Amp tinkerers... Sozo Royal 67 review

[Vrad]

So I put 4 Royal 67's in my '71 Super Lead last night. These caps replaced JJ's 50ufx50uf that I had throughout the amp.

The filtering currently is:
2 100uf in series on the Mains
2 100uf in series on Screens
1 32ufx32uf on the Preamp
1 32ufx32uf on the PI

So how does it sound!?
Well, the amp has a much softer, sweeter tone. I would say more vintage. Has more sag, but in a good way. It feels like it has more gain, yet it cleans up REALLY nice.

The highs were a bit ice-picky with the JJ's, they're alot smoother now.

Overall, the caps still need to break-in and I need to play some more. However, the initial change is positive.

 

[tweed]

and some clips biatch!

 

[Vrad]

Yeah yeah yeah...

 

[tweed]

Yeah yeah yeah...

That's what she said...

 

[Meathead]

 

[Vrad]

LOL!
They're blue caps!
http://www.sozoamplification.com/royal67_purchase.html

 

[tweed]

 

[Vrad]

Nice cock!

 

[thegame]

Have you tried other brands of caps over the years? If so can you describe the affect on the tone they had ?

 

[Vrad]

Have you tried other brands of caps over the years? If so can you describe the affect on the tone they had ?

I had the amp recapped when I got it (had original Hunts caps) with JJ's. They sound fine. Durable caps. The amp was tighter with those. Also the highs seemed more aggressive. The new caps are F&T's in the Preamp and PI position. They have a lower capacitance and thus provide LESS filtering. Less filtering gives a softer, saggier feel. The Sozo's are replica's of the original Hunts caps that Marshall used back in the late 60's. The current filter cap configuration has a softer more vintage attack. The highs are less aggressive and the feel is great! The amp cleans up REALLY well with the volume knob, yet FEELs like it has more gain.

 

[stratotone]

Just want to confirm here... you're talking about caps in the power section only, right?

Pete

 

[Vrad]

Just want to confirm here... you're talking about caps in the power section only, right?

Pete

In this particular instance, yes. The filter caps. I have used Sozo signal caps before.

 

[stratotone]

Just want to confirm here... you're talking about caps in the power section only, right?

Pete

In this particular instance, yes. The filter caps. I have used Sozo signal caps before.

I did a comparison clip on a Marshall 18 watt clone I built with Sozo's, OD's and regular mallory caps. Sozos sounded like shit at first, after about 50 hours they were better, sounded slightly better than the mallories at that point. What I did was made a direct clip of a guitar, then played it through each set of caps and recorded the results. Since I used the same cab (amp was a head) I kept the cab, mic and recorder placement alike. I also verified the values on all caps. Of course, I was told after this that I was using the inferior OLD sozos, and the new more expensive ones were the way to go. At that point I'd buy Sozos if I wanted something that looked cool, but sounded pretty much like the Mallory caps. I tend to prefer poly OD's in general, just seem to be brighter and less murk in the mids.

So what's the Sozo explanation for how power supply filtering is supposed to do so much for an amp tone-wise? I can see losing a little high end if you're dropping B+ voltage, but you can do that with a zener diode that would probably be a lot cheaper than the boutique caps.

Pete

 

[Vrad]

Just want to confirm here... you're talking about caps in the power section only, right?

Pete

In this particular instance, yes. The filter caps. I have used Sozo signal caps before.

I did a comparison clip on a Marshall 18 watt clone I built with Sozo's, OD's and regular mallory caps. Sozos sounded like shit at first, after about 50 hours they were better, sounded slightly better than the mallories at that point. What I did was made a direct clip of a guitar, then played it through each set of caps and recorded the results. Since I used the same cab (amp was a head) I kept the cab, mic and recorder placement alike. I also verified the values on all caps. Of course, I was told after this that I was using the inferior OLD sozos, and the new more expensive ones were the way to go. At that point I'd buy Sozos if I wanted something that looked cool, but sounded pretty much like the Mallory caps. I tend to prefer poly OD's in general, just seem to be brighter and less murk in the mids.

So what's the Sozo explanation for how power supply filtering is supposed to do so much for an amp tone-wise? I can see losing a little high end if you're dropping B+ voltage, but you can do that with a zener diode that would probably be a lot cheaper than the boutique caps.

Pete

I didn't like Mallory 150's at all. Thought they sounded murky, harsh and undefined. I had the old Sozo's and they were ok. I've since switched to original Mustards and those things are incredible.

These caps are replicas of the old Hunts filter caps that Marshall used back in the day and indeed, they do sound 'old'. I wouldn't say it's the same thing as browning out the amp by lowering the B+. It's just more vintage-sounding. Warmer, spongier.. etc... They're supposed to be VERY high-quality caps. I figured I'd give them a shot and I like them so far. I'll see how it goes as they break in.

