big muff

[Scott!]

I was up at Maplins today and got (most) of the stuff. They were out, except for a couple caps, the transistors (!) and their sockets, a stereo jack, and the footswitch and LED, but I got an ace enclosure and everything else. All that cost ~7 pounds not including the battery, which I got at Tesco for 32p. Once my dad gets home and tells me where the drill is I'll get building!

[Guest lime ruined my life]

they were out of capacitors??

fuck sake, the guy didint even know what a tlo72 was, he tried to tell me they didint stock any, which resulted in me spending about 20 minutes looking through the catalog to prove him wrong.

i mean it's only the most common chip in the entire world, millions of which are made wach day, what did i expect from an electronics shop in aberdeen?

p.s tell me how you're build goes, i'm going to make one of these soon, after i finish my mxr's, and exams...

[Scott!]

The guy had no idea what a 2N5088 transistor was either, and actually had to phone somebody to ask what it was, after which I offered a meek excuse and shuffled over to the audio jacks in dismay. That's not even the end of the capacitor story: the parts list said I'd need 8 0.1uF caps, and so when I asked for them at the counter the guy said he only had 7, 3 of one type and 4 of another. Sure, I said. Whatever. So I get home and in my little capacitor bag is 3 of the lovable classic red film caps, and these little grey monstrosities with a really wide body and a lead about 2mm long. I don't know what I'm going to do, because they sure as hell won't fit between 2 rows of stripboard. I got another one of them too, I think it was the 0.01uF cap, and it was a nightmare getting onto the board, I had to bend the leads at about 45 degrees and physically hold it in place whilst I soldered it, which, considering the fact that it was only about 8mm tall, was quite uncomfortable. Oh well. Nothing I can do about it. On the bright side, I was listening to some Slint today and fantasizing about the sonic carnage I'll be able to inflict on the neighbors after I get this completed!

[Guest lime ruined my life]

did slint use big muffs? i don't think it sounds like big muffs.

the distortion sounds totally different between the 2 albums though.

i can't beleive maplin, i might order all the stuff from maplin online, that way i won't have to deal with the stupid ignorant sales person, who can't figure out what one transistor is over another.

[Scott!]

i don't think they did, but it's more the spirit i was trying to capture. I don't think it was amp-side distortion either because brian mcmahan used a hot rod deville on the reunion tour, and the gain on those doesn't sound anything like slint. more on topic, i'm seriously considering online too just so i can get everything done sooner and not have the hassle of going up to maplin for the ~15 parts i need.

[David]

if you are buying parts in maplins, dont go up to teh counter with a list of stuff, have a look through the catalouge (there are ones in store, you can buy one for a few quid or online) and look through and find all the parts you need there (type and value and whatnot) then take that to the counter, and they just need to find that code

i usually end up with them not having a few of the parts i have wanted, so have had to jump back and forth to the catalouge looking for equivalents (different types of cap - ceramic or film or whatever) while they are still looking for other bits

i did have a problem trying to get resisters, when quite a few times i have been given 3 ohm resisters instead of 3mega ohm (whihc i only found out whe i got home as i cant read colour codes by heart - a journey all the way there for 3 7p parts, seems a bit stupid) so always make sure and point out its mega not kilo or just ohms

for building pedals, the biggest parts maplins wont have are switches (they have dpdt, but you need a 3pdt if you want true bypass and led) 2.1mm dc jacks (i think they may have uninsulated, which you would then need washers and other stuff for) and led bezels (whihc are in teh catalouge, butthey have never had in stock)

i have used www.cricklewoodelectronics.co.uk for the led bezels and other components, and both www.wah-wah.co.uk and www.monkeyfx.co.uk for dc jacks and switches

David

[TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH]

Did anyone make their own Big Muff then? I'd be interested to see how it all turned out...

[Guest Gasss]

So am I as my Sovtek just broke AGAIN!

[spellchecker]

http://www.cpc.co.uk is good for online electronic parts

[Wishbone G]

Didnt make a big muff, just bought another electro harmonix thing that probably can also be built for a tenner. However my amp is broken and i ahvnt had a chance to use it yet, nor can i afford to fix the amp. Shoulda really fixed amp before buying pedal, eh?

[Scott!]

Shame. What kind of ehx "thing" is it?

Back on the Big Muff fronteir, I'm going to order the transistors and 3PDT stuff within this week or so, depending on whether I can be arsed to do it. I'm about 60% done otherwise though