A Scholarly Lecture on the First Condenser of the New Year

Happy New Year!
I hope you will continue to visit this blog in the new year.

Now, let's forget about my article from last year and since the new year has arrived, let's fix our ties and acquire some new knowledge.

So, let's talk about condensers for guitars, amplifiers, and effects pedals, which is my area of expertise.

Did you know that there is an inlet and an outlet for capacitors used in the tone circuit of a guitar?
When I say this, some people will say critically, “There is no such thing.”
However, some capacitors, even those that are said to be bipolar, do have an input and an output.
Capacitors that don’t exist include laminated film capacitors, ceramic capacitors, and mica capacitors.
Even vintage Gibson capacitors such as Bumblebees, Black Beauties, and even Orange Drops have an input and output.

Let me explain what I mean with my messy handwriting for clarity.

A film capacitor is made of copper foil, tin count, aluminum with an insulator between them, and it’s wound in a circle.
Looking at the winding direction, one side is wound on the right side and the other side is wound on the left side.
This is the true nature of inputs and outputs.
What? Doesn’t this change the sound?
When you get into your futon on a cold night and use an electric blanket, do you put it underneath? Or do you put it on top?
The difference in effect is obvious.

It is also very interesting to note that capacitor manufacturers sometimes label the OUTSIDE LINE (i.e., the exit) on the surface of their capacitors.
I wonder if they were pretending not to see it?
Let's check the capacitor.

A vertical line is in every red circle in the image.
This is the OUTSIDE LINE.
Furthermore, let's take a look at everyone's favorite Bumblebee (a real vintage one, of course).

In those days, Bumble Bee could not have vertical lines because of the notation called “color code” (because it would be difficult to understand the capacity).
*The Bumble Bee in the image is hard to recognize, but from left to right (brown, black, orange, and yellow in between, so it’s 0.01uF400VC)
But instead of the OUTSIDE LINE, it shows it in the form as circled in red. (The top has a thicker terminal and the bottom has a shape with a bump on the butt)

As a result, what happens if the input side and the output side are wrong?
It doesn't get any better, it just changes the sound slightly.
This will change the tone on a guitar.

Well, this is a new little nugget of knowledge that I wanted to bestow upon you for the New Year, but what do you think?

I will soon (really soon) upload the finished version of the DC servo power supply I blogged about last year, so please be on the lookout for it.
I look forward to working with you again this year.