NKT275 Transistors

Below (photos #1 and #2) are pics of some original Newmarket NKT275 Germanium transistors from a 1967 Arbiter Fuzzface pedal. Note the Gray Base material (photo #2), Red Dot, and almost handwritten quality to the ID-stamp. Some effects makers are claiming that they offer “NOS” (new old stock) NKT275 transistors, and I’ve found this to simply not be true in all that I‘ve seen. The forgery NKT’s that I’ve sampled sounded horrendous, with HFE ratings (gain) up around 150 to 250, which is 2 to 4 times that of the real NKT’s, resulting in a thick muddy sound devoid of sparkle and not cleaning up when the guitar’s volume knob is backed-off.

I have always used custom-made Germanium transistors, but do not claim these to be New Old Stock, and have been doing this long enough to know the difference between real and fake, between good and bad transistors.

here's a real NKT (below)

another real one (below)