mangler transistor

[hukenny]

Ho everybody!
Anyone can recommend to me the transistor to use in a building of mangler?
Thx!

[midwayfair]

Ho everybody!
Anyone can recommend to me the transistor to use in a building of mangler?
Thx!

For germanium:
Q1 -- you want a transistor with a gain of 40-60 for low gain or 70-90 for normal gain, with as low leakage as you can get.
Q2 -- you want 60-80 for low gain, or 90-120 for normal gain.

You're looking for Q1 to have approximately 2/3 the gain of Q2 to have its bias settle in the proper ~0.5V range.

For silicon, if you can, get a transistor with similar ranges to the above and test them, or use two different transistors that you can reasonably expect to have gain ranges with a similar 2:3 ratio. For instance, the BC series has "A," "B," and "C" ranges, so you could use an A range with a B range and get something that sounds pretty good.

You'll notice I haven't given any parts numbers -- that's because part numbers don't sound like anything. All they tell you is which datasheet to look at, so you have to check the datasheet if you're going to buy a batch of transistors, and you still have to test them if they don't come pre-tested.

Sounds like a lot of work? Fortunately, there are people who will do that work for you.

http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Categories?category=Germanium+Transistors%3AFuzz+Faces+and+Similar
http://www.diyguitarpedals.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3