Dallas range master question

[9 volts]

Hey there, I built this a while ago and love the sound. I've experimented with a variety of transistors and have adjusted the voltage correctly. But is seems as though I have to have two settings. When it's up full the single notes sound great but chords sound blatty. Is this common? I've tried it in a number of amps (all tube) and get the same results. Is there anything I can do to fix this? Thanks

[soulsonic]

You could readjust the voltage so that it's not the "stock" Rangemaster value. Personally, I like to have the voltage on the collector at around 4.5v. The response of the transistor tends to be less mushy at that voltage.

[9 volts]

Thanks! To my ears, this has well and truly fixed it. I love the sound of these things. Tried this with a number of transistors. Stuck with an oc44 (since  I bought one).  Hey the oc75 (lower power) also sound great in there (I suspect all manner of transistors would be fine if biased properly).... Soulsonic to the rescue twice in a week.....a big thanks.

[soulsonic]

You're welcome! I'm glad I could help. Actually, I'd really like to see other people try 4.5v with their Rangemasters, it really does the trick for me! I don't care about "stock" values, I just care about good sound! - and 4.5v on the collector sounds good 90% of the time with just about any transistor you stick in there. I don't ever bother with trim pots for adjusting them either, because I know if I use the standard values I like, it's going to be real close to 4.5v no matter what I put in there (within reason).

I've been coming up with some slightly alternative biasing arrangements to make it even more tweak-free. The circuit seems to look good in the simulator, but I haven't gotten around to breadboarding it yet. If it turns out good, I'll post the circuit up here.