.0047 Capacitor in 620

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RicUpNorth
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.0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by RicUpNorth »

Put the .0047 cap in my 2008 620 today. Of course my 2 year old woke up before I could plug it into a good amp. Through my little 9v amp it sounded nice though. Definitely seemed to make the 5th knob do a lot more. The bridge was a bit quieter, but I’m attributing this to the fact that the lower frequencies are cut and not and actual volume loss. Getting it in was a Lott easier than I had even thought. Took maybe 15 minutes. Can’t wait to plug it into a tube amp and try it out!
Jubal81
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by Jubal81 »

Looking forward to a report!

I did something a bit different and love the result. I made the 5th knob a 'bass contour' for the neck pickup. Very simple - just use a 1M pot and wire it the same, but with a 2n2 cap across the lugs the wires are attached to. The control lets you dial out the woofiness and I use it all the time.
RicUpNorth
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by RicUpNorth »

Jubal81 wrote:Looking forward to a report!

I did something a bit different and love the result. I made the 5th knob a 'bass contour' for the neck pickup. Very simple - just use a 1M pot and wire it the same, but with a 2n2 cap across the lugs the wires are attached to. The control lets you dial out the woofiness and I use it all the time.
Sounds like a pretty interesting mod!

I played it through my Bad Cat late last night. Got the volume up to about 3 (family was sleeping). It definitely sounded more raw and had a brighter bite to me. I will need to play with the pickup heights a bit, the neck pickup has much more output now. I’m excited to turn it up more when I get time to. The 5th know was much more of a blend now to my ears, the difference when turning it is quite noticeable. I think it gives it a much less muddy tone overall. Before I almost exclusively used the bridge pickup.
RicUpNorth
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by RicUpNorth »

Played with pickup heights. I set the bridge to 5/64” (may need to go 1 or 2 64ths lower still) and the neck to 1/8” and the pickups are close in output. There is definitely a sparkle to the sound that wasn’t there previously. I also feel like the 5th knob gives a lot more tonal variation and has more tones I enjoy when changing it. I know this isn’t the mod for everybody, but I think it gave a lot more life and sparkle to my hi gains.
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jps
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by jps »

RicUpNorth wrote:...I know this isn’t the mod for everybody, but I think it gave a lot more life and sparkle to my hi gains.
Now, put scatterwound toasters in the guitar! :wink:
RicUpNorth
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by RicUpNorth »

jps wrote:
RicUpNorth wrote:...I know this isn’t the mod for everybody, but I think it gave a lot more life and sparkle to my hi gains.
Now, put scatterwound toasters in the guitar! :wink:
I’d love to, but part of me feels like a $1600 guitar shouldn’t need a $375 upgrade! If I’m ever rich I might try to find some. Having a toddler and a mortgage means the wife limits my gear funds...
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jps
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by jps »

RicUpNorth wrote:
jps wrote:
RicUpNorth wrote:...I know this isn’t the mod for everybody, but I think it gave a lot more life and sparkle to my hi gains.
Now, put scatterwound toasters in the guitar! :wink:
I’d love to, but part of me feels like a $1600 guitar shouldn’t need a $375 upgrade! If I’m ever rich I might try to find some. Having a toddler and a mortgage means the wife limits my gear funds...
It's not a need to do...............
RicUpNorth
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by RicUpNorth »

I know. In the two Rics I’ve owned the hi gains have served me well. I just don’t see where in production the toasters can justify double the price of the humbuckers or hi gains. Maybe it’s just cause I can’t afford them at this point though.... truth be told I think I’m going to quite like the tone after adding that cap to the bridge. It’s more jangly to my ears.
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aceonbass
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by aceonbass »

Back in the 60's Rick guitars had the .0047 cap just like the basses did. I've had a few customers request one activated by a push-pull pot. It's interesting that RIC brought this back on the basses, but not the guitars.
RicUpNorth
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by RicUpNorth »

aceonbass wrote:Back in the 60's Rick guitars had the .0047 cap just like the basses did. I've had a few customers request one activated by a push-pull pot. It's interesting that RIC brought this back on the basses, but not the guitars.
I keep seeing your name come up on the forum as the go to person!

It really does sound like a worthwhile cap to have in there (to my ears). I will probably use the middle position on my switch primarily now, both pickups, but when turning the 5th knob now it is very apparent the differences.

I thought about the push/pull mod, two problems I encountered. I can’t find the Ric pot, and others are too tall? I don’t know how I’d deal with the output difference with it on or off.

About to go plug it into the Bad Cat and let her rip once my little guy falls asleep. Excited to hear it on a real amp with the pickup height adjusted.
RicUpNorth
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by RicUpNorth »

Final report....

Played it through my Bad Cat Cougar 5 today at a decent volume and wow is all I can say. I feel like it’s added so much clarity to the overall tone of my guitar. I had it on the middle pickup as I ran through all of my original tunes and I used the 5th know instead of switching between pickups. For the cleaner songs I usually play on the neck pickup it had a bit more overall tonality from lows to highs, I assum from having just a little bit of the bridge pickup blended in. On the songs with a bit of bite I usually used the bridge pickup for it added that nice rounded to the overall sound, blending just a little of the neck pickup in filled out thentone and it had a bit more jangle to my ears. Very pleased with how it sounds with the capacitor in it once I adjusted the pickup heights. I already loved my 620, but it had made it sound even better to me. It’s a tone I couldn’t achieve with any other guitar.
RicUpNorth
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by RicUpNorth »

And because who doesn’t like looking at a Fireglo figured I’d provide a visual

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aceonbass
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by aceonbass »

RicUpNorth wrote: I feel like it’s added so much clarity to the overall tone of my guitar.
You want clarity? Replace those under spec 330k tone pots with 500k pots like RIC used back in the day.
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girllennon76
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by girllennon76 »

I'm adding the capacitor to my '83 320. The middle and neck hi gains are fine but the bridge pickup sounds as if it's in a can. It drives me bonkers and will be having that done in the coming days. I am hoping that I love the sound, otherwise I'm dropping an HB1 with push/pull pot and call it a day. I like the coil splitting on the Epi Les Paul I have, but prefer the Ric for playability and light weight.
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aceonbass
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Re: .0047 Capacitor in 620

Post by aceonbass »

When I build wiring harnesses for three pickup Ricks, I often run the neck and bridge pickups through the neck and bridge tone controls, and the middle pickup through the 5th knob rewired as just a volume control for that pickup.
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