My JCM800 2203X reissue really came to life when the bright cap was removed. It was super thin and bright sounding and I was pretty bummed. Even almost sold the amp. With the bright cap removed, it has a thicker, more full range of sound. I can still brighten it up with the treble and presence knobs. It now sounds like the classic Marshall amps I hear on all those great old records. And since it's a reissue, I get to run my analog delay and plate reverb pedals through the effects loop, which sounds INCREDIBLE.
Fascinating stuff. I love how these little things about amps and gear are really the unknown soldiers of the sound of rock, historically speaking. I would imagine that the bright cap on will also translate the nuances of a guitarist feel and touch alot more than not having it on. Definitely do more videos like this Johanne, it's one of the reasons you have such a fan base. We come to get educated by Professor Rock Guitar.
Yup! solder between 1st and 2nd lug on volume pot. It's technically a bypass cap coming allowing high frequencies to pass through. Using too high of a value definitely fatiguing and not as useful, seems to be a sweet spot below 500pf in bassman/jtm style amps
@Eye Dunno On a master volume amp the cap should be installed on the preamp volume pot, correct? What low value caps would be a good starting place to filter out just a small about of the lower frequencies?
More videos on all this amp electronics stuff. Please. Yours is one of the best channels on TH-cam. Any time I’m tone chasing I always go to your channel to see what you got. And your original songs are fire. For real. Keep it coming.
Lots of guys fail to realize that what sounds good in a bare room will sound flat and will be buried in a mix. Cap on will sound great in a mix! Marshalls a BRIGHT but add that 412 cab and all the frequencies are there! Played every amp that is and I still go back to Marshalls and a Vox AC30!
You are the best.I have been struggling with my 100 wat.1972 Superlead since I bought it new in 72. What a harsh painful loud window breaking amp that thing is. What I found just a year or two ago is the best solution to my problem. I jump Lead 1 upper left input to lower right bass input . I plug my guitar into a Fullsound OCD and then from that it goes into the upper right input on my superlead. I roll the volume of the OCD down very low. My second input volume up to about 8 then I dial in the lead 1 channel up to brighten the sound. It's perfect I get Full on Clapton or Hendrix at bedroom levels sounds great and no need to clip that godawful bright cap. The guitar cuts perfectly Much better than my THD hot plate. you are the best thanks for all you do
Great video as usual and very educational. And, to answer your question, you should do more videos where you dig into the minutiae of things that interest you. We keep coming back to see what the Tone Meister will do next! God bless and rock on.
Such a big difference in tone from such a small change! The links to related videos are very helpful, but putting them in the description only is fine and would keep the videos more concise - and save you some editing time too.
Great video! Knowing a bit about amp design, I already knew what a bright cap does, but this video was quite helpful in showing how massive the difference really is. Still, I love the bright sound of old Marshalls :D Also, I really like the references at the start of the video. Cheers
Much more present at lower volume. Amazing what capacitors can do and even more amazing how they are engineered into the original design and physically made. Cool video Johan, thanks!
Johan I have a 2008 1959HW. I changed the coupling cap on channel 1 from 0.0022 to 0.022 and left the bright cap as-is. Made channel 1 much more usable as the 0.022 cap lets a lot more lows through and cuts down the brittle sound
I wired in a three way micro switch on the rear of my 1959HW to be able to toggle between the original 4700 cap, without any & 220. The 220 is very useful at home volume as dialled in with a PPIMV on the rear panel also. Takes the shrill top edge off.
I too have 3-way switches with two flavors of bright caps and bypass on my Bass spec amp--one switch for each of input I and input II. It's one of most profound mods to a plexi, but lets you still get the stock tone. I prefer no bright cap when I use a Y-cable to plug the guitar into both top jacks. When I just play into input I or jumper the inputs in the classic way, a mild bright cap enhances articulation and adds quite a bit of extra gain by filtering out some of the bass part of the tone.
I did this on my Ac30 too. They can often be too dark and too bright on either channel. The bright caps used were often not the best for modern music and pickups. In the end I actually ended up with a bright cap on normal and removed the one on top boost. Total opposite of factory spec. 🤷♂️
I think it is a great idea to include links to your relevant topic videos. For example, I didn't know that you had videos that get into Marshall amp circuit design details! I will definitely check these out. Love your guitar playing and channel :)
Love the bright cap, if it's too much for some, then adjust the EQ on the amp and the guitar and roll some of the high end back. Cool Video Johan as always !!
Woah ! Such a hell of a tonal difference ! Would never have had expected it that dramatic. Very, very educational. I think You might need good and effective caps in your guitar as well to tame the sometimes sharp edges within the Bright Cap Mod.
I have a 71 super lead and a 71 super tremolo and they both sound the same and kick ass ,as for the bright cap I did notice a difference and I liked it without the Bright cap… I guess it’s just a matter of personal preference and what your situation is … thanks for doing this I was thinking about this actually and I’m glad you made it apparent but there is a difference… Keep on rockin brother…
Hi, Johan! Today I have no words to say. The bright cap is absolutely necessary, without it sound is not "solid", I can hear it easy, but I need to watch your videos for being able to speak about this. I will take some time! Thank you for the video and for the links. Here is awesome interesting for my education. Very interesting to me. Thank you very much! Zigfrid
Great video, very informative. Anyone who owns a Korg era Vox AC100 or AC50 has a bright cap switch on channel 2, and they behave exactly the same as on this video - the lower the volume, the greater the influence the bright cap has, but at max volume, I couldn't tell the difference at all between the cap in and cut out of the circuit.
@@JohanSegeborn if you ever get the chance of trying a modern AC100 or AC50 Classic Plus, make sure the valves are not Ruby EL34, and plug it into a Greenback loaded cab (or try it with Redback speakers, like I do)
Love this- this is such a common mod, relatively easy to do. Yet I've read a lot of negative sentiment about this mod- for plexi-purists it's a completely unnecessary perversion of a perfectly good amp. I think this mod is also a 'gateway drug' for further mods that will lure a player into the super-high-gain territory. I'm interested in learning more about this kind of thing and I think your approach to demoing tones will help demystify some of the magic of these circuits & mods.
