer to the actual value, and less noise. In a guitar circuit, the voltage is so low the noise floor doesn't really matter but when it comes to pedals running 9v, 12v or 18v it sure does.
 
Re: Capacitors from radio shack?

ErikH said:
The 150 Series? Those are metalized film. I haven't tried them but I bet they do sound good. I'll take film over ceramic any day. Too much fluctuation with ceramic. Film tends to stay closer to the actual value, and less noise. In a guitar circuit, the voltage is so low the noise floor doesn't really matter but when it comes to pedals running 9v, 12v or 18v it sure does.
Click to expand...

I Love the 150s in my amps...A guitar circuit is really just a subtraction or shunting of highs to ground....Any decent quality cap is going to work great...Lew and I and others have used A/B comparisons with switches using different cap brands but with the same values..The differences are in the value of the cap and not the brand...No need to spend like $8 on a cap that's not going to do anything above what an Orange Drop will do...Quite a few of us have done this testing and what I state here is fact....

An amp circuit is a different animal however and it does make a difference..Very few people are as obsessive/compulsive as me or as anal and I've already spent several hours doing these kinds of tests in my amps and my guitars....It's a disease and I speak from experience! LOL
 
Re: Capacitors from radio shack?

I like the sound of old mylar caps. I got two NOS black beauty .018 for 1.50 each off ebay.
 
Re: Capacitors from radio shack?

firebirdVII said:
I like the sound of old mylar caps. I got two NOS black beauty .018 for 1.50 each off ebay.
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Great cap and at a great price! Cool :beerchug:
 
Re: Capacitors from radio shack?

Where can you find orange drops, and what do they look like? Are the caps that come with Fender pots pretty good?
 
Re: Capacitors from radio shack?

STRATDELUXER97 said:
I Love the 150s in my amps...A guitar circuit is really just a subtraction or shunting of highs to ground....Any decent quality cap is going to work great...Lew and I and others have used A/B comparisons with switches using different cap brands but with the same values..The differences are in the value of the cap and not the brand...No need to spend like $8 on a cap that's not going to do anything above what an Orange Drop will do...Quite a few of us have done this testing and what I state here is fact....

An amp circuit is a different animal however and it does make a difference..Very few people are as obsessive/compulsive as me or as anal and I've already spent several hours doing these kinds of tests in my amps and my guitars....It's a disease and I speak from experience! LOL
Click to expand...
'Tis very true. Now, I'm not quite as anal. As long as my guitar is in tune, and it sounds how I want it I'm good to go...lol. That's why I like the greenies or the red Panasonics. Cheap, they do the work, and I can use them in my pedals too. :D
 
Re: Capacitors from radio shack?

ErikH said:
The 150 Series? Those are metalized film. I haven't tried them but I bet they do sound good. I'll take film over ceramic any day. Too much fluctuation with ceramic. Film tends to stay closer to the actual value, and less noise. In a guitar circuit, the voltage is so low the noise floor doesn't really matter but when it comes to pedals running 9v, 12v or 18v it sure does.
Click to expand...

I think they are the 150 line. I've got some in the parts box -- will take another look...
 
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