Capacitor help

[AndyPanda]

Now you know what it is .... but what I got from the original post is that you aren't thrilled with the sound you're getting. It should be very easy to bypass it long enough to see if you prefer the sound without it. Just because it is "very cool" is no reason you have to keep it if the sound doesn't work for you.

Just to play it safe, you could grab a new control plate and standard pots and cap --- then wire it up as a stock control plate to test it out while keeping your old Q-filter control plate just as it is so you can easily put it back if you find you don't like the stock setup better than what you have now. That way you only need to solder the two pickup leads to switch between the control plates to compare.

 

[micguy]

The ceramic cap with the Z5u has a dielectric that has very wide tolerances, and ages relatively fast - the Y and Z dielectrics age more than the X7R’s, and if you can find cog or npo ceramics, they don’t age.

What all that means is it’s not the same value as it was years ago - it’s considerably less. If it sounds good, nothing to worry about, just know that it doesn’t sound like it did when it was installed.

Poly film caps (Orange drops are poly films) are not ceramics, and also don’t age - one good reason to use them.

 

[jjace1313]

Hello- I'm not smart in this area at all and am wondering what this cap is doing tone wise (making things brighter or...?) in my '55 Pbass. I know a 0.1uF cap will cut more treble than a 0.047uF, but I'm not sure how to read the one in the pic. It's not the right cap for that time/bass but was this way when I bought it around 1982. Thanks for any help or suggestions.

View attachment 3216476

View attachment 3216475

yup..looks like s treblr bleed to me

 

[BassLife77]

looks like a homemade hack job. there's dried flux everywhere. I would get some alcohol and clean it all out first. If you don't like the sound I would yank out the Q filter and treble bleed and just put a .047uF cap to ground on the tone pot.

 

[sikamikanico]

Another idea for more mids would be to install a split coil version of that pickup (Fralin is a popular choice here). I hear they tend to have more mids, kinda like the ‘57 P. Also gets rid of the single coil hum...

But don’t sell the original pickup, assuming it is still original!

 

[dagrev]

Another idea for more mids would be to install a split coil version of that pickup (Fralin is a popular choice here). I hear they tend to have more mids, kinda like the ‘57 P. Also gets rid of the single coil hum...

But don’t sell the original pickup, assuming it is still original!

Yes, that pickup won't go anywhere! That PUP was rewound by Seymour Duncan himself in his early days from what I was told when I bought it in '82ish.

I have a Regenerate Heritage Plus (think modern and active/passive P/J take on a '55 Pbass. That Nordy PUP has a little more mids than the one in the real '55. That Nordy is a very nice pickup. Well, both PUPs and electronics are all Nordy and very nice.

 

[okabass]

Is it a real '55 P Bass? I recommend to put the original circuit back. Like this.
Tone cap 47 nF or 100 nF (.047 or .1 mfd or μF)

cs5C2755tonestackschematic28small29.jpg
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Or
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[dagrev]

Is it a real '55 P Bass? I recommend to put the original circuit back. Like this.
Tone cap 47 nF or 100 nF (.047 or .1 mfd or μF)

cs5C2755tonestackschematic28small29.jpg
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Or
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Thanks for the info. Yes it is. That's really what I'm leaning toward.

I was thinking of ordering this and dropping it is. Close to original but not costly.
PBass: K42Y-2 NOS .047uF | Vintage RelicGuitar relic'ing aging, aged guitar parts, custom guitars, wiring harnesses

I noticed in image 2 and 3 that there is a resistor on one but not the other.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Other than that it look exactly like my '58. What difference does the resistor make?
Thanks

 

[okabass]

Thanks for the info. Yes it is. That's really what I'm leaning toward.

I was thinking of ordering this and dropping it is. Close to original but not costly.
PBass: K42Y-2 NOS .047uF | Vintage RelicGuitar relic'ing aging, aged guitar parts, custom guitars, wiring harnesses

I noticed in image 2 and 3 that there is a resistor on one but not the other.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Other than that it look exactly like my '58. What difference does the resistor make?
Thanks

Hi
The resistor drops the volume when you turn the tone CCW. As I know the reason was to prevent speaker farting out. Nowadays it isn't needed, but it is nice uniqueness. As a matter of fact the pictures have the resistor "omitted" from the circuit. The drawn schematic has it right, and the last one.
I would buy CTS pots, a switchcraft jack, a poly 47 nF or 100 nF cap. And the resistor is 15 kΩ or 22 kΩ (Carbon composite)

 

[dagrev]

Hi
The resistor drops the volume when you turn the tone CCW. As I know the reason was to prevent speaker farting out. Nowadays it isn't needed, but it is nice uniqueness. As a matter of fact the pictures have the resistor "omitted" from the circuit. The drawn schematic has it right, and the last one.
I would buy CTS pots, a switchcraft jack, a poly 47 nF or 100 nF cap. And the resistor is 15 kΩ or 22 kΩ (Carbon composite)

Thanks for explaining this! It's interesting and knowledge of electronics I have never acquired.

So in the close up of one of the pics below the resistor is omitted in some way? If so is there a reason for this?

 

[okabass]

Thanks for explaining this! It's interesting and knowledge of electronics I have never acquired.

So in the close up of one of the pics below the resistor is omitted in some way? If so is there a reason for this?
View attachment 3218985

Yes. The hot/yellow wire from the PU is resoldered to the vol pot lug, so it connects not to the resistor (tone pot upper lug).
If you look my first link and the lower schematic, you'll see a 18 k resistor and a dash line (= a wire) bypassing it. That wire takes the resistor electrically out of the circuit.
The reason is to make the tone work normally (no that volume drop). Some like the original circuit, some don't.
I've seen different resistor values: 15 kΩ, 22 kΩ, 220 kΩ (which is probably a mistake). My friend's '56 has a 22 kΩ.

Ps. I found a pic that has original wiring ('52).
Link Removed
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Ps. 2. I changed today the pots for my '56 reissue or clone. Here's my version of that wiring (resistor bypass wire added).
Dropbox - 2018-11-19 20.32.11.jpg