Highway 89 transistor: will 2n3904 sound good????

[Alpha579]

Hi all,
Doug's Highway 89 build has a great reputation around here, so i have bought all the bits from my local Jaycar, except the transistors. All Jaycar have are 2n3904, so will these work/sound good?
Thanks for all input,
Alex

[Alpha579]

ive found i also have some pn100/pn100a's, BC548b's, BC549c's, BC559b's, BC557b's, BC558b's, and some BC547b's... i would prefer to use the 2n3904's, but would any of these work better?

Alex

[b_rogers]

i would use the 547b's.  they are way less noisy than the 3904's.

[Gringo]

You can also try the bc549c.

[b_rogers]

ooops i didnt see c's  i have the b's in my hwy 89 and it sounds great...socket the trannies and let us know what sounds best

[petemoore]

There are 'better' ones IMO for that than the 3904...
 Socket them so you can A/B test.
 Isn't that a Doug H. design?
 I don't see the Hwy 89 schematic there...
 I got a sheet around here somewhere with that on it...
 I would like to just print it out again tho, then build it and let you know what I think?
 Is there a link to the schematic?

[travissk]

There isn't a link to the schematic, but if you email Doug he will send you a copy. Awesome pedal

[Alpha579]

email doug for the schematic...

Yeh, i guess the best idea is to socket the trannies and see what sounds best...

[Joe Davisson]

2N3904 could work, but the biasing will change, and the gain will be lower unless compensated for. This requires some work on the breadboard to fix.

BC549 seems like your best choice out of the pickin's.

-Joe

[Alpha579]

whens small bear elec coming back?

[Paul Marossy]

I love my H89, too. Doug is the tonemeister dude.  
Check the archives, there was someone who suggested a mod that involved changing a cap value. The issue was that certain amps made it sound thin, but other amps made it sound fat. The cap mod was supposed to help with that, and I did it mine, but I can't remember all the details.

[Alpha579]

what sort of tone stack does your amp use Paul?

[Paul Marossy]

Mostly, I play thru my '74 Twin Reverb or my Hot Rod DeVille. It seems to sound better with my '74 Twin, I think the tone stack is different on the Hot Rod DeVille. I haven't tried it yet with any of my other amps.

[Alpha579]

my ampeg only has one tone control, so hopefully it wont affect the sound too much...

[Paul Marossy]

Well, let us know how it works with your amp. I am curious to see it sounds with a single tone control type of amp.