Paper foil caps
Esquires were fitted with brown .05MFD Cornell Dubilier tubular paper foil capacitors, which became shorter and lighter during late 1952. The Allen-Bradley 2.5K carbon resistor used on single pickup Esquires came wrapped in tape with two .5MFD Cornell Dubilier paper foil capacitors and after the mid-‘50s was replaced by a 3.3K unit.
Broadcasters and Telecasters at first featured one brown 0.05MDF Cornell Dubilier paper foil capacitor between the switch and the volume pot. When Leo Fender modified the Telecaster’s electronics at the end of 1952, replacing the blend with a tone control, the .05MDF cap soldered to the volume pot was replaced by the brown “phone book” .1MFD version and a .05MDF cap was fitted between the two pots. The brown .1MFD phone book cap was used until 1957, when it changed to the white version.
Both .05MFD and .1MFD capacitors were recognizable by their electronic value and specs written in black/blue lettering, respectively “ZYW 1S5 - .05MFD” and “ZNW 1P1 - .1MFD”.
Up to the mid-50s, the paper capacitors were often waxed.
Broadcasters and Telecasters at first featured one brown 0.05MDF Cornell Dubilier paper foil capacitor between the switch and the volume pot. When Leo Fender modified the Telecaster’s electronics at the end of 1952, replacing the blend with a tone control, the .05MDF cap soldered to the volume pot was replaced by the brown “phone book” .1MFD version and a .05MDF cap was fitted between the two pots. The brown .1MFD phone book cap was used until 1957, when it changed to the white version.
Both .05MFD and .1MFD capacitors were recognizable by their electronic value and specs written in black/blue lettering, respectively “ZYW 1S5 - .05MFD” and “ZNW 1P1 - .1MFD”.
Up to the mid-50s, the paper capacitors were often waxed.
Ceramic and Mylar caps
Starting from 1961, Fender gradually replaced paper capacitors with ceramic disks, of specific colors according to the electronic value and the period of issue.
In the early '70s, Fender first used .022 MFD mylar capacitors on Telecasters models equipped with humbuckers. They were recognizable by their oblong shape and (usually) dark blue or orange color. Mixed assemblies with one ceramic and one mylar capacitor can be found on '80s Standard Telecasters. |