 

[stratotone]

Just want to confirm here... you're talking about caps in the power section only, right?

Pete

In this particular instance, yes. The filter caps. I have used Sozo signal caps before.

I did a comparison clip on a Marshall 18 watt clone I built with Sozo's, OD's and regular mallory caps. Sozos sounded like shit at first, after about 50 hours they were better, sounded slightly better than the mallories at that point. What I did was made a direct clip of a guitar, then played it through each set of caps and recorded the results. Since I used the same cab (amp was a head) I kept the cab, mic and recorder placement alike. I also verified the values on all caps. Of course, I was told after this that I was using the inferior OLD sozos, and the new more expensive ones were the way to go. At that point I'd buy Sozos if I wanted something that looked cool, but sounded pretty much like the Mallory caps. I tend to prefer poly OD's in general, just seem to be brighter and less murk in the mids.

So what's the Sozo explanation for how power supply filtering is supposed to do so much for an amp tone-wise? I can see losing a little high end if you're dropping B+ voltage, but you can do that with a zener diode that would probably be a lot cheaper than the boutique caps.

Pete

I didn't like Mallory 150's at all. Thought they sounded murky, harsh and undefined. I had the old Sozo's and they were ok. I've since switched to original Mustards and those things are incredible.

These caps are replicas of the old Hunts filter caps that Marshall used back in the day and indeed, they do sound 'old'. I wouldn't say it's the same thing as browning out the amp by lowering the B+. It's just more vintage-sounding. Warmer, spongier.. etc... They're supposed to be VERY high-quality caps. I figured I'd give them a shot and I like them so far. I'll see how it goes as they break in.

Didn't hear that in the mallory 150s on my builds, but hey, we all hear stuff differently. Might want to try some of the Mojo Dijon caps, heard they were pretty amazing but haven't used any yet.

Well, other than affecting the B+ and the sag characteristics, I don't see how they are affecting the tone since they aren't in the signal path. Just my opinion though. If you're building your own amp, might as well put the parts you want in the first place!

Pete

 

[tonmazz]

Awesome. I have an 800 coming in, time to tinker again, I missed it. Havn't really planned out what I'm going to do yet. Was thinking of throwing in the Caps I pulled out of an old 78 JMP, they worked fine just changed them to be safe. I'll consider your suggestion once I hear this thing. Thanks

 

[Vrad]

Just want to confirm here... you're talking about caps in the power section only, right?

Pete

In this particular instance, yes. The filter caps. I have used Sozo signal caps before.

I did a comparison clip on a Marshall 18 watt clone I built with Sozo's, OD's and regular mallory caps. Sozos sounded like shit at first, after about 50 hours they were better, sounded slightly better than the mallories at that point. What I did was made a direct clip of a guitar, then played it through each set of caps and recorded the results. Since I used the same cab (amp was a head) I kept the cab, mic and recorder placement alike. I also verified the values on all caps. Of course, I was told after this that I was using the inferior OLD sozos, and the new more expensive ones were the way to go. At that point I'd buy Sozos if I wanted something that looked cool, but sounded pretty much like the Mallory caps. I tend to prefer poly OD's in general, just seem to be brighter and less murk in the mids.

So what's the Sozo explanation for how power supply filtering is supposed to do so much for an amp tone-wise? I can see losing a little high end if you're dropping B+ voltage, but you can do that with a zener diode that would probably be a lot cheaper than the boutique caps.

Pete

I didn't like Mallory 150's at all. Thought they sounded murky, harsh and undefined. I had the old Sozo's and they were ok. I've since switched to original Mustards and those things are incredible.

These caps are replicas of the old Hunts filter caps that Marshall used back in the day and indeed, they do sound 'old'. I wouldn't say it's the same thing as browning out the amp by lowering the B+. It's just more vintage-sounding. Warmer, spongier.. etc... They're supposed to be VERY high-quality caps. I figured I'd give them a shot and I like them so far. I'll see how it goes as they break in.

Didn't hear that in the mallory 150s on my builds, but hey, we all hear stuff differently. Might want to try some of the Mojo Dijon caps, heard they were pretty amazing but haven't used any yet.

Well, other than affecting the B+ and the sag characteristics, I don't see how they are affecting the tone since they aren't in the signal path. Just my opinion though. If you're building your own amp, might as well put the parts you want in the first place!

Pete

Well they did affect the high-end so not sure it's entirely true that they don't affect tone.

 

[Vrad]

Awesome. I have an 800 coming in, time to tinker again, I missed it. Havn't really planned out what I'm going to do yet. Was thinking of throwing in the Caps I pulled out of an old 78 JMP, they worked fine just changed them to be safe. I'll consider your suggestion once I hear this thing. Thanks

I go in spurts...
I play... then I get the urge to tinker... but it's been less and less..

