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I thought some people might be interested in this:
The Truth about Tone Capacitors | Atlantic Quality Design, Inc. Musical Products
The Truth about Tone Capacitors | Atlantic Quality Design, Inc. Musical Products
An Interesting Article About Capacitors
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Very interesting! Thanks
This made me laugh. Man:
To answer critics who would say, “But you tested the capacitors with no tone pot in the circuit, man. When I turn the tone pot down to 5, man, that’s where I hear the difference. Man.” If there’s no difference between capacitors A and B with no tone pot, there will be no difference with the tone pot connected, at any setting. Man.
This made me laugh. Man:
To answer critics who would say, “But you tested the capacitors with no tone pot in the circuit, man. When I turn the tone pot down to 5, man, that’s where I hear the difference. Man.” If there’s no difference between capacitors A and B with no tone pot, there will be no difference with the tone pot connected, at any setting. Man.
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It’s just because it has “https” st the beginning of the URL and its security certificate probably needs to be updated.
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I’d think if it was a bogus site, they’d pick a more click baity topic than capacitors
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I'm up in the air on the subject in the article. I haven't done a scientific study or even a half baked attempt at knowing for sure. I recently updated my CVC electronics to include Orange drops instead of whatever they may have used, and the shrillness of treble in the bridge (Lil '59) in both hummer and single mode, as well as the stock neck PUP, sound waaay smoother and less spiky than before. Having said that, I also changed the Pots from Alpha 250K to CTS 250K, so I'm unsure if that may be a contributor as well. It's like it went from nails on a chalkboard sound at certain points to an overall smooth and gentle caress on the same board. Anyone have any idears on this one?
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I dunno...I clicked on it without regard for my safety...I’d think if it was a bogus site, they’d pick a more click baity topic than capacitors
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Excellent article. I have it in my bookmarks. For those who are skeptical, double blind experiments are not that hard to do, try it for yourself.
For those opposed to double blind experiments, I understand Audio Asylum forum has a cable section where you can get banned for just mentioning that kind of blasphemy.
For those opposed to double blind experiments, I understand Audio Asylum forum has a cable section where you can get banned for just mentioning that kind of blasphemy.
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What are your thoughts on the whole capacitor and tone debate (for guitar circuits...not amps)?
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That pot value is probably different throughout the rotation, and the cap value is probably different. Result is different sound.
The capacitor stuff is/was a never ending debate in the hifi audio world since, well, forever. Since the 1970s at least. One thing that exacerbates the debate is that in some applications certain caps are required for their special properties (high temperature, high frequencies, high voltage, stability, microphonics etc) but in the audio frequency range and the conditions most guitars operate in most of this doesn't matter.
That said, I'd rather see an orange drop cap then a ceramic disc in a guitar. No reason for this except I like orange and those discs look really cheap.
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It's a whole other can of worms with diminishing returns.
There is certainly a lot of bogus mythology out there. I do however try to keep an open mind. Just a few random points.
>It is extremely rare for people to check the value of the cap being replaced. This is critical. You need to check the one coming out and the one going in. If there is a measured difference, then any change is most likely due to the value difference, not brand, type, or lunar phase.
>There are slight differences that are type dependent such as temperature coefficient or voltage dependent distortion coefficient. These are best left for those trying to squeeze out that last half a percent in their tone. Very little gains to be had.
>Similar to the point about not measuring values, very few ever conduct proper double blind comparisons.
So in most cases any significant differences are due to variance in actual capacitance value, or placebo effect.
Placebo effect is vastly under-rated.
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This is what I go by!
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I just did the same, and with a CVC (Strat neck and original bridge p'up though)... My guess is that your CTS pots will measure out at a lower value than the Alphas, cutting high end.
BTW, those Alphas are nice and smooth—much smoother than the CTS pots... I think I'll go back to the Alphas. And I like the little green mylar caps for some reason (mostly aesthetic/size).
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I didn't measure the pots I took out, but I did measure the ones I put in. Your more than likely correct about the assertion that the Alpha's are a higher value if the one I just changed out of my LP is any indication. That particular 500K Pot measured at around 545 or so, while the CTS are typically measuring in the 470 - 480K range. I took a a few tips from JonesyBlues on Youtube and tried to match my pot's values as close as possible.
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Is there a pedal for that?
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I made one. It has an on/on switch and is labelled 'straight-in'. We love it.
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