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DIY Stompboxes => Building your own stompbox => Topic started by: Pablo on January 19, 2004, 08:07:23 PM

Title: Difference in transistor manufacturers
Post by: Pablo on January 19, 2004, 08:07:23 PM
hey guys,
i'm sure this has probably been asked before (sorry)
what difference is there between say

texas instruments
fairchild
central
nte

is there a prefered one or one to stay away from?

just getting ready to place an order from mouser and seen there's a bit of difference in price on the same transistors from different manufactures.

any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Title: I got the batches of 'cheep' 5088's and 5089's
Post by: petemoore on January 19, 2004, 09:41:24 PM
And use them all the time..they work great!
 I want to get some BC transistors though for a few things and try them tou as suggested.
 I've noticed this and that but most of these Q's quality is quite good [a very competitive field]
 Nte's are  good and relatively expensive.
 I like the Fairchild j201's
Title: Difference in transistor manufacturers
Post by: ErikMiller on January 19, 2004, 11:26:58 PM
At this point, I do not believe that there is a manufacturer of transistors to "stay away from," but transistors from different manufacturers can sound very different when distorting.

The only way to know what you like, though, is to try them.

But if you're building something that doesn't use distortion as a main feature, don't worry about the manufacturer.

Go for lowest cost at first.
Title: Difference in transistor manufacturers
Post by: Boofhead on January 20, 2004, 03:17:00 AM
You don't really get bad brands as such with transistors.  You might develop a taste for one brand, but the next batch might not be the same as the last even with the same manufacturer.
Title: Re: Difference in transistor manufacturers
Post by: Ammscray on January 20, 2004, 03:28:26 AM
Quote from: Pablohey guys,
i'm sure this has probably been asked before (sorry)
what difference is there between say

texas instruments
fairchild
central
nte

is there a prefered one or one to stay away from?

just getting ready to place an order from mouser and seen there's a bit of difference in price on the same transistors from different manufactures.

any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

In my experience anything TI has been great, fairchild used to be good but I can't stand their stuff as of the last few years, Central is pretty consistent, and I would NEVER EVER use anything NTE/ECG if you held a gun to my head...sorry to anyone who likes 'em...

I like BC, OC, TFK, anything European...
Title: Difference in transistor manufacturers
Post by: gez on January 20, 2004, 03:31:50 AM
Last year I had some problems with ST 4007s.  They just didn't like being connected up a certain way.  Subbed in some other brand and it was fine...weird!  I still use the STs but am a little cautious with 'unorthodox' connections!