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 Post subject: Capacitor value?
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 12:44 pm 
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I had a guitar tech install this capacitor into my PRS as a treble bleed. The value that PRS shows in their wiring diagram is 180pF. I looked up the code for a "180" marking on a capacitor and it says its value is 18pF. The treble bleed is not doing what I'd hoped, as in the tone still darkens considerably when rolling the vol off. Can someone clarify what the value of this cap is. Thanks....

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 Post subject: Re: Capacitor value?
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 12:57 pm 
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Should be 180pf


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 Post subject: Re: Capacitor value?
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 1:07 pm 
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There is a lot of variation in how capacitor manufacturers label their products. The value you looked up is predicated on the convention that the first two digits are the base value and the third is the power of 10 that it is multiplied by. So it would be 18 x 10^0 = 18 x 1 = 18pf. However, it's very possible that the maker just labeled it directly with the pf capacitance value, with no need for further math. And since PRS certainly knows their stuff, I'm quite confident that this is the case here, i.e. it's a 180pf ceramic cap. Apparently, PRS uses a very low cap value relative to other guitar & pickup makers. They also do not use a resistor in parallel, as most do.

In choosing how to modify the guitar to meet your personal tastes, you may find this very informative article useful: http://drkevguitar.com/2016/11/24/trebl ... d-roundup/

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 Post subject: Re: Capacitor value?
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 1:20 pm 
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Thanks...This Cap was not installed by PRS it was after market by a guitar tech. That's why I'm questioning its value. I know most treble bleed mods suggest between 680pf and 1000pf. Would the increase in the cap value allow more treble to bleed through?


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 Post subject: Re: Capacitor value?
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 1:49 pm 
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I would read through that article and use their suggestions for guidance. A larger cap in parallel with a resistor somewhere in the 100K - 300K range seems to be the most prevalent approach. You may want to rig up several cap/resistor combos and "audition" them in your guitar using some sort of temporary hookup that you can easily connect and switch around the components. This could be very easily made using a small piece of perfboard, some single inline sockets and small alligator clips to connect to the pot lugs.

BTW, I also took the liberty of reducing your photo and attaching it to your original post.

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 Post subject: Re: Capacitor value?
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 2:15 pm 
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Good demo video showing the impact of various cap and resistor combos:


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 Post subject: Re: Capacitor value?
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 2:50 pm 
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Daaaammmnn


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