Naive question: Resistors 1/4w the standard? Caps, 50 VDC?

[nihoneiga]

Hi there, I've built up a couple of pedals with satisfaction but I'm still trying to get my head around the subtle differences that make great verses good sound. When selecting resistors do people generally use 1/4w size? On one of the first pedals I made it just said, "all resistors 1/4w" so I've used that size by default ever since but since there are 1/2w appearing on some old pedal projects I was wondering if some experienced members could demystify the difference between 1/4w and 1/2w in terms of sound, personal preferences etc?

Also, continuing down this line of inquiry, what about capacitors and electrolytics? Is there a 'good' VDC for caps in a 9v or 12v powered pedal? I've been using mainly 50 VDC caps and electrolytics but there seems to be a big range out there. Since it seems that cap values play a big roll in the sound of the pedal I was wondering if for example using a 1nf cap, would 50 VDC sound different from 100 VDC?

Or maybe someone has already gone over this in the FAQs...

If not, some basic recommended guidelines could be helpful (or contentious!)

cheers and thanks

[lolbou]

Hi!

For two metal film resistors, between 1/4W and 1/2W, only the power rating changes. And the size too. When it comes up to real big wattages, then the manufacturing of the resistor can affect the sound (inductance)...

As for caps, when working up to 12V, you can use 35V. But 50V works ok.

I don't think that the voltage of caps affects the tone. Again, is some how make them bigger... For sure the type of cap changes a lot more...