Which capacitor to get?

O

Orange Tortex

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I know it should be a matter of preference, but what value capacitor works best with humbuckers/500k pots? Every diagram I find for humbuckers show .047uF, but every article I read says they should use .022uF… and .047uF for single coils.
Does it really matter that much? I don’t use the tone knob much anyway but when I do I want it to sound good.
 
Check the diagram at this link. That has  .022uF

https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=32923.msg463892#msg463892

The higher value the cap is the darker or more bass the tone it will provide. So humbuckers generally use lower value caps as they are duller than single coils which tend to use higher value caps.

How much it matters is entirely subjective.

I have noticed on TGP and here you have a lot of details you are looking for. Perhaps something like the book "Guitar Player Repair Guide" by Dan Erlewine you may find a useful book to read.
 
stratamania said:
Check the diagram at this link. That has  .022uF

https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=32923.msg463892#msg463892

The higher value the cap is the darker or more bass the tone it will provide. So humbuckers generally use lower value caps as they are duller than single coils which tend to use higher value caps.

How much it matters is entirely subjective.

I have noticed on TGP and here you have a lot of details you are looking for. Perhaps something like the book "Guitar Player Repair Guide" by Dan Erlewine you may find a useful book to read.
Yeah I’ve been going between forums asking questions for the small details lol. Every stone I turn reveals more to know about.
What’s the most recent version of that book? Does it cover just about everything you need to know in order to build a guitar?
 
For my part I like a 0.022uf with humbuckers, or better yet a 0.022uf for the bridge and a 0.015uf for the neck if you have separate controls.
 
Orange Tortex said:
stratamania said:
Check the diagram at this link. That has  .022uF

https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=32923.msg463892#msg463892

The higher value the cap is the darker or more bass the tone it will provide. So humbuckers generally use lower value caps as they are duller than single coils which tend to use higher value caps.

How much it matters is entirely subjective.

I have noticed on TGP and here you have a lot of details you are looking for. Perhaps something like the book "Guitar Player Repair Guide" by Dan Erlewine you may find a useful book to read.
Yeah I’ve been going between forums asking questions for the small details lol. Every stone I turn reveals more to know about.
What’s the most recent version of that book? Does it cover just about everything you need to know in order to build a guitar?

I think the latest version is the 3rd edition but check on StewMac. It will cover most of the things and more that you may have questions about in repairing or assembling a partscaster. Another title is "How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great!" 2nd edition.

Building a guitar from scratch e.g. cutting and routing wood from scratch is a different thing but there are other resources on how to do that.
 
I use .015uF for humbuckers.
They just seem to take the high edge off and don't cut into the fundamental mids as much so the tone doesn't get too muddy.
 
Once you've decided on a value*, whatever you do don't buy expensive 'boutique' capacitors.  A cheap mylar or ceramic capacitor is all you need in a guitar tone circuit.









* actually, you could buy a bunch of ceramic caps in all the values you are contemplating and try them all for under $1.00. 
 
Orange Tortex said:
Does it really matter that much? I don’t use the tone knob much anyway but when I do I want it to sound good.

Others have commented here about the generic values to use for which pickups & value of the pots etc.

But I've noticed this comment (highlighted above).

When you leave the tone pot up full,  for maximum 'tone', you are disengaging the cap value almost completely. The more you turn down the tone pot, the more the capacitor engages in circuit (and the value of that cap starts to colour the tone).

That is how I believe the passive circuitry in most guitars work. IF I am wrong, I'd greatly appreciate anyone correcting me here, but yeah, that was my understanding of how the caps work in the tone pot.

If that's the case, and you don't use the tone pot much as you say, then any cap would work with you, as it's just the roll off as you turn the knob down that brings in that cap.... :icon_scratch:
 
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