nurse quacky question

[thomas2]

just a quick question about the nurse quacky circuit.. what transistor can i use to substitute the 2n3904? would 2n2222 maybe work? please.. anyone?  :lol:

[strungout]

Oy.

I have used both in the circuit and they worked fine. Basically, any NPN with the right pinout should work, tho there will be difference in sensitivity of the tranny depending on the gain.

Ciao.

[thomas2]

yeah? the previous one i built worked fine (it had that 2n3904), but this one seems to work only when i hit the strings as hard as i can  :lol:  gonna take the transistor away and use a socket   :wink:

[thomas2]

(and try different transistors)  :lol:

[thomas2]

i did it  :lol:  only made it worse.. maybe those ultra cheap ic sockets aren't that good for transistor sockets    now there's no sound.. though it's ok since i know there must be some problem with the transistor section anyways.... thanks for the quick reply

[Transmogrifox]

In my opinion, the Dr.Q/Dri Quack/Nurse Quacky filter deal is not a good sounding set-up.  It took me a long time dinking on my breadboard before I got it to sound ok.  This included using a resistor (I think I was satisfied with 2.2k) in the emitter of the transistor, a little more series resistance (bigger than 22k)...and some more envelope follower filtering made a huge difference.

If you attenuate your signal and then amplify after the filter, it will help cure some of the added distortion.

I did find that the 3904 worked the best off all I tried.  I attempted JFETs, MOSFETs, 2N5088 and determined the 2N3904 type is best....so I think a 2222 transistor would be ok.  I think lower gain is better, so a TO22 package power BJT may be a good try, or a 2N4124 is probably not a bad choice, either.

[thomas2]

i want to take the range and attack pots away.. didn't find any use for them.  :twisted:

[thomas2]

hi again.. i just wanted to ask if someone knows how i could make the circuit more sensitive.. i tried it today with a strat and noticed that i really need to hit the strings hard when i played single notes to get it working.. i used 2n2222 for the transistor.. could that make the difference? or is there any other components i could change to make it more sensitive  :lol:

[thomas2]

works great with humbucker pickups though..
i'm only asking because i need to know the components that have effect on the sensitivity. i really don't know how the circuit works and which components make the effect.

[Torchy]

strungout had an article describing the circuitry in depth, not sure its still there but try http://www.freewebs.com/fkstilt/

[thomas2]

thanks man!!! there's an answer to just about every question i have about this circuit in that site!!  :lol: just great..

[strungout]

now...why didn't I think of suggesting that site  :?

glad you found it useful, thomas

Ciao.

[thomas2]

OOPS!!! sorry about that.. i don't know how i could have missed your post the last time  :lol:  or my memory just sucks.. who knows.. but yeah!! that site rocks.. now i have a chance to learn how envelope filters work..
and i've noticed that the first time in history i don't get so damn frustrated when these projects won't start working the first time i plug them in.. mainly because i now have some idea where to look for the problem..
i still have to get back to the anderton bi-filter i was trying to build earlier.. just thought i build a few nurse quacky's first  :lol:  but again.. thanks for the site..