JMI Trash

[Gary]

I do remember him selling some enclosures on eBay, I got some from him but not sure on the timeline of things

Ahhh, is that where my MKIII box came from? Arrived yesterday and heading out the door to Jimmy Behan for a build

[innerflight]

I do remember him selling some enclosures on eBay, I got some from him but not sure on the timeline of things

Ahhh, is that where my MKIII box came from? Arrived yesterday and heading out the door to Jimmy Behan for a build

No not that one, this was a while ago, that one came direct from bpc

glad it got there safely

[Gary]

Ha! It's gonna get proper guts now anyway :)

[Radiotron]

I thought the VPW guy worked for JMI before leaving and setting up VPW?

Time-line mix up on my part, sorry about that

Still weird he would be using transistors if they were obviously flawed, seemed like a knowledgeable guy

[Doc Holliday]

Hey no probs, I struggle to keep up with it all tbh. I just remember * sola = original & JMI = dirty theiving Bastards :D

[Acid Fuzz]

Sorry for late reply. Yes, same transistors in the VPW pedals, at least some of them. Our rejected OC75's. Had to see one to confirm. We've been having germanium transistors made intermittently since ~2009. From the few VPW pedals that have passed through my hands I'd say Steve G does/did good work IMO. Not all of our rejected devices were necessarily "bad", which is subjective, they just didn't meet the qualifications for transistors that went in to my builds. I didn't like them, so they went back.
As for JMI/BPW, my mother always used to say, "if you don't have anything good to say......"

[Sgtfuzz]

Sorry for late reply. Yes, same transistors in the VPW pedals, at least some of them. Our rejected OC75's. Had to see one to confirm. We've been having germanium transistors made intermittently since ~2009. From the few VPW pedals that have passed through my hands I'd say Steve G does/did good work IMO. Not all of our rejected devices were necessarily "bad", which is subjective, they just didn't meet the qualifications for transistors that went in to my builds. I didn't like them, so they went back.
As for JMI/BPW, my mother always used to say, "if you don't have anything good to say......"

I'm just curious if the transistors you were having made were the ones used in the point to point germanium Sonic Boom effects pedals? Also, what's the best way to identify the rejected transistors that you had made? Mainly the OC75s, as I have one VPW Supafuzz from years ago when Steve Giles first started his company.
Thanks

[1bottlerocket]

Sorry for late reply. Yes, same transistors in the VPW pedals, at least some of them. Our rejected OC75's. Had to see one to confirm. We've been having germanium transistors made intermittently since ~2009. From the few VPW pedals that have passed through my hands I'd say Steve G does/did good work IMO. Not all of our rejected devices were necessarily "bad", which is subjective, they just didn't meet the qualifications for transistors that went in to my builds. I didn't like them, so they went back.
As for JMI/BPW, my mother always used to say, "if you don't have anything good to say......"

I'm just curious if the transistors you were having made were the ones used in the point to point germanium Sonic Boom effects pedals? Also, what's the best way to identify the rejected transistors that you had made? Mainly the OC75s, as I have one VPW Supafuzz from years ago when Steve Giles first started his company.
Thanks

I was also wondering how you could identify the transistors as rejects you once had. Were they marked in some way?

[Acid Fuzz]

"I'm just curious if the transistors you were having made were the ones used in the point to point germanium Sonic Boom effects pedals?" No, we've never used any of the Acid Fuzz transistors in any Sonic Boom builds. All the Sonic Booms with germanium fuzz have NOS transistors. Real New Old Stock, not JMI "NOS"

"Also, what's the best way to identify the rejected transistors that you had made? Mainly the OC75s, as I have one VPW Supafuzz from years ago when Steve Giles first started his company."
Thanks"

The quick easy way to know for sure is simply by looking at the physical package/encapsulation/can and the print on it. Back in 2009-2010 we had test batches of OC75's made by NJS exclusively. Those ~all look the same. Pretty much any "mojo" tranny # like OC75 or 2G381, etc.... that has "NJS" on the package is one of our rejects. The OC75's from those early batches were all in the classic metal SO-2 package. However, NONE of our OC75's were in the black glass SO-2 encapsulation like the 60's Mullards or the later DSI OC81D's. We've never printed "Mullard" or any other brand than NJS or the current manufacturer on any of our transistors, so you don't have to worry about "fake" Mullards or fake/counterfeit anything else, at least not from Acid Fuzz. If your VPW has metal can SO-2 OC75's then they are our rejects. If it has black glass Mullards, then safe to say, that's what it has. I think that covers anything you'd see in a VPW pedal or JMI.

Our large production runs did not have the "NJS" print on the package and none of our later runs from any manufacturer have a brand/make, simply "OC75" & the date code. The date codes are obvious.

Incidentally, my primary aim in making transistors was always to get a great SOUNDING transistor so we can keep the fuzz party they started in the 60's going for years in to the future. Aesthetics took a back seat. I dig groovy enclosures & graphics, but caring a lot about what new production transistors themselves look like inside a pedal where no one sees them is a level of model making contest nerd that I just don't see the point of. That being said, I did go through great lengths to make sure our early transistors were at least in the classic SO-2 package, if possible, for as long as possible because I was under the (mistaken) impression that it may have something to do with the sound. You see, not only did devices like Mullard OC75's end production decades ago. Production of the SO-2 package they were in also ended then. None of our manufacturers had these, because they haven't been used in decades. So I had to track down NOS packages and provide them. At this point I think that is a total PITA & not worth the effort at all IMO.