Orange Drops & Pickups

[xpresso]

I'm using Epi LP Custom. Read abt ppl changing to orange drops.
Can a capacitor really give that much of a difference to your tone?

Also, I'm thinking of getting new pickups for my guitar. *passive pickups*
STOCKED PICK-UPS ARE HORRIBLE. (Alnico Classic Humbucker)

i'm into alot of genre except metal.
mainly blues..rock...pop...etc
Looking for warm,hot tones. *which is why i chose LP*
Popular ones seems to be Tesla & Seymour Duncan?
'57 gibson humbucker seems gd too. but exp for its price eh
Kindly give your recommendations, exact model & where to buy..

Thanks!

 

[thor666]

Maybe you want to look at your amp.

The last Epi Custom I tried was very decent - stock.

Caps don't make much of a difference if any. (I do think it does, but the techies will tell you otherwise).

If you must change pickups, Seymour Duncan 59s (on both pups) are a good choice imo.

 

[xpresso]

thanks for ur reply
hmm.. i'm usually playing it thru my line6 X3L.
So amp isnt a problem.

Btw, how does Seymour Duncan 59's sound like?
Is there a marked difference in tone between SD 59s & Alnico II Pro ?
And where do i get them?
*edit* how much is it too?

 

[THOA]

An X3L through what? An amp, headphones, monitor speakers, etc?

As for the second part of your question:

Seymour Duncan pickups are available at Davis. I believe Seekz (http://soft.com.sg/forum/members/seekz.html) sells SD pickups as well.

Cost? Contact them to know. How it sounds? Go to SD's website to listen and compare.

 

[xpresso]

through headphones.
okay thanks!
any other recommendations?
im trying to research more before buying..but it would be great if there are more recommendations so i can narrow down my research.

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

capacitors will change sound(according to values and material of the cap), but not at the "oh my god, i hear tone" or mind altering state at how geetarers like to put it, after changing to oleng drop.

of course, everybody's mileage might vary

 

[THOA]

capacitors will change sound(according to values and material of the cap), but not at the "oh my god, i hear tone" or mind altering state at how geetarers like to put it, after changing to oleng drop.

Haha! Oleng drop. But I paiseh to confess that I also want oleng drop in my geetar :mrgreen:

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

heh, no need to be paiseh, we have a choice to get what we want mah.

my gripe only with, pushing a capacitor in a passive tone control in a geetar high up into the sky is like putting abalone into my singa heartland meepok and making it as if without the abalone, my meepok will never be the same

 

[naviros]

Hahaha... nice analogy PatheinRaindropMoe... Just a point, if you're going vintage style, or vintage type pick ups, mallory caps are also a good option.

 

[niteblade]

does it make a difference in a band situation? my tone/volume controls are usually maxed when i play for my band

or the differences can only be heard when youre playing alone and when you mess with the tone/volume controls

im thinking of getting the mod if it'll make my sg sound better in my bands mix

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

to be heard in a band mix, this small cap for a tone pot is really insignificance( if seldom use the tone pot, might as well remove it, so that the geetar signal can get to amp directly without passing thru another pot). The main area, imho wud be more on balancing the volume, clean frequency/distorted frequency of the instrument, effect, amp against other instruments in a band jamming setting.

Of course, it doesnt hurt to put in the oleng drop and have all the rest of equipment to be of same setting and condition, to see if the geetar sound can cut thru a band mix or not. Just go ahead to try it and report back if theres something interesting.

And as i mentioned in another oleng cap related thread, if really wanna try changing caps for fun in a guitar, get the component socket below, from simlim tower. Wire it on the pot and get hug array of caps to change until happy, to hear whether is there really a huge huge tone altering difference or just a minor one, when using the geetar in a band jamming setting..

 

[edder]

if playing in the band, the most audible difference is if the right notes are played at the right time! :mrgreen:

 

[Whitestrat]

I'm using Epi LP Custom. Read abt ppl changing to orange drops.
Can a capacitor really give that much of a difference to your tone?

Also, I'm thinking of getting new pickups for my guitar. *passive pickups*
STOCKED PICK-UPS ARE HORRIBLE. (Alnico Classic Humbucker)

I was told this by another forum: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I asked the exact same question regarding the electronics on my Fender 57 hot rod. I wanted to know if the caps should be changed to "improve" the tone. I was led to understand later, that these caps WILL change the tone, and not necessarily to your liking. If stock is fine with you, then there's no need to change, especially since I was extremely happy with my guitar. So, the caps will give you something else. not necessarily better or worse, but different.

Pickups on the other hands are also a matter of preference. Make sure you know what sound you want BEFORE deciding on changing pickups. Classic Alnico pickups are quite nice for me, since I like a bright low ouput tone. So, I'd make sure I get the best Alnico pups I can buy (most likely stock Gibby Burstbuckers would be fine or even SD Alnico 2s...) I know Epi stock pups sometimes can be a bit weird. I had a custom once, and the output was so bloody low, the guitar for some reason was really soft, and inconsistent. Anyways I no longer have that guitar. Don't like LPs...:mrgreen:

Anyways, enjoy your tone hunt...:mrgreen:

 

[Aki S. Ian]

I have orange drop in my guitar.. (which has yet to be returned)
haha, wil test the newly modded stuff out once i get it back...
having my fingers crossed

and i've change my pickups to
SH2n -SH4b

experimenting, and hoping to get a balance mixture of tone.
since im using a mahogany based guitar.

 

[edder]

And for those suckas who are paying MEGA money on orange drop caps on ebay thinking that, THAT IS THE PRICE LOR....

http://www.mouser.com/search/Refine.aspx?Ntt=Vishay/Sprague Polyester Orange Drop Capacitors

But if you factor in some workmanship of changing the caps etc... then what the regular guys here are charging is OK lah.

 

[Aki S. Ian]

agreed.

plus you want quality, you have to be ready to cough up the dough.
not that im saying the local workmaship is of poor quality.

im just saying, you want something, then pay.
dont complain

 

[ShredCow]

Well.. let's put it this way. Some stock guitars have mismatched caps and/or pots. Its a mix of both that make the tone control usable, useless or a tone tool. I've played stock guitars that mud out wayyyy too early in the taper for practical use (gotta be so careful to not over turn the knob!) and tone controls that really don't sound very musical at all. It could have been the pickups too btw.

So yeah.. if the guitar's tone control just muds out... or you find it just does not inspire. Maybe it is time to do something about it. Heck, even curiosity is a valid excuse.

But having a nice cap and stuff - its just icing on the cake. If don't have, can still eat cake right? Can still be happy right?

But if you can have the icing... why not?

So let me put it forth this way - once you got your nice cake all ready, good guitar with good pickups and what not... then let's look at the icing. Pot tapers. Pot values. Capacitor types. Capacitor values. Etc etc

Why not?

 

[xpresso]

haha different perspectives. interesting though.
thanks! =)