any klon diodes for sale?

[erynforrester]

Just wondering if anyone has any 1n277 and/or oa91 diodes for sale for klon centaur or can point me towards some that are reasonably priced.
......unless they just aren't reasonably and I have to deal with that
Thanks
Guys

[rocket88]

they're fairly rare and go for a lot when you find them, at least that's the case when i look for them. just look for D9E russian diodes on ebay, they can still be found for a reasonable price, and will get you pretty spot on to the originals.

[Muadzin]

Considering that the 1n34a, what used to be the basic standard germanium diode has become rarer then an endangered species I pretty much use the D9E for anything that requires a a germanium diode.

[Beaker]

Zach and Muadzin are right, go for D9E.

It was the use of D9E in Klon clones that pushed up their price. however they are still widely available in large quantities from a lot of reliable, trusted sellers in Russia and Eastern Europe, and are well worth getting.

Also look out for other D9 diodes too, they all have a slightly different sonic character, and are useful for lots of builds. D9V are rated second to D9E, and D9D and D9K are worth getting too.

As a generalised ballpark review of character, D9E are the smoothest sounding, closely followed by D9V. D9D are the fattest, bassiest sounding, while D9K are brighter and more aggressive.

[erynforrester]

Awesome, thanks guys.
I'll get onto the d9e's
There are lots of 1n34a's on eBay for a good price. Are these to be avoided?

[Ciaran Haslett]

Unfortunately....there's a few sellers on Evil Bay passing off shottky diodes as 1N34's.  Apply the usual...if it looks too good to be true, it is!!!  Don't go for the cheapest is what I'm saying.

If your stuck send me an email.  I've a few hundred D9E I bought a few years ago that are confirmed genuine.  Bought literally before the prices rocketed.  I'll happily post some to you.

[rocket88]

One way to easily tell the Schotkey 1n34a from the real deal is size. The Ge ones are in DO-7 packages which are large glass diodes, while the Schotkey are DO-35 which are small and a lot of times they're copper color with a green band. I will say this, while not Ge they do sound fantastic. I've bought quite a few cause they're really warm and fuzz, and the fact that they're cheap as chips is super nice. Just make sure that if you do get them it's not from someone selling them as Ge 1n34a, cause you'll get a deal, as opposed to paying Ge prices for non-Ge diodes.

[Travis]

I used some of those schottky 1N34A in my Klon build and it sounds freakin great. I got them in the mythical forward voltage right away and they sound perfect. I totally second Zach in that you should buy some and give them a try, just don't buy them thinking they're Ge!

[motterpaul]

Tayda has 1n270 and 1n34a for about 27-cents apiece. That is not really a lot of money (get 20 for $5.40) - how many do you need?

D9s are on eBay from Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, for even less (I think about 10-cents apiece).

[Muadzin]

Mother of Chrome! You're right! Tayda is selling 1n34a's again.

They do look a little different from the glass ones that I remember. Which are fragile as f***! I've had a few in kits from Musikding in the past and the number that shattered when I bent the legs was not very conducive to my good humor.

[Marbles]

I do think he would've built the Klon by now...

[Sensei Tim]

i won't buy anything that says JFET or Germanium from tayda ever again.  buy and use at your own risk.

D9E diodes make me very happy, though. bought a big sack of 100 of them right when the news broke that they were the magic diodes for klons so i go them dirt cheap :)

[notnews]

Hey Ciaran,

Would you mind looking thru this eBay page and confirming which of these auctions is showing REAL d9e diodes? I'm noticing that all these auctions claim to be selling the same thing, but all of the photos aren't the same.

eBay D9E diodes listed currently

Thank you man
-Alex

[rocket88]

They're all real D9E diodes. You have to remember that they were made in different parts of the USSR and as a result there are 2 different markings. I know a pic of the markings for all the D9 diodes has been posted, but can't remember where. It may be in the Germaniun transistor and diode thread.

-Zach

[motterpaul]

I am happy with the Ge diodes I got from Tayda, and other things as well. Sorry if you experienced problems.

I also have a huge bag of D9 Diodes. On some of them you have to be careful of the orientation; the heaviest line does not always represent the cathode. (edited)

[Travis]

Sensei Tim wrote

i won't buy anything that says JFET or Germanium from tayda ever again.  buy and use at your own risk.

I have a bunch of the (germanium) 1N34A and 1N270 from Tayda. They all seem to test within spec and sound good, my only complaint is that the glass is brittle compared to equivalent diodes I have bought from other suppliers.

Generally, I'm not too in love with Tayda. They are unbeatable for pots, but they also sell a lot of junk. Their knobs and prefinished enclosures are the absolute bottom of the barrel. The jacks are decent, but it doesn't make sense to me to cheap out on one of the most critical parts of the build when you're only saving a buck or so per pedal

[motterpaul]

I agree about the glass on those diodes - I have broken quite a few, but I suppose they might be pretty old, too.

I actually like the knobs a lot, especially when they only cost $.22 apiece. With knurled pots they stay in place nice & tight and the color coordination works great. I am referring to these (which come in many colors)



http://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/knobs-864/black-plastic-knob-with-red-pointer.html

They have dropped the price on some pots to $.39 - a bargain. I have never tried their enclosures, I'm still going to "Bitches - Switches" because the shipping is right-priced.

[Travis]

The colored inner plastic on those is not very durable, but they are decent enough. Not really a fan of the look though.

The Davies clones are made of a more brittle plastic with a more dull, scratched appearance. Indicator lines and edges are sloppy.

The Marshall style knobs have deeper concentric grooves on the metal cap than the real thing. Just looks cheap in comparison. Same with the Boss style knobs. Plastic looks cheaper than the real deal in both cases.

The Gibson knob copies are actually kinda cool


The enclosures from Tayda and bitcheslovemyswitches are from the same source. I use the unfinished ones and I like them. But even still, the real deal Hammond is nicer (it better be for the price difference). The Chinese enclosures tend to have some pitting and scratches in the metal surface. The Hammond tends to come with a clear, smooth surface, which makes a difference when using transparent finishes.

All in all, you get what you pay for. The Tayda stuff is lower priced than the original parts, and the trade off is lower quality.

The prefinish enclosures from either Tayda or BLMS are just sub par

[Silver Blues]

I definitely agree on the enclosures, their boxes aren't particularly good and I always prefer to use the Hammond stuff. However I think their knobs are fine, I've used them numerous times and have always pretty much been good to me. The jacks are fine IMO, although I did get one shipment of uncharacteristically shitty ones but that hasn't happened again since.

[Beaker]

As Zach says, all these listings are for genuine D9 diodes, just from different factories and from different years, so the markings may not look the same. The ones that were made in Ukraine have a distinctive barrel shape to them as well, which just adds to the variations.

I've bought stuff from almost all these sellers and they are all legit (not bought from Zon 19720 though, or the guy in Georgia).

200 for 22 dollars shipped from Rarecomlekt in Voronezh is a good deal - and he always takes an offer price so you can get them for even less.