Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
Now I didn’t go as far as measuring and matching gain and leakage (as much as possible), but here’s a comparison of a few Q3 transistors for a Tone Bender MKIII – all the same setting, just swapping Q3 on the breadboard. Why? I saw someone on Facebook poking fun at an eBay seller in Thailand over what … Read more
It’s worth noting that none of the source material claims that equivalent equates to identical – there will be differences, it will largely come down to what you are trying to build in a lot of cases. I’ve only listed transistors commonly sought after for guitar pedals, as this is what I’m usually trying to … Read more
CV Transistors are UK military spec valves, transistors and diodes (CV stands for common valve, as it predates semiconductors). CV transistors were made by several different manufacturers on contract and produced to the UK military’s specifications. These can be, and quite often are, common commercial transistors made to military specification and renumbered. Here are a few pedal-friendly transistors … Read more
COMMON SILICON TRANSISTOR PINOUTS TRANSISTOR NUMBERING SYSTEMS JEDEC (JOINT ELECTRON DEVICE ENGINEERING COUNCIL) example: 2N2222 First Number 1 = Diode 2 = Bipolar transistor or single gate field effect transistor 3 = Dual gate field effect transistor Second Letter = N Subsequent numerals = Serial number Important to note that there is no correlation between … Read more
If you haven’t heard of this before (which seems unlikely), here’s the original RG Keen article, which explains how it works. I use a spreadsheet set up with the calculations ready to go for testing; there’s also an online calculator here. NOTE: Be prepared to see the voltage fluctuate a lot while the transistor stabilises. Don’t wait too long though, … Read more