Tantalum Capacitor Question

Dr Tony Balls · Post by **Dr Tony Balls** » 15 Jan 2010, 14:18

okay, so a lot of circuits seem to expressly call for tantalum caps in certain spots. The Klon and the Fulltone OCD are two that come to my mind, and both of those are 1uF caps. My question is do these capacitors HAVE TO be tantalums, or is tantalum just suggested because a large-ish cap is needed and it needs to be non-polarized?

i.e. could one substitute for a film cap of the same value, or is there something special about the tantalum?

mojah63 · Post by **mojah63** » 15 Jan 2010, 20:19

They sound different... I personally don't like them much in the signal path
but Fuller and others put them there for a reason... Do a search here and at the
"other" forum for why they sound different. I forget the details..

roseblood11 · Post by **roseblood11** » 15 Jan 2010, 21:22

Dr Tony Balls wrote:or is tantalum just suggested because a large-ish cap is needed and it needs to be non-polarized?

tantalum caps ARE polarized!!

Dr Tony Balls · Post by **Dr Tony Balls** » 15 Jan 2010, 22:01

roseblood11 wrote:
Dr Tony Balls wrote:or is tantalum just suggested because a large-ish cap is needed and it needs to be non-polarized?

tantalum caps ARE polarized!!

well......isnt there egg on my face...

I swear I have seen more than one layout (verified at that!!) calling for tantalums that dont specify polarity..... I will keep an eye out.