Tone pot capacitors

[Flamesong]

I did a bit of online reading before buying the tone pot capacitors to customise the kit I was putting together and the concensus seemed to be that 22nF was the capacitance of choice and that there was little advantage between one type and another so I ordered some 22nF of the type some call 'orange drop'; maybe 4mm in diameter. I must admit that when they arrived, I was a bit surprised at how small they were (the loaded pickguard which came with the kit had capacitors about 10mm in diameter) but I was reassured by what I read online that size was not an issue.

Having virtually finished (I have to adjust the nut and I'm just waiting for some files to arrive), I have discovered that the tone pots don't seem to affect the tone at all.

Am I missing something? If so, could somebody please recommend a type and value?

[curtisa]

5 hours ago, Flamesong said:

I have discovered that the tone pots don't seem to affect the tone at all.

Am I missing something?

If the supplied value is truly 22nF, it won't be the value of the cap that is causing the issue. An easy check is to look for any markings on the cap. For 22nF it may have '22n' or '223' or 0.022' printed on the side.

If the value is correct, then look for other problems that might prevent the tone circuit from working - a missing ground connection on the tone pot, missing wiring from the tone pot to the volume pot/pickups/output jack (as required), a faulty tone pot.

The 'traditional' tone circuit used in most guitars is pretty simple - one cap, one pot and two connections. It's hard to get it wrong.

[Flamesong]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I'm pretty sure that the circuitry is okay, I checked it quite thoroughly whilst trying to sort out the push-pull bridge on switch problem which I mentioned in another thread. I did get a bit confused about the values of the different capacitors I have but I measured the ones I used and they were 22nF. As you say, there isn't much to get wrong but I will check everything out again when I next take it apart in a few days.