What would you use to sub a j201

Locrian99

Locrian99

Well-known member
Hello,

So I plan on starting a plexi drive tonight should finish it unless I really screw something up. Anyways j201’s even the smd version seem to me unobtainable from any of my usual sources right now. I have some other Jfet options though and plan on just doing some auditioning tonight, I’ll have trimmers on the board for biasing. But just curious which jfets other would use in place of. Sounds like the 5457 is a good choice which I have some of. On hand right now I have 5457, 5458, 5952, and j113. Thanks
 
I've heard of people using 2n5457 and 2n5458, but the bias has to be dialed in. MPF102 is another one I think, but it's also out of production.

Somebody posted that a vendor had a bunch of them (under $1 even I think), but they sold out real fast. I think Mouser is supposed to have mmbfj201s in next month.
 
cdwillis said:
I've heard of people using 2n5457 and 2n5458, but the bias has to be dialed in. MPF102 is another one I think, but it's also out of production.

Somebody posted that a vendor had a bunch of them (under $1 even I think), but they sold out real fast. I think Mouser is supposed to have mmbfj201s in next month.
Click to expand...
Yea I mouser was one I checked. I think I might have some 102’s as I recall they were a bit all over the place though spec wise. Patience isn’t one of my strengths lol.
 
aefpv said:
If interested, I got some SMD J201 on an adapter board from Aionfx. PedalPCB was unfortunately out of them. With shipping, it ran about $1.50 per piece, which wasn’t too expensive.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that info placed my order through there. Isn’t a place I’ve bought from. None of their boards have caught my eye until I saw the redshift tonight….
 
I've been using 2sk304-C in place of J201 with good results. Not all of them will work perfectly, but a lot will

flemming said:
I've used 2SK30A-R in place of J201 in some pedals. They can have similar Vp/Idss values.
Click to expand...
For me, 2SK118-R are easier to find, and they are the same jfet in a different package

With through hole 2sk fets you just have to mind the pinout (typically dgs instead of dsg)
 
mhshizz said:
I've been using the 5457 and don't have any complaints. Stomp Box Parts has 'em.
Click to expand...
I’ll have to play around with biasing them with the trimmers some more. Built a plexi drive on vero and it doesn’t really distort then at high gain it just gets gated. I just did them all to 4.5, haven’t played around with the trimmers much yet though.
 
Locrian99 said:
Hello,

So I plan on starting a plexi drive tonight should finish it unless I really screw something up. Anyways j201’s even the smd version seem to me unobtainable from any of my usual sources right now. I have some other Jfet options though and plan on just doing some auditioning tonight, I’ll have trimmers on the board for biasing. But just curious which jfets other would use in place of. Sounds like the 5457 is a good choice which I have some of. On hand right now I have 5457, 5458, 5952, and j113. Thanks
Click to expand...
guitarpcb.com

JFET J201 - Very Limited Supply - GuitarPCB

Genuine J201 JFET Transistor from my own personal collection. Batch tested with a proper (JFET exclusive) testing circuit for guaranteed results.
guitarpcb.com guitarpcb.com

This is where I have always gotten mine. Seems to almost always be in stock and definitely reliable.
 
gheorge77 said:
guitarpcb.com

JFET J201 - Very Limited Supply - GuitarPCB

Genuine J201 JFET Transistor from my own personal collection. Batch tested with a proper (JFET exclusive) testing circuit for guaranteed results.
guitarpcb.com guitarpcb.com

This is where I have always gotten mine. Seems to almost always be in stock and definitely reliable.
Click to expand...
Thank you another source I wasn’t aware of. I just got 16 of the smd ones with the adapter board but I’d rather have the the thru hole, I’ll need to order up some of these.
 
Locrian99 said:
Thanks for that info placed my order through there. Isn’t a place I’ve bought from. None of their boards have caught my eye until I saw the redshift tonight….
Click to expand...
The Redshift is a nice phaser. It's a very different beast compared to the Phase II. The Phase II is thick and creamy, where the Redshift is a lot more subtle but more useful as a thickener where you don't want a big phase whoosh..

gheorge77 said:
guitarpcb.com

JFET J201 - Very Limited Supply - GuitarPCB

Genuine J201 JFET Transistor from my own personal collection. Batch tested with a proper (JFET exclusive) testing circuit for guaranteed results.
guitarpcb.com guitarpcb.com

This is where I have always gotten mine. Seems to almost always be in stock and definitely reliable.
Click to expand...
My experience has been less stellar. I got some J201 from guitarpcb and from aliexpress (with a large price difference). Both were identical in markings and test results. They have not worked well in pedals where JFETs need to be biased and have been a constant source of disappointment.

Try and find MMBFJ201 where you can.
 
szukalski said:
The Redshift is a nice phaser. It's a very different beast compared to the Phase II. The Phase II is thick and creamy, where the Redshift is a lot more subtle but more useful as a thickener where you don't want a big phase whoosh..


My experience has been less stellar. I got some J201 from guitarpcb and from aliexpress (with a large price difference). Both were identical in markings and test results. They have not worked well in pedals where JFETs need to be biased and have been a constant source of disappointment.

Try and find MMBFJ201 where you can.
Click to expand...
Interesting data point. I'm pretty sure I bought my bag of 10 or 20 a few years ago when there was just more stock available. They worked well in the Son of Ben. No issues biasing either. I think had used some other J201s I had bought elsewhere that didn't work properly and switched to my stock from guitarpcb with success. I've been trying to avoid building anything using J201s because of the availability issues. I also think I tend to prefer IC based distortions for some reason. I much prefer the Angry Andy and the Dark Esbat to the Son of Ben. That could also be a byproduct of what tone I'm after.

How would everyone describe the tonal differences between J201 and IC based distortions or overdrives? Very curious.
 
gheorge77 said:
How would everyone describe the tonal differences between J201 and IC based distortions or overdrives? Very curious.
Click to expand...
Actually the reason I was needing the j201’s I have a Mxr gt-od, and a ja ray clone I built, just built a plumes have the Kliche mini board to build and picked up the blues driver clone board from mbp. Trying to find the right overdrives.
 
RetiredUnit1 said:
I just bought some of these, delivery takes a couple weeks tho.... He's got 99.5% positive feedback which is really hard to get on eBay.

www.ebay.com

10PCS J201 JFET N-Channel Transistor 50mA 40V TO-92 | eBay

10PCS J201 50mA 40V TO-92 JFET N-Channel Transistor. 10 J201 50mA 40V TO-92 JFET N-Channel Transistor.
www.ebay.com

View attachment 34281
Click to expand...
Just grabbed some of these, thanks. Have you tested them against any "known good" ones? I have some SMD ones from Aion, as well as through-holes from various sources, and a DCA55, but idk if that's sufficient to accurately test JFETs.
 
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