C9 orientation in the express.

[arjepsen]

Hey, I've been wondering about this, and couldn't find it discussed anywhere.

I'm wondering why the C9 capacitor in the Express is oriented the way it is.
At first glance, I'm thinking it would be easier to turn it 90 degrees, so it goes straight to R10, without the extra wire.

But I guess KF had a reason to put it exactly like he did instead.
Can anyone tell me why??

[Colossal]

I'm wondering why the C9 capacitor in the Express is oriented the way it is. At first glance, I'm thinking it would be easier to turn it 90 degrees, so it goes straight to R10, without the extra wire.

But I guess KF had a reason to put it exactly like he did instead.
Can anyone tell me why??

In studying the layout, I've often wondered the very same thing. Let me first say that I have no basis or experience for speculation on anything KF did (aside from greatly admiring his work and the work of those here) but will hazard a couple of guesses/comments

Maybe keeping the components running in the same plane is one of the numerous factors in controlling the instability of the circuit. This idea is challenged though since KF oriented C8 in the same manner as you suggest; perpendicular to the other components.

Second, it seems like everything is placed based on economy and the shortest path, but also spatially to what just seems like the best fit on the pre-punched perfboard. An example of this is the R14-R17 group; those resistors are offset spatially to one another because of the hole layout of the board material, so maybe if KF had used solid board material, perhaps he would have laid out the section sandwiched between C13 and C14 symmetrically like most other amps. I would guess that perfboard was easy and faster than drilling up each board so he just made everything fit that.

So in getting back to C9, the other thought I had was that maybe he felt it best to keep C9 a little further away from the PI (perhaps others can comment on the necessity of this in the TW circuit?). What makes me question the idea that there is some "deeper, hidden meaning" though is that while there are those that say KF did everything for a very specific reason, there are also those that say there was no great mystery, but that he was very practical, using great design principles in combination with what he had on hand with the greatest reliability and insane tone in mind.

But yes, I've wondered why not just let C9 and R9 share a common turret and connect the other end of C9 directly to R10?

Maybe others can shed more light on this.

[arjepsen]

Another question:

Looking at the layout, there's a wire from C4 to VR2.

I've seen it laid out like this quite often, but I can't help but wonder why, since wiring it straight to the treble pot instead would shorten the wire.

Anyone?