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what is the mistique about bumblebee caps?
Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2024 2:47 pm
by basilio
Honestly, I had a tiny side business when I recapped a 50's radio or shortwaves of reselling the removed bumblebee caps on ebay. No guarantee, nothing, and someone would always buy them. Out of spec, old, caps. Even an elementary electronics course would tell you there is nothing magical about them.
End Rant
Mitch
Re: what is the mistique about bumblebee caps?
Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2024 2:50 pm
by basilio
Oopps! Posted in the wrong spot!
Re: what is the mistique about bumblebee caps?
Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2024 3:45 pm
by Conelrad
They were fine when new, as one of the first plastic-encapsulated caps offered.
When they got old, 99.9% of them went leaky.
It makes no sense, but the .022 is still gold for electric guitar builders. Maybe 'cause there isn't any real voltage in the pickup circuits of a Strat...
Re: what is the mistique about bumblebee caps?
Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2024 4:06 pm
by electra225
You did just fine, Mitch! Good to see you on the forum again. Please don't be a stranger.....
It takes a special type of human being to successfully service guitar amps. Guitar players "hear" sounds nobody else does, apparently. Like the guys who can hear the difference in rectifiers. Or buying a certain 12AX7 because it has a "fuzzy and crunchy" tone.....
Re: what is the mistique about bumblebee caps?
Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2024 5:54 pm
by TC Chris
Also, unlike audio fans, guitar guys like distortion. The goal of audio electronics is to reproduce recorded sound accurately. The goal of musicians is to sound good for a particular purpose. Distortion can make a device sound good--warmer, fuzzier, harsher, whatever, various additions to the source signal that we don't want in audio.
Chris Campbell