This
auction is for one REPRODUCTION Astron Type AM .1mfd/200vdc
cap and one NOS 15k Carbon Comp resistor as used in the very
first Precision Bass models released in late 1951. The kit
will include detailed diagrams of all four 1950s Precision
Bass wiring schemes. A full sheet of Never-Before-Published
wiring schemes, not Available for Love or Money Anywhere Else!
This
is another great "Lost" wiring scheme that comes to me thanks
to the help of luthier Clive Russell and Precision Bass collector
Detlef Schmidt.
The
original Precision bass guitars that came out of Fender in
late 1951 were wired with this Astron cap and a 15k 1/2 watt
resistor (These were an early low-tolerance type with no resistance
band which I make by repainting the color bands on a NOS 15k
1/2 Watt resistor). Leo didn't seem to like using the Astron
brand caps as tone caps in his professional model instruments,
but he did have plenty of these .1mfd Astron caps on hand
for his amplifiers, so he used them in the Precision until
he got his first shipment of .1mfd chiclets from Cornell-Dubilier.
The wiring was modified slightly when the chiclets came in,
and by 1955 the resistor was changed to a 22k (some late models
even have 220k) and stayed the same until 1956, when the resistor
was dropped from the scheme. The resistor was most likely
intended to protect the cones in amplifiers un-prepared for
that nice deep P-Bass BOOM, but with the release of the narrow
panel Bassman, the right equipment was available and the resistor
was no longer needed.
 |
Construction:
The cap is handmade with a NOS Vintage Sprague Vitamin
Q type .1uF/200v capacitor.
|
Wax
Capacitor Replicating: Luxe reproduction wax capacitors
are made with the same materials and methods as the original.
The only difference is that instead of a foil and paper
“slug” at the core, they use a NOS Vitamin Q type paper
and oil capacitor. These were manufactured from the 1950s
through the 1980s by various companies, like Sprague,
for military and aerospace use. Unlike other types of
capacitors, the dielectric and foil in these are sealed
in a metal and glass tube, making them impervious to heat
and moisture. They do not degrade with time and they do
not drift in value. They have the added bonus of having
an oil-soaked paper as the dielectric, which arguably
has a more “musical” quality than any other dielectric.
Luxe ensures that every cap made uses some raw materials
from the appropriate era. Their recipes follow the same
ones used by the original manufacturers, with a few changes.
For example: Dykanol is not used in their capacitors.
Most capacitors made before 1956 were coated with a blend
of pitch and petroleum jelly, this is the nasty sticky
stuff that radio guys hate, Luxe uses pitch and beeswax.
It looks the same, but it doesn’t get all over the place.
Why
should you use these caps? Most will agree that a vintage
paper in oil cap has the best sound for a vintage instrument.
But the problem with many old caps (film and wax-paper)
is that they dry out and begin to leak. Vintage Vitamin
Q type caps, on the other hand, are sealed in glass and
encased in metal, so they can handle flying through space
and guiding missiles. They don't leak unless you smash them
with a hammer. When you install a 50-year-old Vitamin Q
cap in your guitar, you get the exact sound that your guitar
was meant to have. When you install a Luxe cap in your guitar,
you get a 30 to 50 year old, unused, Paper in Oil cap that
looks exactly like the cap that should be there, and will
last forever.