Great video! And I think having video recommendations within one of your videos is a good idea. I can just keep going down the loud rabbit hole, haha! Peace Johan.
I'm not sure people realise how good a guitar player Johan is I mean the sense of Rhythm n how he swings or sways it got the vintage/ACDC vibe no players have today!!
This is a useful demo for me I have a '75 Super Lead I'd love to take out sometime but the bright channel is just too am radio sounding. After watching this, I may install a different value cap or just go without altogether. At some points in this vid, the absence of the bright cap sounded more musical, and at some points sounded a little flat. However, I can tell the cap is kind of essential for good response and articulation. I'll need to research this some more. Thank you for the excellent demonstration!
What this tells me is a rotatory switch with different capacitor values would be a great mod so out comes the soldering iron Johan you over feed my brain Thanks mate
Removing it works for some amps, but I have found reducing the value tends to work far better. This value can be different for each amp and will change depending on type of cap used. I prefer the old Cornell Dubilier mica caps with the colored dots. Found in many 59 baseman amps. Solder two leads with attached alligator clips and test as many values as you can until you find what sounds best.
Johan: Regarding your remark about the effectiveness of the capacitor on Vol 5, it is probably due to the fact that the potentiometer is a logarithmic one. So, at half way, the two resistors the pot gets divided into, are in a proportion of about 1 to 4. This means that the capacitor will be in parallel with about 4/5 of the total resistor, usually 1MOhm. So, the lower part of the spectrum will be about 1/5 of the input while the higher frequencies will be significantly less attenuated (that is as the bright works). Cheers!
My tech added a 100pc bright cap to my JTM50 and it really expanded the tonal pallet. He said something about how it's the 'normal' cap for the amp that it is based off. I think he means the JTM45, but I didn't think bright caps came along until the Super Leads.
My 2203 was almost unusable until I removed the bright cap. Now it stil has plenty of clarity but I don't have to run the treble control down around 3.
I totally agree. Mine is the JCM800 2203X reissue. It was super thin and trebly before, sounds way thicker and fuller with the cap removed. Still plenty of brightness on tap with the treble and presence knobs.
Great video. It is my understanding that the bright cap in Fender amps is also a notorious issue and many people remove them to get more drive without the FIZZLE SIZZLE that kind of hangs around in the tone. I noticed it too in a JCM 800 2205 vs a JCM 2203. The 2205 2 channel amp had this annoying sizzle in it's tone vs the 2203's that did not. Personally I like a much warmer tone because you can always drive that or boost that with an OD pedal/ eq/tube screamer/ etc where as with the bright cap in it's very hard to make it disappear altogether and boosting ti sometimes just becomes obnoxious to me. In answer to your question, any recommendations you add are always welcome. Whatever comes into your head has always been interesting and informative. Cheers!!
To me, I liked the bright cap in when the volumes on 5+. There was such a small change when on full, I think it's much more useful at the lower volumes. But way too thin around 1. I'd just put a push/pull pot in there to engage/disengage it when you need it.
Yeah, I totally agree that the bright cap sounds best at "5". It sounds thin and tinny at "1" and I think it just sounds better without it at "10". The push/ pull pot or mini switch is a common mod.
Play around with the value of the bright cap. You will find your tone by changing it out; up or down in value. The bright cap needs to be in there, to broaden the tone, when jumping the channels. That’s where the bright cap really SHINES... Pun Intended ;-) THANKS JOHAN !!!
At low volumes a distortion pedal or heavy gain will be shrill. At 5 on any amp I find it complimentary to the sound. Past 6.5 it pretty much disappears. So I tell people crank the amp with your distortion pedal at high gain. Then dial back down and wait for it to be shrill. Mark that volume spot…then see if you can live with that! Otherwise if you want all pedals to play well at low volumes. Gotta turn pedals down or attenuate hard which has draw backs as well. I like just -9 to -12 db no more attenuated. But I’m really fighting it now. All my overdrive sound great at 1 or 2. But turn on a heavy gain pedal it’s shrill and sucks. Turn that volume to 5.5 and above, it sounds great and rocking! Only advantage of bright cap for me is playing clean with no pedals between 1-4. I get awesome clean jazz tones and fear clipping may kill that. I really thinking a switch so I’m not fumbling every time I set up to record with different pedals or gig. Gig volumes it doesn’t make much difference for me. Recording and bedroom is a problem unless cranked to 6 and attenuated. Then resting pedal volume down. It gets old doing all those tweaks honestly. A switch or push pull seems like a quality of life upgrade. I’d just turn it off when pedals are used, and put it on when no pedals are used.
It definitely takes out some treble, which on the Strat, can be an issue. I like the glassy brightness with the cap on, both on the clean and overdrive sounds. Wonder how a Les Paul would sound?
Thanks Johan, and it's a remarkable difference in response and sound at Vol 5 isn't it. I'll eventually try a SV20H with and without when I get one in the near future. As is said here it depends on the amp as to whether the bright cap is an advantage or otherwise, I removed one from my JTM45 clone many years ago when I got it and have left it in other amps such as the 1974X, so it goes.
if the need to get the bright sound over the bass in a mix live at lower volumes is what you're going for I think that will work,. other times the added low at high volumes might be best not to destroy the elements of balance in a recording. One thing to consider is how well the phase of the signal is before and after the bright cap,. Often times too much treble leads to an imbalanced signal which is why I usually try to go for a more balanced sound,. unless there is another instrument allowing for that image balance to remain true. It's tricky.
