What's up with guitar players buying tons of PIO caps??

Brycecb750

Active Member
I like the sound of PIO caps, Westcaps, vitamin Q's, K40y's and others like that. When used in audio circuits to do things like block DC and let AC pass I think they sound great. But I've noticed tons of guitar players are buying these caps to put in their guitars because the guitars of the 50's and 60's used these for their tone controls. But, in these guitar circuits, does the type of cap make that big of a difference?? There are a lot of guitar players out there, I might think a good price for a .022 K40y-9 is a few dollars a piece, but a guitar player always looking for some kind of tweek to make them into a instant Jimi Hendrix will buy one for $14.99 and believe it worked. Are these guitar players pushing the prices up all for a ever elusive and unachievable goal? Does it matter if you put a .022 Vitamin Q cap vs. a .022 Panasonic film cap in this particular circuit??
 

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Partial answer, supply and demand. So if there is a finite supply and we're indeed competing for them (not a given in my mind yet BTW) then they could in fact drive the price up.
On the other half the question we in hifi (audiophiles?) can't agree on the effect of different style (type?) of caps in different circuits so to keep one more dead horse a flogging , i'll not comment.
 
I like the sound of PIO caps, Westcaps, vitamin Q's, K40y's and others like that. When used in audio circuits to do things like block DC and let AC pass I think they sound great. But I've noticed tons of guitar players are buying these caps to put in their guitars because the guitars of the 50's and 60's used these for their tone controls. But, in these guitar circuits, does the type of cap make that big of a difference?? There are a lot of guitar players out there, I might think a good price for a .022 K40y-9 is a few dollars a piece, but a guitar player always looking for some kind of tweek to make them into a instant Jimi Hendrix will buy one for $14.99 and believe it worked. Are these guitar players pushing the prices up all for a ever elusive and unachievable goal? Does it matter if you put a .022 Vitamin Q cap vs. a .022 Panasonic film cap in this particular circuit??
I don't believe any of them are putting PIO caps in their guitars. Their amplifiers sure, but not their guitars. :confused:
 
I don't believe any of them are putting PIO caps in their guitars. Their amplifiers sure, but not their guitars. :confused:

Actually Blue,they are! Caps are used in the tone circuit to roll off the highs; just a pot and a cap from wiper to ground.Pretty brute force,but it works well.
For some reason (which I will not get into here, or anywhere else,for that matter) there is a belief that these pio's contribute a ''special something'' to the sound....
 
Actually Blue,they are! Caps are used in the tone circuit to roll off the highs; just a pot and a cap from wiper to ground.Pretty brute force,but it works well.
For some reason (which I will not get into here, or anywhere else,for that matter) there is a belief that these pio's contribute a ''special something'' to the sound....
I guess that's what I get for blabbing about things that I know little to nothing about. :D
 
Several years ago, I noted Mullard Mustard caps were being snapped up by musos for their vintage amps. I had a large stash of NOS 1960s/70s mustards and made a small fortune selling them individually (tested and spec'd). It was crazy.

edit: I see they are still rather expensive...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/MULLARD-MU...640665?hash=item2cc0689619:g:tR4AAOSwlMFZM0TF

No afilliation- posted for interest only.

Good Golly. LOL, I bet you were whistling on your way to the bank.
 
I have a PIO cap in my Squier Strat.:D Was less than $5. Dunno if it makes a difference, but I was replacing the stock pots which were the wrong value for single coils and decided what the heck.

I know many use them in truly vintage guits to keep originality, but I doubt it makes and audible difference.
 
But does the type of cap used in the guitar circuit (a cap to ground for attenuating high frequencies) matter?
 
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