The transistors won't make too much of a difference in most guitar effects circuits. Shielding all the wires carrying signal within the unit, using carbon film or metal film resistors instead of carbon comp, ensuring good ground connections (all connections really, not just grounds) etc... will make more of a difference than just changing the transistors.Originally Posted by thegnu
That said, if i was building a circuit from scratch i would just use the better transistors as there is little cost differance; but i wouldn't bother to mod an existing circuit just because of them.
Better opamps can help; changing 4558 chips to NJM4580, NE5532, or the OPA's will help. I would, however, shy away from the OPA and burrbrown type opamps as they are almost TOO good for some circuits. They can introduce noise and oscillations unless the circuit layout, grounds, etc... are perfect
Caps won't make much of a difference as long as they work. Using poly or mica types for power supply bypassing (battery or whatever) will actually make things worse as ceramics are more suitable. Then again, i don't go for the audiophile "this cap sounds better than that cap" nonsense. :
All IMO.