I need some REAL NKT275s!

[phillip]

Okay, I've been looking for a pair of REAL Fuzz Face ready Newmarket NKT275 transistors with no luck.  

I contacted a seller on eBay who sells a lot of "NOS" Germanium transistors (including NKT275s) about getting a gain matched and leakage checked pair and he emailed me back and said that he could supply them.  When I replied and asked for a money back guarantee that the transistors that he sends me are the real deal Newmarket 275s and not reproduction or remark pieces I think I scared him off...I haven't heard back from him in about a week or two.

Can anyone help me out in finding a pair for a new Fuzz Face project that I'm working on?

TIA!
Phillip

[LP Hovercraft]

I know that Fulltone uses NKT 275 in their Soulbender, maybe an email to Col. Fuller may present some kind of lead to you if you HAVE to get such a device.  I have sacreligiously plundered said NKT275's from those pedals to make other stuff just because a friend gave me one and told me to make a true Belchfire Maximo with one.  It really is a bummer that Germanium transistors are fast becoming rare.  Parts substitutions are another thing you can do-I care more about gain and leakage specs in Ge devices and they usually work great even with part substitutions as long as you follow and test per the Geofex recommendations.  I have even found RCA replacement transistors that work great.  ALSO, I was quite impressed with the fact that Steve Daniels at Small Bear sent me 2N404A's for his Bearface kit, rare devices that are far superior in soud in my opinion to NKT 275 in most applications.  Small Bear is a great source for the Ge fix.  Your ear may be what's telling you to get only NKT275, and if that's the case, congratulations!   Your ear may just be golden.  There are many online EBAY type auction sites that may work for you.   Happy hunting!

[phillip]

How do the 2N404As sound in a Fuzz Face-type circuit?

I've found that a lot of the 2N-types are indeed far superior to most other types.  My favorite Germanium transistor so far is the NPN 2N388A.  I got a handfull of them a while back and almost all of them met the requirements for either Fuzz Faces, ToneBender MKIIs, or RangeMasters.  Only one or two out of 25 or so were too leaky, and I even used the leaky ones as diodes.

Phillip