Are Mallory caps essential?

[jcr1234]

I have been looking around at caps. The Mallory caps for the Express are around $20 each. There are other caps, made by quality manufacturers, ie Sprague, etc for $5-8. Is there any difference in tone or are they just used to be exactly like Ken?

[FYL]

Mallory caps are nice but you can use any other quality 'lytics in you build. Don't go for Sprague Atom's, which are underperforming and vastly overpriced.

[Richie]

The mallory are nice caps,and expensive. I myself would not buy any of the newer sprague caps. Or that series.Your looking for nothing but trouble.
There are some smaller USA made caps i have used. Tech-Caps. Get them from ebay. I think the seller is JEA capacitors.
Also the Philips BC- Componet caps are good. I have seen reports of F&T caps causing a high end sizzle,but who really knows..
There are many other good caps out there too.
Some real wrecks use CDE filter caps. Which were very much the same as the mallory.

[FYL]

Some real wrecks use CDE filter caps. Which were very much the same as the mallory.

CDE has purchased most of Mallory's assets and some their elcos - listed as "Root: Mallory" in the datasheets - are exactly the same.

http://www.cde.com/catalog/alum/

[JamesHealey]

the BC Components ones really opened up my Wreck clone compared to the F&T.. and they're much easier to get hold of here in the UK.

Won't be paying the Shipping on F&T anymore.

[RJ Guitars]

I carry the Tech-Caps, the Mallory's, and the CDE caps. I have never yet had anyone disappointed in the Mallory caps as far as performance goes, but the price is often a deal breaker.

The CDE caps are not the same as the Mallory's, although they may be quite good. I have them in stock but have never used them or heard them. The 20 uF are about half the physical size of the Mallory 20uF, so I don't think they came from the same mold so to speak. The 20uF are also about half the price of the Mallory's (which is still not cheap). The 40uF do look similar in size but again, I've got no history on their performance.

The Tech-Caps I think are the best deal around. I have never had a complaint toward them although they do not come in the sacred 20uF and 40uF values but rather are 22uF and 47uF. There is some history with these caps and it is all good. I furnish them to several reputable builders who have nothing but glowing praise for them.

In my own limited number of builds using Spragues I have not had any problems with them but I think statistically they have earned a tarnished reputation for their dependability problems.

Oddly the very affordable JJ can caps seem to get as good of reviews as any of the others.

rj

[FYL]

Oddly the very affordable JJ can caps seem to get as good of reviews as any of the others.

JJ uses a very peculiar welding solution for the output leads - short steel wires from the core are longitudinally welded to the actual leads, then the assy is shrink wrapped.

I don't trust this approach for MI amps - or anything subject to vibrations and/or abuse - and have seen a number of failed caps with broken welds.

[Richie]

The CDE caps are not the same as the Mallory's, although they may be quite good

You are probably talking about the 'new' caps. I was mentioning the old CDE caps,and some of the old mallory caps. The CDE ,ones used in some wrecks were larger size like many of that era. And blue in color,like some of the mallory.

[steviea55]

I don't want to dice anyone, but who makes the Holy Grail caps, and how do they rate.

[FYL]

I don't want to dice anyone, but who makes the Holy Grail caps, and how do they rate.

OEM'ed for Nik at Ceriatone by a local manufacturer in Penang, Malaysia - could be Maxcap or Elna-Sonic.

AFAICT, as good as any other modern cap.

[RJ Guitars]

The CDE caps are not the same as the Mallory's, although they may be quite good

You are probably talking about the 'new' caps. I was mentioning the old CDE caps,and some of the old mallory caps. The CDE ,ones used in some wrecks were larger size like many of that era. And blue in color,like some of the mallory.

you are correct, what I am speaking of are current production... rj

[Tone_Chaser]

Thanks for the information in this thread. I was planning on going with the Sprague Atoms because I've seen several builds with them and the Dr. Z gut shots show that he uses them too. I found them at a pretty decent price so I was going that route.

I don't want to build this thing and have to spend all of my time working on it so I'm glad to hear there are issues before I bought them.

Thanks for the alternatives, I've got several projects going right now and don't have a lot of extra money to put toward any of them right now so saving some money on the filter caps will be a big help.

[nickt]

the BC Components ones really opened up my Wreck clone compared to the F&T.. and they're much easier to get hold of here in the UK.

Won't be paying the Shipping on F&T anymore.

BC Components? Do you have a URL James?

[Roe]

the BC sounds great, esp at the screens. I like the 33uf in this position

[M Fowler]

Dr Z also uses IC caps in many of his builds and I have never had problems with IC in my builds. Price is right.

I use the smaller Atom's but no need for the expensive larger caps.