vox wah capacitor polarity ?

[JVStrat]

I have replaced most of the parts in my V847 wah.
It sounds ok but does not have that warm vocal quality i am looking for.

have i fitted the two 10nk caps the right way round? as i have just noticed the - symbol on them

[thermionic]

Looks like you've replaced the original non-polarised caps with electrolytics and there's no polarity marking on the pcb.

Just wondering why you'd use electrolytics in the signal path?

[Jonny]

They look like polystyrene (non polarised) caps to me - if a bit smaller than 10n / 100V that I'd imagine. Elecrtrolytics aren't generally see-thru (and they're not normally much smaller than .47uF - apart from very rare axial tantalums - which don't look like that).

What did it say on the packaging that they came in?

[JVStrat]

Yes they are Polystyrene Styroflex like they used in the old wahs. No packaging, just a clear bag.
Its says 100V- and then a black ring
Thanks.

[Jonny]

Sweet - they just look a bit small. Do you have any spares and a meter with a capacitance testing facility? I'm just minded of the sound not being what you expected.

[thermionic]

Ah my mistake... just been reading about various types of capacitor construction and dielectrics - interesting.

[JVStrat]

I have a meter but not one to test capacitance.
Think i will have to put the originals back in to see if it sounds any better. Or maybe I'm just expecting to much from a V847.

[ICBM]

Those aren't electrolytics - the band indicates which end is connected to the outermost layer of foil (I think!), which can be useful to know in some situations, since connecting it one way round can effectively use the outer foil as a shield and reduce noise. I doubt it makes any difference in a wah pedal.

If you can't hear a difference, leave the 'good' parts in - if you faff about taking them out, putting the originals back, etc etc, you risk damaging the components and the PCB. Often upgraded parts just look nice and give some 'mojo'... which is fine, they don't cost a fortune.

[JVStrat]

Thanks for the info

[thermionic]

I have a meter but not one to test capacitance.
Think i will have to put the originals back in to see if it sounds any better. Or maybe I'm just expecting to much from a V847.

The original caps were probably ok in this case, some older pedals used electrolytics for higher value signal coupling caps and you may get some benefit by swapping those out (like in the Boss OD-1 I bought used in 1984!)

There are some well-documented mods on changing resistor values in the V487 that will have an audible effect - I think I did the vocal mod and the gain mod on mine... the best thing I did was mod it for true bypass though.