BSIAB2-Sockets?

[the recluse]

I will be building a BSIAB 2 from the kit at GGG (possibly as soon as this evening!) and I was wondering if there is anything to be gained by socketing the transistors.  Is it worthwhile to do so in this circuit for the purposes of swapping transistors for different sounds, or will the transistors be something that I would leave alone in the event of future mods?

[rogerinIowa]

I would socket them. I found that for my BSIAB II build to sound right it was really helpful to be able to swap out the trannies. I had some jfets that sounded good, others not so good. I had to sort thru a number of them to get a good sound.

I find that I socket trannies as a rule these days. The cost of the snap-off SIP sockets is reasonable enough that it makes sense. You can "audition" different trannies, and with the fact that you arent soldering directly to the legs of the device, you remove the chance of damaging it via heat from the soldering iron.

Just my 2 cents!

R