@Johan Segeborn USUALLY TURNING DOWN YOUR GUITARS VOLUME DECREASES HIGH FREQUENCIES. So you can place a *small value ceramic capacitor across terminals 1 & 3 on your guitars VOLUME POT* to maintain high frequencies as you decrease the volume knob on the guitar. This I learned from an early 1980's *GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE* article with both guitarists from the rock band *.38 SPECIAL .* This was a simple mod guitarist *Jeff Carlisi* used on his guitars (Les Paul). He says the cap value if you care to research the magazine article. Approximately 1982 or 1983. I believe the two .38 Secial guitarists are on the cover of the magazine.
Johan! I would like to see a side by side comparison of a vintage super lead/super bass. Of the same era, type, year! Setting them up the same way eq and volume. Playing through the bright and normal channels.
Hi, check out these three videos: th-cam.com/video/dSqGwEgEUgg/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/iWQHBzMuJkw/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/tnYS0IXcUiA/w-d-xo.html
Great video with direct A B comparisons. Thank you. I keep hearing people say that you have to remove the bright caps but every one you played sound way better with the bright cap. Except maybe the < 1 that just sounded too much like strings. The max volumes sounded similar so why wouldn’t you keep the bright cap so you can’t get that clearer tone closer to the sound of max volume?
Great Video my 1978 Jmp 100 has cap removed and I am using 6CA7 tubes I use a Les Paul custom could you please do a video of this with a Les Paul it’s a big difference in tone from the Strat
The bright cap is an essential part of the Marshall sound... so, let's keep the bright cap! I have one super lead clone with switchable bright cap, it is useful if you use pedals in front if the amp.
Seems you play a little more aggressively with the bright cap in as well. Good vid. The cap is what's missing from my Superbass -> Superlead conversion.
just found this video. One thing to note...the schematic showed the 4n7 (4700pF cap), but the one actually removed was a "471K", which is only 470pF!! The "Bright Cap" changed over time and the early models, like the 1971 had only a 470pF cap, while 1973 and later had a very, very bright 4n7 (4700pF) cap, fyi!!! :O
I took it out of my 1959 RI. I usually ran my volume 1 at 6 so I'd have some headroom to hammer the front harder with pedals. Didn't care for the cleanup type sounds with it still in and felt I could dial the high end bank to my liking with treble and presence. If I ran it flat out w/o pedals and humbuckers I would have been more likely to leave it.
I installed a rotary switch with 6 caps options in my 50w Plexy MkII clone. In the end I play mostly with 100p and 150p. These values sound great for me, even for bass. Without the bright cap the amp sounds too dark for me. I bought a Bugera 1960 recently and I am going to put a 150p silver mica there.
I disconnected the bright cap on my ‘79 JMP 2203s decades ago. If I need more brightness, I can get it, but when the bright cap was on, it just always had a brittleness that I didn’t really like.
Have you ever experienced any high pitched sound with the loudness high treble I? Every time I turn it up there’s a noise like a radio frequency. I was sure that was a preamp tube and I changed all of them but that noise remains. Any idea of what could it be ? (I have a 1987x)
If your bright cap is sounding bad to you personally with your guitars, there are other options than just removing it. One is adding a switch or changing a pot with a push pull one. The other option is to try different values. In this case it's a 500/470 pF cap. Try 120 pF. Or even smaller. Or try 1000pF if you want to add a bit middle as well. Maybe add an pot to dial in how much bright cap you want? Once you get the golden position change the pot with a fixed value resistor. Bright cap is a very subjective thing. It really can't be generalized. Its implementation in the conjunction with the guitar used will make it or break it. Fender amplifiers use smaller values like 120pF, while Marshall amplifiers use 470 to 1000pF. They sound different due to the value and due to the different preamp topology. 1nF or 1000pF is already letting some middle tones true as well. This can helps some guitars and make it sound harsh with the other guitars. Fender bright switch adds glassiness and often doesn't sound that harsh. With some guitars, it is not that apparent. With 1000pF bright cap, you might get a bit more middle push that can be good with the scooped guitars. Depending on the amplifier design, both schematics and layout design, as well as the components quality choice, bright cap might be even useless addition to the circuit. Though, in some of the designs, it's part of the tone of the amplifier. When I build my amplifiers, I opt for a push-pull gain pot and go for disabled bright cap as default. Point to point amplifiers with good components tend to be bright, and the additional bright cap is even unpleasant with some guitars. I do not even mention it on the face plate, and people get surprised when I show them that it us actually there. Still, it works great with muddy guitars with the humbuckers. Though if you own such an amplifier, it's highly unlikely to own such guitar. So it's sort of not needed. Bright cap implementation depends on complete topology of the amplifier. Does it have presence knob? How was the tone stack designed? How big are the coupling caps? Everything will influence the choice of the bright cap. For example if the coupling caps are very small, lows will be cut so much that middle and top end will be more pronounced. Bright cap there might be unpleasant especially with no compression. On the other side same thing might sound great with the lot of compression. It would act as the treble booster pedal. Compression as in overdrive compression that happens outside if the headroom and with high gain. Overdone top end hits limit and can't get amplified any more so other frequencies come up. Amplifiers with NFB and the presence knob might not need it at all. One can dial in top end precisely. Tone stack can have to much top end and then bright cap might be jet again be unpleasant. Though in some amplifiers bright cap is a must. Without it, at lower volumes, such amplifiers lose or details. Forgot to mention one more option firvthe people that have an issue with their bright cap. Use Hendrix amplifier settings 😊 At full blast it is not active anyways. Enjoy wall of sound!
Here is the inside scoop direct from a Marshall tech when I was researching removing it from my 1987X Plexi. What I was told was that the bright cap was really outdated technology because back in the day when they started installing it in the bright volume circuit it was for a couple of reasons: 1. Full range and powerful P.A. systems were still in their infancy and quite inadequate. 2. Before the advent of distortion pedals and master volume amps the only way to get the desired tube saturation out of a Marshall amp was to dime everything. The bright cap bleeds off that ice picky top end the more you crank it so that once full cranked, it's completely out of the circuit. Then came along distortion pedals which allowed the guitar player to no longer have to play on full blast. The problem was that bright cap was very annoying at lower volumes even if you jumpered the two channels together. I snipped the cap at one of the lugs and at the lower volumes noticed no deficit in the treble response. To sum up: If you are using an amp with an accessible bright cap just snip one of the leads, tape it off, and see if you like it. If you don't you can always reconnect it. I snipped mine and never looked back. It makes the treble much more usable at low volumes.
