Tone Man Wire Harness:

smitty_p said:
That does make sense and you're not alone. I was just looking at the current ES-335's today. I see they are using .015 uF caps in the neck. They're still using .022 uF in the bridge, though.
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I've been writing to Gibson telling them they should switch to 0.015s for a while now - had quite a to-and-fro with their technical department. I've no idea whether that has helped prompt this, but I'd like to think it might have been a small straw added to the camels load.
 
smitty_p said:
I do have to ask, because I am skeptical about this...

Is the luthier absolutely certain, through directly measuring the capacitors, of what their actual capacitance values are, or is he relying on their ratings? For example, if he is testing a capacitor rated for .022 mfd, did he measure that capacitor to be sure that, due to manufacturing tolerances, that it actually isn't some level higher or lower than .022 mfd?

Also, when you were switching through the capacitors, did you know what you were using before you tried it, or was it a blind test?
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I was fortunate this guy was patient and kind enough to let me experiment with his contraption. I did not know which ones I was testing, so I had to rely on sound/tone alone.

All I know about actual values is he claimed all were verified to be "within spec" for a given capacitance, so I'm assuming a .022uf could be anywhere between .017uf and .025uf???
 
DonP said:
It's 100% certain that Robert didn't hear any differences due to capacitor type and construction. They were absolutely down to differences in value due to tolerance. A 20% cap can be 50% off and still meet the tolerance criteria.
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Well, Don...I grew up in antique aircraft and antique vehicle restoration, so I have a knack for minute details. I also grew up in a recording studio, so I have pretty good ear.

I can tell you that in several capacitance values, I continually picked the K40Y PIO's....that was checking each style of capacitors in (4) values - 047uf, .033uf, .022uf and .015uf.
 
DonP said:
I've been writing to Gibson telling them they should switch to 0.015s for a while now - had quite a to-and-fro with their technical department. I've no idea whether that has helped prompt this, but I'd like to think it might have been a small straw added to the camels load.
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I like .015uf in the neck, but not in the bridge...I chose a .033uf there...
 
Robert Herndon said:
Well, Don...I grew up in antique aircraft and antique vehicle restoration, so I have a knack for minute details. I also grew up in a recording studio, so I have pretty good ear.

I can tell you that in several capacitance values, I continually picked the K40Y PIO's....that was checking each style of capacitors in (4) values - 047uf, .033uf, .022uf and .015uf.
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I've absolutely no doubt you are genuine. But the fact is that when you value-match the caps properly, those differences melt away. I was working at Pye studios here in London when the engineer came in with a bunch of "super cables" that improved the sound of the console, and everybody agreed that they did. So I made them listen blind, and what do you know? Absolutely no audible difference. The mind is a weird and powerful thing.
 
DonP said:
I've absolutely no doubt you are genuine. But the fact is that when you value-match the caps properly, those differences melt away. I was working at Pye studios here in London when the engineer came in with a bunch of "super cables" that improved the sound of the console, and everybody agreed that they did. So I made them listen blind, and what do you know? Absolutely no audible difference. The mind is a weird and powerful thing.
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I agree. Tone, and a quiet signal, are quite subjective. I couldn't decide on what caps to purchase with my harness, so I jumped at the chance to evaluate them..

Anyone who buys a new Gibson and immediately starts working on it is already a verifiable lunatic....
 
Robert Herndon said:
GREAT work!!!

Like you, I also did my wire routs, 360 degrees around. I used a tiny 1/4" deep socket and pushed it through the routs to pack the tape into place. I left a large overlap at the entry/exit to each cavity. Overkill is the new normal!!!! LOL!!!!

What are the specs on those pickups you have there????
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So I haven't measured the pickups yet, I'll do it tonight. but I'm using 57 Classic neck, 57 Classic + bridge.

Orange drop 22uf on both. Works for me. My pots were a bit long, but 4 extra nuts took care of that.

Think I'm finally going to be able to just sit back and enjoy it. Sounds great with the DSL40c, Now I need to dial it all in to my liking.
 
With any new guitar I always set up the bridge, truss rod and intonation before I bother playing it. I know I won't be happy until those jobs are done, so why wait?
 
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