End of an era J201 (TO92)

[aron]

I remember when Jack Orman first introduced the JFET circuits that we loved so much. The booster 2 was so exciting to me. There were also some really great mini booster circuits that I went through. My current Shaka uses JFETs and I still love this pedal.
Too bad that the SMD era is now upon us. My last stash of JFETs (TO92) are pretty much gone. I guess the good part is that it will just provide more inspiration to find another output stage that sounds as good.

The new rage of tiny pedals are good for the pedal board but lousy for us to mod. We now need loupes to mod these things.

[knutolai]

I see this as a motivator for trying some SMD builds. Remind me whats the SMD equivalent to the J201?

[Perrow]

I see this as a motivator for trying some SMD builds. Remind me whats the SMD equivalent to the J201?

J201

See also.

[commathe]

I see this as a motivator for trying some SMD builds. Remind me whats the SMD equivalent to the J201?

It'll just be the J201, they still make it in smd. There are other JFETs still in through hole production though. At least I think there are? Another alternative is the Wampler route: he's been using SMD J201s for a while, but on breakout boards that fit into standard TO-92 footprints on pcbs. He's been doing it for a while. Not practical for DIYers though.

[smallbearelec]

Hi Aron--

As I have noted in previous posts, there is no shortage for the present. Send me mail at the smallbearelec address.

If/when my stock of TO-92 parts is sold down, I have already confirmed that a fab in Taiwan will take SMD parts and bond them to headers at an affordable price. But I am a long way from having to go that route.

Regards
SD

[GibsonGM]

I see this as a motivator for trying some SMD builds. Remind me whats the SMD equivalent to the J201?

It'll just be the J201, they still make it in smd. There are other JFETs still in through hole production though. At least I think there are? Another alternative is the Wampler route: he's been using SMD J201s for a while, but on breakout boards that fit into standard TO-92 footprints on pcbs. He's been doing it for a while. Not practical for DIYers though.

Uh oh....I hear that the SMD 201's sound TOTALLY different than the TO-92s! 
We'll have to start hunting for NOS!   

;o)      (ha ha)

[amptramp]

And suddenly TO-92's become mojo parts.  The inertia of electrons travelling down the length of the leads adds extra power to the sound.  Yup, I can hear it coming already.

[Luke51411]

The inertia of electrons travelling down the length of the leads adds extra power to the sound

The airflow around the jfet allows the electrons to breathe giving it a more open sound that just can't be achieved with surface mounted parts.

[GibsonGM]

It's a much-discussed FACT that SMD components can't oscillate when stuck down to the board that way...they're sterile-sounding because of this.  I mean, the whole reason we LIKE TO-92 JFETs is that they resonate when we play, right?  *shrug*   
End of an era....

[duck_arse]

speaking of fet mojo, I've just read that the first commercial jfet, the "Tecnetron" of 1958, was made of germanium. anybody got a source? just imagine if word of THIS gets out .....

[deadastronaut]

are the SMD as transparent...

[pappasmurfsharem]

Just order a bunch of these. $.45 shipped for 3
$4.50 shipped for 30.

Shared this on OSH park awhile ago.

http://oshpark.com/shared_projects/8bf7XW05

I have about 90 SMD J201s from mouser. They work great.

Got 100x SMD J201's for $22 shipped.

With these adapter boards they they come to about $0.37/ea.

It's a solid deal.

[Luke51411]

I ordered a bunch of smd J201 with adapter boards from Chromosphere's site, it wasn't too difficult to attach them to the board and he sells the adapter board separately now so I think I'm going to order a bunch of smd5457s when I run out of through hole 5457s.

[m_charles]

I do ordered the overseas knockoff fets and can tell no difference.
Although called "Fairchild" I can guarantee they are not, but they function the same to me.
All the "depth, warmth, and woody, transparent, mojo" that only a j201, made in a small factory next to the JRC4558 factory can provide.
They mojo in the air transfers from Jfet to op-amp in that magical place. And the sweat from elf fingers ands the transparency needed.
But in all seriousness, the copies worked for me a couple times when I got them off the eBay.

[kgull]

Shared this on OSH park awhile ago.

http://oshpark.com/shared_projects/8bf7XW05

I have about 90 SMD J201s from mouser. They work great.

Got 100x SMD J201's for $22 shipped.

With these adapter boards they they come to about $0.37/ea.

It's a solid deal.

Did the same for an upcoming Dr Boogey build. Still waiting on these to arrive but, with a smaller board, $32 for 100 J201 is a pretty good deal considering you're looking at $45+shipping from smallbear (which will probably go up as NOS gets harder to find).
http://oshpark.com/shared_projects/txwvqJL1

EDIT: also, a quick hack for those designing their own PCBs, let's you use either.

[amz-fx]

I remember when Jack Orman first introduced the JFET circuits that we loved so much. The booster 2 was so exciting to me. There were also some really great mini booster circuits that I went through. My current Shaka uses JFETs and I still love this pedal.
Too bad that the SMD era is now upon us. My last stash of JFETs (TO92) are pretty much gone. I guess the good part is that it will just provide more inspiration to find another output stage that sounds as good.

I remember back in the late 1990s that the jfet used in almost everything was the 2N5457. I used it in the original Fet Muff and Mini-booster, but over the years, it seemed like the 2N5457 jfets were tending to be toward the weak side of the spec.

I went through the TechAmerica mail order catalog and selected a handful of jfets to test in those projects. The J201 was consistent, low noise, and had plenty of gain, so I started recommending it for my projects. I do not recall seeing it being used in stompboxes prior to then.

Here are a couple of threads from mid-1999 from the first DIYstompboxes where it was just being kicked around:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=13928.0

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=14016.0

A number of the commercial pedalmakers that I work with are starting to request SMD versions of designs so they can pack their circuits into small boxes. It seems that players want to get as many pedals as possible on their pedalboards, and the days of the giant boxes are fading into the past (remember the original Gainster and Swamp Thang pedals in the big boxes, hand-wired with huge 400v capacitors on tagboard or terminal strips?). I've tried using solders stencils and smd chips and found that it is not too difficult and makes a nice looking project...  it must be the geezer in me that doesn't trust gluing the parts down with solder, but every cell phone in existence seems to work fine that way, so I'm adapting.  

Edit: The J201s from Tayda don't meet the spec completely, but they are close enough for guitar effects use and sound quite good.

Best regards, Jack

[deadastronaut]

not much fun for breadboarding though...

SMD breadboard anyone?...

[aron]

Yeah, thanks for the circuits Jack! You are definitely a pioneer!!!! Who can forget the Fuxx Face!!!! Although not J201, I totally enjoyed building it!!!!!

[amz-fx]

Yeah, thanks for the circuits Jack! You are definitely a pioneer!!!! Who can forget the Fuxx Face!!!! Although not J201, I totally enjoyed building it!!!!!

Many thanks for your kind remarks. It is an honor to be mentioned in that manner along with R.G., Mark Hammer, yourself and others who have made DIY pedal building what it is today.

Thanks again, Jack

[nordine]

i never was much of a fan of j201s o jfets in general... just for modulation purposes

for gainy stuff, give me all the 2n7000s