capacitor question

[harrisxr650]

Hey guys, ive finished a couple of days before a modified plexitone clone, i used different types of caps and pots (in value mostly) than the original and i liked the result much more than my original unit, yesterday i've changed the tone stack caps and the cap at the boost output with silver micas and i liked more, it gave it a more classic character and a more smooth-round clear top end, i wanted to ask, since silver micas are a bit expensive, if there is any difference between chinese silver micas and the one you get from Banzai for example (which are the ones i used so far).
Question might be silly and poste in the wrong section so forgive me if so. thanks

[GibsonGM]

Hey guys, ive finished a couple of days before a modified plexitone clone, i used different types of caps and pots (in value mostly) than the original and i liked the result much more than my original unit, yesterday i've changed the tone stack caps and the cap at the boost output with silver micas and i liked more, it gave it a more classic character and a more smooth-round clear top end, i wanted to ask, since silver micas are a bit expensive, if there is any difference between chinese silver micas and the one you get from Banzai for example (which are the ones i used so far).
Question might be silly and poste in the wrong section so forgive me if so. thanks

It's not a silly question.  Answer is - it's hard to say.  Some people are 'cap connoisseurs', and believe all sorts of mojo is at work inside them; I don't.    All things being equal, there should be no audible difference. If they are made of the same materials and assembled properly, then you shouldn't hear any diff. at all between them.   We're not dealing with NASA-level frequency response here, he he....what you can hear, and what a guitar, amp and speaker are reproducing, are quite limited in bandwidth.
     
Only way to know is to try some )  I'd put my money on 'can't tell the difference'. 

[seedlings]

There are tolerances to consider.  Two caps of the same value from the same manufacturer can (will) sound different.  If you're really interested in a challenge, measure the cap values of the two different brands and make sure you're listening to brand differences, and not just tolerance differences.

Though, I for one, probably can't tell the difference between a 466pF and 481pF OR the difference between a 471pF from two different manufacturers (or even compositions).  If I could, I would be in the insane asylum, because NOTHING would sound good to me 

CHAD

[nocentelli]

Hey guys, ive finished a couple of days before a modified plexitone clone, i used different types of caps and pots (in value mostly)

That will make quite a difference.

[GibsonGM]

There are tolerances to consider.  Two caps of the same value from the same manufacturer can (will) sound different.  If you're really interested in a challenge, measure the cap values of the two different brands and make sure you're listening to brand differences, and not just tolerance differences.

Though, I for one, probably can't tell the difference between a 466pF and 481pF OR the difference between a 471pF from two different manufacturers (or even compositions).  If I could, I would be in the insane asylum, because NOTHING would sound good to me 

CHAD

You MAY be able to pick up on the difference, yup.   Depends on what frequency the cap is acting on, IMO.   With low value caps (pF), I seriously doubt you'd hear any difference at all even if it was off 15%.    Bigger caps - maybe.  But, in one stage?  Hmmm.... 

I'd suspect that the biggest audible difference would come at the end of a series of stages, when the cumulative effects of tolerance would be most felt (Monte Carlo...).   We've all made copies of our hand-tweaked distortion pedals, and found that they just don't sound the same!  And I'd guess that this would be a major reason why. 

 

[harrisxr650]

i was actually wondering if a  (e.x.) chinese (from ebay) silver mica cap has a big difference vs corniel dubilier silver mica in quality i'm not a mojo mad but in that case using silver mica in the tone stack made the effect somehow more round in the higher frequencies which i like it. anyway i've placed an order allready and will tell for sure in about 25 days

[GibsonGM]

Cool.  You will probably hear something if moving from ceramic or poly to silver mica.    My personal feeling is that if a cap is made correctly, you won't hear any diff. from one manufacturer to another.  YMMV of course.

I've used cheapo green poly caps in Les Paul tone controls, and also used Spragues and the like.  Sorry to the purists - I hear absolutely NO difference. None - nada - zip.  My 'pure tone' buddies DO hear the difference, when I tell them I put an orange drop in >;o)   THEN they hear how great the new tone is! 

Perhaps if you 'performance tested' them using a scope and function generator, you'd see some differences, as you would if you compared poly to ceramic, but doubtful if they're going to exist in the realm of frequencies we can hear, and in any way we can detect!   But they have to be made correctly, that is key.

Electrolytics - now THOSE guys can vary a little in 'cheapness' and lifespan, for sure, but I digress!