Posted by
rocket88 on
Sep 18, 2014; 2:41am
URL: http://guitar-fx-layouts.238.s1.nabble.com/Great-Jumpin-Germaniums-Ge-Diode-and-Transistor-Reviews-Discussion-tp13256p13477.html
but you have to remember, that if you're going to buy individual Ge transistors for a circuit it's not like Si transistors where you pop them in and you're good to go. you never know what the gains will be, so to get in this case the 3 you want you need to buy a bunch to make sure, and even that you're not guaranteed that you'll get what you want. which is why you should buy them in large lots, and sort them to make sure the gains and leakages and find a set that will fit what you're looking for. in some circuits it doesn't matter, in others it really does. the tonebender is one where it will make a huge difference.
if you don't want to sort for a set look
here, and get a pre-matched set. i've bought a Ge set for a fuzzface before i started buying lots of Ge's and doing my own sorting, and what you get from smallbear will work and sound as they should in the pedal they are picked for, ie: tonebender mkii pro set will sound like a tonebender mkii pro.
also, not to get all crazy about mojo and whatnot, but remember that the transistor is a small piece of the puzzle, and in most cases i'ld say don't believe the hype. i mostly use old soviet Ge's, as you can see from what i've listed above, and they sound as good and in some cases i think better then the legendary transistors people are after. the only real exception i've noticed so far is using real NOS red dot nkt275's, short and fat, in a fuzzface, they have a very different sound, seem to have more sustain, and less high end fizz, but that's how i hear them. the reissues, long and skinny, sound completely different, and to me sound like ac128's and a little more generic. i equate it to this, if you go out and buy a ferrarri it's not going to make you a race car driver, there's more to it then that.
btw, after a little searching i found on fuzzcentral this about the transistor gains for the tonebender mkii
"The transistor gains for the MKII should be something like 70 for Q1 and Q2 and 100 for Q3. The gains don't have to be exact, but it helps for them to be close to these values."
so again, you can't just buy a bunch of Ge transistors and drop them in place and expect it all to work perfectly. there's a little more art to it, and you need to sort and pick the right parts to get what you're after otherwise it will either won't work or will sound like crap.