Mudbunny transistor testing

[DutchMF]

Some time ago I built a Mudbunny with sockets for all the parts, with the intention of giving the different permutations a try. Well, that never really happened (been using it with the VRH specs now for a while, pretty good) but this afternoon I tried out a number of different transistors in the circuit as a small start in my search for The Ultimate Muff  Thought I'd post the findings here for all you Fuzz-lovers!

2N5088:
Slightly dark, smooth, not too much gain, liked it a lot for leads on the neck pickup

2N5089:
Sounds almost the same as the 2N5088, but with a bit more gain

BC549C
A bit brighter than the 2N5088/89, about the same gain as the 2N5089

BC550C
Also a bit brighter than the 2N5088/89 and higher gain than the BC549C, very cool for powerchord sludge

MPSA18
Harsher sounding than the others, but that can be easily remedied by a twist of the tone knob (either on the guitar or the pedal). To my ears the most gain of this bunch

I also have some BC182L's (and a lot more on the way) but those required some subtle leg-bending pin-out wise, which didn't seem like a good idea after last nights beer consumption 

I'll be doing the same thing with diodes, the different BOMs and more transistors soon, so if you have any requests or suggestions, please post!

Paul

[juansolo]

http://juansolo.demon.co.uk/stompage/schematics/Misc/Muffs.xls

Suggestions

You'll need to open that in Excel to see the notes and the Mayo schematic it refers to is this one: http://juansolo.demon.co.uk/stompage/schematics/Skreddy/Mayo%20Schematic.png

Pretty sure the Mudbunny parts are correct.

[jtn191]

I've been researching this too. Apparently, there isn't much change unless you get below 100 hfe.
see this thread http://stompboxes.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13565

Also, see this similar chart (to yours, juansolo) http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetonyballs/6841035924/