Wiring a cheap Palmer V

[mathman]

5 minutes ago, Hbom said:

New switch. New pots. Might as well go all the way and do new caps too. Even the fancy boutique capacitors are pretty cheap in the overall scheme of what you are doing.

 

22 or 47?  does it really matter?

[Hbom]

2 minutes ago, mathman said:

22 or 47?  does it really matter?

It can. Depends on your ear. If you're not sure, you can drop 2 wires out the back of the cavity and use alligator clips to run through a few different caps till you find the value that fits best.

[hamerhead]

3 hours ago, Dave Scepter said:

 That's exactly what I was saying...

Sorry. I meant to say 2 tones, using the concentric pot.

[Dave Scepter]

7 minutes ago, hamerhead said:

Sorry. I meant to say 2 tones, using the concentric pot.

Loser 🙄

[mathman]

Well I got the basic wiring done but the main volume pot I bought won’t fit now that the pickup wires are ran through the body.  Beginner mistake. The pot fit without the pickup wire pushed through but the outlet opening is right beside the pot.  Bought a smaller pot that will be here tomorrow.

[hamerhead]

6 hours ago, Dave Scepter said:

Loser 🙄

It's one better.

[velorush]

On 12/7/2025 at 12:01 PM, mathman said:

22 or 47?  does it really matter?

IMO, it will make a significant difference. 

The Tone control works by shunting treble to ground. The value of the capacitor determines the frequency at which treble frequencies are shunted. The higher the value the lower the frequency where the shunting takes place - the practical result is, the higher the capacitor value the more treble you'll perceive going away as the Tone control rolls to zero. I like 0.022µF for Humbuckers (and really, most Strat single coils). Hamer's convention was to use a 0.015µF - that always led me to normally run a Hamer Tone control on around 5 and adjust up or down from there. It was actually more useful in most situations.

Caps are cheap, so experimentation is an inexpensive means to getting what you want. I personally don't buy into the snake oil and don't spend huge money on the boutique capacitors, but everyone needs a hobby...