Tonal qualities of caps for tweed Pro

[dukeh62]

Hi Folks,

Experienced player here, unfortunately with little knowledge of the inner-workings of the tweed amps I love so much.

I have a '58 tweed Fender 5E5-A Pro that wasn't sounding right, so I had the orange drops that were in the amp when I got it replaced with some high-end foil-in-oil Astrons and Spragues. Well, got the amp back and it seems a little brighter and not as smooth when driven to break up.

Here's my question: Do any of you have experience with the tonal differences of orange drops, mallorys and foil-in-oil caps in a tweed amps?

I know all this is totally subjective, but I'm just curious if there is a common tonal difference between the three.

Thanks in advance...

[mrmojorisin]

The caps have a break-in period. I am not surpised the new caps are sounding rough into breakup. My experience is that all new caps behave this way, and its only after a few weeks or months (and this is dependent on the cap make/model) of hard playing that you know what they are really going to sound like. Put your mp3 player into the amp and let it run during the day when you are at work (use crappy tubes so you dont take life off your good ones)...this will break in those caps in less wall time.

[fretshop]

Hi Folks,

Experienced player here, unfortunately with little knowledge of the inner-workings of the tweed amps I love so much.

I have a '58 tweed Fender 5E5-A Pro that wasn't sounding right, so I had the orange drops that were in the amp when I got it replaced with some high-end foil-in-oil Astrons and Spragues. Well, got the amp back and it seems a little brighter and not as smooth when driven to break up.

Here's my question: Do any of you have experience with the tonal differences of orange drops, mallorys and foil-in-oil caps in a tweed amps?

I know all this is totally subjective, but I'm just curious if there is a common tonal difference between the three.

Thanks in advance...

Yo !!! Didn't I tell you to call Lou ? C-A-L-L L-O-U

We've got every designer cap in the business.

Call me when you get to Jersey

[slider313]

I know there are some who will argue, but I like the sound of the Mallory 150's over the Sprague orange drops. I hear a brighter tone with scooped mids from the orange drops and a more even mid response with smoother highs from the Mallory 150's.

[TheAmpNerd]

Cut it out you guys...I'll take the bait on this one.

We all know caps don't have tone!

Neither do resistors.

Nor chassis'.

Nor tubes

Nor wire.

:NUTS

!

[monstermike]

Is this how low you've fallen, Eric?

[the-tone]

A good guitar player will only sound better with better gear, yes tone is in the hands but a good translation will certainly not hurt you. To me, the Mallory 150 is very muffled and dark sounding in Fender amps. I don't really care for them unless you mix with orange drops. Orange drops (716p) are a little more clear and precise but not as warm. I really like the Sozo's, to me, they're in between. They have a nice balance of mids, highs and lows. Don Butler recommended them to me and I always used them with great results. Right now I'm using Sozo for mid caps (.022) and Orange drops for bass caps (.047). It works for me but others might prefer a different combination. Some say there's no difference in sound if you change the brand of caps.... that's cool, but I hear it and feel it for sure. It's a slippery slope but worth it when you finally get it right.