Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

[Stratosphere]

What have you used and what do you prefer? I just switched to .022 uF and I haven't made up my mind if I like it. Isn't .1 uF the proper value for 50's and 60's style pickups, and .047 uF was used in the 70's?

Anyone using two different caps, one for each pot?

 

[Artie]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

.022uf is what I use. A .1uf will convert your tone control to a volume control. .047 and .033 are also common Strat values.

 

[lemonman]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

I generally prefer .047 for most of my single coil strats; .047 dips deeper into the midrange and makes the tone control more useful for me, especially on the bridge. IIRC they went to .047 in the mid-60s and .022 in the 80s.

I did find my Texas Specials sound better with a .022, they need the high end more than most single coils.

I use different values between my neck & bridge humbuckers in my LPs, I should probably investigate doing the same with my strats...

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

.022 on neck, .0068 on bridge, nothing on middle.

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

I swear by the TBX. It is 2 pots stacked with a resistor and a cap. I believe one pot is 1 meg and the other a 500K. I believe the resistor is 100K and the cap .47 or .50. Not 100% sure, but I'm sure you can get TBX specs off Fender (as they make them) and musician's friend.

It's always struck me as odd that Fender creates a 2-eay tone with a bypass in the middle, the most versatile tone pot I've ever heard of, and it's not standard on all their guitars. Only ones it comes standard on are the Buddy Guy and Clapton Strats. I bet more of their guitars would sell if (with the exlusion of re-issues and artist series etc) were all outfitted with the TBX.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

i like .022 or .015 on my strats

the tbx is a 250k/1meg stacked pot and its cool but not for everyone. the guy and clapton strats use active electronics and with the mid boost its nice to be able to get more high end

 

[ErikH]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

I like .022 on everything pretty much. .047 is nice with 50's mod wiring (single master tone control wiring though). It's either that or no tone control at all.

The Eric Johnson Strat uses a .1uf tone cap. It doesn't act like a volume control at all. In fact, the rolloff is pretty smooth.

The TBX used to come stock in American Standard Strats and Teles in the 1990's. It's a nice device but I discovered that it puts an unnecessary load on the pickups, no thanks to the 82k resistor that's wired in parallel. I still have it in the guitar but wired it up per Doc's Mod from the FDP. It's much better than the stock TBX wiring, IMO.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

got a link to that doc mod?

 

[ErikH]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

The PDF to it is here complete with discussion thread and diagrams.

http://blueguitar.org/new/schem/_gtr/tbx_fdp.pdf

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

The PDF to it is here complete with discussion thread and diagrams.

http://blueguitar.org/new/schem/_gtr/tbx_fdp.pdf

Currently, my TBX in my Strat is the master tone, as the Ultra Strat Mod I have is only set up for one volume and one tone. I can get pretty much anything I want now, thanks to that TBX and now my possibilities are more infinate with that ultra strat mod.

Does anyone know of a simple way to put a neck and middle volume in the neck tone spot, and have the other volume for the bridge? If anyone knows a wiring diagram that shows it or can draw one up, let me know or post it!

 

[Dirt123]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

I use a 0.01 mfd on my bridge pickup, I like the midrange-y honk I get when the tone is rolled off & the overdrive is kicked in. I use a 0.022 mfd for the neck.

 

[Curly]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

I'm using .05 on my current builds, so I'll see if that's too dark.

it should work ... I usually don't complain about not having enough high end on a strat or tele.

 

[Stratosphere]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

I swear by the TBX. It is 2 pots stacked with a resistor and a cap. I believe one pot is 1 meg and the other a 500K. I believe the resistor is 100K and the cap .47 or .50. Not 100% sure, but I'm sure you can get TBX specs off Fender (as they make them) and musician's friend.

It's always struck me as odd that Fender creates a 2-eay tone with a bypass in the middle, the most versatile tone pot I've ever heard of, and it's not standard on all their guitars. Only ones it comes standard on are the Buddy Guy and Clapton Strats. I bet more of their guitars would sell if (with the exlusion of re-issues and artist series etc) were all outfitted with the TBX.

The TBX would be interesting to try. On the Clapton Strats, is the TBX a master tone or is it on one pickup?

This is a great topic and thanks everyone for your replies. I think I'll try swapping out the .022 I installed for a .047 and see if I like that better.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

the tbx is a master tone. im gonna rewire my clapton circut with the doc mod and see how it works

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: Let's talk Strat tone capacitors...

The TBX would be interesting to try. On the Clapton Strats, is the TBX a master tone or is it on one pickup?

This is a great topic and thanks everyone for your replies.

Dunno, never tried a Clapton Strat. I use to have my strat wired 5-way with the TBX controlling the Bridge and middle and the neck with it's own tone. It worked really nicely and I quite liked that set up. I only switched to the ultra strat mod and Lace Sensor to try different tone and to get more versatility out of my Strat.

The TBX also did a great deal in my Tele. It brightened it up without sounding like an ice-pick, more shimmer now. Middle position now is as bright as my Strat bridge was (before the new mod) with the TBX bypassed. Beautiful sound!