Another day, another question! Recommended silicon transistor for a Range Finder build?

innerlight

innerlight

Active member
Hello again team!
I'm gearing up to build a range finder. I currently am borrowing a friend's "Strange Master" pedal which allows you to switch between Silicon and Ge diodes. I expected to prefer the Ge but to my surprise, the Silicon is far supreme!
Im wondering what Silicon transistor you all would recommend, I have some legit 2n2222's here, would that work?
Many thanks!
Christian
 
innerlight said:
Hello again team!
I'm gearing up to build a range finder. I currently am borrowing a friend's "Strange Master" pedal which allows you to switch between Silicon and Ge diodes. I expected to prefer the Ge but to my surprise, the Silicon is far supreme!
Im wondering what Silicon transistor you all would recommend, I have some legit 2n2222's here, would that work?
Many thanks!
Christian
Click to expand...
2n2222 (or any other reasonably lower gain Si) should work - probably a good idea to socket and try some (or breadboard first).
 
spi said:
In Si fuzz faces, I like 2n2369 in Q1 and 2n2222 in Q2. I'd probably try both of those for a rangemaster and see which sounds best. The 2n2369 is lower gain, almost like a Ge, which is why I think it works well.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I’m going to look into this, can you tell me where you sourced your 2n2369s? I’m only seeing eBay
 
spi said:
I almost forgot to mention, I've also built a Naga Viper, which is a silicon treble booster, and it uses a 2n2222.
Click to expand...
Ooh thanks! Cool. I think I’ll start with that (because I have them on hand) and get some 2369s if they’re no good
 
Also wanted to say what spi said :) I like the Dragons Breath with the 2N2222A.

Ranger Finder build doc says "Q1 is typical Germanium PNP spec’d for Rangemaster type circuit". So I'm just wondering if you can just swap out Germanium with a Silicon and call it a day without having the circuit changed a bit to accommodate for that change? I don't know, I'm a newb, but wouldn't the build doc otherwise say "Germanium or Silicon"? Also, the range finder calls for PNP, but the 2N2222A is NPN?
 
I have been experimenting with a Red Rooster circuit but with the 47µF cap on the emitter as in the Keeley Java Boost. I've also been using the two trimpots as Keeley uses in his Java Boost to save time when experimenting with transistors. I've tried 2N2222A, 2N3903, 2N3904, BC549C, BC108B + C, BC109C... As Chuck says, it doesn't make as much difference as you might think but the higher HFE transistors do tend to be louder. The BC108B worked really well, with some pretty decent overdrive going on. But they all have something good going on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top