TL072 substitute? (They're expensive now outside the USA)

Drag soldering isn’t that hard to learn. Assuming a decent iron, my main purchase was flux and an applicator bottle. I already had a good 8x visor which got me through the first starter boards. I finally broke down and got a binocular inspection microscope, which really made it much easier to work on 0603 sized caps and resistors. I really helps to be able to see so well! (Especially for checking ones work.) I also really like a soldering tip that has a small concavity on its wedged end; this is a finesse thing, but it holds the little bead of molten solder as you wipe across the legs.

From my point of view, any part with more than 3 or 4 legs is safer to sacrifice if you need to remove it. Just clip the legs, then use solder wick to remove the stubs. If you do enough SMD work, you’ll probably eventually get a desoldering tool with specific heads to match parts formats, but that is a luxury. Another tool that really helps with these tiny parts is some heat proof (non metal) tweezers. To me, the hardest part is holding the smaller parts in place without blocking access to soldering them. Bamboo toothpicks come in handy.
 
Profusion has TL072G for $.48

I don't know about Unisonic as a manufacturer though. I am in need of quite a few for the backlog, so guidance from "the Knowledgeable" would be helpful.
 
I received my bag 20 from AliExpress, and tested half of them (5 pairs) in my Kliché Mini. I use that pedal a lot, so I'm pretty familiar with how it's supposed to sound.

I listened critically to sustained notes and note decay with each pair, and I can't hear anything wrong with any of them. I left a pair of the new ones in there and I'll listen to it even louder tomorrow, but I don't think they'll sound any different.

It's entirely possible that different batches differ in quality, so there's no guarantee on these results. But I'm happy with my purchase.
 
temol said:
My experience with 72's from Ali is bad. Three different sellers. Stuff of course works, but sounds bit fizzy on decay (crossover distortion, that's not present with legit chips).
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After I read this, I did some AB testing and have to agree. A bunch got thrown in the bin. I also found T071 (which didn't work) and OP07 with the same batch number printed on them.. the fake game is strong!
 
Alan W said:
To me, the hardest part is holding the smaller parts in place without blocking access to soldering them.
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Same (agree with your entire post), ceramic tweezers are my go to non soldering iron hand tool to hold them in place and bend through hole leads
 
jimilee said:
Those are single opamps, they won’t work in a dual application.
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Yeah, sorry. I wasn’t very clear. I had bought TL071 but they weren’t working, so tried them in a dual op pedal and they functioned so they had been mislabeled / faked. I had three batches of chips, TL071/TL072/OP07 looking identical and with the same batch number, functioning as (dodgy) dual opamps but with the label printed with the “correct” chip.

Buying direct from TI looks interesting. €40 DDP to Germany hurts a little. If any Germans/Europeans want a group buy then let me know!
 
If any of you folks use low current low noise SMD opamps as I often do for things like onboard preamps, it might be a good idea to stock up now, as in right now. The parts I use the most ar either completely gone or very close to it (~100 OPA145 left in the US at the usual retail vendors as far as I can tell, for example) and are quoted at a minimum of a year out on restock at Mouser and Digikey. I even saw some 2024 dates on parts I might typically use as subs, no bueno. I had to take final orders for April NAMM builds today and I barely have enough stash to meet those obligations and do even one off builds of new things I've been working on. Ugghh!

Might be time for me to revert to tube amp and preamp builds for while, I reckon, 🌈🦄
 
Guilherme Collateral said:
https://www.ti.com/product/TL072/part-details/TL072CP

72 cents a piece, straight from the manufacturer!
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DAJE said:
cheaper source of trustworthy TL072s for people who do not live in the USA?
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I was hoping that people would read the OP and see the giant black words, but I guess there's always someone who only reads the title.

I know they're cheaper in the USA, I live in Australia. Many other forum users are also non-US residents.
 
DAJE said:
I was hoping that people would read the OP and see the giant black words, but I guess there's always someone who only reads the title.

I know they're cheaper in the USA, I live in Australia. Many other forum users are also non-US residents.
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AFAIK @Guilherme Collateral hails from Brazil and I’m in South Africa. I registered on their site and a single 072 direct from TI costs approximately 12ZAR (1,04AUD). I put together a mock-up order (022s, 072s, 074s, 084s) to check their postage and other costs and these amount to 120ZAR (10,40AUD). This is pretty reasonable, since it seems like Tayda’s minimum postage to here is around 20USD. At least, ordering direct from TI should confirm that these are genuine, one less factor to worry about in a build. Dunno what postage to Australia will cost, but maybe worth trying their site to check.
 
It seems a down-under group buy may be in order? We do it here in the states as well, even though we’re all obviously billionaires with no sense of value and there’s a vending machine for whatever you want on every corner. Not really…but how noice would that be? :ROFLMAO:

There are a lot of dual op amps to be had (though I suspect they too are or will be edging up in cost). Not all will sound alike so I suggest buying a few of several popular types and auditioning each for builds. Although it’s time-consuming, you could even open up old builds and audition replacement dual op amps in those as well. That should free up enough 072s for builds that just don’t do well with the other duals.
 
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fig said:
It seems a down-under group buy may be in order? We do it here in the states as well, even though we’re all obviously billionaires with no sense of value and there’s a vending machine for whatever you want on every corner. Not really…but how noice would that be? :ROFLMAO:

There are a lot of dual op amps to be had (though I suspect they too are or will be edging up in cost). Not all will sound alike so I suggest buying a few of several popular types and auditioning each for builds. Although it’s time-consuming, you could even open up old builds and audition replacement dual op amps in those as well. That should free up enough 072s for builds that just don’t do well with the other duals.
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These are fine ideas, Mr Fig.
 
Maybe try a 4558 and/or a LM258. I’ve had success with these breadboarding and they are low-cost. Check your continent‘s electronics surplus sales…I find a LOT of deals here…


btw, which pedal are you building? If I have it, I could try some subs and at least offer an opinion.
 
fig said:
Maybe try a 4558 and/or a LM258. I’ve had success with these breadboarding and they are low-cost. Check your continent‘s electronics surplus sales…I find a LOT of deals here…


btw, which pedal are you building? If I have it, I could try some subs and at least offer an opinion.
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That brings a point. Some circuits NEED a TL072 to work right! I made a few Tyrian boards in the past using the great LM833 and NE5532 and the bass control was acting up, sounding like a broken synth and I just couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong. Then I swapped the expensive chips with the good old 072 and got the pedal working. The same with a angry Charlie v3
 
Guilherme Collateral said:
That brings a point. Some circuits NEED a TL072 to work right! I made a few Tyrian boards in the past using the great LM833 and NE5532 and the bass control was acting up, sounding like a broken synth and I just couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong. Then I swapped the expensive chips with the good old 072 and got the pedal working. The same with a angry Charlie v3
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Absolutely...you'll know fairly quick if it's a match or not.
 
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