AC-128 transistors?

[joegagan]

my local surplus house continually restocks these bins ( very unorganized, boxes overflowing onto the floor, stacked etc)
they let me go behind the counter, they know me.
right now there are at least 20 different Ge part numbers with quantities in the 50 - 200 pcs per part number.

I have been buying about a dozen of each type( about  one dollar each)  to bring them back and test em so I can return there to make a quantity buy. I can tell these have not been tested or picked through, they are still in bulk packaging with 60s and 70s type markings on them

that is how I found one of my 'magic' part numbers, the 2n2614. once i latched onto that one I found there were tens of thousands in florida.
they are very consistent  - killer tone and gain with rejection rates less than 5% in the hundreds I purchased

[joegagan]

We desire the sounds we get on the pedals made then, because those are the pedals we heard on classic albums.

maybe, maybe not.

Something that sounds good just sounds good. doesn't matter when it came along, the Ge fuzz sound has a beauty that would have been great regardless of when. just so happens a really brilliant guitarist had the vision to make the most of it at a key time.

[Pedal love]

Joe I have a lot of respect for you, but Hendrix would have made a Kay fuzz talk. He would have made a Heath kit fuzz talk. That was Hendrix. There may be something special in the older ones, but I've never heard it.

[JimRayden]

Joe I have a lot of respect for you, but Hendrix would have made a Kay fuzz talk. He would have made a Heath kit fuzz talk. That was Hendrix. There may be something special in the older ones, but I've never heard it.

Ears differ.

---------
Jimbo

[mac]

I'm not a Jimi fan but I love the FF. I remember how good sounded a FF I had, but I can't tell for sure if it was better, worse or just different from my new clones. Not only because of time & aging, but mainly because I CHANGED.  Things like books, movies, guitars, amps and pedals that I liked 20 years ago do not please me now. .. or girls I date for more than a week!

I do not care about AC128 and NKT275. I just use the Ge that sound good to my ears. I found good tones in some japanese Ge I buy 5 blocks away from home at less than a us dollar each 

mac

[mercy me]

Anyone know where to get a bunch of these? I built my own fuzz circuit with a set of NOS I got off ebay. It sounds great and Im thinking of making a bunch to sell but cant find a supplier in the U.S. Ive heard they still make them new and if they sound decent that would be fine with me.

Id like to find a solid supplier so if I wanted to make more I could get them without having to go to ebay.

Also may be interested in doing a si version with BC108s or 109s if you know where I can get those too.

Thanks

I CAN SUPPLY YOU DIRECT FROM THE UK FOR THE AC128`S TUNGSRAM VERSIONS AND I ACCEPT PAYPAL,I CAN ALSO GET BC108`S AND 109`S METAL CAN TYPES THESE ARE PROVING HARDER TO FIND NOW AS THE BC548 BC549 TO-92 PLASTIC VERSIONS ARE CHEAPER AND OFFER THE SAME PERFORMANCE.IF YOU WANT TO CONTACT ME OFF THE BOARDS FOR PRIVACY REASONS REPLY TO    GERALDINE.CHERRY@GOOGLEMAIL.COM      I CHECK E-MAIL REGULAR

[vanessa]

Is it me? But is the Fuzz Face and the Fender Super Reverb (or a Bassman) 4x10 open back cab a match made in heaven? 

I think they sound too muddy with Marshall's... 

For FF type fuzz with Marshall's I prefer the 2 transistor Tonebender. A little brighter but the same kind of vibe. 

[dxm1]

Is it me? But is the Fuzz Face and the Fender Super Reverb (or a Bassman) 4x10 open back cab a match made in heaven? 

I think they sound too muddy with Marshall's... 

I think it has more to do with pickups - I like an FF with single coils, through either Marshall or Fender. I _don't_ care for the tone of an FF with humbuckers...

[mac]

To use HB and avoid muddiness I use the input pot mod and a variable input cap which goes from 473 to 225. Normally the input pot is set a 20K and the input cap a little less than 225. Works in my 1X12 combo.

mac

[smallbearelec]

As others have noted, some modern re-makes of the AC128 are known for poor tone. For the moment, however, there are Many other choices for the would-be boutiquer. I offer bulk lots of "rough-sorted" made-by-GE germanium with a guaranteed yield, my SKU 0115, for about $3.00 per device. I am confident of the quality and consistency, because I have been using them in my audited pairs and sets for years. The price reflects both the relative scarcity of good, U.S.-made devices, and my desire to maintain a stable market for as long as possible.

Other possibilities include the Japanese transistor radio types like the 2SB175. The last I looked, some large lots of these were still available at under $1.00 each. You may have to live with parts that have been removed from equipment and so have had their leads clipped. They may still be perfectly useable, but Caveat Emptor! Insist on testing samples, and get a guarantee that you can return them unsoldered if not happy.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the Russian and Chinese devices. I have no experience with Russian parts, but I remember seeing a thread about them here. As for the Far East, I recently bought a large lot of Chinese 3AXnnn and have been sorting and testing as I have time. Overall, they are quite good. But, as you would expect, some are leaky or noisy, so they still require the same careful sorting and auditing as other NOS types. The ones I have tested so far are fine for the usual FX purposes, but they have no special mojo that I can hear. Still, I know that when they start showing up on E-Bay, there will be all sorts of cons about "Chairman Mao's Secret Stash With Super High Gain and Incredible Tone," resulting from Szechuan chile peppers getting into the Czochralski, of course. I will post as soon as I know exactly what I have and can figure out how to market. Bear with me awhile on this, pls. Cave is going through major expansion, and I have to divide time between even more projects than usual.

[analogmike]

there will be all sorts of cons about "Chairman Mao's Secret Stash With Super High Gain and Incredible Tone," resulting from Szechuan chile peppers getting into the Czochralski, of course.

Steve, this is BS, you know better than that.

It's the Cantonese chili peppers that have the REAL mojo.

[mac]

Now that you mentioned Japanese 2sb175, I have a lot of them, also 2sb172 and 2sb176, all Matsushitas. They have a hfe sub class, but in general hfe and leakage are ok for FF use. 2sb176 may reach 200, so it can be used as a med gain transistor to replace Si in many effects. Some pictures:





I've posted average hfe and leakage of the Ge I have, spread +/- 50%:

http://geocities.com/guitarfxs/bias/main.html

Bioroids gave me some russian transistors, I did not tested them yet. They look... russian, imposible not to distinguish them from jap or european ones. Thanks Miguel!

mac

[mercy me]

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