Your opinions on Small Bear's Germanium transistors.

[Burstbucker]

I've had great experiences dealing with Small Bear Electronics in the past.  I've noticed that Steve is now offering 3 different Germanium transistors for Treble Boosters instead of just one.  

One transistor is an old-stock Japanese-made PNP($4.00), another one is an old-stock U.S.-made PNP($6.00), and finally an old-stock U.S.-made NPN($7.00).
I'm just wondering if there's any significant difference in tone between any of these?  

Also, how big of a difference does it make in your Rangemaster clone if you can track down some old vintage Mullard OC44 transistors?  Is the final result any better than what you would get with Small Bear's transistors?  I'm wondering if it's mostly hype and if they really are the holy grail of great tone, where can they be found and how much can you expect to pay for these little wonders?

Please chime in everybody.

[mikeb]

Also, how big of a difference does it make in your Rangemaster clone if you can track down some old vintage Mullard OC44 transistors?

Bugger all, IMHO. But I'm cynical that way ... it's hard to tell just from manufacturers of Rangemaster clones because most of them hype the hell out of their particular choices for the Ge transistors. After all, when there's only one active component in a circuit you have to find SOMETHING to hype. Whatever Steve has I'm sure it will get you 95-99% of the way towards the 'best' tone .... just use a socket for the transistor in case some of those OC44s fall into your lap!

Disclaimer: I'm not a guitarist and hence don't have the 'ears' others do around here.

Mike

[bwanasonic]

I have tried a number of different Ge trannies in the RM clone I built, and they all sound different. I really like the OC44 and the CV7003, and would certainly keep an eye out for them, but don't  expect earth shattering differences. As to the selection steve offers now - this is a perfect chance to hear the differences yourself! Buy all three and see which you prefer.

Kerry M

[smallbearelec]

No throwing tomatoes, please...

I had a chance to try a couple of the fabled OCxx that a boutiquer (for whom I had done a major favor) sent me. This is hardly a large sampling, but maybe others can confirm what I heard.

They are QUIET; less background noise than my American or Japanese, which is always good. As for tone, I find the treble boost subtle and soft, no "dirt" and only a little "groove" in it. The ones I sell are funkier. Whether you like that will be personal taste.

Actually getting hold of any of the European types is, of course, another issue. I never attempted to stock them while they were still readily available, which may have been a mistake. They are now seriously hoarded by the few brokers who have them, and they command very high prices. As for the Cave, I will be able to supply DIYers with PNP devices of decent quality for some years from my own stock, and I expect to be able to keep prices stable.

[Steben]

I'm sure the difference in tone is somewhat related to transfer characteristics off course (knee voltage etc...), but I guess the internal resistance of the transistor is very important for the low-roll-off at the input (typical around 10k ohms). I really think some circuits may be tweaked to sound the same in frequency response by changing the input cap (a bit).
I simply use a AC128 and it sounds just good with 0.0057µF input capacity. First I used 0.0047 but then I put a 0.001 parallel and it just sounded better.