Chris Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 In a moment of what I'm sure will turn out to be supreme folly I bought a DIY kit for a boost pedal last night. My thinking was "I have a soldering iron" - which I can barely use - "how hard can it be to solder a few transisters to a board and fit it into a box?"Has anyone else gotten into building their own pedals? Am I set for a world of hot solder induced pain??The kit I bought was from http://diypedalkits.com/ which seems like a good way to get started. Admittedly not saving a lot of money from there but I guess if I manage it without causing serious injury or burning down the house then I can look to more complex builds and buying my own parts in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 What pedal did you go for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 The clean boost. Because a) it might actually be useful and b) it had a difficulty score of 3 out of 10 (10 being most complicated)http://diypedalkits.com/?p=116 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroopy121 Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 I'm gonna start building a PSU when I get funds together for some decent, isolated transformers. Also found some great schematics for a tubescreamer clone and an orange squeeze compressor somewhere. Lots of fun to be had!On the distant horizon, I'm hoping to build a tube preamp pedal, too. Get some nice growl!Those kits seem like an ace starting point. It's fairly important to have a half decent soldering iron though, especially if you're a noob at it. Cheaping out on it means it'll be unreliable (too hot one minute, too cool the next) and it'll all be much harder than it needs to be. That said, you definitely don't need to spend £150 on a weller job either. The one I have only set me back about £20 quid off eBay.xxEDIT: Some cracking info here: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/78585-diy-effects/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 I dunno if mine is decent or not. Probably not. I got it from Maplin for not much cash. It seems to do the job for low tech solder jobs (pickups, and wiring piezo mics to inputs) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaaakkkeee Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 I'm away to build an mxr clone. the more money i have to spare the more things i'll build. I want to get in to creating my own designs though. just making shit up and building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Stroopy, Jake, did you guys understand electronics before you starting messing about or were you soldering n00bs as well?I found some great sites last night but they're bookmarked at home. Will post them later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fertuiee Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Usless info maybe, as i didnt build mine, but i bought a Univox Fuzzrite clone ages ago CHEAP! and its amazing, its a vintage sounding thing that nails The Stooges guitar tone almost perfectly! Heard some online demos of BYOC's - Beaver and it sounded fantastic too, theyre a bit more pricey though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaaakkkeee Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Stroopy, Jake, did you guys understand electronics before you starting messing about or were you soldering n00bs as well?I found some great sites last night but they're bookmarked at home. Will post them later.I'm an electronics technician. But that doesn't mean building one of these will be simple. I'm getting mine off of poodle's pedal parts. i've also been looking in to how to make pcbs at home. it's all surprisingly simple.some sites...http://www.tonepad.com/http://www.engineersgarage.com/tutorials/how-to-make-a-pcb-at-home?page=1http://pedalparts.co.uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 i've also been looking in to how to make pcbs at home. it's all surprisingly simple.http://www.engineersgarage.com/tutorials/how-to-make-a-pcb-at-home?page=1Wow, that is surprisingly simple.I saw that poodle parts site. Looks good, with a massive selection but I think the site I bought from looked a slightly better bet for a total beginner like me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaaakkkeee Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Wow, that is surprisingly simple.I saw that poodle parts site. Looks good, with a massive selection but I think the site I bought from looked a slightly better bet for a total beginner like me.yeah. the idea is to find the schematics, then do it all from scratch myself and save money. obviously, when it comes to buying parts, i'll need to build a lot of pedals to make it worth while.I think i'll go for a set for my first one. i can get the mxr+ pcb, parts and drilled enclosure for under £30. Add on the knobs and delivery and it's significantly less than an actual MXR+. I'd just be doing it at lunches at work. we have all the stuff you'd need. if you're ever having trouble with the electronics just give me a shout and i'll take it to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroopy121 Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Yeah I'm an electrical/electronic engineer and have fucked about on a few projects before. Soldering is relatively easy once you get something to work on and practise on.xx 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 I've got a bag full of piezos and some jacks I keep meaning to introduce to each other as a way of practicing soldering. Going to put them in cheap jewellery boxes and make stomp boxes 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaaakkkeee Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 you're not an electronics tech until you can take a soldering iron burn without so much as a flinch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Here's a couple more links I found last night:Getting started guide - http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/buildstuff/DIY FX forum for advice and schematics - http://www.freestompboxes.org/viewforum.php?f=51 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 This article is also great and contains a link to some software at the end that looks superb for Jake if you want to try designing your own circuits:http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/SchematicToReality/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroopy121 Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 Boom.This is the page I like, some excellent stuff here.https://www.generalguitargadgets.com/projects/16-compression/208-orange-squeezerxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 So these DIY kits. Do I need ANY electronics knowhow at all? Or is it like building a lego model, where it'll tell me where to put each bit until it's finished? My knowledge of electronics is watching my neighbour chip my Playstation so it played copied games when I was a nipper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Easy Wishes Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 If someone fancies making me a simple 'mute' pedal, then I'd be interested in speaking to them and paying them for it (obviously). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroopy121 Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 If someone fancies making me a simple 'mute' pedal, then I'd be interested in speaking to them and paying them for it (obviously).Not just use a TU2 or similar? I just use my tuner pedal as a mute.xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framheim Posted January 18, 2013 Report Share Posted January 18, 2013 I've got a bag full of piezos and some jacks I keep meaning to introduce to each other as a way of practicing soldering. Going to put them in cheap jewellery boxes and make stomp boxesyou were meant to do some for me at one point Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 you were meant to do some for me at one pointI still will. You have to remind me to do things if you want them quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flights Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 I'm full of ideas regarding pedals but lack the confidence to just start soldering shit together. I'm really tempted to get this kit. As in certain songs I find myself needing to turn on/off two or three pedals at once which can be tricky. I could set it up to have a glimmering delayed clean tone which uses more than one pedal and turn it off and on just using one then bring in fuzzy filth in without having to muck about too much. I seen somebody selling homemade bypass loops on ebay for just a wee bit more than those kits are selling for though. I think I just need to man up and dig my soldering iron out of the shed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Easy Wishes Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 Not just use a TU2 or similar? I just use my tuner pedal as a mute.xxYeah, I could, I guess. Need two though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaaakkkeee Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 If someone fancies making me a simple 'mute' pedal, then I'd be interested in speaking to them and paying them for it (obviously).PM me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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