Sola Sound ToneBender Professional MKII

[lordsonic66]

hi guys finished my first fuzz pedal the 'orpheum fuzz' a real beast! I am wanting to attempt something more challenging, and am tempted to invest in some OC44 transistors, the schematic I am following is from this link http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/mkII.php
My question is this, the transistors I have found to buy don't have info on hfe values, but the link to the pedal schematic states that:  'The transistor gains for the MKII should be something like 70 for Q1 and Q2 and 100 for Q3' do i need to buy different types OC44s? Any help appreciated.

[Toddy]

Congrats on the Orpheum!! Is your's silicon or germanium? What transistors did you use in your Orpheum?

There are a million and one opinions about the transistors in a Tonebender. There are also many schematics and modified schematics out there for you to peruse and study about it. I suggest putting sockets so you can swap out to see which ones you like. I have 2N527s in mine and I love it but I put a gain pot on mine, too. Great pedal!!

Toddy

[lordsonic66]

Hi Todd, yep the orpheum is silicon, I haven't see a germanium version what transistors would those be? I used 2N3904's in mine. So can I just use OC44s without worrying much about hfe values ( I dont really understand these to be honest), I have bid on some OC44s on ebay. On all the germanium transistors I ve seen it didnt mention hfe values? Anyone any ideas for the newbie? thanks again.

[petemoore]

  Technology of the FuzzFace.
  I would get to know what leakage is about if your'e sorting through old sort throughs to find suitable transistors for FF.
  Basically if it's a leaky GE, that'll throw the Hfe reading off [such as in DMM's], providing lower gain/higher noise.
  Smallbear sells measured / documented sets of Ge transistors for effects.

[Curly]

if you're just doing one, I'd also recommend smallbear ... as long as you aren't overly concerned about 'vintage correct' trannie types for the MKII, then you can get a very good sounding pedal, and likely have fewer headaches

[lordsonic66]

Only problem is that I'm in the U.K, although there are a couple of other sites, thanks again.

[col]

So the orpheum is Si!!!!!! Thanks for this as I'd given up on mine as I'm sure someone said it was Ge. I couldn't understand why it seemed to be only mine that didn't work. I put in a BF337 in Q1 (Hfe 55) and a BF355 in Q2 (Hfe 125) and instant success. On the lower strings it almost sounds like a dalek but with lots of sustain. I'll try some more low to medium gain Si transistors when I get the chance and see if they sound any different.
In the UK Maplins do have some low gain transistors but they don't seem to stock them at every shop, and some are BCE pinout. You can also order from Rapid, RSH electronics or Dalbani, all have been mentioned on here before and I've had excellent service off them all. The info is on the rapid site so you can choose your transistors on average gain, but they don't do Ge. Dalbani do have some Ge transistors.
Do a search in your local yellow pages and look for electronic components, you might be lucky and have an old radio repair shop locally that still has some.