Keeley's Digi-Key Caps?

[koa-dogg]

Does any one know what caps Keeley refers to on his site for his Mods. He says there from Digi-key but I'm not sure which they are.

Thanks!

[Fret Wire]

Part # P4675-ND. They're Panasonic metal film 1uf. Very small for 1uf. Not cheap, but worth it. They fit in some tight places.

[Jason D]

Panasonic V series, stacked metal film.

Check the list of parts numbers on Phillips SD-1 and DS-1 mod pages, at Fuzz Central.com.

[Fret Wire]

The 1uf's are the ECQ-V series. I think the .1uf's are a different series. Smallbear carries the smaller value Panasonics, not the 1uf.

[bobbletrox]

I think Keeley just uses the Panasonic V series because they look more "trick" than normal MKTs or greencaps.  There's plenty of room to fit regular metalized caps inside a DS-1 -and they sound exactly the same too.  I used 1uF MKTs that were 6mm across in mine.

just my $0.02

[bobbletrox]

Not that there's anything wrong with using Panasonics!  I just don't think it really matters whether you use them or not  

[Fret Wire]

MKT's 1uf is that small? I'll check em' out. I hadn't found any 1uf's as small as the Panasonic. In a tight layout, the small panasonics are great and sound good. Not to Keeley's ears, but mine. I usually always use their 1uf. On simple circuits with alot of room, I'll use other metal film for the smaller values.

It's subjective, of course. What ever cap fits on the board, fits in the budget, and sounds good is a good cap.

[afranks]

Not that we are talking about them, but keep in mind that there *is* a difference in brands when it comes to electrolytics.  In my experience, panasonic 'lytics *are* the least likely to fail.  When so much labor goes into building a homebrew pedal, there is no sense in having a component failure spoil the fun.  Spend the extra dime on the panasonics.

just my 0.02-
-alan

[protokurios]

Are there any good quality, smaller sized 1uf  (and others) caps at Mouser?  Since I might get a couple capacitors for a one-time mod, it hurts me financially to have to chalk up the extra money for the minimum order of 10 for the caps at Digi-Key.  I like Mouser because I can order just one or a couple of capacitors.  Also, how does the BC Components 1uf capacitor  (box style, Digi-Key 3019PH-ND) at Small Bear compare in size and quality to the Panasonic V Series 1uf capacitor?

[brrt]

@afranks:

The panasonic caps aren't electrolytics, but metalfilm... You should never use electrolytics in the signalpath because they sound very bad and have high tolerance (e.g. 20%).
Maybe you're right about the reliability, but I don't think there's a real difference in sound between metalfilm caps from various manufacturers.

Brrt

[Fret Wire]

Quality wise..you won't hear a difference between the BC and Panasonic. Size: the Panisonic is 8mm thick x 11mm high x 7.3 mm wide. The BC is 6 x 11 x 7.2 respectively, so they are basically the same. Use which ever one you want.

[phillip]

The caps that Keeley uses in his SD-1 mods are all Panasonic V-series stacked metal film.  They're the small dark red caps that are very high quality.  He also uses them in the DS-1 mods for the standard uF values, while the smaller pF values are Silver Mica, except for the 47pF capacitor that he solders to the back of the circuit board for distortion smoothing, which is a ceramic.

The V-series are actually cheaper than the "greenies" from Mouser for the smaller values, and if the greenies came in the large values (1uF +), the Panasonics would still be cheaper.  The 1uF V-Series are $6 for a pack of 10, which is $0.60 each, while the 0.68uF greenies from Mouser (the largest value that they have listed) are $0.73 each, or $7.30 for 10.

The V-Series are very nice caps, very small, and they look nice too

Phillip

[Fret Wire]

Go Phillip Go!!    I think Me, You, and Keeley should get free Panasonics for pushing them.! lol It's not just the sound quality, but the peace of mind that you're using a quality component. A Panasonic ECQ-V 1.0uf is smaller than a .01uf greenie. I love em', but to be fair, Circuit Specialists does have good greenie prices. I do use them for values under .1uf. But when space is tight, or I need .1uf - 1.0uf, ECQ-V's are all I use. BTW Phillip, have you found anywhere to mail order the ECQ-V 2.2uf's? Doug B and I were looking for them. I think they'd be great to use for the 2.2 in a fuzz face. Speaking of Panasonic's, I started using their 25 & 35v tants instead of electro's for values 1.5uf to 10uf. I like them alot.

[RDV]

http://www.diystompboxes.com/sboxforum/viewtopic.php?t=20248&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

Help

RDV

[phillip]

Yeah!  A Panasonic "sponsorship" wouldn't bother me any.  A truckload of the assorted V-Series values would sure make my day     Then maybe Philips Semiconductor would sign me on too...and send me some free BC-series that I can't find in the US!

I haven't seen any that are as large as 2.2uF.  I was thinking of switching all my electros to tants, but the problem is that the larger they get...their price multiplies very quickly.  For smaller values, 1uF, 2.2uF, 10uF, 22uF, etc., they're pretty reasonable, but anything much larger than that and they get very pricey.  A single Vishay 25V, 47uF radial tantalum is $4.50...ouch!

Phillip

[protokurios]

Thanks for the info.  I guess there aren't any caps but the greenies at Mouser.

Another question:  How much do metal film resistors contribute to the sound of an overdrive pedal?

[bobbletrox]

They're lower noise than carbon.  Then again, I've got an old MXR that's nothing but dark brown carbon comp resistors and tantalum/ceramic caps and it sound's great.