There was a user having a bit of problems with the Rocket. I decided it’s been a while since I used this pedal, so I built one the other night. It took about an hour and a half to complete. At first I used hi-gain 2N5089 transistors in it. To me, they have too much gain for this circuit. Here’s a snippet:

Rocket with 2N5089

As you can hear, it has TONS of distortion – so much so that the attack of the notes are totally saturated.

I experimented with 2N3904 and PN2369A (lower gain transistors).

Here is the Rocket with PN2369A in the buffer and for the 2nd transistor slot. I used a 2N5089 for the last transistor. I think it sounds more “controlled” this way.

Rocket with lower gain transistors.