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SPRAGUE ORANGE DROP CAPACITORS VALUES

Fullvolume

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Jun 6, 2005
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I think a proper replacement Capacitor for a Les Paul Custom would be a .022 400v Sprague ORANGE DROP Capacitor. I'm wondering what the difference would be if it was a .022 200v or a .022 600v??

Thanks in advance.
 

GuitarDean

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ZERO difference, its the first values that make the difference. .022 / .017 / .047 / Those are the numbers that will make yer hair stand up.

Spargue Black Cats or Bumble Bees .022 or .017, anywhere in th 100 to 600 volt range will turn the ordinary Lester in a Paul to be reckoned with.
 

MK.II

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I'm pretty sure there would be no difference in sound between the different voltage ratings. The main difference would be in the physical size of the caps. The 200V would be smaller and the 600V would be bigger than the 400V ones. I know that's the case with Bumble Bees and Black Beauties. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about the Orange Drops.
 

MK.II

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GuitarDean said:
ZERO difference, its the first values that make the difference. .022 / .017 / .047 / Those are the numbers that will make yer hair stand up.

Spargue Black Cats or Bumble Bees .022 or .017, anywhere in th 100 to 600 volt range will turn the ordinary Lester in a Paul to be reckoned with.


You beat me to it! You must have posted just as I was leaving to go type a reply! You explained it better anyway! :dude :)
 

Fullvolume

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How do the ORANGE DROP CAPACITORS compare to the Spargue Black Cats or Bumble Bees?? Bumble bees are no longer made, correct?? These capacitors are going to be used in a '88 Custom. So I don't need anything vintage. What kind of set up do you guys use??

Thanks in advance.....all is appreciated!!
 

MK.II

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Orange Drops are decent. I've used 716P Orange Drops in the past. They're a definte improvement over the stock small ceramic disk caps, IMHO. I now use NOS .022 Sprague Black Beauties and also .022 Sprague Vitamin Q's. Some people like a .015 value in the neck position. I think Orange Drops are more "hi-fi" sounding than the Black Beauties and Vitamin Q's. Many prefer the "paper in oil" or "foil in oil" type caps. The Orange Drops are poly(something?). There are other readily available quality caps such as Jensens, Mallory 150s, Hovlands, to name a few. These will cost more than the Orange Drops, but not as much as vintage Bumble Bees or the DMC Bumble Bee knock offs. They all sound better than the ceramic disks IMO. You just have to find what you like.
 

GuitarDean

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I've had Orange drops in both of my LP's, "had" being the operative word, I like 'em, but that still ain't right to me. I've bought various sets of Black Cats and Bumblebee's of forum brothers and ebay (and local radio repair shops) They are the real deal and brother can you ever tell it. EVERYTHING just sounds better. Jensen's taint too bad either LOL. But to me, a Les Paul without Bumbles or Cats just isn't "it". :jim
 

GuitarDean

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"Some people like a .015 value in the neck position." Oh hell yes, that will get your amps attention for some of those slower blues thangs or tunes that require that certain creaminess
 

Leña_Costoso

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Mallory 150's are comparitavely fairly inexpensive, about the same price as Orange Drop 715 or 716s
 

constellation80

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this might sound like a stupid question. But whats the differnce music and tone wise? Like will one give you more of a metal sound. And the other country ??
 

dwagar

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I'm actually using vintage .015 Bees in both neck and bridge, and am extremely happy with them. I can roll the bridge right into the hollow zone, roll the neck into the brown zone.
I'm actually using my tone controls now more than I ever have (upgraded the pots too btw).
 

Fullvolume

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Has anyone ever upgraded their volume pots to a 1 meg pot??They are hand made CTS long shaft pots by Torres Engineering. They recommend them for pickups with resistance/impedance between 8,000 ohms and 12,000 ohms. Higher pot value means less load, Less load means more gain.
 

Lindgren

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Fullvolume said:
Has anyone ever upgraded their volume pots to a 1 meg pot??They are hand made CTS long shaft pots by Torres Engineering. They recommend them for pickups with resistance/impedance between 8,000 ohms and 12,000 ohms. Higher pot value means less load, Less load means more gain.

Higher value means of course less load and more gain, what about the sound ? I suppose it will get much brighter or am i wrong ?
 

Armitage

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Apr 6, 2005
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Using a higher value pot make the guitars resonant peak rise more then anything. You get a lot more high mids and a touch more general output and high treble.

duncan_pot_values.gif



The top curve indicates virtually no load, the second curve down indicates a 1meg pot, the third down is a 500k pot, the fourth is a 250k pot and the bottom curve represents a 100k pot. As you can see, the peak doesn't shift in frequency, but it does shift in amplitude.
 
Last edited:

Bradster

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MK.II said:
...Orange Drops are poly(something

Orange Drops come in different flavors.
Orange Drop 225P are Polyester film and foil caps
Orange Drop 715P are Polypropylene film and foil caps
(716P are high performance 715P's with flattened oval bodies and copper leads)

Many condense the "OD" thing to be all inclusive as it they are one capacitor, but the series has different types which sound different so when we say "the Orange Drop" which ones are we talking about?
(BTW; Mylar is the trade name for the material Polyester)

Caps either do their job transparently (some call it HiFi) like the 715P/716P series, or they tend to color the sound a bit. The worst offenders are Ceramic caps which color the sound quite a bit.

Since your tone is the sum of all your parts it's up to you to decide if you want the capacitor to contribute to altering your sound, or to let your wood and pickups be the source of your sound and be aware that your capacitors still effect your sound even when your tone knob is on 10 unless of course you use the Fender no-load tone pots.
 

e-boy

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Sep 18, 2002
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I just put some sprague orange drops (.022) in my 2000 standard and its really brightened up the sound. the neck PU is now usable, and not muddy as before.
 
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