Germs germs germ, wtf?

[Heath]

I built my first pedal about a 2 years ago.  I started out using perfboard and Joe Gore (tonefiend.com DIY club) was my professor.  My previous experience with a soldering iron was building guitars and wiring them up.  I quickly moved to more complex stuff on vero after discovering this blog.  Since then I've built a shitload of pedal circuits... (seriously, I'm surrounded by this shit) so I'm still a bit of a newb in a lot of ways, but I'm getting there.

I say this, because I'm not totally ignorant any more.. but I'm still confused about why you guys buy giant bags of germanium transistors.

I realize #1, they're awesome.  I'm the first to call bullshit on corksniffery, but they really do have this velvet crush sort of quality (for lack of an adequate description), and #2 they're a bit esoteric in that you can't just grab some from Radioshack, maybe you can't get them at all, and when you can they're from mystical stocks of a formerly scary-ass nuclear superpower military, etc.  I was going for a little humor there, but I hope you get my drift.  I get why they are desireable.

However, I've got a stash of about 40 PNP germs with hfe from about 50 -120.  I have about 25 NPN germs, again with hfe from about 50 -120.  All low leakage.  Then I have the Ugly Bag with a few leaky ones + some pretty low hfe ones that can still be useful in some applications.  Then I have the Special Stash of 4 PNP germs with 160-220 hfe for special occasions.

So, what I'm getting at here in long-winded way is... I believe I have a pretty good grasp of pedal building, but I will never conceivably use all of those, yet you guys talk about buying bags of hundreds of germanium transistors.  

What am I missing?  Are you guys building robots or deathstars or something?  If so, I want in.

[IvIark]

I buy them because I've got OCD about it and can't stand the thought of running out and them not being available, or having to pay a ridiculous unit price on eBay.  But it's not just germaniums, I hoard everything.  I'm never going to run out of silicon transistors or JFETs either, and you'd really laugh if you saw how many resistors and caps I've got.  

With a lot of components, you could always consider them an investment rather than worrying about having more than you are likely to use.  Even previously common and mainstream through hole semi conductors are being made obsolete by the manufacturers, and so the germanium, silicon transistors and JFETs that I've bought are worth way more than I paid for them and if I ever have enough of the hobby I can be that capitalist git selling them individually on eBay

A couple of years ago you could get 100 x J201s for about £5 from dpi4parts on eBay and they were always authentic top quality Fairchild.  How much would you pay for them now considering the price of the crap ones you see from some Chinese sellers on eBay.

[tjdracz]

I'm just waiting for the world stocks of ge trannies to ran out and I will then start selling them to desperate Fuzz Face builders for extortionate prices! Mwahaha!
On the side note, it seems like the guys like Mike Fuller and Analogman are quite picky about their transistor brands. Do you think they will swallow their price and appreciate good ol' eastern bloc Tungsrams when they will remain only ac128 available? ;)

[IvIark]

Ha, yes they'll have to one day, especially as all the best remaining Newmarket transistors were bought and used decades ago and we're now left with the dross.  I think anyone who says you have to use Newmarket, RCA or Mullard to get a great sounding germanium stompbox is talking absolute nonsense.  I've got a few of the popular NOS transistors including AC128, NKT213, NKT275, OC44 etc, and they all have a great gain range and leakage for building the common fuzz pedals.  I haven't soldered them in anywhere, and wouldn't, I prefer to use sockets then I can move them if I want to try them in something else.  They sound great, but builds I've done with Russian transistors, Tungsram AC125 and 2N404 sound every bit as good.  

I'd love to let one of the "NOS only" guys do a double blind test and see how often then can pick out the NKT275 against some selected low cost transistors in a fuzz circuit, I bet they get nowhere near 10 out of 10.  But then people like Fuller and Analog Mike probably have big stocks of NOS transistors and a good source for more, and so it's in their interests to make people believe they're magical, like Bill Finnegan and his diodes.

[Heath]

Ha!  I like the fact that I've got some strange black P14 transistor in my Tonebender.  

I can dig your reply, IvIark...

..but if you guys really are building a deathstar (a GERMANIUM DEATHSTAR!) and I'm not invited, I'm going to be hurt.

[tjdracz]

We wanted too but decided to rebuild it with silicon. Had problems with planet destroyer biasing, one moment it was working fine and next nothing! Must be the temperature... ;)

[rocket88]

Yea, the temp and the vacuum of space could cause problems.

But onto more pressing issues. Why wasn't I invited on the buildIng of the deathstar? I've begun hoarding transistors like Mark just for such an endeavor. I am saddened now.