Building your own pedals (?)

Rschan.Ziar

Rschan.Ziar

New member
Hey,

I've been seeing a lot of these 'make your own pedal' kits including all stuff.
But is it really worth it? The kit for a tube-screamer pedal is like 20 bucks while a TS808 is like 230 bucks. Will the (build it yourself) pedal really sound good?

*I'm not only talking about TS pedals.
http://www.musikding.de/The-Screamer-Overdrive-kit

Will appreciate to see what you guys have to say about this.
 
Re: Building your own pedals (?)

If you're good at soldering (precise) and have the patience, kits are great fun AND you get really good effects at the other end. That said, I only have experience of Build Your Own Clone kits, and they have been excellent. The forum there is just as good as this one in terms of knowledgeable folk willing to help. MY BYOC Silver Pony (Klone) is a mainstay on my board and a fraction of the price of an original.


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Re: Building your own pedals (?)

That's a really good price on a kit, and it looks decent... I have had great luck with BYOC and GGG kits, they are more expensive than that kit, but they also include a pre-drilled enclosure which is extra on that one in the link.

I ordered a couple of kits on ebay from a seller in China because they were cheap, and they ended up not being worth my time to sort through, parts were wrong or missing, PCBs and jacks were a pain to deal with. So, I would try to find some reviews on the seller.

I've built some of my own designs on project boards, I do have a degree in electronics, that said, it can get time consuming and unless you are doing it to learn, sometimes it is easier (and cheaper depending on what value you place on your time) to just buy the pedal you want. FWIW, I can put most of the BYOC or GGG kits together in a couple of hours but I can read resistor color codes and caps on the fly so YMMV.
 
Re: Building your own pedals (?)

Do it for fun, not to save money. If you are looking for a cheap TS, find a used SD-1 or Chinese knockoff like Joyo. If you are looking to learn, build and modify, start with a BYOC.
 
Re: Building your own pedals (?)

The key to the sound is going to be getting your hands on the right model chips. Have to find out what all devices they were in and surf used and yard sales and pawn and estate sales and auctions.
 
Re: Building your own pedals (?)

Kits are fun! And you usually are building pretty awesome pedals. I use BYOC, and have built their Overdrive II, Compressor, and Tremolo. Make sure you don't work when you are tired, though- those resistor colors can look pretty similar.
 
Re: Building your own pedals (?)

beaubrummels said:
The key to the sound is going to be getting your hands on the right model chips. Have to find out what all devices they were in and surf used and yard sales and pawn and estate sales and auctions.
Click to expand...

I would argue that some, I don't think anyone would be able to tell a new production JRC4558 dual opamp from one made 20 years ago. Some of the old, no longer made transistors are key to the sound of the old fuzzes, but even Roger Mayer uses current run transistors in most if not all of his designs.

I think the key is to build a TS-1 style pedal and/or maybe a DS-1 style pedal (it would be easy to put both on one circuit with a single switch) and use a socket for the opamp and maybe the input and output FETs and try different ones. Of course, you also need to make sure they are pin for pin compatible, you can't put a LM308 single opamp (the Rat chip) into a DS/TS circuit that expects a dual 4558 opamp.

I also should add, YMMV, etc... If something works for you, who am I to judge.
 
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Re: Building your own pedals (?)

Thanks Rand-O. To be fair, I didn't make them, I just built them. But I appreciate it all the same.

I would just say that there are a fair number of people out there offering kits or boards. Some of them have put in the effort to study the pedal circuits and offer anything from layouts, to boards to full kits that emulate the circuits. The good ones supply an accurately laid out board with the correct components if offering a kit, or the board and a BOM if just offering the board. The buyer/builder needs to do a little research as well to make sure that what they are considering buying is a faithful reproduction as well as checking on component availability and cost if it isn't a full kit. Or, simply rely on the reputation of some of the better known kit sellers (like BYOC for example). Doing so can reward the builder with a "clone" (or real close) of the pedal that is being emulated for a good deal less money than an original. Of course, one needs to be able to solder and make sure they place the correct components in the correct locations on the board.
 
Re: Building your own pedals (?)

Worth it, depends on you ... Do you have the patience, desire to learn, etc.?? If so diy.. Id love to build em. Just don't have the time or peace to right now with my teenager doing the stuff she is
 
Re: Building your own pedals (?)

Mincer said:
What ZenDrive clone was it?
Click to expand...

No idea,to be honest,but our other guitarist liked it so much that he "commisioned" one.

I told Darg I couldn't recommend the pedal enough,but don't wanna get him neck-deep in work that's time-consuming & not very profitable...
 
Re: Building your own pedals (?)

i am starting a crunchbox/angry charlie -basedc clone and likely will investigate some mods

i am also rehousing my zendrive in a new enclosure to get the audio and DC ports on the back instead of the sides

just for fun - not to save dough

will report back
 
Re: Building your own pedals (?)

A properly-functioning self-built pedal is a very rewarding thing. I built a Klone pedal from 3pdt.com, and it added something I didn't know I needed to my tone. It's become an always-on pedal, and it obviously was a lot cheaper than the real deal at the crazy prices they fetch online. I did it with my daughter, too, and she thought it was a lot of fun, almost like a puzzle that comes to life when Daddy plays guitar. If you've ever done any real PCB soldering before, I highly recommend giving it a shot.
 
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