Would adding a cap like this on a higher gain amp maybe help with tightening the low end? I have a Laney GH50R, as far as I know very Marshall esque amp, and I would like to be able to make the higher gain setting more tight ind lows
@@JohanSegeborn Great installment in the Encyclopedia of Electric Guitar Tone, Johan. When you have a switchable/bypassable bright cap onboard, you can instantly A/B compare with/without bright cap. In that context, you can hear that a bright cap actually has a pronounced effect even at pretty cranked volumes. Listening to your video, I really notice the difference, even at high volume settings.
Definitely prefer the amp without bright cap, since at cranked volumes it is uneffective it' s good in my opinion having it removed at low to mid volumes, to achieve a " middier" rounder sound , that cuts well without being otherwise piercing, Cheers Johan!
Add resistor to the bright cap, it should be (if i remember correctly) half value of potentiometer. People recommended it, i wasn't convinced but decided to try it out and it is good but i read that it makes new pots work like old one which were better or maybe not better but worked differently at lower volumes so i'm not sure if it make difference in old amp, mine is 1959hw so it's newer.
I think Lee Jackson used to do a mod that had a rotating multi position switch which allowed you to use at least 6 different capacitor values (or none). IMHO the recordings with the cap sounded better.
To me, with the bright cap installed, that is the sound of a Marshall Plexi. Without the bright cap it just sounds like mud. I can’t imagine why anyone one would prefer that tone.
The EQ is more a question of small corrections. To make the sound brighter you can use a treble booster on a non bright cap equipped amp though and get close. It’s harder to make a bright cap equipped amp fuller though.
On the Plexi Setting off my Vox VTX I can switch the bright cap on and off, i always have it off. But a real bright cap is something very different. It sounded a bit too harsh with it in, it would be cool if you could control the influence of the cap (extra knob?). I would either leave it out or blend in the normal channel to bring back some bass and remove a bit of top end.
Wow that is a huge difference in eq! I guess folks want more treble at lower volume settings than they want at higher volume settings. It would be interesting to stick a multiband compressor or dynamic eq in front of the amp as a way of providing more treble boost at lower volumes. How much difference in volume is there between settings 5 and 10 in terms of decibels?
So here is a question . I have a plexi 50 clone w/ a PMMv , I dime the amp on Vol - I and use the master volume to open it up , the cap is totally out of the loop correct ? I dialed eq in w/ Vol.-I dimed sounds great , I need to clip the bright cap eh lol...
My JCM800 2203X reissue really came to life when the bright cap was removed. It was super thin and bright sounding and I was pretty bummed. Even almost sold the amp. With the bright cap removed, it has a thicker, more full range of sound. I can still brighten it up with the treble and presence knobs. It now sounds like the classic Marshall amps I hear on all those great old records. And since it's a reissue, I get to run my analog delay and plate reverb pedals through the effects loop, which sounds INCREDIBLE.
so am i with the sc20
Fascinating stuff. I love how these little things about amps and gear are really the unknown soldiers of the sound of rock, historically speaking. I would imagine that the bright cap on will also translate the nuances of a guitarist feel and touch alot more than not having it on. Definitely do more videos like this Johanne, it's one of the reasons you have such a fan base. We come to get educated by Professor Rock Guitar.
Thanks man, glad to hear it. More is coming up!
Didn't know a bright cap was that simple! Really educational video!
Thanks Patrik!
Yup! solder between 1st and 2nd lug on volume pot. It's technically a bypass cap coming allowing high frequencies to pass through. Using too high of a value definitely fatiguing and not as useful, seems to be a sweet spot below 500pf in bassman/jtm style amps
@Eye Dunno
On a master volume amp the cap should be installed on the preamp volume pot, correct?
What low value caps would be a good starting place to filter out just a small about of the lower frequencies?
More videos on all this amp electronics stuff. Please. Yours is one of the best channels on TH-cam. Any time I’m tone chasing I always go to your channel to see what you got. And your original songs are fire. For real. Keep it coming.
The video references are a great thing sir. I have never seen the older videos. It's very beneficial
Thanks Justin, I’m glad to hear that!
Lots of guys fail to realize that what sounds good in a bare room will sound flat and will be buried in a mix. Cap on will sound great in a mix! Marshalls a BRIGHT but add that 412 cab and all the frequencies are there! Played every amp that is and I still go back to Marshalls and a Vox AC30!
Yes, references definitely appreciated! You have such an impressive backlog of videos...
Thanks, glad to hear that!
@@JohanSegeborn Well deserved Johan. I find myself regularly digging through your videos. I'm sure I'm not alone.
you always make my day, thanks Johan.
Thanks my friend! :-)
You are the best.I have been struggling with my 100 wat.1972 Superlead since I bought it new in 72. What a harsh painful loud window breaking amp that thing is. What I found just a year or two ago is the best solution to my problem. I jump Lead 1 upper left input to lower right bass input . I plug my guitar into a Fullsound OCD and then from that it goes into the upper right input on my superlead. I roll the volume of the OCD down very low. My second input volume up to about 8 then I dial in the lead 1 channel up to brighten the sound. It's perfect I get Full on Clapton or Hendrix at bedroom levels sounds great and no need to clip that godawful bright cap. The guitar cuts perfectly Much better than my THD hot plate. you are the best thanks for all you do
Great video as usual and very educational. And, to answer your question, you should do more videos where you dig into the minutiae of things that interest you. We keep coming back to see what the Tone Meister will do next! God bless and rock on.
Thanks my friend, Cheers!
Very nice introduction Johan explaining the bright cap. I prefer 100pF. Blending the channels on a Super Lead creates the best sound, I think.
