Clyde McCoy Clone with Germaniums ?

[solarplexus]

Hi there,

I'm building my first Wah from scratch (not my first wah to tamper with though).  I was wondering if doing a Fuzz Central clone of the Clyde McCoy wah would be possible and/if it would sound sweeter (on the highs) if I used some of the Germaniums trannies I have (they are PNP but don't know the Hfe)?  I know it would be trial and error for the wanted sound part, but I'm wondering if it's even possible with an inductor to use germanium trannies?  I don't have any BC109 or BC173 handy and I only have one 2N2222A left in my stash so I was also wondering if using some 2N3094 would also be a suitable replacement ?

Thanks for the help,

Matt

[jonathan perez]

in a wah circuit, it wont matter whether youre using germanium or silicon transistors, the only thing that will affect tone is the gain of the transistors. a typical oc44 tranny or something like it with gain below 200 will sound "smoother" in that it rolls off the top end of the sweep just a tad. but its not enough to say "germaniums sound better." a silicon transistor with the same gain range will sound the same. you can use PNP as long as you reverse the electrolytic capacitor. you can use any of the transistors you have on hand, just understand how much gain they have and what that can do to the tone of the wah.

[$uperpuma]

I wanna build one of those too... what is the best inductor JE P?

[jonathan perez]

dr steam whipple's magic halo inductor, found on ebay for a whopping $23 out the door. you cant beat it, considering its a 30ohm 500mH inductor like the originals. but if you want any good ol inductor, let me know, ive got lots of 550-600mH dunlop/vox inductors.

[solarplexus]

I have a yellow fasel on hand from Aron's store.  I also have a stock Dunlop inductor.  I'll swap between those 2 to see which one sounds best but I suspect the yellow one will be better.  I also have some 2N4401 handy I think I'll use that.

Thanks for the help!

Matt

[solarplexus]

I have another question... Let's say I'd built the Colorsound Inductorless Wah... would the trannies do any difference (germ/silicon) or it's the same thing as a regular inductor wah?

Thanks for the help!

Matt

[Paul Marossy]

I have another question... Let's say I'd built the Colorsound Inductorless Wah... would the trannies do any difference (germ/silicon) or it's the same thing as a regular inductor wah?

I don't think you are going to really be able to tell the difference other than it possibly sounding less consistent (and maybe noisier) because of the Ge transistors.

[solarplexus]

Thanks guys,

it's true that Germ trannies are noisier... at least in my experiences with them.  I'll stick with silicon and I think I'll built both models and keep the one I like best!

Thanks again,

Matt