What’s up with luxe radio for bumblebee caps?

[ReWind James]

Just fyi, I’ve had Gibson send me a few replacement luxe caps for my custom shop. Original set was leaking and pulling the pot resistance down as was the others they sent. One was good but all the rest had very high leakage and messed with the pot resistance. I have an old yellow Jupiter in it now.

If a cap is leaking voltage with only millivolts applied, that's a BAD capacitor!

Probably a little pipe bomb is you actually fed it a real 400v.

 

[PBZEPP]

If a cap is leaking voltage with only millivolts applied, that's a BAD capacitor!

Probably a little pipe bomb is you actually fed it a real 400v.

What do you recommend brand cap wise for a replacement ?

 

[ReWind James]

What do you recommend brand cap wise for a replacement ?

If you want it to LOOK like a Bumblebee there’s nothing that looks like an original other than the Luxe ones, which were really close.

If you don’t care about looks and just want function / sound / reliability - probably any decent modern film cap will get the job done and last a lifetime in a guitar.

 

[PBZEPP]

If you want it to LOOK like a Bumblebee there’s nothing that looks like an original other than the Luxe ones, which were really close.

If you don’t care about looks and just want function / sound / reliability - probably any decent modern film cap will get the job done and last a lifetime in a guitar.

I also pulled the other one out today and noticed the solder plug on the end had a giant hole in it. Better safe then sorry, popped in another xtra Jupiter in its place.

 

[PBZEPP]

So I wanted to add some photos of the three I have being tested. 1st photos are of the original that came with the guitar. 2nd set of photos is the replacement. Notice how flipping it it reads a different value lol. 3rd set is the one that came with the guitar that I finally just took out. It didn’t test like the others. Flipped it reads the same and has no leakage. I have two more coming from Gibson that I’m just gonna toss in the case since the jupiters work fine.
So if your custom shop sounds like Azz, it may be the caps and not the wood or pickups or whatever

 

[PBZEPP]

2nd cap sent as replacement

 

[PBZEPP]

Third cap as mentioned above was OG to the guitar. This one was normal and didn’t behave like the other OG and replacement

 

[PBZEPP]

Got the replacements today… kinda just hilarious at this point. Maybe I’m wrong but i think this is outside the ballpark spec wise..

 

[PBZEPP]

…..

 

[hendrixpage]

I also paid for Luxe's Bumblebee but I never receive it. I really regret this. I'm on progress to refund with my credit card company.
I looking for another Bumblebee capacitor. how's your recommendation? Jupiter , Crazyparts , Emerson , Centralab. Is there anyone has trying to use one of these brands?

 

[PBZEPP]

I also paid for Luxe's Bumblebee but I never receive it. I really regret this. I'm on progress to refund with my credit card company.
I looking for another Bumblebee capacitor. how's your recommendation? Jupiter , Crazyparts , Emerson , Centralab. Is there anyone has trying to use one of these brands?

I’m in the camp that any cap will work and sound fine as long as it functions properly and is the proper measurement! I stuck some yellow Jupiters I had laying around in and they sound great !

 

[PBZEPP]

@matkoehler

Just a heads up and maybe something to take a look at.​

 

[xxedgexx]

Historic Reissue Bumblebee Capacitors (Set of 2) | Gibson

These Historic Reissue Bumblebee Capacitors use paper-in-oil construction and have .022 microfarad capacitance. These are the same capacitors used in many of Gibson Custom’s Historic Collection guitars..022uf capacitancePaper-in-oil constructionClassic vintage Bumblebee appearance

www.gibson.com

 

[PBZEPP]

Historic Reissue Bumblebee Capacitors (Set of 2) | Gibson

These Historic Reissue Bumblebee Capacitors use paper-in-oil construction and have .022 microfarad capacitance. These are the same capacitors used in many of Gibson Custom’s Historic Collection guitars..022uf capacitancePaper-in-oil constructionClassic vintage Bumblebee appearance

www.gibson.com

Back in stock now but $89 bucks seems a tad steep haha. I’ll stick with the Jupiter pulls. They do the job. caveat emptor

 

[xxedgexx]

Back in stock now but $89 bucks seems a tad steep haha. I’ll stick with the Jupiter pulls. They do the job. caveat emptor

This is mainly for people who want the vintage correct look of the caps.

This is from Gibson’s Historic Parts program, which I believe is new starting today.

The overall point is at least these are now selling via Gibson, so they’ll actually get shipped, unlike dealing with LUXE directly.

 

[PBZEPP]

This is mainly for people who want the vintage correct look of the caps.

This is from Gibson’s Historic Parts program, which I believe is new starting today.

The overall point is at least these are now selling via Gibson, so they’ll actually get shipped, unlike dealing with LUXE directly.oh nice!

Oh very nice! Was wondering about that

 

[Coachmoe]

This is mainly for people who want the vintage correct look of the caps.

This is from Gibson’s Historic Parts program, which I believe is new starting today.

The overall point is at least these are now selling via Gibson, so they’ll actually get shipped, unlike dealing with LUXE directly.

XX,

Wondering if Luxe has signed on exclusively with Gibson and no longer is selling direct to the public? The website is up and apparently still open for business.

 

[GreenBurst]

XX,

Wondering if Luxe has signed on exclusively with Gibson and no longer is selling direct to the public? The website is up and apparently still open for business.

I checked the Gibson Custom website. They only mention they are paper-in-oil construction with a vintage Bumblebee appearance. No mention of Luxe. Though I remember they used to include a Luxe Bumble Bee tag in the case for Historics. Maybe not anymore.

If Gibson is using Luxe as a supplier they will have a comprehensive contract in place that ensures supply continuity, quality, and price.

This and the volume of business they drive could easily control Luxe when there are supply chain issues.

 

[Coachmoe]

I checked the Gibson Custom website. They only mention they are paper-in-oil construction with a vintage Bumblebee appearance. No mention of Luxe. Though I remember they used to include a Luxe Bumble Bee tag in the case for Historics. Maybe not anymore.

If Gibson is using Luxe as a supplier they will have a comprehensive contract in place that ensures supply continuity, quality, and price.

This and the volume of business they drive could easily control Luxe when there are supply chain issues.

GreenBurst,

Makes perfect sense.