Thanks Daniel! Glad to hear it
Such a big difference in tone from such a small change! The links to related videos are very helpful, but putting them in the description only is fine and would keep the videos more concise - and save you some editing time too.
Recommendations are awesome! Love the Johan does science series! 🤘 That cap really does change the character A Lot!
Glad to hear it, Cheers!
I really enjoyed the recommended videos. I watch many of your videos, and didn't realize some of these even existed. Great addition.
Glad to hear that!
Great video! Knowing a bit about amp design, I already knew what a bright cap does, but this video was quite helpful in showing how massive the difference really is.
Still, I love the bright sound of old Marshalls :D
Also, I really like the references at the start of the video.
Cheers
Thanks Daniel, I’m glad to hear that!
Much more present at lower volume. Amazing what capacitors can do and even more amazing how they are engineered into the original design and physically made. Cool video Johan, thanks!
Thanks John!
I'm your fan dude!!! Keep rocking....now I'm rocking my jcm800, you did I lot to my tone improvement :) thanks
Thanks Paulo, I'm so glad to hear that! Cheers Johan
@@JohanSegeborn thanks for you answer :) keep rocking my friend!!!!! you have perfect tone and feel
Johan I have a 2008 1959HW. I changed the coupling cap on channel 1 from 0.0022 to 0.022 and left the bright cap as-is. Made channel 1 much more usable as the 0.022 cap lets a lot more lows through and cuts down the brittle sound
Great comparison. Thank you.
If I was so inclined, I’d install a small 3-way ‘bright’ toggle switch to go from bypass - half the μf - full μf
Thanks, great idea!
I like the video references. Great for comparisons and such.
All your videos are great.
Let’s go.......
Thanks, great to hear that!
I wired in a three way micro switch on the rear of my 1959HW to be able to toggle between the original 4700 cap, without any & 220.
The 220 is very useful at home volume as dialled in with a PPIMV on the rear panel also. Takes the shrill top edge off.
I too have 3-way switches with two flavors of bright caps and bypass on my Bass spec amp--one switch for each of input I and input II. It's one of most profound mods to a plexi, but lets you still get the stock tone. I prefer no bright cap when I use a Y-cable to plug the guitar into both top jacks. When I just play into input I or jumper the inputs in the classic way, a mild bright cap enhances articulation and adds quite a bit of extra gain by filtering out some of the bass part of the tone.
I did this on my Ac30 too. They can often be too dark and too bright on either channel. The bright caps used were often not the best for modern music and pickups. In the end I actually ended up with a bright cap on normal and removed the one on top boost. Total opposite of factory spec. 🤷♂️
I think it is a great idea to include links to your relevant topic videos. For example, I didn't know that you had videos that get into Marshall amp circuit design details! I will definitely check these out. Love your guitar playing and channel :)
Thanks John, I’m really glad to hear that!
Love the bright cap, if it's too much for some, then adjust the EQ on the amp and the guitar and roll some of the high end back. Cool Video Johan as always !!
Thanks Steve!
Yes Johan! Please recommend relevant video's, great for linking knowledge when one topic peaks my interest. Thanks for the incredible content :)
The aim is to reflect the experience in the room in the videos
Sounds better with the bright cap in EVERY example! Even with the vol 1 on 10. Bright cap rules if you want it to sound like a Plexi!
Woah ! Such a hell of a tonal difference ! Would never have had expected it that dramatic. Very, very educational. I think You might need good and effective caps in your guitar as well to tame the sometimes sharp edges within the Bright Cap Mod.
Great documentation as always Johan!!! 👍
Thanks, glad to hear that!
the video suggestions are a great idea. spread the knowledge. great vid!
Thanks, great to hear that!
There is something to be said in favor of both sounds BUT - again - what really gets me are the riffs at 4:38 (repeat at 7:24)
KILLER RIFF!!!
Thanks Assar! It’s great to hear that
I have a 71 super lead and a 71 super tremolo and they both sound the same and kick ass ,as for the bright cap I did notice a difference and I liked it without the Bright cap… I guess it’s just a matter of personal preference and what your situation is … thanks for doing this I was thinking about this actually and I’m glad you made it apparent but there is a difference… Keep on rockin brother…
Hi, Johan!
Today I have no words to say. The bright cap is absolutely necessary, without it sound is not "solid", I can hear it easy, but I need to watch your videos for being able to speak about this. I will take some time! Thank you for the video and for the links. Here is awesome interesting for my education. Very interesting to me.
Thank you very much!
Zigfrid
Thanks Zigfrid, glad to hear that. Cheers
Great video, very informative.
Anyone who owns a Korg era Vox AC100 or AC50 has a bright cap switch on channel 2, and they behave exactly the same as on this video - the lower the volume, the greater the influence the bright cap has, but at max volume, I couldn't tell the difference at all between the cap in and cut out of the circuit.
Thanks Jay!
@@JohanSegeborn if you ever get the chance of trying a modern AC100 or AC50 Classic Plus, make sure the valves are not Ruby EL34, and plug it into a Greenback loaded cab (or try it with Redback speakers, like I do)
Love this- this is such a common mod, relatively easy to do. Yet I've read a lot of negative sentiment about this mod- for plexi-purists it's a completely unnecessary perversion of a perfectly good amp. I think this mod is also a 'gateway drug' for further mods that will lure a player into the super-high-gain territory.
I'm interested in learning more about this kind of thing and I think your approach to demoing tones will help demystify some of the magic of these circuits & mods.
Great video! And I think having video recommendations within one of your videos is a good idea. I can just keep going down the loud rabbit hole, haha! Peace Johan.
Thanks Sam! Glad to hear it! ;-)
I'm not sure people realise how good a guitar player Johan is I mean the sense of Rhythm n how
he swings or sways it got the vintage/ACDC vibe no players have today!!
Couldn't agree more! Sometimes I watch just to hear what kinda riffs he's brainstorming.
