Re: Tone control OT

[Charles Zwicky <cazwicky@earthlink.net>]

Actually, capacitors of different types can exhibit quite a range of 
sonic differences, even if the capacitance is matched.

Walt Jung wrote a definitive study of capacitor differences in audio, 
and many guitar and amp folks will assert that ceramic capacitors are 
required to get the 'best' sound out of a classic Fender tone control 
stack circuit.  I may be of interest in this case that Walt Jung 
found ceramic capacitors to have higher distortion than metal film 
and much mich higher than polystyrene (favored by audiopiles)...

CZ

>d.nix wrote:
>>(minor ramble ahead...)
>>
>>as some one that has built several tube guitar amps from scratch, and 
>wired
>>up five or six guitars over the years; you *can* recognise the genral 
>sound
>>qualities of different capacitors from each other as you get exposed to 
>them
>>in different circuits... I'd say most any of you folks that can handle a
>>soldering iron and build a simple effects box kit could try substituting
>>different types of caps (of the same electrical value)
>
>yes, I saw this claim several times when Googling.
>
>...but there's always the same omission.
>
>
>The clue is in the term "of same electrical value".
>As caps usually have a tolerance of plus minus 10% in order to check 
>that a different type of cap really
>has the same capacitance you'd need to measure it,
>and none of tone voodoo experts I checked out picked up on that.
>
>Otherwise, it's much more reasonable to assume that the change in 
>tone is because your capacitors don't
>actually have the same value.
>
>On the other hand of course, capacitors contain
>conductors which may have an appreciable amount of resistance...and 
>maybe the wrapped round
>structure produces a bit of inductance.
>
>This seems to overstate the case though ;-)
>
>http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2008/Apr/Auditioning_Tone_Capacitors_Part_II.aspx
>
>andy butler


-- 

...
http://www.zmix.net

http://www.esession.com/ChuckZwicky

http://albumcredits.com/zmix