They ’ re characterized by their brown tubes with distinct painted bands , and they ’ re the resistor of choice for mojocorrect pedal builders . Other include carbon film and metal film , which are typically beige and blue , respectively , with metal film being the most overwhelmingly common in current pedals . Both resistors and capacitors employ a parameter called “ tolerance ,” measured in a percentage . If a resistor has a tolerance rating of 10 percent , it means that the actual measured resistance can be up to 10 percent more or less than stated . For example , if your resistor is labeled 1k ( 1,000 ) ohms with a 10 percent tolerance , it may measure up to 1.1k and as low as 900 ohms . Metal film resistors combine a low price with a one-percent tolerance , making them the resistor of choice for everyday circuit wonkery .
Most guitar players are familiar with capacitors — after all , they are typically the “ tone ” in your guitar ’ s tone control . Whenever you hear about someone “ upgrading their tone cap ,” this is the component they ’ re talking about . The capacitor ’ s unit of measurement is the farad , with one whole farad only being exceeded in the consumer electronic realm by those with beastly car stereos or stun guns . For our purposes , capacitors are measured in three different subdivisions of farads — picofarads , nanofarads and microfarads , or trillionths , billionths and millionths of farads .
Typically , capacitors are “ ceramic ” when they are measured in picofarads , “ film ” when measured in nanofarads and “ electrolytic ” when measured in microfarads . Oftentimes , you will find nanofarads measured in terms of microfarads — 100nF will often be written as 0.1uF , 47nF as 0.047uF and so on . Tone caps found in guitars typically range from 22nF to 47nF . On a pedal ’ s circuit board , it ’ s an entirely different story .
The function of capacitors is , much like a battery , to store and discharge electricity , created in a tiny electrical field between both leads of the capacitor , and within some type of material within the casing , denoted in the capacitor ’ s type . Typically , “ film ” types are thought to “ sound the best ,” which is why so many Boss pedal mods involve removing electrolytic capacitors
They ’ re characterized by their brown tubes with distinct painted bands , and they ’ re the resistor of choice for mojocorrect pedal builders . Other include carbon film and metal film , which are typically beige and blue , respectively , with metal film being the most overwhelmingly common in current pedals . Both resistors and capacitors employ a parameter called “ tolerance ,” measured in a percentage . If a resistor has a tolerance rating of 10 percent , it means that the actual measured resistance can be up to 10 percent more or less than stated . For example , if your resistor is labeled 1k ( 1,000 ) ohms with a 10 percent tolerance , it may measure up to 1.1k and as low as 900 ohms . Metal film resistors combine a low price with a one-percent tolerance , making them the resistor of choice for everyday circuit wonkery .
CAPACITORS
Most guitar players are familiar with capacitors — after all , they are typically the “ tone ” in your guitar ’ s tone control . Whenever you hear about someone “ upgrading their tone cap ,” this is the component they ’ re talking about . The capacitor ’ s unit of measurement is the farad , with one whole farad only being exceeded in the consumer electronic realm by those with beastly car stereos or stun guns . For our purposes , capacitors are measured in three different subdivisions of farads — picofarads , nanofarads and microfarads , or trillionths , billionths and millionths of farads .
FIG . B
Typically , capacitors are “ ceramic ” when they are measured in picofarads , “ film ” when measured in nanofarads and “ electrolytic ” when measured in microfarads . Oftentimes , you will find nanofarads measured in terms of microfarads — 100nF will often be written as 0.1uF , 47nF as 0.047uF and so on . Tone caps found in guitars typically range from 22nF to 47nF . On a pedal ’ s circuit board , it ’ s an entirely different story .
The function of capacitors is , much like a battery , to store and discharge electricity , created in a tiny electrical field between both leads of the capacitor , and within some type of material within the casing , denoted in the capacitor ’ s type . Typically , “ film ” types are thought to “ sound the best ,” which is why so many Boss pedal mods involve removing electrolytic capacitors
44 TONE TALK // A Field Manual for Effect Pedal Componentry