 

[stratotone]

Just want to confirm here... you're talking about caps in the power section only, right?

Pete

In this particular instance, yes. The filter caps. I have used Sozo signal caps before.

I did a comparison clip on a Marshall 18 watt clone I built with Sozo's, OD's and regular mallory caps. Sozos sounded like shit at first, after about 50 hours they were better, sounded slightly better than the mallories at that point. What I did was made a direct clip of a guitar, then played it through each set of caps and recorded the results. Since I used the same cab (amp was a head) I kept the cab, mic and recorder placement alike. I also verified the values on all caps. Of course, I was told after this that I was using the inferior OLD sozos, and the new more expensive ones were the way to go. At that point I'd buy Sozos if I wanted something that looked cool, but sounded pretty much like the Mallory caps. I tend to prefer poly OD's in general, just seem to be brighter and less murk in the mids.

So what's the Sozo explanation for how power supply filtering is supposed to do so much for an amp tone-wise? I can see losing a little high end if you're dropping B+ voltage, but you can do that with a zener diode that would probably be a lot cheaper than the boutique caps.

Pete

I didn't like Mallory 150's at all. Thought they sounded murky, harsh and undefined. I had the old Sozo's and they were ok. I've since switched to original Mustards and those things are incredible.

These caps are replicas of the old Hunts filter caps that Marshall used back in the day and indeed, they do sound 'old'. I wouldn't say it's the same thing as browning out the amp by lowering the B+. It's just more vintage-sounding. Warmer, spongier.. etc... They're supposed to be VERY high-quality caps. I figured I'd give them a shot and I like them so far. I'll see how it goes as they break in.

Didn't hear that in the mallory 150s on my builds, but hey, we all hear stuff differently. Might want to try some of the Mojo Dijon caps, heard they were pretty amazing but haven't used any yet.

Well, other than affecting the B+ and the sag characteristics, I don't see how they are affecting the tone since they aren't in the signal path. Just my opinion though. If you're building your own amp, might as well put the parts you want in the first place!

Pete

Well they did affect the high-end so not sure it's entirely true that they don't affect tone.

Plate voltage can change the tone. That's where I think your tonal change is coming from - the caps are altering the plate voltage from what you had before. Did you measure your B+ before and after the mod?

Pete

 

[Vrad]

Just want to confirm here... you're talking about caps in the power section only, right?

Pete

In this particular instance, yes. The filter caps. I have used Sozo signal caps before.

I did a comparison clip on a Marshall 18 watt clone I built with Sozo's, OD's and regular mallory caps. Sozos sounded like shit at first, after about 50 hours they were better, sounded slightly better than the mallories at that point. What I did was made a direct clip of a guitar, then played it through each set of caps and recorded the results. Since I used the same cab (amp was a head) I kept the cab, mic and recorder placement alike. I also verified the values on all caps. Of course, I was told after this that I was using the inferior OLD sozos, and the new more expensive ones were the way to go. At that point I'd buy Sozos if I wanted something that looked cool, but sounded pretty much like the Mallory caps. I tend to prefer poly OD's in general, just seem to be brighter and less murk in the mids.

So what's the Sozo explanation for how power supply filtering is supposed to do so much for an amp tone-wise? I can see losing a little high end if you're dropping B+ voltage, but you can do that with a zener diode that would probably be a lot cheaper than the boutique caps.

Pete

I didn't like Mallory 150's at all. Thought they sounded murky, harsh and undefined. I had the old Sozo's and they were ok. I've since switched to original Mustards and those things are incredible.

These caps are replicas of the old Hunts filter caps that Marshall used back in the day and indeed, they do sound 'old'. I wouldn't say it's the same thing as browning out the amp by lowering the B+. It's just more vintage-sounding. Warmer, spongier.. etc... They're supposed to be VERY high-quality caps. I figured I'd give them a shot and I like them so far. I'll see how it goes as they break in.

Didn't hear that in the mallory 150s on my builds, but hey, we all hear stuff differently. Might want to try some of the Mojo Dijon caps, heard they were pretty amazing but haven't used any yet.

Well, other than affecting the B+ and the sag characteristics, I don't see how they are affecting the tone since they aren't in the signal path. Just my opinion though. If you're building your own amp, might as well put the parts you want in the first place!

Pete

Well they did affect the high-end so not sure it's entirely true that they don't affect tone.

Plate voltage can change the tone. That's where I think your tonal change is coming from - the caps are altering the plate voltage from what you had before. Did you measure your B+ before and after the mod?

Pete

I agree there.
I haven't measured the plate voltage after, but before it was hovering around 500v. But I'm finding that any capacitor change impacts tone. I can hear not only values, but ratings and materials.