What transistors to socket?

[buddax]

Planning to build my third x0x soon, and was just going over what mod's and what transistors I want to socket. For the transistors I'we come up with Q8-Q10 ( maybe Q11 ) and Q28.

Anyhow... I was thinking about just putting all the transistors in the VCO and VCF in sockets... but is there more components that would be interesting to have in sockets?

[Brassteacher]

Planning to build my third x0x soon, and was just going over what mod's and what transistors I want to socket. For the transistors I'we come up with Q8-Q10 ( maybe Q11 ) and Q28.

Anyhow... I was thinking about just putting all the transistors in the VCO and VCF in sockets... but is there more components that would be interesting to have in sockets?

I would say it depends on how your x0x will be used. If you plan on using it for performances or other events where it will be moved often, I wouldn't put ANY of the transistors in sockets, and precious few of the chips. Of course, you will want to check some of the more rare transistors for functionality before soldering in place permanently. The practice of "tack soldering" a component in place to test before making the job more permanent is not unheard of, and is even recommended in the service manual for the Roland SH-09 synthesizer when matching up BA662A chips in the filter.

If the x0x will be not moved as much, or at all if it stays in a studio, sockets shouldn't be much of an issue if they are good quality. I would suggest sockets for all the 2SC1583 transistors, as you may find that the x0x will sound better with differing 2SC1583 in different positions. In other words, one particular C1583 may noticeably sound better as the buffer in the filter than another, even if they have the same date code. From what I've seen so far, the most critical position is the buffer in the filter (Q21), followed by the input of the filter (Q12), with Q26 in the VCO having the least effect on the sound.

If you have multiple transistors to try for Q28, I'd definitely socket that one, and swap JFETs in and out until I got the best square wave.

Now, if you really plan on experimenting with different transistors, feel free to socket any of the ones you see fit. I plan on doing extensive semiconductor tests in the x0x I'm currently building, so I have sockets for ALL the transistors and chips. I do not, however, have any plans on taking the unit outside the house, EVER!

I hope this helps at least some...

[buddax]

I don't plan to haul it around to gigs and so on. But I will put the BA6110 and and other transistors mentioned ( Q12, Q21, Q26 ) on the list...

And yes, I have 4-5 2SK30's, O/Y's, that I'm looking forward to trying out. And I have a few tube of DIL-sockets for all the IC's too.

Hope to get started this weekend.

[buddax]

Totally unrelated... here is a pic of my DIY PCB-Holder... gonna be epic soldering the thing with that! Did the first 2 x0x's without any holder, and that gets lame rather quick.

[MartinDidymus]

From experience I would say socket as much as possible, it makes trouble shooting easier if you do hit a problem. I you don’t and your build is fine then you have not lost anything. You can solder them in later after all. Good luck with your build fella

[Brassteacher]

Totally unrelated... here is a pic of my DIY PCB-Holder... gonna be epic soldering the thing with that! Did the first 2 x0x's without any holder, and that gets lame rather quick.

That is really nice, and really nice work! Question: Do the Danes EVER do anything in a mediocre fashion? Every bit of Danish furniture I have ever seen is first-rate, and from my experience working as a repair tech in a Bang & Olufsen authorized service center, they don't cut corners on building their gear, nor do they accept cutting corners when doing repair work on their products. Every now and then, someone from corporate would pretend to be a regular customer, send in a piece of gear to be repaired, and do a thorough inspection of the thing after it was returned. Returning the item working was a given in their mind, they would inspect for every last detail done to specifications, even if the item in question was 15 years old! An example, if working on the amplifier from a Penta speaker, you would be in trouble if the speaker terminal's ground wire wasn't bolted down in this exact manner: Lockwasher over the mounting stud first, then the lug that was attached to the ground wire, then the nut. And it had BETTER be the correct nut! (Not necessarily the original nut, but it had better be identical to the original.)

[buddax]

With B&O it has to be tight, considering the outrageous prices And yeah, the PCB-holder is really nice to work with, can more or less angel the thing exactly as i like it.

[Computer Controlled]

I take my b0x out to every gig i play, and i have a few pieces socketed. Never run into any issues at all.