It's fall and getting cooler - luckily in my area we've been having summer-time type temperatures (low 70s) so my Ge pedals have been behaving fine. Today there's a bit of a cold snap (or a return to "normal" for the year temperatures - 50s) and the heat in the house hasn't kicked in since the thermostat still thinks it's summer. This small decrease in temperature and the two fairly expensive, commercial Ge based pedals on my board turn to sh*t! Not surprising but frustrating! Now I know why Si took over - if it's this bad for audio, imagine trying to design a computer or something and the 1s and 0s change with temperature... not good
Which brings me to another point, shouldn't commercial pedal designers have the brains to fix (or at least alleviate) the temperature instability problems WITHOUT destroying tone? Hell, I've made treble boosters for friends and pack the transistor in foam (like a cooler) which helps a great deal.
...hence the AM Sundial in his fuzz's. I had the same issues with my Std. Fuzz, and had Mike put the Sundial on it...problem solved! You gotta keep the bias point happy in those Ge trannies in order to get the "tone".
Isn't it usually the opposite? The Ge fuzzes I have had always farted out when it got hot. I have heard of guys keeping them in the fridge to keep them cool.
"There is a tide in the affairs of men that, if caught at the swell, leads on to fame and fortune; but if missed, returns life to the shallows." - William Shakespeare
quote:Originally posted by mapleneck: Isn't it usually the opposite? The Ge fuzzes I have had always farted out when it got hot. I have heard of guys keeping them in the fridge to keep them cool.
I think they have to be in the middle somewhere.. I have heard of people coolin em too..
Its usally the first tranny thats unstable.. I build the hybird anymore Q1 si Q2 ge with trimmers..
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Posts: 178 | Location: Detroit, MI | Registered: February 25, 2004
Get a digital voltmeter from Radio Shack for $20. I keep any of my Ge fuzzes that have a trimmer set to 5 volts, about optimum range according to Analog Mike.
Hi guys: I know all the tips/tweaks/etc. for "fixing" the problem - but my point was really, why should anyone have to? Tweaking an external pot for best sound isn't a big hardship (provided the pedal has one) but if I have to break out a multimeter every time my sound goes on the fritz... that's a major PITA.
Good thing most Ge pedals sound good enough to put up with these hassles!
quote:Originally posted by carlygtr56: Get a digital voltmeter from Radio Shack for $20. I keep any of my Ge fuzzes that have a trimmer set to 5 volts, about optimum range according to Analog Mike.
Carl, What are you setting to 5 volts? My understanding is that Germanium is just more termperature senstitive than Silicon and that the internal impedances in the device, in this case a transistor, change with termperature. This is one of the reasons why almost all solid state electronics is Silicon based these days and not Germanium based.
So many pedals, so little time...
Posts: 3790 | Location: San Diego, CA USofA | Registered: December 19, 2001
If you are feeling philosophical you can broaden the scope of the statement to "Why I hate the Guitar". Why does everything that sounds good with the guitar have to be such a PITA? Tubes. Find one good thing about them. They're expensive, short lived, need heavy transformers, delicate, always wearing out, require high voltage. Oh yeah, they sound great. Digital stuff that is easy to work with, programmable, consistant, low voltage, and fits into small, lightweight packages can't sound good. It has to be germanium, tube, analog, alnico, carbon-zinc, or tape. It is like being over-wieght and trying to figure out what you can eat. If it tastes good, spit it out. For the guitar, if it is inexpensive, light-weight, convenient, lasts a long time, or never needs adjustment or maintenance, throw it away, it is going to sound like crap. Makes you wonder, if the electric guitar hadn't come along about the same time as tubes if it would have ever caught on?
"There is a tide in the affairs of men that, if caught at the swell, leads on to fame and fortune; but if missed, returns life to the shallows." - William Shakespeare
quote:Originally posted by mapleneck: If you are feeling philosophical you can broaden the scope of the statement to "Why I hate the Guitar". Why does everything that sounds good with the guitar have to be such a PITA? Tubes. Find one good thing about them. They're expensive, short lived, need heavy transformers, delicate, always wearing out, require high voltage. Oh yeah, they sound great. Digital stuff that is easy to work with, programmable, consistant, low voltage, and fits into small, lightweight packages can't sound good. It has to be germanium, tube, analog, alnico, carbon-zinc, or tape. It is like being over-wieght and trying to figure out what you can eat. If it tastes good, spit it out. For the guitar, if it is inexpensive, light-weight, convenient, lasts a long time, or never needs adjustment or maintenance, throw it away, it is going to sound like crap. Makes you wonder, if the electric guitar hadn't come along about the same time as tubes if it would have ever caught on?
Actually - depending on your perspective, tubes are so much easier to work with than digital - I can't program a lick, my math is mediocre at best, soldering SMT devices would make me cross-eyed, etc.
IME the simpler stuff is generally best - I have a tweed Champ that has only ever needed a cap job and new tubes to work right and sound great. Easy to put together, low maintenance.
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