What should I use instead of J201s

[FrancisInter]

Hi, I want to build some pedals and they all require J201 J-FETs, which are not easy to get. I googled it and there are a lot of replacements like the 2n5458, the 2n5457 and others. Some say they work fine, others say they cant be used as replacement because it will sound totally different ? Is there any FET, which is easy to get an can be used as direct replacement ?

[J0K3RX]

Would be helpful to know what you are planning on building? Most of the time 2N5457 work well as replacement... 2SK30A-R should work but are hard to find. 2SK30A-Y are easier to find and may work well also.

What far off land are you from that J201's are hard to find?

[armdnrdy]

I would imagine that by his email address he's in that far off, unindustrialized nation called Deutschland. 

[R O Tiree]

Try BanzaiMusic GMBH.  They appear to have J201s in stock. Here's the link to the item

[alexradium]

it seems to me that J201 is a one of a kind fet,works very good as a distortion stage,on the other side 2n5457 and similar are better for clean boost or fatter/milder overdrive

[midwayfair]

it seems to me that J201 is a one of a kind fet,works very good as a distortion stage,on the other side 2n5457 and similar are better for clean boost or fatter/milder overdrive

This is really not true in my experience. The J201 is used in plenty of clean boosts, and I've used 2N5457 in plenty of distorted gain stages with great results (including an all-2N5457 Supreaux Deux, AND I got the "amp about to explode" sound just by fiddling with the biasing). They're just typically slightly less gain than a 201 at the same bias point, so you might not be able to drive the next FET harder without different biasing. But since most AIAB pedals bias the fets around 6v, what's the difference, really, if you have to bias the FET to 5V instead? In high-gain circuits you have bias every FET like it's a delicate snowflake anyway ...

The 2N5458 seems to be pretty much the equal of a J201 in terms of output, but I find that they tend to be a little more finicky about their biasing, at least in the stuff I've tried them in.

[gritz]

Sourcing genuine 2N5458 in Europe probably isn't any easier than sourcing genuine J201. It's all getting a bit hit and miss.

[FrancisInter]

I want to build some wampler clones, the pinaccle, the black 65 and the tweed 57. They all use J201 in evry stage, so I guess this are the best ones, but as I said, hard to get in Austria.

[armdnrdy]

Put together a parts list that includes components that you might need for future builds but can't get locally.  Place an order with one of the suppliers that stocks J201s and the other parts. Pay for shipping once.

[electrosonic]

I see 2N5245s are for sale at Electronics Goldmine for 10 for $1. http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G19372

Vgs(off) is between -1.0v and -0.6v (compared to J201 which is between -1.5v and -0.3v)

Datasheet for 2N5245 is here http://www.classiccmp.org/rtellason/transdata/2n5245.pdf

What is important when finding substitutes anyways?

Andrew.

[Jdansti]

Tayda still has them:
http://www.taydaelectronics.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=J201

[pakrat]

Tayda's current stock of j201's is.... questionable, but both Aron's store and Smallbear have legit ones in stock 

[J0K3RX]

I would stay away from the Tayda J201's and there may be other as well... They may work but you are most likely gonna have to make changes elsewhere to compensate for the wildly different specs.

If you are building Wampler clones and use other jfets like the 2N5457 you are gonna have to put trimmers on the drains... You will have to most likely use trimmers with actual J201's as well since Wampler sorts through tons of them to get the ones with the exact specs he uses in the pedals you listed...

[FrancisInter]

Yeah, I read that they are really hard to bias. Are the 2N5457 easier to bias ?

[JebemMajke]

2sk117.

[Texandub]

2sk117.

+1, I've used 2SK117's where J201's are called for a number of times, with good results.  You'll probably have to fiddle with the biasing but I've always found the end result to be worth the inconvenience. I should mention though that I've only done this when cascading Jfet boost stages (Escobedo's Duende Jfet and Utility Boost, Fetzer etc) for overdrive, I've not tried them in any dedicated overdrive designs, but I don't know how much that matters.

If you're in the EU, doctortweek.co.uk stocks J201's (Fairchild) for 40p (0.47eur) and some other jfets including the SK30-Y and SK117; and musikding.de stocks a relatively large variety of jfets including the SK117 and SK30-Y, but sadly not the J201 (at least not at the moment).  I've ordered parts from both these sources and been pleased with their products and service (I'm not affiliated with them in any way).

[Paul Marossy]

I want to build some wampler clones, the pinaccle, the black 65 and the tweed 57. They all use J201 in evry stage, so I guess this are the best ones, but as I said, hard to get in Austria.

As mentioned, Brian (Wampler) has people who sort the J201s to a particular set of specs. Using trimpots may or may not get you there in terms of sound.

[FrancisInter]

Ok, I will order from musikding.de because they sell all the stuff needed for pedals. They have these
http://www.musikding.de/Aktive-Bauteile/Transistoren/FET:::307_60_61.html

Which one should I use ?

[armdnrdy]

This might be helpful:

http://www.electro.fisica.unlp.edu.ar/circuitos/datasheets/read_datasheet.pdf

Compare the different parameters from data sheets available online and select the JFET that comes closest to the J201.

You have to do some of the work and it's good practice!

[FrancisInter]

Ok, which are the important parameters ? I only worked with FETs as switches before, but never as amplifieres.