BC109's in a wah project...worth the trouble of sourcing or fuhgeddaboutit?

[skiraly017]

I'm contemplating a wah project based around the coveted Vox Clyde McCoy. Several schematics show the use of BC109 trannies.

1) Is it worth sourcing them?
2) Can they be used for other projects?
3) What would be the baseline measurements for use in a wah or does it really matter?
4) Is there a better choice for trannies?
5) Any words of wisdom/warning for purchasing NOS BC109's?

A wah would be a new project for me, so I'll apologize upfront if I ask stupid questions. Thanks for the help.

[jonathan perez]

...ive got bunch of bc109s, and ive found that the sound they produce is very unique...described by my as rather "bright and rich". recently i came across an old clyde mccoy with BC173b transistors and it sounded VERY good (to my ears.) ive got some to spare, PM me if you want fish caps, box caps, or a few bc109b trannys, as i dont have much.

they can be used in Fuzzes and produce a unique effect as well.

i havent had any problems with them yet...so...its worth a shot?

[AL]

Small Bear has work-alike's

http://www.smallbearelec.com/home.html

and Futurlec has two kinds

http://www.futurlec.com/TransGenBC.shtml

Be careful ordering from Futurlec. I ordered from the once and had no issues. Others haven't been so lucky.

AL

[reverberation66]

I don't know about a wah, but I built a bc109 based fuzz and it's the only one that sees any use, the tone is better to my ears than either the germanium fuzzface or the fuzzrite I built. Yeah, jury is still out on futurlec but it's not looking good at the moment...My first order that I placed two or three weeks ago still hasn't been shipped, my second order was supposedly shipped 6 days ago but I still haven't received it...I dunno about that place, they've got lots of cool stuff and prices are very reasonable but I'd think twice about ordering from there if you want the stuff any time soon. 

[A.S.P.]

the BC109 was the bread&butter transistor in any "lownoise" "HiFi" circuit from the late 60`s to 80`s in Europe...

ought to be found by the millions, in old surplus gear.

the most fun to be made out of that whole BC1XX family series however,
was fileing/sawing off the top of the metal can,
which accepted an LED perfectly,
and have it made light-dependant.

(Those were the times before opto-couplers became cheaply available...)

[Bernardduur]

I LOVE the 109's in a wah pedal..... tried a lot of other transistors but always came back to this small cans.

[Ed G.]

I got the ones from Steve...I guess they were the work-alike but they were marked BC109C, if I remember right...I thought they sounded rather dull. I'm going to have to look and see what I had.

[waldo041]

2 observation's i found to be very useful in tranny selection.

bc109b NOS are best, bc108c are good for a warmer tone, don't use anything above 420hfe,
2n5172 are really thick and bassy, but the bc109b are more "british" sounding

For great tone keep your transistors in the 300 or less HFE range.

this is a great wah thread.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=42095.0

peace,
waldo

[Paul Marossy]

I have two wah pedals that I put BC109s in. I can't hear much of a difference, personally speaking. I still like the modern low noise transistors like the MPSA18 and 2N5089 better because they are quieter - less hiss.

[skiraly017]

...ive got bunch of bc109s, and ive found that the sound they produce is very unique...described by my as rather "bright and rich". recently i came across an old clyde mccoy with BC173b transistors and it sounded VERY good (to my ears.) ive got some to spare, PM me if you want fish caps, box caps, or a few bc109b trannys, as i dont have much.

they can be used in Fuzzes and produce a unique effect as well.

i havent had any problems with them yet...so...its worth a shot?

PM sent. Thanks.