1n34a sourcing for hm-2

V

Vild

Active member
So apparently there are new production 1n34a's from new jersey semiconductor, and "pedalpartsandkits" is selling them. But stompboxparts seems to have old ones and apparently the batch is within a tighter spec. Do y'all have any advice on which I should get or any experience with the new productions ones? I'm guessing I should get the ones from the tighter batch.

pedalpartsandkits.com

1n34A Germanium Diodes (1-Piece)

Pedal Parts and Kits carries 1n34A Germanium Diodes, and a wide variety of other quality electronics parts, kits and supplies for boutique guitar effects pedal builders and other audio hobbyists.
pedalpartsandkits.com pedalpartsandkits.com

stompboxparts.com

1N34A - Germanium Diode

1n34a Diode New Jersey Semiconductor Fuzz Overdrive Distortion
stompboxparts.com stompboxparts.com
 
Fair enough well thank you. I took a peak at the forum first and saw some people recommend the D9E and some disagree about it. I'm probably gonna end up putting a bunch of diodes on a rotary switch to have different clipping options on it so I think I'll give those a shot too. I saw someone say the 1N4002 is surprisingly comparable for not being germanium as well, but I would like to have the "proper ones" as an option. So if anyone has tried the new production one's I'd still be interested in your thoughts as well.

I'm building the "Promethium" HM-2 board from here but trying to think of cool mods to do and such.
 
I have bought '1N34A' from several sources, all tested high Vf (fake). BAT41's sound similar to Ge to my ear. Search on BAT41, lots of posts on it. Very cheap and still plentiful at DigiKey and others even though they are marked for End of Life.
 
owlexifry said:
note, these Ge diodes here aren’t necessarily clippers. ive been told here that they’re intended to serve as a crude noise gate.
Click to expand...
Oh good to know! I hadn't looked into the circuit on that level in a while and here I am focusing on those lol oops. That's what I get for staying up too late.
Thanks yall. I need to order some knobs anyway so I'll throw a couple of these in on an order so that I can experiment anyway I suppose. There will probably be some other pedal I make where the choice may be more important.
 
I've kinda given up on chasing 1n34a, they've become very overpriced. A BAT41 will work perfectly in this circuit and you won't have to chase NOS parts.

owlexifry said:
note, these Ge diodes here aren’t necessarily clippers. ive been told here that they’re intended to serve as a crude noise gate.
Click to expand...
While they're not intended as clippers, that config does contribute to the distortion characteristics of the pedal in that they generate cross over distortion, it's part of the nasty sound of the pedal. Ge still not essential for that though.
 
I built the Graviton board (Aion’s HM-2) it calls for BAT-46’s and has the following note in the BOM:
“The HM-2 uses Ge diodes here, but Schottky is a better modern replacement. They only set the gate threshold and do not affect tone.”
 

Schottky Silicon Diodes​

Typical Forward Voltage - c0.25Vf



These specially engineered Silicon Diodes - named after German physicist Walter H. Schottky - were created to closely match Germanium Diode tolerances - and in fact go further - as these have typically the lowest rated Vf values - or as little as 0.15Vf in some instances. Note that these typically generate Very High Distortion with Maximum Compression - meaning they are often deployed serially in pairs to 'soften' their attack.

  • BAT41 (0.36Vf) - Grey Matter, Zendrive
  • BAT46 (0.25Vf)
  • BAT48 (0.30Vf)
  • BAT54 (0.32Vf)
  • 1N5817 (0.25Vf)
  • 1N5819 (0.26Vf)

Germanium Diodes​

Typical Forward Voltage - 0.35Vf



Actually the most famous of the 'Hard Clipper' Diodes as seen and for their use on Distortion+ and Rat pedals in particular - but also the Klon Centaur. Germanium Clipping Diodes typically generate High Distortion with Significant Compression.

  • AA116 (0.32Vf)
  • AA138 (0.32Vf)
  • AA143 (0.33Vf)
  • D9E (0.257Vf) - Klon
  • 1N34A (0.21Vf) - Distortion+, Klon, Rat
  • 1N60P (0.33Vf)
  • 1N270 (0.268Vf) - Grey Matter
  • 1N276 (0.35Vf)
  • 1N277 (0.37Vf)
Click to expand...

www.guitarpedalx.com

A Brief Hobbyist Primer on Clipping Diodes

A general reference guide on how Clipping Diodes Work
www.guitarpedalx.com www.guitarpedalx.com
 
rossbalch said:
I've kinda given up on chasing 1n34a, they've become very overpriced. A BAT41 will work perfectly in this circuit and you won't have to chase NOS parts.


While they're not intended as clippers, that config does contribute to the distortion characteristics of the pedal in that they generate cross over distortion, it's part of the nasty sound of the pedal. Ge still not essential for that though.
Click to expand...
Oh good point. That reminds me I watched a video a couple months ago where a dude was swapping all the diodes and iirc he did mention that it did add to the fuzzy nature of the sound due to the crossover distortion. Unless I heard from somewhere else.
Here's the video in case anyone finds it useful since I saved it in a playlist.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top