what are the "best" transistors for fuzz type pedals?

[FLchuckles]

sorry for the incredibly broad subject! -can you tell i'm new to all this? hahaha

im guessing you could technically use many different models besides ac128's, etc etc.

i have a couple 2G-374's laying around. could these work?

[Mark Hammer]

One needs to keep in mind that "fuzz" is essentially bad sound.  "Bad" is not unlikeable, just very much unlike the input signal.  But there are a million and one ways, if not more, to get "bad" sound.  All you have to do is make the circuit attempt to do something it can't do well.  And you can pretty much arrange for that with ANY transistors, such that there are no "best" ways for doing something wrong.  It's a bit like asking "What's the best implement to use if you don't want the food on your plate to make it to your mouth?".  Well, you could use a straw, a light bulb, a book on its side, a chainsaw, a chicken,  etc.

Now, when the topic comes to specific fuzz circuits, there can still be a fairly wide range of what can "work", provided one is willing and able to tweak the circuit a teensy bit (e.g., adjusting the bias a bit).  When the topic comes to specific fuzz circuits and simply sticking a transistor in a given slot that will work without tweaking, that is another thing again.  The choices may be flexible to some extent, but not WIDE open for some circuits, or considerably wider for many others.

It can also be the case that some express tonal choices for THIS transistor in THAT position in a given circuit.  In those instances, we're really talking about preferred, rather than best.

Where there are several choices of equivalent tone possible for a specific circuit, though, one would prefer the lowest noise.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Some people swear by the right HFe's and leakage rates....

Bottom line is to test them out and see which ones sound right to YOU! 

Good Luck

[R.G.]

This is not intended as a dig at you. We were all new at one time, and asking questions, some of them like this one, is how we learn.

If you were asking a similar question about transportation, the equivalent question might be something like "What's the best car for traveling?"

It is incredibly broad, because in many ways and many circuits, the transistor type is semi-useless for telling you what to use. The better the original circuit DESIGN the less the transistor should matter, as one objective of good design is to be tolerant of transistor variation. Many pedal circuits are not good designs in the sense that an EE would evaluate them, so their performance does depend on the transistor.

The problem there is that even new, factory fresh, meets-all-specifications transistors vary so much that they must be hand picked if you're going after some specific result. When you get into designs with germanium transistors, there is no substitute for hand testing. In the pedal-making revolution that's nearing its fifteenth or so year, the world has been scoured for good germanium transistors. They keep getting harder to find.

I'd sum up with the idea that the type number is not very useful, except as a crude indicator of what *might* work.

[digi2t]

Some people swear by the right HFe's and leakage rates....

Bottom line is to test them out and see which ones sound right to YOU! 

Good Luck

+1 on that.

I recently built a Burns Buzzaround circuit. Testing involved using three different sets of transistors, one all russian, one all japanese, and one with AC`s. All were within the same gains and leakages, yet they all sounded a bit different. None were better or worse than the other, just slightly different characteristics in sound, i.e. brighter, darker, woolier, etc.

In the end, I used what my ears told me to use. That`s the bottom line. The russian set won the day, and they were the cheapest set to boot.

[FLchuckles]

thanks for the valuable comments- appreciate that!

lookin around data sheets..i see the 2g374 is a substitute for the oc75...so guess i'll check out what they sound like.

thanks again-

[italianguy63]

I've been playing around a lot with this.  I have been getting 2N404, 2N404A, 2N1305 and 2N1309's... with good results.  I have also gotten some Russian GT308B and GT308V's-- but have not gotten around to trying them yet.  I have been doing the Hfe dance with them and matching them...  It keeps me out of the bars.

There are a lot of other "equivilents."  Like what was stated, it depend on how they sound.  Try something and see how it works!

MC

[FLchuckles]

yeah- i hear ya.  gunna try the 2g 374's next build