Germanium Wah??

[Markusk]

Hi out there,
is there anyone who ever build a Wah with Germanium trans? Has anyo. a schem for one :?:

[R.G.]

You may want to read the Guitar Effects FAQ at GEO.

There is no magic in something simply being germanium. There are a very few selected circuits where germanium's unique characteristics are useful, even critical. For all others, there is no mojo in something merely being germanium. What it does is expose all of germanium's problems without any advantages.

It is possible to make a germanium wah. It's just that the classic inductor wah is one place where germanium offers no advantages to offset its disadvantages.

[Roland]

Most wahs out there use high gain low noise transistors. I think a germanium transistor wah utilizing very low hfe values would make an interesting build . I ran into a situation where a very special fuzz would not work with an even more special wah . It turned out that this wah used very low hfe transistors.

Another factor would be the overdrive characteristics should the wah be overdriven.

[Paul Marossy]

They might be kinda cool in a fuzz-wah...

[Stuart]

Marshall Supa Wahs had germanium transistors.  Low gain, so a very thin tone with no low end.  Stick with silicon for wahs.

[Arno van der Heijden]

Stuart, what gains do you recommend for the classic wah sound?
Does it matter which transistor has highest gain?

[phillip]

Back when I built my Clyde McCoy clone, Stuart advised be to use transistors with gains of between 300 -350.  A pair of BC109Bs do the trick perfectly, and they sound superb.  I've been using BC109Bs with those gains in almost all the wahs that I've modified.

The highest gain transistor should go in Q1 and the lowest gain in Q2.

Phillip

[petemoore]

I have two V847's.
 #1 has the MPSA18's.
 #2 uses BC109's.
 They sound different...
 Can anyone help Identify the Inductors?
 #1 has a black-grey can, flat top,
 #2 has a Black grey can, but with what looks like an epoxied over nut & threads.