High level nerding ! Brilliant !
Hahaha! Thanks ;-)
Love the bright cap!
great video! thank you, i've been asking this to myself for quite a while. I'm gonna bring my plexi to my guitar tech right away
This is a useful demo for me I have a '75 Super Lead I'd love to take out sometime but the bright channel is just too am radio sounding. After watching this, I may install a different value cap or just go without altogether. At some points in this vid, the absence of the bright cap sounded more musical, and at some points sounded a little flat. However, I can tell the cap is kind of essential for good response and articulation. I'll need to research this some more. Thank you for the excellent demonstration!
Bright cap for me ...does wonders for the Mids...as always great tones
Thanks Gerry!
What this tells me is a rotatory switch with different capacitor values would be a great mod so out comes the soldering iron Johan you over feed my brain
Thanks mate
Wow that's awesome 👍 a big difference Johan can really tell difference between chord changes!!
Thanks Robbie!
For my experience, only the deluxe reverb sounds better without a bright cap...but the plexi needs it for his characteristic sound. Great work Johan.
Thanks Rich!
Removing it works for some amps, but I have found reducing the value tends to work far better. This value can be different for each amp and will change depending on type of cap used. I prefer the old Cornell Dubilier mica caps with the colored dots. Found in many 59 baseman amps. Solder two leads with attached alligator clips and test as many values as you can until you find what sounds best.
Breadboard is another quick and easy way to compare lots of caps.
Yes we want you to show electronic stuff!
Thanks man, glad to hear it!
Johan: Regarding your remark about the effectiveness of the capacitor on Vol 5, it is probably due to the fact that the potentiometer is a logarithmic one. So, at half way, the two resistors the pot gets divided into, are in a proportion of about 1 to 4. This means that the capacitor will be in parallel with about 4/5 of the total resistor, usually 1MOhm.
So, the lower part of the spectrum will be about 1/5 of the input while the higher frequencies will be significantly less attenuated (that is as the bright works).
Cheers!
Thanks, great feedback, Cheers!
António Monteiro 👌
Got it - use one of each and blend as needed to cut. :) Thanks!
My tech added a 100pc bright cap to my JTM50 and it really expanded the tonal pallet. He said something about how it's the 'normal' cap for the amp that it is based off. I think he means the JTM45, but I didn't think bright caps came along until the Super Leads.
My 2203 was almost unusable until I removed the bright cap. Now it stil has plenty of clarity but I don't have to run the treble control down around 3.
I totally agree. Mine is the JCM800 2203X reissue. It was super thin and trebly before, sounds way thicker and fuller with the cap removed. Still plenty of brightness on tap with the treble and presence knobs.
oh thanks !!! I think I'll do the same on my sc20h, because it has too much treble
I do like the video recommendations.
Cool video. About your question, i say yes, u should do :)
Thanks Stephan, I’m glad to hear that!
Great video. It is my understanding that the bright cap in Fender amps is also a notorious issue and many people remove them to get more drive without the FIZZLE SIZZLE that kind of hangs around in the tone. I noticed it too in a JCM 800 2205 vs a JCM 2203. The 2205 2 channel amp had this annoying sizzle in it's tone vs the 2203's that did not. Personally I like a much warmer tone because you can always drive that or boost that with an OD pedal/ eq/tube screamer/ etc where as with the bright cap in it's very hard to make it disappear altogether and boosting ti sometimes just becomes obnoxious to me. In answer to your question, any recommendations you add are always welcome. Whatever comes into your head has always been interesting and informative. Cheers!!
Great comparison dear friend... I actually prefer 'with cap' tone. Cheers!
To me, I liked the bright cap in when the volumes on 5+. There was such a small change when on full, I think it's much more useful at the lower volumes. But way too thin around 1. I'd just put a push/pull pot in there to engage/disengage it when you need it.
Yeah, I totally agree that the bright cap sounds best at "5". It sounds thin and tinny at "1" and I think it just sounds better without it at "10". The push/ pull pot or mini switch is a common mod.
Great video, THANKS!!!!
Play around with the value of the bright cap. You will find your tone by changing it out; up or down in value. The bright cap needs to be in there, to broaden the tone, when jumping the channels. That’s where the bright cap really SHINES... Pun Intended ;-) THANKS JOHAN !!!
Thanks Steven ;-)
Great comparison, I prefer the bright cap and it sounds more articulate.
Thanks!
It sounds normal with bright cap, and sounds muffled without.
A series of popular marshall mod videos would be awesome
Great idea
Looks like the best way to avoid ear fatigue associated with the bright cap is to dime the volume.. works for me!
At low volumes a distortion pedal or heavy gain will be shrill. At 5 on any amp I find it complimentary to the sound. Past 6.5 it pretty much disappears. So I tell people crank the amp with your distortion pedal at high gain. Then dial back down and wait for it to be shrill. Mark that volume spot…then see if you can live with that!
Otherwise if you want all pedals to play well at low volumes. Gotta turn pedals down or attenuate hard which has draw backs as well. I like just -9 to -12 db no more attenuated. But I’m really fighting it now. All my overdrive sound great at 1 or 2. But turn on a heavy gain pedal it’s shrill and sucks. Turn that volume to 5.5 and above, it sounds great and rocking! Only advantage of bright cap for me is playing clean with no pedals between 1-4. I get awesome clean jazz tones and fear clipping may kill that. I really thinking a switch so I’m not fumbling every time I set up to record with different pedals or gig. Gig volumes it doesn’t make much difference for me. Recording and bedroom is a problem unless cranked to 6 and attenuated. Then resting pedal volume down. It gets old doing all those tweaks honestly. A switch or push pull seems like a quality of life upgrade. I’d just turn it off when pedals are used, and put it on when no pedals are used.
More Les Paul again, more heavier or rock & roll soundss!! please
It definitely takes out some treble, which on the Strat, can be an issue. I like the glassy brightness with the cap on, both on the clean and overdrive sounds.
