optisailor2002
New member
sorry for noobish question. but how exactly does the orange drop cap affect a gutiar tone?
Orange drop caps??
- Thread starter kevin118
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PatheinRaindropMoe
New member
the capacitor with the tone pot work doesnt boost or add any brightness. Its function is to let all the hi frequency from our geetar signal goes down to ground as we rotate the tone pot. It only reduce whatever thats present and not boost anything
i believe the brightness in that article refer to the treble bleed cap which some people put on the volume pot
Volume pot and tone pot basically are using the same type of pot. The only reason why one is volume and the other tone, is because of the way it is wired. Google for more infos and pics
treble bleed cap- Its a mod thats done on volume pot with a capacitor where the reducing of the vol pot will let the hi frequency "bleed" thru. Usual value for it are in the range of couple hundred of picofarad. Purpose is to retain some brightness when turning down the volume pot. Some like the sound to retain brightness when reducing volume while some prefer it natural with a slight lost of the hi frequency bits. Using too small a value make the sound thin and bright when rolling down volume pot. Its not a "must" mod if one doesnt use much of the volume pot. The extra cap in there, other then making one feeling great that "hey, i got this mod", it prolly wont see much usage..
for orange drop which most are talking about, its for the tone pot usually. Its value usally round 0.027uf to 0.047uf.
too small the value, the effect of the hi frequency roll off will be less severe when turning down the tone pot. Too big the value, the hi frequency be roll off faster and make your sound muddy/darker/warmth/mojo/bullscock tone etc
i believe the brightness in that article refer to the treble bleed cap which some people put on the volume pot
Volume pot and tone pot basically are using the same type of pot. The only reason why one is volume and the other tone, is because of the way it is wired. Google for more infos and pics
treble bleed cap- Its a mod thats done on volume pot with a capacitor where the reducing of the vol pot will let the hi frequency "bleed" thru. Usual value for it are in the range of couple hundred of picofarad. Purpose is to retain some brightness when turning down the volume pot. Some like the sound to retain brightness when reducing volume while some prefer it natural with a slight lost of the hi frequency bits. Using too small a value make the sound thin and bright when rolling down volume pot. Its not a "must" mod if one doesnt use much of the volume pot. The extra cap in there, other then making one feeling great that "hey, i got this mod", it prolly wont see much usage..
for orange drop which most are talking about, its for the tone pot usually. Its value usally round 0.027uf to 0.047uf.
too small the value, the effect of the hi frequency roll off will be less severe when turning down the tone pot. Too big the value, the hi frequency be roll off faster and make your sound muddy/darker/warmth/mojo/bullscock tone etc
Last edited:
PatheinRaindropMoe
New member
wanna brighter in a easier and cheap way, can be done with playing with the volume pot value. Got for 1meg or more. The trade off is additonal noise/hiss.
again, the bigger the value, doesnt boost anything. Its just having a "bigger path" for our geetar signal to travel thru to amp, before hitting the ground and get cut off when we turn the volume pot to 0. The source is still the same, but the path which is travelling, been widen.
again, the bigger the value, doesnt boost anything. Its just having a "bigger path" for our geetar signal to travel thru to amp, before hitting the ground and get cut off when we turn the volume pot to 0. The source is still the same, but the path which is travelling, been widen.
While that's true... the material of the cap does make a difference... just bleeds treble differently.
Is it an obvious difference where the chicks will flock to you after your live show? Nope.
But the player would be able to appreciate it and depending on how sensitive/anal he is, he would probably be able to hear/feel the difference even playing live and loud.
PatheinRaindropMoe
New member
your understanding of the cap in geetar is confusing yourself.
Firstly, the tone knob(where the capacitor will be soldered to) on the instrument is meant to give guitar player choices, to vary the sound. With the tone pot at max and reduction where the sound will be muffled/rolling off the hi frequency as we turn down the tone pot. And if you dont use/adjust much of your tone pot, even a change of the cap, prolly wont give you a big different in the sound when you play the instrument(especially when in blind test situation and not knowing before hand, whats the cap, at same value between 2 different geetars).
If like what you mentioned, theres no tone pot in your insturment. The only place where you can put the cap, will be on the volume pot. Which, doesnt work the same as the cap on the tone pot(wired differently). Refer to the treble bleed mod mentioned earlier. Again, if you dont turn down/adjust your volume pot much when you play the instrument, this mod also is as good as being redundant on the instrument itself.
the improvement in sound is a combination of different factors on the instrument and not just a tiny cap change
for stretching the capability of pickup thru wiring, its another story that consist of other stuff. If you dont want to spend money unnecessary, go google for and read it over and over again on
1) what make a pickup single coil
2) what make a pickup humbucker
3) what is coil tap/split coil/out of phase wiring for pickup
4) pickup series wiring/parallel wiring(which is how most of the geetar are being wired)
Firstly, the tone knob(where the capacitor will be soldered to) on the instrument is meant to give guitar player choices, to vary the sound. With the tone pot at max and reduction where the sound will be muffled/rolling off the hi frequency as we turn down the tone pot. And if you dont use/adjust much of your tone pot, even a change of the cap, prolly wont give you a big different in the sound when you play the instrument(especially when in blind test situation and not knowing before hand, whats the cap, at same value between 2 different geetars).
