EMG Geezer Butler tone cap change

[LetItGrowTone]

@Datsgor: It's the little black spot, a little up and to the right of the center of the first photo, mounted on the green circuit board.

There's probably a number on the circuit board, 473 I think, which normally means .047uF, but the number is wrong.

EDIT: Oh, I see it better on my desktop than on my phone. It is a reddish color. See also "SMD cap removed" in the 5th photo in post #10, above.

 

[johnh89]

Yep , its that tiny little SMD cap on the circuit board . Looks like this

 

[mikecd1]

It was a tiny speck on top of board in the area with the circle around it. Johnh89 magnified it but it's really tiny and sgsin sits on top

 

[Hot Rats]

Thanks guys, I see plain as day now......

 

[Hot Rats]

It was a tiny speck on top of board in the area with the circle around it. Johnh89 magnified it but it's really tiny and sgsin sits on top

View attachment 4970939

Got a question, is there a reason one couldn't just solder a new cap to the two little squares that are next to each other instead of going around to the other side?

 

[mikecd1]

If you have decent soldering tools (fine tip on an iron with decent heat, desoldering braid to clean up the pads, a set of tweezers to hold the cap, some fine solder) and a steady hand, replacing the original SMD capacitor with a 100nf SMD cap is also not particularly difficult and even cheaper!

@Datsgor - See Sunbeast' quote above. Personally prefer the sound of the film caps but if you have the skills and tools to do it with another smd cap (not sure where to buy those) might be worth a try.

 

[johnh89]

Got a question, is there a reason one couldn't just solder a new cap to the two little squares that are next to each other instead of going around to the other side?
View attachment 5036088

No reason at all . Electrically exactly the same . Because of the size of the cap , it was neater to position it as I did .

 

[tubatodd]

This is a great thread. i have 2 basses with the GZR set and I've always wanted a darker tone. This sounds like the way to go. How has everyone felt about doing this mod? Has anyone regretted it? Has anyone tried a different cap?

 

[danbgreen]

I just did the mod this morning on my brand new Sonic- man these had some high output stock pickups- haven't measured them but they clipped my amp good. Sonics are $179 right now, Jazz neck on P - light weight, nice strings- can't go wrong really. Anyway I did not remove the stock cap - don't have the eyesight or the right tools but I did solder in a .47 under the clips- guess that makes it .68 combined with the stock. Tones it down nicely but still doesn't have the right hump thing that we love when rolled completely off. I'll try another cap at some point, but it's much better than stock for that smooth tone. I need some new knobs for these pots, I added the 3 ply pickguard and the vintage bridge. I may tint the neck- but done for now!

 

[tubatodd]

I have a couple of orange drop .1uF caps on the way. I can't wait to try this out.

 

[Wood and Wire]

I notice this is an older thread, that has been revived.

Probably worth mentioning that at the time this thread was created, the original GZR came stock with a 0.022uF tone cap value.

The current revisonn has a 0.047uF as stock.

 

[tubatodd]

I notice this is an older thread, that has been revived.

Probably worth mentioning that at the time this thread was created, the original GZR came stock with a 0.022uF tone cap value.

The current revisonn has a 0.047uF as stock.

That's good info. How can we tell which one we have? I can't remember when I bought my GZR.

 

[johnh89]

That's good info. How can we tell which one we have? I can't remember when I bought my GZR.

The only way is to measure it . The markings on the original that I did indicated at 47nF but in reality it was 22nF . I doesn't actually matter if you are changing it to a 100nF

 

[Wood and Wire]

That's good info. How can we tell which one we have? I can't remember when I bought my GZR.

I think it only changed to the 47 in the last 12 months, maybe?

No idea if the board has a date printed on it, so either check your receipt, or use your ears (the 47 sounds as you'd expect a P tone control to work, the 22 when fully closed still sounds like it's pretty open).

I guess, at the end of the day, it either does what you want, or it needs a larger capacitor - let your ears be the judge.

 

[Stagelab]

Another option to simplify would be to simply leave the original SMD capacitor and add another full-sized 47nf on the way you did. This would give you two 47nf capacitors in parallel, which would be nearly equivalent to a single 100nf capacitor (caps in parallel are summed, so 47+47=94nf). Just another simple option to consider!

Resurfacing this old thread.

I had a 0.100 in my other P and found it nice at home but not usable in a band—got lost in the mix. I reverted to 0.047. For my new P w the Geezer pickup, I'd like to combine the stock 0.022 and a 0.047.

Is there enough space in the PCB pads to solder a second cap while keeping the original one entact? A little technical guidance would be highly appreciated. My soldering skills are decent but limited to P and J passive circuits.

 

[johnh89]

So the idea is to switch the 47 in parallel to the 22 ? I reckon you could solder a couple of flying wires to the stock cap , and sort the cap / switch out in the control cavity . If you just want to change to a 47nF or 68nF , I think it would be easier to replace stock cap with a 68 . If you want the second cap , it is probably easier to piggy back it on top of the original .It is a little fiddly but with some decent glasses and a steady hand , it is doable .

 

[Stagelab]

So the idea is to switch the 47 in parallel to the 22 ? I reckon you could solder a couple of flying wires to the stock cap , and sort the cap / switch out in the control cavity . If you just want to change to a 47nF or 68nF , I think it would be easier to replace stock cap with a 68 . If you want the second cap , it is probably easier to piggy back it on top of the original .It is a little fiddly but with some decent glasses and a steady hand , it is doable .

The Geezer system comes with a single 0.022. You think replacing it with a .068 is gonna be easier? Ok, I'll plan to do that then. I just need more help on how to execute this. A video, ideally. But I'm coming up short on YouTube. Do I need solder wick to remove the stock cap? And do I insert the new cap's legs through the two pads from the bottom of the PCB and then solder the legs from the opposite side of the board? I hope that makes sense.

 

[Wood and Wire]

The Geezer system comes with a single 0.022

Only if it's old stock.

It comes with a 0.047 as of at least a year ago.

 

[sunbeast]

Resurfacing this old thread.

I had a 0.100 in my other P and found it nice at home but not usable in a band—got lost in the mix. I reverted to 0.047. For my new P w the Geezer pickup, I'd like to combine the stock 0.022 and a 0.047.

Is there enough space in the PCB pads to solder a second cap while keeping the original one entact? A little technical guidance would be highly appreciated. My soldering skills are decent but limited to P and J passive circuits.

I personally haven't verified the mod from the OP and don't have a GZR on hand to look at the circuitboard, but if his mod works then the stock cap must be wired to the pot lug and ground exactly as his added cap, so you can add a second cap as he did without removing the original and the two will then be connected in parallel which is what you are looking for to add capacitance. Just follow the pictures posted earlier in this thread, but leaving the stock capacitor installed and it'll give you both caps in parallel. As others have said, the stock cap value was changed at some point early in production, so you'll have to see what is installed on yours currently. Adding a second cap in parallel with the solder tabs of the stock SMD cap would be much more fiddly (and better to just take the stock cap out and replace with a larger value of SMD cap if you are going to solder in that tiny space anyway!)

 

[johnh89]

As above . The pics in the thread should give you all the info you need . The fitment of a 22nF was advised by a poster on here . I was under the impression that it was a 47nF . If you are going to leave it in there and add one in parallel , you will have to verify the value of the one on the PCB . I can assure you that the mod works perfectly .