The weird quirks and intricacies of tone caps are discussed
Hello, and welcome back to āMod Garageā
for our last installment on tone caps for
Stratocasters. Iāll also take a moment to finish the story about how our obscure tone
cap turned out.
After receiving the Orange Drop cap back from
the lab, I replaced it with an NOS Sprague
āhigh-voltageā ceramic cap from the ā60s to
get the Strat as close as possible to stock ā60s
specs. Our customer was happy, and heās still
playing the guitar as his number one axe. I kept
the Orange Drop cap for further testing and as
a souvenir of a lesson learned.
Unfortunately, situations like thisāwhen
something is working, but nobody can tell
you whyāreally bother me. We had traced a
problem and found a workaround, but thatās an
unpleasant situation. So I decided to dip deeper into the obscure world of film and foil caps.
Letās resume: we have a 100-volt Orange
Drop film and foil cap, formerly made by
Sprague, today built by SBE with the original
Sprague machines and toolings. These caps
are produced by taking a long narrow strip
of insulating material and placing a strip of
metal foil on both sides of it. The two pieces
of foil become the plates of the capacitor,
and the insulator the dielectric. This long
strip is then wound into a cylindrical shape,
two metal leads are attached to the two foils,
and the entire construction is potted and
sealed in some type of material designed
to keep moisture out of the capacitor and
to keep the capacitor mechanically stable.
Since the capacitor is wound into a cylindrical
shape, one of the foil sides is on the outside
(referred to as the āoutside foilā end), and
the other on the inside (āinside foilā end).
Standard film and foil caps donāt have a
certain orientation like electrolytic caps, so,
in theory, the way they are installed inside a
guitar should not make any difference in tone.
So why is this important when it doesnāt make
a difference, tonally? Well, the outer-foil side
can be used as a shield against electric field
coupling into the capacitorāvery important
for tube amps. In order to take advantage of
the shielding properties of the outside foil, the
cap must be connected in the circuit in a particular orientation, which is the low impedance
side of the amp circuit.
In a passive guitar circuit, there is no low-impedance side because we use the tone cap
as a bypass cap to ground, so the outside foil
should be connected to the grounded side in
this case. The outside foil will act as a shield
against electric field coupling into the capacitor,
so you want it to have the lowest impedance
return path to ground. With this rule in mind
and all the caps connected this way, a tube amp
will be much less susceptible to interference
from fluorescent lighting and hum, oscillations
or frequency-response peaks due to unwanted
feedback from nearby signals within the amp.
So, I started to reverse the tone caps inside
different guitars, and to my surprise, I discovered the following:
- In some guitars, the same cap makes a noticeable difference if you reverse it, and in other guitars notāheaven knows why! Stratocasters seem to be most responsive to this, followed by Telecasters and Les Pauls.
- Because of their construction, single-layer caps like ceramic or silver mica caps do not have an outside foil, so reversing these caps makes no difference. The same goes with high-voltage film and foil caps.
Unfortunately, identifying the outside foil end of such caps isnāt always easy. Some caps have a mark to indicate this side, but because the procedure takes time, most manufacturers donāt mark their caps. To bust another internet myth, I spoke with a SBE engineer who had also worked for Sprague in the past. He said that neither Sprague nor SBE marked the outside foil on Orange Drop caps! (He did say that there are plans to offer that option in the future for custom production runs).
According to the same engineer, the banded mark you can find on older Sprague Orange Drop caps was related to the production process Sprague used at this time, whatever that means. I crosschecked this with several old Orange Drops and can confirm the banded mark is not indicating the outside foil side.
So what if the cap is not marked? To find out where the outside foil side is connected, you will need some know-how and a good scope. I donāt have the space to detail this testing procedure, but if you are interested, please send me an email. That said, since there are only two terminals, you have a 50-50 chance to get it right from the start.
The moral of this story? If you love to mod your guitars and your guitar is loaded with Orange Drops, Mallorys, Roedersteins, WIMAs or similar caps, listen to the guitarās amplified tone, reverse the tone cap(s) and listen again. Chances are that you will hear a noticeable difference in tone, as long as you arenāt using single-layer or high-voltage film and foil caps. Who knowsāmaybe you will discover one of your old guitars again, unplayed for years because of a less-than-great amplified tone!
Next month weāll return to Stratocaster mods, and I will detail a very cool mod called the āvintage coiled guitar cable simulator.ā Until then, keep on modding!
Dirk Wacker lives in Germany and has been addicted to all kinds of guitars since the age of 5. He is fascinated by anything related to old Fender guitars and amps. He plays country, rockabilly, surf, and Nashville styles in two bands, works regularly as a studio musician for a local studio, and writes for several guitar mags. He is also a hardcore DIY-er for guitars, amps, and stompboxes, and he runs an extensive webpageāsinglecoil.comāon the subject.
