what kind of capacitor is this

[12bar13]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26067938@N03/2447432341/

i can't find anything like this anywhere

[kurtlives]

A cheap asian Boss one.

Nothing special, replacing it with anything else will be fine. It will be an improvement almost no matter what you replace it with.

[12bar13]

so it doesn't really matter what kind i use? there are so many i have always been kinda afraid to switch em up.  what about changes in uF and voltage? how much leeway do i have?

[Solidhex]

Yo

  16v or up. If it doesn't fit get ,uh a smaller one. Might want to take a trip to the DIY FAQ. It will answer lots of questions like what caps to use in pedals and then some.

--Brad

[signalpaths]

Make sure you match up the Value in uF look in the faq on how to read cap code values and like Brad said use a voltage above 16V.

ERic

[12bar13]

thanks

[tehfunk]

just use a generic film cap, e.g. panasonic film capacitors or xicon greenies.

[BubbaKahuna]

How much leeway do you have?

Some may disagree, but I feel you can always go 5% up to 10% off on uf value since most caps are 20% tolerance to begin with. Try to stay as close as possible, even matching the original value, but if you have a 220uf for example, you should be able to use a 200uf or 240uf no problem. I've done that plenty of times myself and never had a problem.

As far as voltage, you should keep a safety margin of at least 25%, preferably more. I personally go with at least 50% above what the device runs at. Meaning if you're building a 9v stomp and you stick all 16v caps in it, you're good to go. I wouldn't use a 12v cap in a 9v effect, mostly because some power supplies will surge a lot more that they're rating when you first plug them in. Last thing you want to do is fry your caps before you even get any sound through your new toy.

You can go WAY above with voltage ratings if you like. It's not uncommon to see old 9v or 18v effects using tropical fish caps to have 250v caps in them. I often use tropical fish caps in stuff running on 9v that are rated at 600v. They work fine and I know they'll NEVER fry. 

Cheers,
- JJ