Contents
What is germanium sound?
The sound of germanium has a warmth and a granulity as pleasant to the ear as the tube sound, without being the same : The sensation of warmth is about equivalent (for analog reasons, in particular the Miller effect that dynamically attenuates the high frequencies).
Why are transistors so expensive?
1 Answer. The main characteristic that make them higher price are the very low demand and small quantities purchased, compared to other transistors.
What is germanium fuzz?
The Germanium Fuzz is a fuzz pedal. The knobs change the sounds. This pedal is designed around two germanium 2N527 OR 2N404 Germanium Transistors. They have been graded for gain and leakage and carefully matched to sound their best.
Why are CPUs so expensive right now 2020?
Rising costs for PC hardware is largely down to supply chain issues. The cost to build a PC with good performance continues to fall as we get more for our money. Still, the current world situation and pandemic has led to substantial inflation of component pricing, notably motherboards and power supplies.
Why do people prefer SI over GE?
The structure of Germanium crystals will be destroyed at higher temperature. However, Silicon crystals are not easily damaged by excess heat. Peak Inverse Voltage ratings of Silicon diodes are greater than Germanium diodes. Si is less expensive due to the greater abundance of element.
Can you use germanium transistors on a guitar?
Germanium transistors are so dynamic that rolling back the input level (either from the guitar’s volume, or via a pre-gain pot) produces sounds equivalent to transistors with lower hFE values. I find I can get great vintage tones with the more gain on tap if needed. So I call b.s. on the conventional wisdom here.
Are there germanium transistors in Fuzz kits?
BYOC has been selling fuzz kits with new transistors from New Jersey Semiconductor, who have an exceedingly uninformative website. The guys from Mammoth told me their germanium transistors are new-production, though they wouldn’t or couldn’t tell me more than that.
What are the reliability and failure modes of vintage transistors?
Of course, after 40 plus years of life, most electrolytic capacitors are suspect and the carbon-composition resistors have drifted high (and sometimes become very noisy). No surprises there. But the reliability and failure modes of vintage transistors is interesting, and is the subject of this article. 1. Germanium transistors
Is it possible to restore a vintage transistor radio?
One of my interests is restoring vintage transistor radios. Of course, after 40 plus years of life, most electrolytic capacitors are suspect and the carbon-composition resistors have drifted high (and sometimes become very noisy). No surprises there.