Wonder how a Les Paul would sound?
Thanks Johan, and it's a remarkable difference in response and sound at Vol 5 isn't it. I'll eventually try a SV20H with and without when I get one in the near future. As is said here it depends on the amp as to whether the bright cap is an advantage or otherwise, I removed one from my JTM45 clone many years ago when I got it and have left it in other amps such as the 1974X, so it goes.
if the need to get the bright sound over the bass in a mix live at lower volumes is what you're going for I think that will work,. other times the added low at high volumes might be best not to destroy the elements of balance in a recording. One thing to consider is how well the phase of the signal is before and after the bright cap,. Often times too much treble leads to an imbalanced signal which is why I usually try to go for a more balanced sound,. unless there is another instrument allowing for that image balance to remain true. It's tricky.
@Johan Segeborn USUALLY TURNING DOWN YOUR GUITARS VOLUME DECREASES HIGH FREQUENCIES. So you can place a *small value ceramic capacitor across terminals 1 & 3 on your guitars VOLUME POT* to maintain high frequencies as you decrease the volume knob on the guitar.
This I learned from an early 1980's *GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE* article with both guitarists from the rock band *.38 SPECIAL .* This was a simple mod guitarist *Jeff Carlisi* used on his guitars (Les Paul). He says the cap value if you care to research the magazine article. Approximately 1982 or 1983. I believe the two .38 Secial guitarists are on the cover of the magazine.
Bright idea ! : )
;-)
Johan! I would like to see a side by side comparison of a vintage super lead/super bass. Of the same era, type, year! Setting them up the same way eq and volume. Playing through the bright and normal channels.
Hi, check out these three videos:
th-cam.com/video/dSqGwEgEUgg/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/iWQHBzMuJkw/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/tnYS0IXcUiA/w-d-xo.html
Yeah! I saw those but that is just too many at once. I meant a video to show a lead and a bass eq’d the same so we can hear how different they sound.
Great video with direct A B comparisons. Thank you. I keep hearing people say that you have to remove the bright caps but every one you played sound way better with the bright cap. Except maybe the < 1 that just sounded too much like strings. The max volumes sounded similar so why wouldn’t you keep the bright cap so you can’t get that clearer tone closer to the sound of max volume?
Great Video my 1978 Jmp 100 has cap removed and I am using 6CA7 tubes I use a Les Paul custom could you please do a video of this with a Les Paul it’s a big difference in tone from the Strat
The bright cap is an essential part of the Marshall sound... so, let's keep the bright cap! I have one super lead clone with switchable bright cap, it is useful if you use pedals in front if the amp.
Seems you play a little more aggressively with the bright cap in as well. Good vid. The cap is what's missing from my Superbass -> Superlead conversion.
In my opinion, bright cap, better in a mix for the guitar to stand out. More lively. Thanks for the demo.
just found this video. One thing to note...the schematic showed the 4n7 (4700pF cap), but the one actually removed was a "471K", which is only 470pF!!
The "Bright Cap" changed over time and the early models, like the 1971 had only a 470pF cap, while 1973 and later had a very, very bright 4n7 (4700pF) cap, fyi!!! :O
You are right. And the 4700pf let you add some lower freq in the mix on lower volume than the 470pf.. More pleasant sounding.
So that was a stock 470 picofarad cap that you removed? Great video by the way!
Is there a modification out there where a small trim pot is used to control the influence of the bright cap?
Probably is! Probably would be a simple mod to figure out yourself if not
Adding the tweed princeton tone control to the gain pot may be something for your needs.
I took it out of my 1959 RI. I usually ran my volume 1 at 6 so I'd have some headroom to hammer the front harder with pedals. Didn't care for the cleanup type sounds with it still in and felt I could dial the high end bank to my liking with treble and presence. If I ran it flat out w/o pedals and humbuckers I would have been more likely to leave it.
I installed a rotary switch with 6 caps options in my 50w Plexy MkII clone. In the end I play mostly with 100p and 150p. These values sound great for me, even for bass. Without the bright cap the amp sounds too dark for me. I bought a Bugera 1960 recently and I am going to put a 150p silver mica there.
I disconnected the bright cap on my ‘79 JMP 2203s decades ago. If I need more brightness, I can get it, but when the bright cap was on, it just always had a brittleness that I didn’t really like.
Nice, sounds like a JCM 800 with it. I liked it 😉. Compare/demo the Friedman JJ junior as well, I think it's killer.
Thanks Rodney!
Have you ever experienced any high pitched sound with the loudness high treble I? Every time I turn it up there’s a noise like a radio frequency. I was sure that was a preamp tube and I changed all of them but that noise remains. Any idea of what could it be ? (I have a 1987x)
Can you please make same video but with 0 / 500pF (jtm45) / 5000pF (super lead) ? And also please use Les Paul as well. Many thanks in advance.
If your bright cap is sounding bad to you personally with your guitars, there are other options than just removing it.
One is adding a switch or changing a pot with a push pull one.
The other option is to try different values. In this case it's a 500/470 pF cap. Try 120 pF. Or even smaller. Or try 1000pF if you want to add a bit middle as well. Maybe add an pot to dial in how much bright cap you want? Once you get the golden position change the pot with a fixed value resistor.
Bright cap is a very subjective thing. It really can't be generalized. Its implementation in the conjunction with the guitar used will make it or break it.
Fender amplifiers use smaller values like 120pF, while Marshall amplifiers use 470 to 1000pF.
They sound different due to the value and due to the different preamp topology. 1nF or 1000pF is already letting some middle tones true as well. This can helps some guitars and make it sound harsh with the other guitars. Fender bright switch adds glassiness and often doesn't sound that harsh. With some guitars, it is not that apparent.
With 1000pF bright cap, you might get a bit more middle push that can be good with the scooped guitars.
Depending on the amplifier design, both schematics and layout design, as well as the components quality choice, bright cap might be even useless addition to the circuit. Though, in some of the designs, it's part of the tone of the amplifier.
