Greetings! …oh, and looking for GE PNP transistors for Fuzz Face!

[Treehouse]

Hey guys, what a great community of helpful folks here! Built my first Pedal PCB (Derailer) and found this site… especially the assembly sticky… very helpful! So on to the next pedals!

Hoping to build a Sunflower from PedalPCB which calls for two PNP Germanium transistors. I’m looking for low gain and the magical good cleanup of a Germanium fuzz. Any recommendations for sourcing?

I really am not interested in buying in bulk and sorting myself if I can avoid it. To me, paying a premium to have a reliable matched/tested set would be worth the convenience charge.

Small Bear has offered matched sets before but it seems they are all out of stock. I see a few vendors on Reverb but they don’t seem to include testing specs. Any other trustworthy places to look?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Feral Feline]

Amplified Parts is upping its pedal game but I don’t know if matched sets are available.

There are some Eflay vendors that are trust worthy, but you’ll have to dig through threads for recommendations if someone doesn’t chime in here shortly.

Barry at GuitarPCB sometimes has matched sets and is reputable.

Stompbox Parts?
Musikding?

Paul from DIYPedals Australia sometimes has sets…


Oh… and
WELCOME!

 

[Treehouse]

Thank you @Feral Feline ! Encouraging for sure.

Besides AP, those are all new to me. I’ll check them out!

 

[Treehouse]

Oh… and
WELCOME!

 

[RetiredUnit1]

I've bought quite a bit of stuff from this guy in the USA, you can usually get better deals from EU sources, but you have to watch the shipping price. Started to buy $10 of stuff from a guy in the UK only to see $35 shipping. gaaa...

| eBay

edited: he does have matched sets

 

[RetiredUnit1]

Just bought 10 of these, crossing my fingers. If they're fake I know I can just file a "not as described" return and get my money back. I have over 2000 feedback as a buyer on eBay, lol....

Mullard 950 germanium NPN transistor = OC140 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mullard 950 germanium NPN transistor = OC140 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Treehouse]

Thanks @RetiredUnit1

that eBay vendor is right down the road from me. I actually picked up a couple 2N404s from them last week with fingers crossed. They didn’t have all the testing specs listed but it is reassuring they accept returns!

 

[Laundryroom David]

I’ve bought a couple hundred or so from sovcom (alexer1) on eBay. Everything I’ve gotten from this seller is . Does require you to do your own sorting & matching. Good luck.

 

[KR Sound]

Just bought 10 of these, crossing my fingers. If they're fake I know I can just file a "not as described" return and get my money back. I have over 2000 feedback as a buyer on eBay, lol....

Mullard 950 germanium NPN transistor = OC140 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mullard 950 germanium NPN transistor = OC140 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

View attachment 42156

I bought some from him and they’re legit.

 

[andare]

Musikding only has very low gain transistors at the moment. When I bought my Sunflower kit from them, they sent me two low gain AC125s that were totally out of spec. So I don't trust them for transistor selection.

It's getting difficult for me to find Germaniums with high enough gain, let alone the right amount of leakage for Tone Benders.

Fuzz Faces are very forgiving.

There's a Bulgarian vendor on ebay who sells matched transistors and they check out. He has some high gain too.

I don't know what low gain means to you but I wouldn't go lower than 50 for Q1 and 90 for Q2. Too wimpy below that IMO.

Btw cleanup is not limited to Germanium. All Fuzz Faces clean up, it's just a matter of how much gain you have in your rig. Pickups, fuzz and amp.

 

[Laundryroom David]

Musikding only has very low gain transistors at the moment. When I bought my Sunflower kit from them, they sent me two low gain AC125s that were totally out of spec. So I don't trust them for transistor selection.

It's getting difficult for me to find Germaniums with high enough gain, let alone the right amount of leakage for Tone Benders.

Fuzz Faces are very forgiving.

There's a Bulgarian vendor on ebay who sells matched transistors and they check out. He has some high gain too.

I don't know what low gain means to you but I wouldn't go lower than 50 for Q1 and 90 for Q2. Too wimpy below that IMO.

Btw cleanup is not limited to Germanium. All Fuzz Faces clean up, it's just a matter of how much gain you have in your rig. Pickups, fuzz and amp.

Same re Ge for tonebenders. I’m having a real headache with that, too.

I have found good stuff on eBay, but one cautionary note re: auctions. I got some “AC128”s from somebody recently in an auction. Useless. Either dead or unusably out of spec. I bid what I was willing to lose (I view auctions like I view going to a casino). So no harm, no foul. But just heads up to the OP.

Happy hunting.

 

[apc42069]

I’ve bought a couple hundred or so from sovcom (alexer1) on eBay. Everything I’ve gotten from this seller is . Does require you to do your own sorting & matching. Good luck.

Seconded^

 

[andare]

Seconded^

Me too. Good stuff but hard to find high gain and high leakage

 

[Laundryroom David]

Me too. Good stuff but hard to find high gain and high leakage

Very

 

[apc42069]

Very

Dudes! I grabbed 2 packs of his MP20s recently. After marking the first like 9 of them “***prime FF***” I tested two WELL above RG Keen’s acceptable thresholds.. finally able to properly bias my FZ1. It went from sounding realllllllly shite to really shite but in an on purpose way- reminding me I owe a build report actually….

 

[apc42069]

Dudes! I grabbed 2 packs of his MP20s recently. After marking the first like 9 of them “***prime FF***” I tested two WELL above RG Keen’s acceptable thresholds.. finally able to properly bias my FZ1. It went from sounding realllllllly shite to really shite but in an on purpose way- reminding me I owe a build report actually….

Oh you said hard to find not impossible

 

[andare]

Dudes! I grabbed 2 packs of his MP20s recently. After marking the first like 9 of them “***prime FF***” I tested two WELL above RG Keen’s acceptable thresholds.. finally able to properly bias my FZ1. It went from sounding realllllllly shite to really shite but in an on purpose way- reminding me I owe a build report actually….

I've already breadboarded a -3V charge pump in preparation for an FZ1 prototype. I'm looking forward to your build report. Definitely interested in the gain and leakage readings you got from those MP20s, which I've had in my cart for a while.