High part-count pedal build you say?

[Surgeon]

Re: High part-count pedal build you say?

So nobody does experimenting on a breadboard? That way you can modify all the resistor values to see what sounds cool where . . .

My main concern with sockets is longevity . . . it's a physical connection that's got potential to degrade.

I do have a breadboard but never use it. Experimenting on a circuit I know works and sounds well (otherwise I wouldn't build it) is pretty much ICs and trannies for me.
I really should breadboard simple circuits it more often though.

As for the possible degradation of the connexion: I used to use heat-sinks too but I find sockets are much easier to use and even more robust when it comes to heat (since it's never applied to the part. If the bond is weakened to the point where the IC or tranny doesn't work anymore, I'll be happy to replace it after what? 5-6-15 years! No too bad...

 

[VanDerchuck]

Re: High part-count pedal build you say?

Sockets are great for experimenting. I use them temporarily though. I don't like the sound of a socketed transistor. I can hear the note degrade and if I can't get good sustain out of a pedal then it's no use. So I seperate the sockets and put them in individually. They are easily removable and I solder in the transistor after that.

I use a breadboard. It's not my favorite way to do it, but for things like valvecasters it has been indispensable. Pedals I want to try but not sure I want to build or have quirky voltages. Plus, sometimes they oscillate like stuck pig. And that's no good.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: High part-count pedal build you say?

ugh, I got a breadboard a while ago but quickly found out that I don't logically jibe with the all-horizontal layout thing. If there weren't definitive vero layouts, I'd never use the stuff either. I have no clue why I have problems with it, but there's a total concentration break with how parts connect to where. I started just dead-bugging them with long lead to test and then snipping and soldering to perfbord. I can just put the stuff together in the general shape of the schematic that way.

eh, I'm pretty much only assembly-level anyway. I don't really know enough about the theory to step away from a schematic and do something interesting. Maybe when both boys are in school...maybe I can find my active learning chunk of brain that I took out so I didn't go insane from screaming children.

 

[VanDerchuck]

Re: High part-count pedal build you say?

ugh, I got a breadboard a while ago but quickly found out that I don't logically jibe with the all-horizontal layout thing.

I hear ya there. It took me a couple hours. Trick is to not bunch it up. Spread it out so it's easier to see and make notes. I started with a sho clone because of the small part count. But like I said earlier. Sometimes it just squeals.