A whole bunch of questions..Outta the way at once!

[JoeyZ]

Ok, I thinking it's time to upgrade some of the components of my MIM jazz.

I've heard tons of things about capacitors(Sprauge, Orange drop, Grease bucket, Black Ice) But have no idea what they change or will even do.

On the topic of Pots:
What is CTS, and where do you get them?
250K, 500K, what does this mean and what effect do they have on the tone.

60's wiring differs from contemporary wiring...how.
Or is that even a ...a thing? I don't know..

Whatever, I'm stupid! I want to learn!!!!

[Jo6Pak]

A capacitor is a component in the tone circuit. A typical value is .047uf with 250kohm pots for bass. I say 'typical', because some people prefer other cap/pot values, such as .022uf and 500kohm, respectively. I stick with the 'typical', but you may choose to experiment with others. Sprague = Orange Drop (capacitor). Grease Bucket is a tone circuit incorporated by Fender into some guitars/basses, although seemingly unpopular with many people (myself included). CTS is a manufacturer/brand, often touted as 'industry standard', although 'Alpha' is another popular make. I am unfamiliar w/Black Ice and '60s wiring'. Dive in, try different configs, see what you like best. Wiring diagrams are all over the internet, but I tend to use the Seymour Duncans which are available on their website.

[Nighttrain1127]

The black ice is a distortion device wired into the tone circuit. CTS =Chicago telegraph company IIRC. The big difference between 250k (k ohms=1000 ohms) And 500k ohm pots is that the 500k pots will give you a brighter sound and the 250k pots are darker. The Cap value the bigger the number the more highs you bleed off. So a .022uf cap will be brighter than a .047uf cap due to the .047 bleeding off more high frequencies off to ground. As for Sprague orange drop caps or paper in oil ceramic or polypropolene caps in the tone circuit the type does not really make much difference. IMHO

[bassphreak]

Bump for a great thread that explained (simply and clearly) several key components. Very helpful descriptions. This answered several of my questions as I get ready to mod my jazz.

[Steveaux]

1) Black Ice is a signal drain of HUGE proportion. If you don't have massive-output p'ups (16k is on the low end), it isn't usable.

2) "'60's wiring" probably refers to Fender's old, cloth insulation, brass shielding-plate style.

3) Sprague makes Orange Drop caps.

4) Accepted rule for pots;

250k for single-coils

500k for humbuckers

5) CTS pots are my favorite. Well made, consistent quality and performance, smooth feel.

[Senator]

What is the difference between the stock pots in Fender MIM basses and new CTS pots?