Let’s talk Germanium transistors! Warm Bender uses true-to-spec NOS OC76, OC75, and SFT337 transistors. NOS or “New Old Stock” transistors require extra effort to find, let alone to ensure they accurately meet the performance specifications required to deliver an authentic Bender-style tone. Want to dive in deeper? Let’s talk about that process.

How do you get different transistors? All vintage Germanium transistors were made in large batches. BUT they didn’t make a large batch of OC76 and then OC75 transistors. The very large batch of Germanium transistors was made and then each unit had to be tested to find out how it would be classified. Based on the measurements, each transistor is separated into its spec category (such as OC75 or OC76 or SFT337). While stock from a variety of vintage manufacturers still exists, the right specs in the right quantity are hard to find.

Using the Warm Formula of finding premium components for true-to-spec circuits we set out three years ago to make the Warm Bender. After years of research and several attempts to find stock, we found a large-scale B2B US-based supplier of NOS parts! Our transistor partner has been collecting parts since the late 1950's and has amassed a large inventory of NOS transistors. Their extensive, industry-standard sifting & testing process ensures each unit meets the appropriate spec category for OC75, OC76 and SFT337 transistors. But we didn’t simply take their word for it, we ran our own test and deconstructed some of their transistors and had each and every part retested to confirm its part number and parameters matched the published data sheets.