diodes in the King of Tone

[mordechai]

What sort of diodes does the Analogman King of Tone use?  I think there is a switch to go between higher and lower gain pairs, but are they all the same types?  Si or Ge? 

[midwayfair]

They're all silicon -- MA856 and 1S1588.

No idea where to get the MA856s, but Effects Connection still has the 1S1588.

[Pyr0]

The MA856 are almost impossible to get. They were originally used for band switching in radio and tv tuners. I managed to get a couple of MA856 diodes, but not enough for a KoT.
Looking at data sheets for various other band switching diodes and comparing some basic Vf tests on a DMM diode setting, the BA278 and BA243 are very similar to the MA856 and have very similar specs on the datasheets. They should certainly sound more authentic than regular 1N914/1N4148's.