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Post subject: MiM Tele Project / Capacitor question.
Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 9:29 pm
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Hey guys, I am working on my Mexico Tele and putting together a shopping list, which so far is:

-Fender Custom Shop Texas Special Telecaster Pickups

-Graph Tech Supercharger kit

-Fender 4-Way Telecaster Pickup Selector Mod Switch

-DiMarzio 250K Custom Taper Split Shaft Pot

-DiMarzio Switchcraft 1/4" Output Jack

I am not sure what capacitor(s) to get. I see that the kit that Stew Mac sells has two capacitors, when the stock MiM has only one.
( http://www.stewmac.com/catalog/images_1lg/0138_1lg.jpg)

Would any of these be an upgrade? ( http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigati ... +capacitor )

I honestly don't know to much about it, so, any help would be awesome. Also if you have any additional upgrades in mind please let me know. Thanks,

John


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:59 am
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G'day.

Your Stewmac kit looks like has 2 capacitors which I'd guess are of different values?

The other link you posted looks pretty much like a stock standard capacitor.

Changing tone capacitors is an absolute can of worms. Everyone will have a favourite brand / type and claim wonderful improvements in tone. Many people swear by "Sprague Orange Drops" or "Vitamin Q" Paper in Oil capacitors. My own wonderful claim is I fitted a Vintage Russian Paper in oil capacitor to my mIM Tele and I think it improved the tone; gave it more growl and bite.

End of the day they are pretty cheap. Buy a couple with different values, try them out and see which one YOU think sounds the best.


Cheers.

Oh. And welcome to the forum mate!

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MIM Std Tele, MIM HSS Strat, Homemade Mongrel Tele, Blues Jr, Champ600, coupla pedals...sweeeet!


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Post subject: Re: MiM Tele Project / Capacitor question.
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 7:07 am
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JohnPayne wrote:
-DiMarzio 250K Custom Taper Split Shaft Pot


John, if you're going to use traditional Telecaster chrome knobs with set screws, it's best to use Solid Shaft pots.

You probably know this already and are planning to use Strat knobs or something but I figured it was worth mentioning anyway.

Good luck - sounds like a fun project.


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 12:19 pm
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JohnPayne, please update your project as you progress. I am considering starting something very similar.


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 2:15 pm
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Big, big, big can 'o worms here. First off, this cheap advice is coming from a horrible guitar player but a technician who can do almost NASA grade soldering and a guy that has done component level repair on stuff from tractors to aircraft.

Capacitors are part of the more than one hundred and one components to give 'color' to your sound. Some of it, you may be able to hear the differences and the rest, you 'think' you hear. (not that there's anything like hype in the music biz! HA!)

What StewMac and MF are both selling are ceramic disc caps. They're, well, OK, but testing has proven that they will distort your sound a little from the original. Maybe enough for you to hear, maybe not.

Oh yeah. They are horribly overpriced too (by my standards) but then again, they have to cover their overhead for buying a bag of them, selling them individually, etc. I don't blame them for that, just pointing it out.

The Polyester and Polypropylene film caps are supposed to give you a more 'true to life' response'. You may like that or not.

Long answer to the question. You know any real electronics people around? I mean real electronics, not just some guy who hooked up his stereo to his DVD player. Ask them if they can solder a circuit board with 1/8 Watt resistors and if they can, they can help you out. They probably even have a parts box at home, full of junk and there's your capacitors.

Also check around and see if there's any radio amateurs (hams) around. Ask them the same question about soldering.

As far as the ham radio part, I've taken several old tube radios for free from folks who wanted to throw them away. These things are a *gold mine* for the old school capacitors.

Hope the advise will work for you.

NOW WHERE'S THE PICTURES?!?!?


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 6:52 pm
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Hey guys, thanks for all the info so far. I will definitely post pictures once the project starts, I just want to get all the parts together first. As far as soldering, my brother in-law is a electronics wiz and is super meticulous about any project he works on, so it should come out pretty well. Does anyone have any pots suggestions, I didn't realize the split shafts were made for strats, and it doesn't look like DiMarzio makes solid shaft pots.


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:14 pm
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You can get top grade stuff here:

http://www.mouser.com/

They do onesy-twosy orders, but you gotta be up on your tech to know what you're ordering. PM me or post here if you have questions on pages to look for or part numbers.

And they have The Good Stuff. Switchcraft jacks. Bourne and Honeywell for the pots, Vishay/Sprague for caps.

Prices are comparable or cheaper than the music specialty stores and you're getting top grade parts.

If you order something, say 1/4" jacks or caps, I'd recommend ordering double, triple or more on the parts. You'll use them for other projects, or will be able to resell to your friends. And especially on caps. If you have tech support accessible, you may want to try out different values.

Let us know how it goes.


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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 10:53 am
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Hey raeldridge, do you think you could help me out with the part #'s on the Mouser website. 47 pages of pots hurts my mind. What ever you think is the highest quality pots, jack, and caps. Thanks for the info as well.


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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 1:17 pm
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No problem, give me a day or so. I have a previous order and either I'll pull the paperwork or reference page numbers.


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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 4:09 pm
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Awesome, thanks a ton man.


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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:14 pm
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Resistors - page 655 of current online catalog

In case you're contemplating any treble bleed circuits
Vishay/Dale 1% Metal Film Resistors 1/4 Watt
Mouser part numbers
71-RN60D-F-(value in Ohms) $.09 each
alternate, same page
71-CCF55-(value in Ohms) $.06 each

Capacitors - page 849 of current online catalog
Vishay/Sprague Polyester Orange Drop
Mouser part numbers
75-225P100V(value)
These are 100V caps, if you're worried about some higher voltage creeping up your guitar cord (I hope not!) you can go up the the 200V versions with less value selections
Mouser part number
75-225P200V(value)

Note, these only average about $.80.

Switchcraft Plugs - page 1141 of current online catalog
502-227 1/4" Commercial Phone Plug
for amp to speaker connections

Switchcraft Jacks - page 1136 of current online catalog
501-11 1/4" Commercial Phone Jack $1.87 each

Note that on the resistors and caps, the prices are cheap enough that you can buy three to five of each and you can buy a large range to get the sound that you want. Even the ones you solder in, if you don't like how much they change the tone you can re-use for another project if you're careful unsoldering them.


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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 11:26 pm
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Alright, so...

Jack:
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Swi ... 9bKfmZA%3d

Caps:
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Vis ... 4UTV8rY%3d

I honestly don't know to much about the resistors, would you recommend them?

Could you help me find the 250k pots as well. Thanks again for your help.


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:10 pm
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Oops, I didn't put them in there because I thought you were set on the ones you mentioned.

Bourns, page 695 of the current online catalog. They are spec'd as "guitar" components, which is pretty cool.

The resistors I mentioned are way overkill at a 1% rating but I was in too much of a hurry and they're cheap. Only really useful if you're doing treble bleed circuits, but the metal film type are l low noise.

Cyrstal ball says I see you spending multiple $$ on electronic components real soon.


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