Sozo vs Sozo?

[Colossal]

I'd have to concur with James and Jana. The Sozo premium hand-wound Vintage mustards really sound good. They have a great clarity to them with just the right amount of fuzz around the edges; kind of a smooth character. I used them for a Marshall 50W clone for a client and he said the amp blew away his other '71 and '72 JMPs. Now, I used very good transformers in that amp as well as other premium parts but Sozo Vintage throughout. Very good note-to-note separation.

[Structo]

If I recall the Marshall guys over at the Metro forum liked the Sozo standards better than the premiums in the Lead amps for some reason, like they were closer to the old mustards.

There was a definite following for the standards and only specific uses where the premiums were specifically desired.

My memory isn't what it used to be but you should be able to zero in on it at Metro or maybe Roe will weigh in as I know he was a regular over there.

Using the standards will also help the pocket book.

I remember on one small 6V6 amp I used all Mallory's. It sounded fine but I thought I had to upgrade to Orange Drops so I recapped it with 6PS caps, but seeing as they are both polyester there probably wasn't that big of difference because I certainly couldn't hear it.

The Dumbles seem to like the 6PS caps and they are known for being pretty smooth.

[iknowjohnny]

If I recall the Marshall guys over at the Metro forum liked the Sozo standards better than the premiums in the Lead amps for some reason, like they were closer to the old mustards.

There was a definite following for the standards and only specific uses where the premiums were specifically desired.

Hmmm.....not sure if I wish you'd posted this before i ordered or not. Guess i won't know till I get them.

[Colossal]

Dude, don't sweat it. I bet in a blind taste test, *most* guys couldn't tell the difference between polypropylene and polyester or Sozo Vintage polyester or Sozo machine wound standard polyester. Now, this crowd isn't "most guys" so builders here have ears tuned to these subtle differences. But I'll be willing to bet you will be quite happy with the Vintage if that's what you ordered. You put about 30-50 hours on them and they are going to sound fantastic. Great mids, warm edges and that fuzzy velvety smooth finish. As I said, a gentlemen I built a 50W Marshall for said that amp blew away his original '71 and '72 and said "that's what a Marshall *should* sound like. I'm not shilling for Sozo, but parts with tight tolerances and quality materials and quality control are worth the cost premium in my opinion. I don't think you will be unhappy with the end result.

[iknowjohnny]

I'm not worried that they will sound great. I'm worried that the standard sozos i just put in last week will turn out to be so close that the extra $50 i spent today for the vintage ones will be a waste of money. But so far several people i respect believe they ARE worth over the standards so i'm hopeful.

[rdjones]

Can anyone here offer insight into what mechanism is at work in the "break-in" of signal capacitors ?
I'm not sure I can say I've heard it or that what I do hear couldn't be attributed to some other component(s).

I find myself in the situation of having a Blackface Bassman that's missing it's Blue Moldeds in one channel.
The amp is otherwise almost completely recapped.
What say ye'all about the Sozo Blues, or any other options ?
I was about to try to get some original Blues, but ...

So I'm reading these discussions about boutique caps with some sceptisism on one hand and genuine curiosity on the other.
Thanks for any comments.

rd

[iknowjohnny]

Can anyone here offer insight into what mechanism is at work in the "break-in" of signal capacitors ?

When in question, go to the source... http://www.sozoamplification.com/break_in.html

[Zippy]

I'm not worried that they will sound great. I'm worried that the standard sozos i just put in last week will turn out to be so close that the extra $50 i spent today for the vintage ones will be a waste of money. But so far several people i respect believe they ARE worth over the standards so i'm hopeful.

Concerned that your ears aren't sufficient to appreciating the extra expense?

[Colossal]

What say ye'all about the Sozo Blues, or any other options ?I was about to try to get some original Blues, but ...

RD,

I used Sozo's Blue Molded caps in a jazz amp and couldn't have been happier with them. Another fellow on this board used them in a Fender build and I believe reported good results (maybe do a search on Blue Moldeds). I thought they were worth the money and would use them again. Nice small form factor too.

[C Moore]

http://vintageamps.com/plexiboard/viewt ... 6&start=15

Read at least the first 2 pages, and especially RG Keens comments on page 2. I have never, ever seen a guy be able to tell what caps he was playing through if he Did Not Know what was in the amp. It is one thing to play through Mallory 150's, remove them, replace them with caps that cost more, and then say you prefer the tone for a plethora of reasons. It is another thing to be able to prove it in a real blind A/B test.
Anyway.....read the above link. RG addresses your question about "break-in" of capacitors.
Best

Can anyone here offer insight into what mechanism is at work in the "break-in" of signal capacitors ?
I'm not sure I can say I've heard it or that what I do hear couldn't be attributed to some other component(s).

I find myself in the situation of having a Blackface Bassman that's missing it's Blue Moldeds in one channel.
The amp is otherwise almost completely recapped.
What say ye'all about the Sozo Blues, or any other options ?
I was about to try to get some original Blues, but ...

So I'm reading these discussions about boutique caps with some sceptisism on one hand and genuine curiosity on the other.
Thanks for any comments.

rd

[mmmoser]

Just to try to contribute to the discussion, at the request of a customer's specific request, I built him this Brownface Pro using the Sozo blue caps. Now I don't keep an amp build around long enough when a customer is waiting for it to really play it enough to break in the caps- at least that I can tell- and they sounded very good right out of the box. They are a little bigger in size than a comparable original blue cap but they were very smooth sounding- the customer was a harp player and did not like orange drops in other amps he had.
There is something beautiful in all that blue however.

[iknowjohnny]

Thanks. I just got a great bit of info there ! I was kinda worried about the 100 hour break in thing, (tho i swear i feel mine are already sounding clearer at about 6 hours) especially since i ordered the premiums yesterday and have to start over again braking in. Someone in that thread mentioned looping music thru the amp with a load. Perfect ! I have a 100 watt load so i can just leat the thing run with the volume low enough so as to keep the load cool and let it go all day for a few days. Good thread, gotta go read the rest. Thanks

http://vintageamps.com/plexiboard/viewt ... 6&start=15

Read at least the first 2 pages, and especially RG Keens comments on page 2. I have never, ever seen a guy be able to tell what caps he was playing through if he Did Not Know what was in the amp. It is one thing to play through Mallory 150's, remove them, replace them with caps that cost more, and then say you prefer the tone for a plethora of reasons. It is another thing to be able to prove it in a real blind A/B test.
Anyway.....read the above link. RG addresses your question about "break-in" of capacitors.
Best

Can anyone here offer insight into what mechanism is at work in the "break-in" of signal capacitors ?
I'm not sure I can say I've heard it or that what I do hear couldn't be attributed to some other component(s).

I find myself in the situation of having a Blackface Bassman that's missing it's Blue Moldeds in one channel.
The amp is otherwise almost completely recapped.
What say ye'all about the Sozo Blues, or any other options ?
I was about to try to get some original Blues, but ...

So I'm reading these discussions about boutique caps with some sceptisism on one hand and genuine curiosity on the other.
Thanks for any comments.

rd