Faith-Based Electronics (IMO Addendum)

[David Schwab]

Pretty funny comments ;-) Sure are alot of experts on tone caps no one has actually tried, experiments no one did, its definitely a forum ;-)

I did the test, with the rotary switch. You haven't.

Dave you just expect people to take your word for it.

[salvarsan]

Special thanks to heckler extraordinaire "Flame-Thrower" Salvarsan, who kept passions burning when they threatened to die out.

On one hand, I don't mind being misapprehended, but the "heckle" descriptor suggests someone else's rhetorical lapse.

I did not heckle.

I railed, castigated, obloquiated, reviled, and inveighed, with a suggestion to STFU, though stopping full short of a plea to either David Schwab or T-Boy to move this thread to the Parking Lot//Storm Drain. (It's not too late, David, T-boy)

Far be it from me to intimate, on the part of this thread's originator, a scatocephaly so acute as to merit proctological intervention... so I won't.

I would close with, "May the Farce be with you", but as Darth Bozo once observed in the film The Clown Wars,

"The Farce is strong with this one."

-The Immoderator

[David Schwab]

Here's a similar situation...

I can go to Jensen's site to check out the tonal differences between their speaker models Sound Samples | Jensen Loudspeakers

But the thing is... I'm listening to the samples *through a pair of 2-1/2" computer speakers*
(not to mention all the chi-killing conversions required to squeeze the sound down the world wide intertube).

On my computer I listen to everything on Monsoon flat planar speakers. They are very flat response and very detailed. They are getting a little old and for some reason the subwoofer has gotten a bump around 120Hz, but a little EQ fixes that.

For critical listening, I use a pair of Sennheiser HD 515 headphones.

So don't listen to any sound clips though computer speakers, unless you want to know how something is going to sound through computer speakers.

[Mike Sulzer]

Anyway, I realized a had a vinyl rip of the song Hush by Deep Purple. I also have the remastered CD version.

So here for your listening pleasure, is an A/B of the two tracks. It obviously starts with the vinyl, since you can hear the surface noise.

I was not able to get them in exact synch because the two tracks were slightly different lengths,

Hush-Vinyl vs CD

I'd also like to say that the CD seems a little bass heavy, but hey, you can actually hear the bass. The vinyl is all midrange. And also as they say for CDs of old recordings, the higher resolution of the CD may reveal limitations in the source material.

But the CD version is much clearer sounding, and more full range. being such an old recording (1968) the dynamics are just OK.

I agree with how you hear it. Also, the CD sounds like a tape, not like a ddd CD because it was made from a tape and is the sound of the tape almost unaltered. I suspect the guy that made the tape put a bit extra bass in so there might be something left when the other guy who did the transfer to vinyl took it out. (Can't have those cheap styli jumping out of the grooves!)

[RedHouse]

... Funny thing is that five years ago any capacitor from Radio Shack was fine by me ;-) I didn't believe anything otherwise. But then gradually I started proving or disproving things for myself, tone caps are so important, pots are important, wire is important, switches too...

Thrizzle, thrazzle, thryzel, throne, time for this one to come home... (help Mr Wizzard!)

Funny how time (and mindset) rewrite the storys of life's journeys, no offense Dave but I recall (5+ years ago) many here tried to tell ya how those cheap parts in those cheap guitars (Epi Les Paul, China Les Paul copy) weren't doing you any favors testing your "faithful vintage replica PAF's". I'm sure we remember your 1st round of YouTube videos but nevermind.

Ya argued to the hilt, but life is for learning and (thankfully) you're now declaring your deliverance from the cheap parts/instruments, good for you Dave!.

[RedHouse]

(duplicate post)

[RedHouse]

I did the test, with the rotary switch. You haven't.

Dave you just expect people to take your word for it.

I did too (and posted pics of the test hearness a few years back) but in my case I did hear a difference in the tone caps I tried.

I tried some russian PIO (didn't like 'em) tried the Mojo Dijon's (were ok), tried the re-issue Bumblebee's (ok, no big deal) then I tried some old Sprague's, the Black Beautys and Vit-Q's.

The Q's brought out that "old Les Paul honk" in my 2004 R9, you know, the 1/2-cocked wah tone people rail-on about, which at first was cool and I thought "yeah baby" but it was a short honeymoon, I soon found that tone didn't support the range of rock tones I was used to, so out they came, and in went the Black Beautys, these were smoother and had no honk but their values had drifted over the years and the .022's were actually .031 which bothered me (even though mathmatically it was a small % change) and they yanked a little more off the top than I liked.

Can't say what I like best, the odd-ball stuff changes things and skew's the guitars tone, some like that, me I like a smooth and versatile cap in my guitar, one that doesn't add any "character" I want my cap to roll-off highs, nothing more. I like the wood (and pickups) do build the character.

[RedHouse]

...So don't listen to any sound clips though computer speakers, unless you want to know how something is going to sound through computer speakers.

AMEN brother!, and I'd like to add if you mix anything on a PC ...check the soundcard settings in Control Panel first!

I just learned this the hard (and embarassing) way. A month ago or so I posted some sound clips on m y website, mixed them on my PC which has a decent soundcard, thought they sounded good until a friend emailed me and asked me if I had "listened to them on a stereo system" ....doh!... so when I did of course they sounded terrible.

He then told me about going into my soundcard setting and disabling all the "volume compensation" and "room acoustics" and "EQ compensation" settings. Sure enough I went and looked and everything that was avalable to be had was enabled by default!. I've spent several days going over the clips trying to fix stuff by re-EQ things but...yep, live-n-learn. It was my first shot at the digital mixing process, I'll know better next time.

[rjb]

So don't listen to any sound clips though computer speakers, unless you want to know how something is going to sound through computer speakers.

Free associating: Is it true that "in the old days" (some) records were mixed to sound best through car radio speakers?
-rb

[rjb]

...though stopping full short of a plea to either David Schwab or T-Boy to move this thread to the Parking Lot//Storm Drain. (It's not too late, David, T-boy)

That would be fine by me.
Better yet, move it to the Septic Tank

-rb

[David Schwab]

The Q's brought out that "old Les Paul honk" in my 2004 R9, you know, the 1/2-cocked wah tone people rail-on about...

You are talking about with the tone control turned down right? That is the normal sound with the tone down because it forms a resonant low pass filter.

If you use the 50s wiring the hump seems to be less than the newer wiring.

[David Schwab]

Free associating: Is it true that "in the old days" (some) records were mixed to sound best through car radio speakers?
-rb

I think that's true.

You should check mixes on everything you can. I put either uncompressed or high bit rate AAC files on my iPod and play mixes though car stereos, boom boxes, etc.

I think that's why traditional near field monitors are often kind of crappy sounding.

[rjb]

I am looking for some of the (Real- NOS 50's string) for winding single coils. Any suggestions as to where to obtain this?

Disclaimer: Having never wrapped a pickup with string, I am no expert.
However, I assume that said string would be cotton, and suggest that you really do not want NOS 50's string.
Why? Because old cotton string is likely to be dry-rotted and liable to snap under tension.
If you really, really cannot do without NOS 50's string, try asking Enzo.
He probably has some in his warehouse, still wrapped around an old pastry box or something.

-rb

[copperheadroads]

Hello,
I am looking for some of the (Real- NOS 50's string) for winding single coils. Any suggestions as to where to obtain this?

The stuff for wrapping around Tele pups
try the dollar store

[rjb]

The stuff for wrapping around Tele pups- try the dollar store

...and if it doesn't work out, you can resell it for $100 on eBay....
-rb