If like what you mentioned, theres no tone pot in your insturment. The only place where you can put the cap, will be on the volume pot. Which, doesnt work the same as the cap on the tone pot(wired differently). Refer to the treble bleed mod mentioned earlier. Again, if you dont turn down/adjust your volume pot much when you play the instrument, this mod also is as good as being redundant on the instrument itself.
the improvement in sound is a combination of different factors on the instrument and not just a tiny cap change
for stretching the capability of pickup thru wiring, its another story that consist of other stuff. If you dont want to spend money unnecessary, go google for and read it over and over again on
1) what make a pickup single coil
2) what make a pickup humbucker
3) what is coil tap/split coil/out of phase wiring for pickup
4) pickup series wiring/parallel wiring(which is how most of the geetar are being wired)
if you want to stretch the capability of your pickups... you gotta first ask, stretch what capabilities? What are these "capabilities" that only "designer pickups" can give?
If one can't answer what's limiting, what's wrong with the current setup then... why are you considering the change?
Whitestrat
New member
to what PatheinRaindropMoe said about the volume knob mod thing:so it would be better just to rewire cause it dosent make much of a difference right?? my guitar is a fender highway one showmaster.to ShredCow i want to change my pickups cause the output is not high enough then when played with distortion the sound gets muddy.But if i put the gain down the distortion would be weak and dosent sound right so maybe if i buy a higher output pickups it would be able to handle the distortion better.so what kind of wiring would one recommend?? mine is a humbucker not a single coil.
Well, higher output for pickups does not mean it will suddenly handle high gain well.
Listen to this: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=641337&songID=6680915
That's my guitar and its got a humbucker that is probably one of the lowest output around. Does the distortion sound bad/weak/muddy?
What is more critical is a good set up - both guitar and amp/gear. Then if that does not work out, consider a well-designed pickup that caters to your needs.
Is your guitar set up properly? Google pickup heights.
Are you tweaking your gain right? What gear are you using?
PatheinRaindropMoe
New member
heh, like a plate of stir fry mixed vege, adding on..
its not about which one is better or worst, each and every one of us have different needs and preference thats according to what and how we utilise the gear.
having the distortion making the sound muddy. We can look at other areas, other then the pickup. Eg, the source of the distortion, the amp being used etc.
changing the pickup will definitely make the sound different, but if we are still subjecting the geetar signal to the same distortion circuit/amp. The difference is not going to be a huge change. Trying the same geetar with same pickup, through different amp/distortion circuit and having another person playing the same thing, might be of a bigger change to the overall sound then to changing the pickup
imho
if you are still having doubt after reading. Arranged a date, bring your guitar down to the places/names which was mentioned on the first page, have them check thru your instrument, get advice from them, play the instrument through their amps, distortion etc and to decide on whether or not, to change any parts.
in an open forum, theres too many of us with different views and thoughts, according to what we know. Your doubts/questions are "open ended" kinda, it wont be easy to get a fixed answer/solution and worst still, it will confuse you much with all the different replies.
its not about which one is better or worst, each and every one of us have different needs and preference thats according to what and how we utilise the gear.
having the distortion making the sound muddy. We can look at other areas, other then the pickup. Eg, the source of the distortion, the amp being used etc.
changing the pickup will definitely make the sound different, but if we are still subjecting the geetar signal to the same distortion circuit/amp. The difference is not going to be a huge change. Trying the same geetar with same pickup, through different amp/distortion circuit and having another person playing the same thing, might be of a bigger change to the overall sound then to changing the pickup
imho
if you are still having doubt after reading. Arranged a date, bring your guitar down to the places/names which was mentioned on the first page, have them check thru your instrument, get advice from them, play the instrument through their amps, distortion etc and to decide on whether or not, to change any parts.
in an open forum, theres too many of us with different views and thoughts, according to what we know. Your doubts/questions are "open ended" kinda, it wont be easy to get a fixed answer/solution and worst still, it will confuse you much with all the different replies.
heh, like a plate of stir fry mixed vege, adding on..
having the distortion making the sound muddy. We can look at other areas, other then the pickup. Eg, the source of the distortion, the amp being used etc.
changing the pickup will definitely make the sound different, but if we are still subjecting the geetar signal to the same distortion circuit/amp. The difference is not going to be a huge change. Trying the same geetar with same pickup, through different amp/distortion circuit and having another person playing the same thing, might be of a bigger change to the overall sound then to changing the pickup
if you are still having doubt after reading. Arranged a date, bring your guitar down to the places/names which was mentioned on the first page, have them check thru your instrument, get advice from them, play the instrument through their amps, distortion etc and to decide on whether or not, to change any parts.
.
true.but if i were to go and consult those people at the shops will shops like davis or swee lee would they have expert advice on such things or must i go to a shop like beez or something.my gear is a fender highway one showmaster to a dunlop 95Q wah to a MXR super comp to a metal zone to a Tube screamer ts9dx and to a peavey 10 watt amp.i've tried like alot of settings and yet my sound is not fantastic still.what do you mean by the height of the pickups does that really matter? cause i just got it stock from swee lee without any mods.hmmm..confusing haha..
ya that was what i was kinda thinking of too.maybe after my exams i was thinking of buying a randall half stack.
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