Advice on best resistor and capacitor brands?

[Structo]

Avoid Ceramic caps like the plague.

They are microphonic, and shift value with applied voltage.

For pf range caps, silver mica is the only way to go.

Orange caps can be either Polypropylene or Polyethylene, so you can't go by the color.

Polypropylene is prefered as its absorption losses are less, this results in cleaner signal transmission.

Xicon polypropylene caps are brown instead of orange.

PIO (depending on construction) can have less absosrption than PP or PE caps and thus sound better still, but aren't necessary unless you are doing audiophile amps. If you have a cheap source of them, use them.

I think you mean polyester rather than polyethylene don't you?

[FYL]

My tip of the week to folks is don't write off good quality Tantalum caps as a replacement for low uF value electrolytics in cathode bypass applications.

Tants explode when subjected to over-voltage. Not the kind of caps I use in MI applications...

Some elcos are really good for bypass or even coupling apps, check for instance the Nichicon Muse ES BP series (OK, they are radials).

[M Fowler]

What about doing away with electrolytic caps and go with film caps such as the Solen fast caps? Size is a constraint but if longevity and tone prevail it would worth the extra design to incorporate them into the circuit.

Mark

Keep smiling while your playing

[mlp-mx6]

What about doing away with electrolytic caps and go with film caps such as the Solen fast caps? Size is a constraint but if longevity and tone prevail it would worth the extra design to incorporate them into the circuit.

That is the Carr Amps approach.

[mumford]

I've had luck with Dayton and Sozo caps. Sozos are expensive.

[M Fowler]

Colossal has had good results with Sozo and Solen as well so I hope Dave will respond here as well.

Mark

[paulster]

Sozos are great as a Phillips 'mustard' cap replacement but take forever to break in so don't judge them by first listen; get some hours on them before.

I haven't tried the new, blue ones yet, but reports are good.

They are really expensive though, so not ideal for any high-volume products.

[paulster]

Avoid Ceramic caps like the plague.

They are microphonic, and shift value with applied voltage.

For pf range caps, silver mica is the only way to go.

Well, silver mica have their problems too. A lot of them leak DC so can cause all sorts of problems if you just drop them in.

That's a pretty blanket statement to make about ceramics. Some can sound fantastic when used in the right application. It all depends on the construction of the cap and even the voltage rating how they'll sound.

A general observation is they have a kind of 'gritty' sound that can be quite appealing if used wisely in a guitar amp.

[Structo]

Yeah, you can't really condemn particular components.

Look at the holy grail vintage strat guitars that all used ceramic tone caps.

Back in the day that was really the only way for them to make a small value cap in a small package.
Nowadays there are more dielectrics to choose from.

I would love to try an amp with all film caps including the power supply.

I wonder what the tone shift would be?

I have also seen amps with the Solen's or STK caps throughout.
But most of the time you will see Hi Fi amps with those.
Probably the temperature coefficient, RC time constants and other properties play into those kinds of amps more than our Lo Fi guitar amps.

There was an article I think in Premier Guitar where the amp tech said you could use electric motor start film caps for the electrolytics we use in the power supply.
He said, imagine an amp that never needs any caps replaced!

[Ken Moon]

On a simple amp like the AX84 P1-eXtreme, which is a two-tube SE amp with low gain, I doubt you'd hear much of a difference by using hi-end components in any position, except maybe the treble cap (see below).

I've built about 2 dozen p1-eXtremes, using several different layouts'and various component types and brands, and they all sound about the same - it's a nice clean-to-classic-rock amp that takes pedals well (I always use a TubeScreamer when I play mine).

I do like to use long-life, 105 degree c filter caps - my favorites are the Nichicon PW series radials. Unfortunately, they're rated at 450V max, so you shouldn't use them on power supply nodes over 400 volts. In those cases, I like the F&T axials or the JJ can caps.

The P1-eX is already a bright amp, so I don't like using a Silver Mica cap in the Treble position - I much prefer the little silver cylindrical ones - I think they're polystyrene, that come in pF values.

In my Talon amp, I use 9 or 10 different types of caps, and at least 4 different resistor types. Each of those was chosen through experimentation over a period of years with the same amp design, and altogether they make a big difference in the sound, but there are no "magic" components that will make your amp suddenly wonderful:

[IMG700]http://i514.photobucket.com/albums/t346 ... t_done.jpg[/img]

[Structo]

Nice looking amp Ken.

I have just started experimenting with those polystyrene caps.

So far I like what I hear, they seem pretty smooth.

[M Fowler]

Ken is that your Talon 30 amp? Nice looking layout.

Mark

['67_Plexi]

My tip of the week to folks is don't write off good quality Tantalum caps as a replacement for low uF value electrolytics in cathode bypass applications.

Tants explode when subjected to over-voltage. Not the kind of caps I use in MI applications...

Some elcos are really good for bypass or even coupling apps, check for instance the Nichicon Muse ES BP series (OK, they are radials).

Try connecting a 35V electrolytic to 450V. Molten metal, smoke and lots of powder. Whats the difference?
Some of the guys on this board regularly use ancient NOS electrolytics. Now thats dicing with a potential explosion.
The Tants I use fail by splitting in half when subjected to extremely high voltages. Known fail states of internal components are critical for compliance in some markets.
Like everything there are many different types, qualities and ratings.

[Ken Moon]

Thanks, Tom

I got the polystyrene low pF caps from Watts audio, but more folks are starting to carry them - you can also get them at hi-end parts sites like PartsConnexion and hndme, or at radio parts sites like fairradio and radiodaze.

[dynaman]

Yeah, you can't really condemn particular components.

Look at the holy grail vintage strat guitars that all used ceramic tone caps.

Back in the day that was really the only way for them to make a small value cap in a small package.
Nowadays there are more dielectrics to choose from.

I would love to try an amp with all film caps including the power supply.

I wonder what the tone shift would be?

I have also seen amps with the Solen's or STK caps throughout.
But most of the time you will see Hi Fi amps with those.
Probably the temperature coefficient, RC time constants and other properties play into those kinds of amps more than our Lo Fi guitar amps.

There was an article I think in Premier Guitar where the amp tech said you could use electric motor start film caps for the electrolytics we use in the power supply.
He said, imagine an amp that never needs any caps replaced!

Yes, I've used large value motor run (do NOT use motor "start") film caps in power supplies for an Express and other 50 and 100W builds. They worked great and come with different values housed in one unit. But they're expensive if purchased new and really take up a lot of space.