# J201 Substitute



## BuddytheReow (Nov 17, 2020)

Ordered some j201s from smallbear last week. They got back to me today and said they had a website error and are all sold out. They offered a refund or to replace them with j112 or pf5102. Are these good substitutes? Trying to vero a dr boogie and warhead x2 amp in a box. Also wanted to have them for other builds in the future.


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## Dreamlands (Nov 17, 2020)

You could give these a shot:









						MMBFJ201 JFET (Pre-Soldered) - PedalPCB.com
					

JFET




					www.pedalpcb.com


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## BuddytheReow (Nov 17, 2020)

This may work. Would I then have to jumper them to the board? Trying to figure out how to do that.


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## Jovi Bon Kenobi (Nov 17, 2020)

Just solder in 3 clipped leads so that they come out the bottom. The spacing is the same so you can then just stick it into a socket or solder the leads directly onto the board if you're feeling frisky. The PCB looks bigger than it actually is. It's not much bigger than the actual body of a J201


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## Jovi Bon Kenobi (Nov 17, 2020)

Here's one socketed. Left side.


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## BuddytheReow (Nov 17, 2020)

Oh, that's not bad then. Was considering getting a dozen from mouser but they're about $3 each and didnt want to pay those prices.

Doing a bit of research on the interwebs shows there is no direct substitute for a j201. It all depends on the circuit it's being used for. Can anyone confirm this?


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## Jovi Bon Kenobi (Nov 17, 2020)

BuddytheReow said:


> Oh, that's not bad then. Was considering getting a dozen from mouser but they're about $3 each and didnt want to pay those prices.
> 
> Doing a bit of research on the interwebs shows there is no direct substitute for a j201. It all depends on the circuit it's being used for. Can anyone confirm this?


Yeah, they have been finicky for a lot of people here. Mostly due to fakes i.e. too-good-to-be-true deals on ebay or the like. FWIW, I ran out of my good J201's a while ago, I think they were Siliconex branded, and I haven't had any issues with the SMD ones sold on the site here on those lil breakout boards. It is circuit dependent as well. IIRC, the Son of Ben was one that gave lots of people problems, maybe the Six String Singer as well. I remember having to audition some of mine to get it to sound right.


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## BuddytheReow (Nov 17, 2020)

Maybe I should stock up? Do they still make the smd version?


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## temol (Nov 18, 2020)

The substitute for the J201 is MMBFJ201. Period.


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## Barry (Nov 18, 2020)

BuddytheReow said:


> Maybe I should stock up? Do they still make the smd version?


Yes they're widely available


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## Dan0h (Nov 18, 2020)

I too have used these and they are awesome. I grabbed some right angle header pins and they slot right in.
PeadalPCB’s J201s


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## BuddytheReow (Nov 18, 2020)

Dan0h said:


> I too have used these and they are awesome. I grabbed some right angle header pins and they slot right in.
> PeadalPCB’s J201s


Can you send a link for those? Not quite sure what you mean.


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## Dan0h (Nov 18, 2020)

BuddytheReow said:


> Can you send a link for those? Not quite sure what you mean.


The link is there. Click the word PedalPCB’s. ??


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## Dan0h (Nov 18, 2020)

Or were you asking about the header pins? They look like this and you can get them from tayda or even the Amazon.


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## BuddytheReow (Nov 18, 2020)

Dan0h said:


> The link is there. Click the word PedalPCB’s. ??


I meant the header pins


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## Bobbyd67 (Nov 18, 2020)

Dunno about j112 but pf5102 have got way higher spec than j201, in a circuit like the calamity fuzz for exemple they won't sound good. Maybe in a circuit with a bias trimpot it could do though.


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