-
I want to darken my sound. Playing a Seymour Duncan 59 in an Eastman carved Jazz Elite 16 - 7. Ordered a B7 I will probably put in it.
I was recommended to put in a 0.047 oil and paper capacitor. Lou at Guitars n Jazz strongly recommends the Bumblebee capacitor. I have no experience with either. Does anybody really know about these things from personal experience that would be willing to comment? Thank you so much.
-
03-26-2024 09:51 PM
-
The divide is so sharp that there are essentially two kinds of people: Those who claim that capacitors of the same value have the same electrical effect no matter what they're made of, and those who claim to be able to hear some difference between items with identical electrical value.
I'm firmly in the first group.
We like to remind folks that the vintage Fender guitars we all love so much shipped with those mica caps which are just so uncool.
All the best with your quest.
-
Thanks. Since I posted that question I've read a couple of long threads discussing the debate you refer to. So maybe my new question should be where can I get a high quality modern capacitor? They're also seems to be a debate about whether an 047 is any better than an 022. I definitely want a darker tone but I don't know whether that's a good idea or not. Thanks again.
-
Oil and paper is ancient, and unreliable, technology. Any modern capacitor will do the job just fine, it's the value that counts. The only caveat is that the tolerance can be different for different capacitors, so the actual value can vary based on that. Get one with a low tolerance if you can, which may insure that the actual value is near the rated value. But you probably can't hear any difference between capacitors that are within tolerance, whatever the rated tolerance may be. Brand names are for marketing, and getting the most money possible from buyers. It's the same for cosmetics, fragrances, guitars, cars, or anything else.
-
Expensive parts are sometimes advertised as having "mojo".
"Mojo" has no mass or energy but is electrically active, always making things sound "cooler". It can be expensive but, with the right mindset, you can get it for free.
-
Don't know how physics would allow you to hear a difference in a simple guitar roll off circuit.
I use orange drops because they are big and easy to handle and look cool.
off topic and you're probably already aware.. however.. Eastman's are bright to my ears. Though rich and interesting and very good guitars overall. Would be trying strings and picks before going to pickup swaps. Picks are particularly easy and underrated when it comes to modifying tone. You might try a thicker pick in a softer material. After that I would try a full up EQ pedal before changing parts.
-
Think about how a capacitor works: it passes frequencies to ground. We don't hear the signal that goes through the cap.
Another option is running a resistor from the hot wire of the pickup to ground. I do this with the bridge pickup on my Teles to round off the top end. Similarly, wiring a resistor across the outer lugs of the pot with effectively change the resistance of the pot (these do the same thing in a one pickup guitar).
How To Use Resistors In A Guitar & Cool Tricks | Fralin Pickups
I'd second Spook410's advice. Try Martin Retro Monel strings, try a different pick, add a tone pot if the guitar doesn't have one, etc...
-
The simplest solution is an eq pedal.
-
Turn the amp up and the guitar volume down.
-
22nf is usually plenty dark when turned down all or most of the way. I don't recommend a 47 as I feel they're overly bassy, but that's up to you. There's also 33.
As far as cap quality, different materials filter differently and so do sound slightly differently. A $5 orange drop or pio will be fine.
2nd using an eq. The simplest way to dial in the exact tone you want and they work in every situation. Not sure why people are so obstinate against them.
2nd wiring in a resistor or turning the guitar volume down and the amp up. You can also wire in a lower value volume pot such as 200k for medium warm, and 100k for super warm.
Another option is to swap the A5 in the 59 for A2. Makes it nice and syrup-y. The 59 is my favorite jazz pup.Last edited by Jimmy Smith; 03-27-2024 at 11:27 AM.
-
Such as what kind of EQ pedal?
-
The cheapest that still works well is the Behringer 7 band pedal. It has no noise or tone suck to my ear.
The most popular is the Boss 7 band pedal and they also have a 10 band which is great.
