Sockets for transistors/diodes/etc

[atoff]

So, I've just finished my second pedal, a Big Muff Pi Creamy Dreamer, and at first I was underwhelmed by the fuzziness.  But it sounded decent.  After playing a big, and nudging the pedal out of the way, it erupted its fuzz power and all of a sudden I was playing what a Big Muff would typically sound like.   I had a feeling I knew what the problem was, and removing the backplate and wiggling the transistors I'd placed in sockets, I found that the transistors weren't snug enough to make contact all the time.   This appears to be the case with the ross/dyna compressor I built too.  Noticed that when I shook it I got scratchiness.    The sockets I picked up were the 40 pin from Tayda.  Is this a quality issue, or is this typical of all sockets?   Any better solution?  I'm about to just solder them into the sockets, though I'd really like to be able to switch them out later on.

[Jdansti]

A lot of people solder them to the sockets as you mention once they get the sound they want, which is a good use of them. In my opinion, permanent sockets are ok if you're just using the pedal at home to mess around with, but they aren't reliable enough for gigging. Having said that, I trust permanent sockets for chips much more than for two and three legged devices because you've usually got at least 8 legs to hold it in and you've got some springiness between the legs and body of the chip to help secure it.

[garcho]

you can hot-glue the transistors or diodes in place, once they're in the socket.

[atoff]

Hey that's not a bad idea with the hot glue, thanks!   Easily removable with alcohol if need be, so I think I'll try that first.

And thanks Jdansti, yeah, I notice the IC's are pretty firmly in place.  So are the couple of resistors and caps I socketed.  I guess the transistors just have thinner leads. 

[stringsthings]

I flatten the ends of the transistor leads with needle-nose pliers before I put them in the socket.
This seems to make for a better lead/socket connection.

[atoff]

I flatten the ends of the transistor leads with needle-nose pliers before I put them in the socket.
This seems to make for a better lead/socket connection.

Thanks for the tip, I'll try that too.