I've seen that SmallBear now stocks Amperex 2N281 transistors which are made in Holland, and according to this excellent read (
https://sites.google.com/site/transisto ... rs/philips) they should correspond to Phillips OC72 type. I've ordered a set and received this:
SmallBear measurements, as written on the bags:
Q1 - hFE 60, L(eakage) 125
Q2 - hFE 92, L(eakage) 158
Q3 - hFE 158, L(eakage) 181
Chinese transistor tester measurements:
Q1 - hFE 54, ICE0 67uA, ICEs 5uA
Q2 - hFE 96, ICE0 .20mA, ICEs 8uA
Q3 - hFE 186, ICE0 .33mA, ICEs 11uA
I've dropped them in a ToneBender MKII OC75 schematic, without any resistor substitutions, and got this:
In-circuit measurements, taken at 8.99V:
Q1, E 0.00, B 0.02, C 8.86V
Q2, E 0.00, B 0.08, C 0.15V
Q3, E 0.08, B 0.15, C 8.20V
The sound? It fuzzes allright, but let me put it this way: if I were someone who listened to all of the ToneBender lore and then got introduced to this sound, I would've thought that I'm simply not a fuzz person.
In this particular setup, they do not show more than 10% of the ToneBender potential. The sound is velcro-ish, octavey, gated. It is very present and "real", but not really pleasant.
If I haven't already completed two ToneBenders and somehow got crazily lucky with them (they sound very "Marshall in a box"-like, gainy and creamy, almost BigMuffish), I would've thought that ToneBenders are simply not my cup of tea, and that any zVex Fuzz Factory could do a number of such tricks, without the mythology attached.
So, do I change the transistor order and try to coax something out of this circuit as it is, or do I change the resistors - that is the question now...