I recommend a 15 or 31 band rack eq because you get full precision.
Don't get MXR, has noise and tone suck. I also don't recommend less than 7 bands.
I don't want a unit without sliders..
-
Well, I personally think the small digital Zooms (ms50g ou ms70cdr) do a great work for that and they're also a tuner. They have parametric and graphic eq and are quite cheap. I find digital eqs less noisy and way more precise, and these days even the cheap ones are quite transparent. The new Line6 HX One is expensive but it should be more transparent and also doubles as a tuner - the parametric eq has an high cut and a low cut involved, the high cut might just what you need, depending on the source of the brightness you want to tame.
But in all honesty, many here disagree with me and prefer anlog eqs. I've not tried analog eqs in a long time - I remember the Boss GE7 was unusable (noisy) without mods, not sure if something changed. I think the MXR graphic ones are better (EDIT: according to the post above, not) - and there's a bunch of new ones I have not tried.
-
On the bands question, to tame brightness, less bands might not be band - it makes the cut broader, it may be just what you want.
Personally, I spent a fair amount of money and time in pickups and speakers and caps and cables and all that, and learning how to use an EQ has been a money and time saver and has helped me a lot with my tone - and if you're already use other pedals, it's a not brainer. It does not solve anything (I've had a boomyness issue with an archtop that in the end only a pickup swap solved) but it 's a great tool.
-
Thanks Jimmy. I'll try the turning the amp up and guitar down. I'm going to start another thread about alnico 2 vs alnico 5 and would like to see some discussion about that. Custom pickups are expensive and non-returnable and I can't go to the guitar shop and try one. Although there must be some guitar that comes with alnico 2.
-
You're welcome. You do the mag swap yourself. You simply take the pickup out of the mount without disconnecting the leads, unwrap the pickup tape, loosen the bobbin securing screws on the bottom of the pup, and swap the magnet with its magnetic poles oriented the same way.
-
You don't have to remove the cover?
Originally Posted by Jimmy Smith
-
Electronic technician for 39 years.
What the cap is made of in the audio range means nothing. Value and tolerance should be the only issue.
-
The 59 I bought is a custom one with a nickel cover and it's a 7-string neck. I don't think I'm up to trying to do all that and removing the cover.
-
^ Ya weenie. Yeah no jk, there are many different things you can do to achieve the sound you want that aren't intimidating.
There's that too. Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack
Nope, the different materials filter differently and you can hear it when you a/b them. It's not because of the tolerance variances either, because the characteristics of each material stay the same. Originally Posted by BBGuitar
-
Chatgpt thinks there would be a difference in sound. It's the future. It doesn't matter if it's right.
But, who can actually figure out which one sounds best? I couldn't find a record of anybody using a Varitone switch for the experiment to test multiple caps of the same spec but different manufacture.
If your guitar permits easy access for soldering the caps in and out, I guess you could try to remember what it sounded like with the previous cap. In an archtop that would be harder to do.
-
^ I did so much guitar tech-ing that I remembered the characteristics. The 2 most common delux materials I ended up liking anyway - pio and orange drop. To me, they sound better than the cheapie ceramics and are worth the $5 or so. Don't need to spend $200 on the pio from Buddy Holly's strat. If you care, the orange drop sounds fat and supple and the pio sounds silky and vintage but the fatness is a tad deadened.
Last edited by Jimmy Smith; 03-27-2024 at 11:37 PM.
-
This topic is more about religion than science. Believe what you want that's your prerogative.
-
You really need to roll your own capacitors from aluminum foil and waxed paper rather than buying caps from the man. Do homemade cookies taste the same as the stuff in the supermarket?
-
Which characteristics are responsible for a difference in sound though? Doesn't the characteristic of a filter depend on capacitance and resistance of the components only? Originally Posted by Jimmy Smith
Reply With Quote
Body Dimensions for a 1920s Gibson L5?
Today, 07:47 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos