Re: J201 and 2n5457 replacements

Posted by Beaker on Oct 04, 2015; 9:03am
URL: http://guitar-fx-layouts.238.s1.nabble.com/J201-and-2n5457-replacements-tp24940p24942.html

In short, there aren't any.

It may be possible to replace them with other JFETs, but only on a few circuits - most pedals that require these JFETS don't really work very well with replacements. (I think I read somewhere that J230 work in some builds that spec J201).

When you take into account the amount of fake 2N5457 and J201 transistors that you will come across - especially from Chinese ebay sellers, we are in a bit of a bind.

We have had guys on here already, having all kinds of problems with JFET builds - problems that they should not really be experiencing, or should be easy to cure. The problems result from the fact that they have bought a batch of fakes, and they don't realise it. It's only when they have swapped the fake parts for genuine ones, the problems resolve themselves.

The good news is that you can buy surface mount JFETS and tiny PCB adapter boards that you can use in their place - although they are not widely available. Hopefully someone will reply with a source for these.

I have found places to get 1000, but not 10 or 20!