dawson
Well-known member
"Germanium transistors- who needs 'em?" I ignorantly thought..
I mostly play in a band rather than in a studio, so the idea of expensive, scarce parts that are going to perform differently based on temperature just seems like paying extra for something unreliable. Although I respected that others were getting great results from germanium transistors, I decided to avoid them for the most part. That was a mistake.
Finally, thanks to years of hype around the forum praising the Simulcast, I'm slowly beginning to pull my head out of the sand to hear the magnificence I've been missing out on.
Here's my build:
I couldn't find a good price on an OC71 so I tested a couple different transistors from SynthCube/Small Bear ranging from 45-92 hFE and kept the 92.
*Don't worry, I used a heat-sink while soldering.
Without attempting to put words to the nuances of its' tonality, I can tell you that the Simulcast makes an old set of strings sound like a new set of strings- the individual note definition that can be achieved with this circuit makes it unique out of anything I've played through.
It can also be dialed in to respond to picking dynamics remarkably well, going from clear -> overdriven based on attack. My AC30 really likes this thing.
Others have praised the circuits' distortion sounds, which are fine, but among my tools it's most valuable as a boosting preamp.
You may recognize the image I've etched on the plate if you're into conspiracy theories and crop circles like I am.
Wikipedia.Org
The faceplate can mount into my SCHMORG pedalboard/rack build, or all alone in a 'dummy' 125B:
More on that here: SCHMORG
Thanks for reading!
I mostly play in a band rather than in a studio, so the idea of expensive, scarce parts that are going to perform differently based on temperature just seems like paying extra for something unreliable. Although I respected that others were getting great results from germanium transistors, I decided to avoid them for the most part. That was a mistake.
Finally, thanks to years of hype around the forum praising the Simulcast, I'm slowly beginning to pull my head out of the sand to hear the magnificence I've been missing out on.
Here's my build:
I couldn't find a good price on an OC71 so I tested a couple different transistors from SynthCube/Small Bear ranging from 45-92 hFE and kept the 92.
*Don't worry, I used a heat-sink while soldering.
Without attempting to put words to the nuances of its' tonality, I can tell you that the Simulcast makes an old set of strings sound like a new set of strings- the individual note definition that can be achieved with this circuit makes it unique out of anything I've played through.
It can also be dialed in to respond to picking dynamics remarkably well, going from clear -> overdriven based on attack. My AC30 really likes this thing.
Others have praised the circuits' distortion sounds, which are fine, but among my tools it's most valuable as a boosting preamp.
You may recognize the image I've etched on the plate if you're into conspiracy theories and crop circles like I am.
Wikipedia.OrgThe faceplate can mount into my SCHMORG pedalboard/rack build, or all alone in a 'dummy' 125B:
More on that here: SCHMORG
Thanks for reading!
VOLTAGE 10u capacitors were acquired thanks to a generous prize from the great legend himself, 
