I just did this for fun tonight. Havent tested it.
Where do vendors get off with the prices of germanium transistor. I'll get some soon but i just wondered where you guys get your please.
UK based.
I saw a china man selling 10 NOS on evil bay for over 24 of our english pounds.
I call that daylight robbery or am i wrong?
how much should i expect to pay?
it is always a robbery when you buy from china. buying germanium transistors on ebay is like buying elvis sweat in a jar.
1) its rare
2) people fake it
3) you will sometimes never know if it is really elvis's sweat that you are buying.
4) its ebay so there are idiots on both sides of the sale if you look hard enough.
I got a lot from ebay seller minifux1, he's in Germany and always delivers them pretty quick.
Germanium is always expensive because nobody makes it anymore and nothing else sounds quite like it. The issue becomes what you get for your 2.4 quid per device.
At that price (Maybe $4.00 each US?), the devices are probably unsorted. So, if they are a decent lot, maybe you will get 3 to 5 that are suitable for a Fuzz Face, Fuzz Factory, etc. But it's very much a crapshoot (Americanese for "gamble.") You can also pay someone anywhere from $6 to $10 per device for a matched pair. You only get two devices, but for the money you have the right to insist that the parts sound "like a FF" and not be hissy. Since you're in Europe, I'll tell you that Banzai and Musikding have good reputations. If you need stuff from across the pond and are OK with paying the recently increased US Postal Service tariff, shop with me:
http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/StoreFront
Regards
SD
Quote from: Kipper4 on March 12, 2013, 05:24:22 PM
I just did this for fun tonight. Havent tested it.
Where do vendors get off with the prices of germanium transistor. I'll get some soon but i just wondered where you guys get your please.
UK based.
I saw a china man selling 10 NOS on evil bay for over 24 of our english pounds.
I call that daylight robbery or am i wrong?
how much should i expect to pay?
I m searching for a nice pcb layout. Lately im so lazy to try and make pedals using my brain, schematic and a raster board. I guess that B.A. pharaoh did that to me. So could you share your pcb layout plz.
Anyhow when I've first made factory for myself I've used a matched pair of 2sb303's. Low leakage and nice sounding in fuzz face. And factory sounded like crap with them ... no oscillations, no crazy sounds. Just plain unbiased tonebender. Than i've got some Russian ge's. Matched pair. Very low leakage, even lower than 2sb303's. Nothing .... that sound just wasn't there. For fun i've placed unmatched pair of ac 188's. Boom. Oscillations, craziness, sustain, octave up and down, gated fuzz ... you name it.
Quote from: Kipper4 on March 12, 2013, 05:24:22 PM
how much should i expect to pay?
that depends on what you're asking about: vintage 60's, 70's, 80's, Japanese, Russian, UK, NPN or PNP and the big thing that smallbearelec noted, sorted or unsorted.
in a nutshell, vintage 60's, 70's US & UK will be more expensive, NPN will be more expensive and sorted (pre-measured for hfe/leakage) will be more expensive
Russian 80's stuff could be .50 or less and then it goes up from there....
i've had real good luck with surplus russian ones, i have bought about 200 so far of various kinds..
they can be had at bargain prices, but you have to look up the data sheets for them, and expect to get about 40% that are ok for most things.
at least in my experience.
i REALLY like mp16b's, kinda a russian 2n404 tophat, good hfe range, toneful and so far not a dud in the lot of 45 i bought for 18 bux.
the guy in germany is good, minifux1.
i bought 20 ac176 from an american vendor in philly, and not a single one was worth poo.
you may wanna be looking at more "unusual" transistors, there's a lot out there that will work in various circuits that aren't as popular but sound great.
but... when ya buy 100 of 'em, and get 15-16 decent pairs (if that) you're doing REAL good, these days..
Only english supplier I can think of is doctortweek, no experience, ask other people, smallbear is the only place i'd fully trust for 'correct' parts though... depends how fussy you are though and in a fuzz factory I might not be so fussy.
Kipper
If you need a set of germanium transistors for a FF I can send you, I have to many.
I can measure them for leakage and gain. It's fine with me if you only pay the shipping. I am in the Netherlands.
Send me an email to angar666@gmail.com
Jeff
You sir are a gentleman and a scholar.
E mail sent.
I'm still intrested in a source of germaniums in case i'd like to do more in the future
Rich
Hey Rich, I somehow managed to give you a wrong email addres, please resend to angar666@hotmail.com
Email resent.
Thanks so much mate.
Ok somebody educate me when it comes to germanium transistors for fuzz factorys or fuzz faces. What do i want to be looking for in a transistor.
Reccomend some please and say why.
Thanks.
Thanks Smallbear
Quote from: Kipper4 on March 14, 2013, 01:35:12 PM
Ok somebody educate me when it comes to germanium transistors for fuzz factorys or fuzz faces. What do i want to be looking for in a transistor.
Reccomend some please and say why.
Thanks.
http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/ffselect.htm
Oh Man after just a half hour debugging it works.
I put it on the test rig and it made the weirdest noise ever i knew something was right. lol
A big fat thanks to everyone who helped me achieve this and a bigger one to a special person who made it possible to finish it. You know who you are.
Now its play time later guys
would a millenium bypass be ok with this one?
Quote from: Kipper4 on March 19, 2013, 02:53:01 PM
would a millenium bypass be ok with this one?
Yes sure, why not.
Quote from: Kipper4 on March 19, 2013, 02:53:01 PM
would a millenium bypass be ok with this one?
I would not suggest this, having tried this it of course led to oscillation in bypass in some settings.
However you can always use one of the input ground version of the millenium bypass that R.G offers, I never got those versions to work with it as it seemed to introduce hiss to the pedal but that may have been (probably was) down to user error.
Mill bypass 2 works fine with zvex FF.
i wondered if it was ok with the pnp transistors an all.
If you say it works i'll give it a whirl in a few days when i have more time. I got room on the board to spare and its only a few componants extra. I do so like mill bypass.
i'll probably put an led on too, not that theres any need. I'm never in doubt about wiether its on or not.
It is capable of some super sounds.
I messed up the box and cut an extra hole by mistake but this ones just for me anyway. I love it so much.
i'm also surprised how much i like the SHO too. The crackle is ace.
As I recall, there are Milleniums (Millenia?) for positive ground.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC128-Germanium-PNP-Trannies-2-pcs-Fuzz-Factory-set-/110617262967?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c14d7b77
You can trust this guy.
I just bought some transistors off him, work like a charm.
I first thought it was a bit conspicous but i went for it and they work!