Choosing capacitor values

[PrimeNumber]

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I haven't been able to find the thread on this site (yeah, I'm new here).....

A couple of questions on the subject:

What affect does the capacitor value have on the tone of a guitar?

Are there "typical" values that are used for certain setups or styles of playing?

I've noticed that the schematics on the SD site tend to stick with .47 and .22uF.

Thanks in advance,

-Ron

 

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

Thsi is what Artie told me once...

Popular guitar values would be .047uf, .022uf, and .01uf. You can use whichever you prefer. The larger the number, the lower into the frequency spectrum you roll-off.

But I think the u should stand for m and not µ...

 

[Artie]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

No . . . it's u.

The value is, for example, .047 micro-farad, which is .000000047 farad or 47pf. The problem is, that some manufacturers apparently don't have the greek symbol "u" in their typesets, so they use M, which is technically incorrect. You'll often see something like .047MFD.

.047mfd would be .000047 farad, which is 1000 times too high of a capacitor.

The above info should be fairly accurate . . . it's Saturday morning, and I haven't had my first cup-o-java yet. :laugh2:

Artie

Edit: As I re-read that, I just want to clarify: .047mfd and .047 MFD are not the same value. The capitol "M" is used in place of "u" sometimes.
(I've had a sip of coffee now.)

 

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

ok ok so let me see... the capacitor values are in µf (10^-6), not mf (10^-3), and of course not Mf (10^6) <-- hehe put that size (and I mean the inch/cm size) into a guitar... or wait... are there yet any of that capacity available? 1f is already quite big...

hope I'm not getting anything wrong here...

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

I use the cap value that leaves the amount of midrange I like in the signal when I turn the tone control down.

All the cap values mentioned will roll off treble when you turn the tone control down. But .047 will also roll off some mids whereas .02 will retain those mids and .01 will retain even more mids.

I use .02 Sprague Orange Drop caps in all of my guitars. I like those mids to stick around when I turn down the tone control!

 

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

K I'm maybe a n00b but say what's "Orange Drop" please?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

K I'm maybe a n00b but say what's "Orange Drop" please?

It's a cap made by Sprague that looks like an orange Tic Tac. You know: those breath mints that are normally white.

Lew

 

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

Oh.. alright... are they any better than other caps?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

Oh.. alright... are they any better than other caps?

I think so. I use them because I'm a perfectionist and I want to be certain that everything in my guitar is of the highest possible quality. (Even if I can't hear a difference! :smack: ) Lew

 

[Kommerzbassist]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

Ok man thanks for your help once again...

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

http://www.buildyourguitar.com/resources/lemme/table.htm

 

[PrimeNumber]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

Thanks a ton for the replies,...

Using Lew's information on how the cap affects rolloff of the tone knob and the table from snowdog I went in search of an Electrical Engineering student at a local college.

I wish I understood what she said, but I did pick up some basic information. The value of the cap works with, and is affected by, the capacitance and inductance of the pickups themselves. So, in theory at least, how much midrange is rolled off will be affected by changing pickups and it may be neccessary to change the value of the cap to get the mids back.

I don't think my ears are very theoretical, so to be practical I am going to swap out the .052uf that came with my guitar for one of those orange tic-tac deals and try to get some of my mids back. I actually wish I had known this before I bought new pickups.....

I'm swapping out the stock B.C. Rich pickups for a JB(bridge) and a 59'er (the bridge version installed in my neck position).

Thanks!

 

[Curly]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

I'd suggest the 715 series Orange Drops. These are commonly available from forum members Lew and BlackRose, or on the web from Antique Electronic Supply, Hoffman Amps, or Mouser Electronics, as well as others.

values of 100 volt or 400 v are sufficient for guitar circuits


there are some interesting comments toward the bottom of this page:
caps

(however, .02 is a common value now for single coil guitars)

 

[junior]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

what value should I use on a PRS custom 22 stop tail (mahogany/ maple top) with phat-cats?

 

[lupito]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

I use .02 Sprague Orange Drop caps in all of my guitars.

won't this make the single coil-equipped guitar too bright?

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I haven't been able to find the thread on this site (yeah, I'm new here).....

A couple of questions on the subject:

What affect does the capacitor value have on the tone of a guitar?

Are there "typical" values that are used for certain setups or styles of playing?

I've noticed that the schematics on the SD site tend to stick with .47 and .22uF.

Thanks in advance,

-Ron

Guitar Electronics FAQ

Good reading.

 

[Artie]

Re: Choosing capacitor values

won't this make the single coil-equipped guitar too bright?

Not necessarily. There's too many other factors. For example, my Hot/Custom set, at 16.4k and 13k respectively, respond beautifully to .022uf caps. A set of SSL-1's might react differently. But even then, the frequency range that we usually associate with ice-pickyness, or shrillness is still above the range that could be controlled with a cap in that range.