Getting into pedal building? :o

Erlend_G

Erlend_G

New member
So...

I was just about to pay, like.. 200USD for a hand-built fuzz- made by a Norwegian pedal maker.

Then I started thinking. When I was 16- I went to school and studied "Basic Electronics Course" for one year-
(then dropped out the year after, trying to do "year two- high power" (instead of radio/electronics course)- (that would have interested me much more.)

anyway- I got a basic understanding of how electronics work- I can use a soldering iron; - got a multimeter, a desk, and loads of spare time.
and I've been looking at these nice DIY kits; (that are reasonably cheap- though I guess you pay 40-50USD just to collect the parts in a bag, and getting a pre-made circuit board. Still...)

... Something has always "put me off" buying a kit; and trying to make a pedal. I guess I've been afraid of failure- or something...

I got the money to buy a simple, easy-to-build, fuzz? kit. Should I do it? :)

...(the "pre-drug head" perfectionist in me, says... "hey Earl, you 30 year old, fat f*** - if you want your own signature tone- then BUILD IT!" ;) ...

:)

Any tips, for getting started? Good reading- to understand and learn about, like, fuzzes- transistor preamps; different principles?

Thanks!

(and sorry to be so honest- I simply CANNOT promise- that I'll ever do anything. Before after I've done it. I'm one of the biggest a-holes I've ever met :p)

:D

rock on!! \m/

-Erlend
 
Pedal building, in my experience, can be extraordinarily rewarding or extraordinarily frustrating. More the latter than the former. All that being said, the pedal on my board that is my absolute favorite is a Klone I built from a kit with my daughter. I'm trying to troubleshoot an EP-3 preamp build I finished yesterday that seems to be shorting the input to ground somehow, and it's driving me insane.

My advice is to start with something like an SD-1, which you can find cheap all day, and apply different mods one by one to see how it works and how they change the pedal.
 
I've built several BYOC pedals. They were not easy, and I made mistakes, but their forum sorted me out. The key is to take your time, do it slowly with a clear head. There is a tendency to just 'want it done' and that is where you make mistakes. Have a good light with a good magnifying glass. Those resistor colors are hard to tell apart sometimes.
 
Mincer said:
Have a good light with a good magnifying glass. Those resistor colors are hard to tell apart sometimes.
Click to expand...

I just meter the resistors in advance and lay them out on a piece of paper on top of 2k2, 47k, etc. And you definitely, definitely need a multimeter before you even consider starting.
 
A DMM, lit magnifying glass, good soldering iron, and a set of needle-nose pliers to correctly form the leads on components gets you off to a good start. I've built a few myself, and have found it to be very rewarding. A good knowledge of electronics is essential. I've modded some off-the-shelf pedals, and have collaborated with some circuit designers to create new pedals. Right now, I'm working with AION FX, their PCB quality is outstanding, and I source the components myself.
 
I've built a couple dozen pedals now . . . with a 30$ radio shack soldering iron (make sure you've got a fine tip and you'll be alright), some needle nose pliers, a stepper drill bit/hand drill (for making holes in pedal chasis), and schematics from the internet. It's pretty straight forward, especially if you're doing fuzz pedals. Don't buy a kit, they're way too expensive for what they are. Just hit up mouser or whatever your local electronics distributor is and you'll be able to buy the parts for very cheap.

Usually a pedal costs between 25 - 45$ to make. Chassis, chips, pots, resistors, LEDs, etc.

I really like this site for explaining things simply (and also for having a gazillion different circuit layouts done up): http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/...ild-guide.html
 
Also, have a space set up that you don't have to tear down between sessions.
 
You can find a lot of cheap clones on Amazon for $30 which you could modify. I would probably start with modifying before scratch building.
 
idsnowdog said:
You can find a lot of cheap clones on Amazon for $30 which you could modify. I would probably start with modifying before scratch building.
Click to expand...

Be careful if you're doing this. Some of those clones are very hard to modify because they use SMT stuff on PCBs.
 
i assume most of the cheap stuff is surface mount which is much more of a pita to work on than thru hole
 
I got in to building stompbox circuits in 2004 with the start of modifying my then Crybaby for true bypass and changing the voicing. I then modded a Boss SD-1, a few others and eventually built a couple of boosters and an overdrive. Never went much further than that. It takes a lot of time to to do it right. The kits are great for "paint by numbers" but I wanted to learn what the circuit was doing and what were the results of the resistor or cap change, and even transistor change. How is a transistor biased? How is the gain to the opamp controlled? Where is the best place to but a buffer in the circuit? What pot values work best for the controls? Those were all questions that I wanted to have answered. diystompboxes.com is where I started. LOTS of info, but be ready to do your homework because there's not much hand holding. It's a teach and learn type of place, no "painting by numbers".

I still have a breadboard, some stripboards (like the original Dallas Rangemaster was built on) and some perfboards. And a crap ton of parts. After a while I decided I simply didn't want to mess with it much anymore and play my guitar instead. I still have a Rangemaster clone I built with switchable caps for warmer or fuller sounds, a Mosfet Booster and another booster based on the front end circuit of a Marshall that I call the Marsha Valve. It's essential the first half of V1 seen in the JCM800 pre-amp schematic. Works really good. I might revisit that one and put in a proper DC jack as it runs on battery only right now.

Building pedals can be rewarding and I'm sure the kits are great. I wanted to know more when I started out. There is a Boss OD-1 Clone kit out there that I've been eyeing (Yellow Overdrive from BYOC), and that's the only one I want to get my hands on because it has the Raytheon 16-pin chip, just like the original. But of course, it's out of stock.
 
Last edited:
Yeah...my "life juice" and life-drive /perspective variates between "bed-ridden patient" and... "beer drinking survivor" these days.

because of issues; both personal pain (because of an un-natural life)- and the extremely agitating attacks of spiritual leeches/ evil people-

I said I can't promise to do much, but to try survive.

But!! Thanks ALOT for the info! :) It's much more than I expected. I'm gonna copy this thread into a txt. document, for later...

i mean it.

Thanks alot bros;

-Erlend
 
Mincer said:
I've built several BYOC pedals. They were not easy, and I made mistakes, but their forum sorted me out. The key is to take your time, do it slowly with a clear head. There is a tendency to just 'want it done' and that is where you make mistakes. Have a good light with a good magnifying glass. Those resistor colors are hard to tell apart sometimes.

...

Also, have a space set up that you don't have to tear down between sessions.
Click to expand...

I built one of these kits for my brother-in-law as a Christmas gift a couple years ago. I couldn't agree more with everything you've said. The project took a lot longer than I had anticipated, and I found the key was spending time on the preparation end of the project. You're absolutely right, some of those resistor colors are REALLY hard to tell apart. I'd also recommend a clip/mount to hold the board, as it would have been much easier with three hands :)
 
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