Transistor Price Check

[Triffid]

I have a supplier that will sell me the following transistors at the following prices.  I was just wondering if these are good prices or what?  They are all "random picked" and price is per piece...

AC128: $1.75
NKT275: $4
OC44K: $4
OC75: $4

Thanks for your help

[brett]

Those AC128s seem cheap.

[R.G.]

My experience is that only one in three untested germanium devices is worth using in a fuzz face, rangemaster, etc. That's over a several thousand device history.

If the price still looks good at three times the asking price, you're in pretty good shape.

[gtrmac]

So you'd probably have to buy at least 10 to be sure of getting 2 or 3 good ones. You might get lucky and have 5 out of a batch of 10. With those odds it would seem that the pre-tested Ge's from Small Bear are a pretty good deal. Even though they are substitutes for the original types they sound good and work correctly. He gives you the bias resistor values also which saves a lot of time.

[Triffid]

I have also found a supplier that offers AC128's @ $1.14 at quantities above 10.  These ones are manufactured by MCM Electronics in Ohio, USA.  I ordered 25 of them for a test... we'll see if they are any good

[analogmike]

HI,

I have tried about 100 AC128s and never had any that sounded good enough. I also have never seen an AC128 in an original fuzzface from the 1960s. Better luck with old Japanese 2SB and other generics etc. Get some from smallbearelec.com and you'll get some good tone.

have fun!

[Triffid]

Thanks Mike,

I will try that for sure considering the source of the info...  I know you've poured a lot of time and money into that recommendation.

Thanks again

[spongebob]

AC128: $1.75

That's quite expensive IMHO, I can get them for 41 cent at reichelt.de here in Germany. But I don't recommend them either, at least the ones I got did not sound very good in a fuzz face.

I recently bought a few old Valvo OC75s on ebay, which I used for a Tonebender, they sound so much better!