Weāre giving away pedals all month long! Enter Stompboxtober Day 11 for your chance to win todayās pedal from Hotone Audio!
Hotone Wong Press
Cory Wong Signature Volume/Wah/Expression Pedal
Renowned international funk guitar maestro and 63rd Grammy nominee Cory Wong is celebrated for his unique playing style and unmistakable crisp tone. Known for his expressive technique, heās been acclaimed across the globe by all audiences for his unique blend of energy and soul. In 2022, Cory discovered the multi-functional Soul Press II pedal from Hotone and instantly fell in love. Since then, it has become his go-to pedal for live performances.
Now, two years later, the Hotone team has meticulously crafted the Wong Press, a pedal tailored specifically for Cory Wong. Building on the multi-functional design philosophy of the Soul Press series, this new pedal includes Coryās custom requests: a signature blue and white color scheme, a customized volume pedal curve, an adjustable wah Q value range, and travel lights that indicate both pedal position and working mode.
Coryās near-perfect pursuit of tone and pedal feel presented a significant challenge for our development team. After countless adjustments to the Q value range, Hotone engineers achieved the precise WAH tone Cory desired while minimizing the risk of accidental Q value changes affecting the sound. Additionally, based on Coryās feedback, the volume control was fine-tuned for a smoother, more musical transition, enhancing the overall feel of volume swells. The team also upgraded the iconic travel lights of the Soul Press II to dual-color travel lightsāblue for Wah mode and green for Volume modeāmaking live performances more intuitive and visually striking!
In line with the Hotone Design Inspiration philosophy, the Wong Press represents the perfect blend of design and inspiration. Now, musicians can channel their inner Cory Wong and enjoy the freedom and joy of playing with the Wong Press!
A more affordable path to satisfying your 1176 lust.
An affordable alternative to Cali76 and 1176 comps that sounds brilliant. Effective, satisfying controls.
Big!
$269
Warm Audio Pedal76
warmaudio.com
Though compressors are often used to add excitement to flat tones, pedal compressors for guitar are often ā¦ boring. Not so theWarm Audio Pedal76. The FET-driven, CineMag transformer-equipped Pedal76 is fun to look at, fun to operate, and fun to experiment with. Well, maybe itās not fun fitting it on a pedalboardāat a little less than 6.5ā wide and about 3.25ā tall, itās big. But its potential to enliven your guitar sounds is also pretty huge.
Warm Audio already builds a very authentic and inexpensive clone of the Urei 1176, theWA76. But the font used for the modelās name, its control layout, and its dimensions all suggest a clone of Origin Effectsā much-admired first-generation Cali76, which makes this a sort of clone of an homage. Much of the 1176ās essence is retained in that evolution, however. The Pedal76 also approximates the 1176ās operational feel. The generous control spacing and the satisfying resistance in the knobs means fast, precise adjustments, which, in turn, invite fine-tuning and experimentation.
Well-worn 1176 formulas deliver very satisfying results from the Pedal76. The 10ā2ā4 recipe (the numbers correspond to compression ratio and āclockā positions on the ratio, attack, and release controls, respectively) illuminates lifeless tonesāadding body without flab, and an effervescent, sparkly color that preserves dynamics and overtones. Less subtle compression tricks sound fantastic, too. Drive from aggressive input levels is growling and thick but retains brightness and nuance. Heavy-duty compression ratios combined with fast attack and slow release times lend otherworldly sustain to jangly parts. Impractically large? Maybe. But Iād happily consider bumping the rest of my gain devices for the Pedal76.
Check out our demo of the Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Shaman Model! John Bohlinger walks you through the guitar's standout features, tones, and signature style.
Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Electric Guitar - Shaman
Vernon Reid Totem Series, ShamanWith three voices, tap tempo, and six presets, EQDās newest echo is an affordable, approachable master of utility.
A highly desirable combination of features and quality at a very fair price. Nice distinctions among delay voices. Controls are clear, easy to use, and can be effectively manipulated on the fly.
Analog voices may lack complexity to some ears.
$149
EarthQuaker Silos
earthquakerdevices.com
There is something satisfying, even comforting, about encountering a product of any kind that is greater than the sum of its partsāthings that embody a convergence of good design decisions, solid engineering, and empathy for users that considers their budgets and real-world needs. You feel some of that spirit inEarthQuakerās new Silos digital delay. Itās easy to use, its tone variations are practical and can provoke very different creative reactions, and at $149 itās very inexpensive, particularly when you consider its utility.
Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voicesātwo of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, itās not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this canāt-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silosā utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly wonāt get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear ādigitalā voice, darker āanalogā voice, and a ātapeā voice which is darker still.
āThe three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.ā
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while itās true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silosā three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximityāan effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silosā affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats thatās sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voiceās pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silosā combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.