BMP Op Amp v2 – Cap Choices?

[Dr Seamus]

Hey There… still getting my feet wet with the pedal building hobby. Completed two kits at this point (OKF from Guitar PCB and a Stew Mac Slow Gear clone) and they’ve worked out pretty well. Enjoying this a lot, but noticed a lot of kit builds are sold out at the moment due to part shortages. So thought I’d give locating my own parts a try. Probably a mistake at this stage, but I’ll chalk it up to a learning experience.

Anyhow, for the first try I ordered the BMP Op Amp v2 board from Guitar PCB, took a look at the parts list and began the google search. I think I’m set with most of the components, but choosing capacitors for this build has me second guessing myself. Originally ordered a number of box film caps, but found pics of a build on this forum that someone did of this project with those yellow ceramic caps. Again, total newcomer question here, but is this a conscious choice? I’ve read in some places that ceramic caps can be a bit more “noisy”, but others seem to say this can be a desired trait in the muff circuit. Or do they just fit better on a crowded board?

I don’t own a big muff, so mainly going on gut photos from the web, and things seem to be all over the place. Even in different DIY Op Amp version kits. Based on your experience, any pointers for me? I spent my teenage years in the 90’s, so definitely a big fan of the BM sound (J Mascis, Smashing Pumpkins, etc…), so excited to get started on this one. But hoping I don’t end up with a box of bees should I make the wrong component choices.

 

Thanks for any tips you can send my way!

[Barry]

The yellow caps are MLCC (multi layer ceramic) which are not exactly the same as the orange ones and either are fine for any build. For convenience our boards use a 5mm lead spread which is good for both Film and MLCC.

I carry both MLCC kits and Film cap kits in my shop.

You would be extremely hard pressed to hear any difference in a capacitor of the same value in a circuit despite what they are made of. There are many YouTube videos to demonstrate that.

Guitar pedals are also not what I would consider Hi-Fi and in a band situation whatever you may have thought you heard would quickly disappear.

That is my .02 on the matter. I hope that helps.

[Dr Seamus]

Thanks Barry! Looking at the Paypal receipt now, just realized that i’ve ordered a number of parts from your shop. I guess I’m headed in the right direction then!

[Author]

Posts