When I build my amplifiers, I opt for a push-pull gain pot and go for disabled bright cap as default. Point to point amplifiers with good components tend to be bright, and the additional bright cap is even unpleasant with some guitars. I do not even mention it on the face plate, and people get surprised when I show them that it us actually there. Still, it works great with muddy guitars with the humbuckers.
Though if you own such an amplifier, it's highly unlikely to own such guitar. So it's sort of not needed.
Bright cap implementation depends on complete topology of the amplifier. Does it have presence knob? How was the tone stack designed? How big are the coupling caps? Everything will influence the choice of the bright cap.
For example if the coupling caps are very small, lows will be cut so much that middle and top end will be more pronounced. Bright cap there might be unpleasant especially with no compression. On the other side same thing might sound great with the lot of compression. It would act as the treble booster pedal. Compression as in overdrive compression that happens outside if the headroom and with high gain. Overdone top end hits limit and can't get amplified any more so other frequencies come up.
Amplifiers with NFB and the presence knob might not need it at all. One can dial in top end precisely.
Tone stack can have to much top end and then bright cap might be jet again be unpleasant.
Though in some amplifiers bright cap is a must. Without it, at lower volumes, such amplifiers lose or details.
Forgot to mention one more option firvthe people that have an issue with their bright cap. Use Hendrix amplifier settings 😊 At full blast it is not active anyways. Enjoy wall of sound!
Here is the inside scoop direct from a Marshall tech when I was researching removing it from my 1987X Plexi. What I was told was that the bright cap was really outdated technology because back in the day when they started installing it in the bright volume circuit it was for a couple of reasons: 1. Full range and powerful P.A. systems were still in their infancy and quite inadequate. 2. Before the advent of distortion pedals and master volume amps the only way to get the desired tube saturation out of a Marshall amp was to dime everything. The bright cap bleeds off that ice picky top end the more you crank it so that once full cranked, it's completely out of the circuit. Then came along distortion pedals which allowed the guitar player to no longer have to play on full blast. The problem was that bright cap was very annoying at lower volumes even if you jumpered the two channels together. I snipped the cap at one of the lugs and at the lower volumes noticed no deficit in the treble response. To sum up: If you are using an amp with an accessible bright cap just snip one of the leads, tape it off, and see if you like it. If you don't you can always reconnect it. I snipped mine and never looked back. It makes the treble much more usable at low volumes.
I need to do this .
Would adding a cap like this on a higher gain amp maybe help with tightening the low end? I have a Laney GH50R, as far as I know very Marshall esque amp, and I would like to be able to make the higher gain setting more tight ind lows
Great VideoBright cap stays for me. The cap bypasses after volume 7 or 8 i think. And thats where i live anyway :)
Thanks! Same here :-)
@@JohanSegeborn Great installment in the Encyclopedia of Electric Guitar Tone, Johan. When you have a switchable/bypassable bright cap onboard, you can instantly A/B compare with/without bright cap. In that context, you can hear that a bright cap actually has a pronounced effect even at pretty cranked volumes. Listening to your video, I really notice the difference, even at high volume settings.
Yes to relevant video links. On 10 bright cap has compressed bright highs BUT no cap gets bassy fuzz breakup!
Yes it still is in the signal path, less effect but still there. Only out of signal path once it’s physically removed. :)
Definitely prefer the amp without bright cap, since at cranked volumes it is uneffective it' s good in my opinion having it removed at low to mid volumes, to achieve a " middier" rounder sound , that cuts well without being otherwise piercing, Cheers Johan!
Cheers!
I agree
Ever gotten the chance to play through any Garnet amps? Would love to see you do a video of a BTO or a Pro!
No not yet, they are on the wish list though
Add resistor to the bright cap, it should be (if i remember correctly) half value of potentiometer. People recommended it, i wasn't convinced but decided to try it out and it is good but i read that it makes new pots work like old one which were better or maybe not better but worked differently at lower volumes so i'm not sure if it make difference in old amp, mine is 1959hw so it's newer.
I think Lee Jackson used to do a mod that had a rotating multi position switch which allowed you to use at least 6 different capacitor values (or none). IMHO the recordings with the cap sounded better.
To me, with the bright cap installed, that is the sound of a Marshall Plexi. Without the bright cap it just sounds like mud. I can’t imagine why anyone one would prefer that tone.
You can certainly hear the difference but can't you solve the issue by boost in the treble EA on the Marshall?
The EQ is more a question of small corrections. To make the sound brighter you can use a treble booster on a non bright cap equipped amp though and get close. It’s harder to make a bright cap equipped amp fuller though.
On the Plexi Setting off my Vox VTX I can switch the bright cap on and off, i always have it off. But a real bright cap is something very different.
It sounded a bit too harsh with it in, it would be cool if you could control the influence of the cap (extra knob?). I would either leave it out or blend in the normal channel to bring back some bass and remove a bit of top end.
Yeah the bright and normal channel can be bridged and blended
Wow that is a huge difference in eq! I guess folks want more treble at lower volume settings than they want at higher volume settings. It would be interesting to stick a multiband compressor or dynamic eq in front of the amp as a way of providing more treble boost at lower volumes. How much difference in volume is there between settings 5 and 10 in terms of decibels?
5 and 10 is very similar in SPL
I prefer the bright cap, and I imagine it cuts thru better in a band mix with the cap installed.
My 1993 100 watt plexi to brite caps are 5170pf like a on off switch
So here is a question . I have a plexi 50 clone w/ a PMMv , I dime the amp on Vol - I and use the master volume to open it up , the cap is totally out of the loop correct ? I dialed eq in w/ Vol.-I dimed sounds great , I need to clip the bright cap eh lol...
Is there a capacitor value that will "split the difference" between bright cap and no bright cap? Maybe something to suit LP vs. Strat?
Is a Strat's bridge pickup even usable with a SL? Judging by how bright that neck pickup sounds, I can't imagine how shrill its bridge pup will sound.