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DIY effects pedals


Chris

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I was eyeing it and the fuzz factory clone kit from there.

I'm scared in case I make a total arse of it though.

 

Earlier I went and started picking out the components to arrange them in a sensible order with no thought to putting it together today. A couple of hours later and I've got a completed PCB. While the instructions don't hold you by the hand as much as some the circuit board layout makes it a total breeze.  The quality of the wires is a lot better than the other kit I used too which really helps when you don't have proper wire cutters.

 

Here's a couple of videos he posted which shows how simple his kits are to put together. If you do as he does and plonk all the resistors in, solder, then do the caps, solder, then the diodes etc. it's a piece of piss.  Having said that I haven't actually tested the rat yet. Hopefully get it wired into the pots and jacks over the weekend.

 

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Hope it works! The rat is probably my favourite dirt pedal, they're just great.

Aye, very versatile. This one has two sets of clipping diodes so you can set it up as a rat, dirty rat or turbo rat or put in two sets and switch between them (I'm using the rat and dirty rat diodes).

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  • 1 month later...

What's everyone's thought's on making your own PCB's?

This guy makes it sound easy.

http://thesoundgrad.com/2013/01/19/how-to-build-a-fuzz-pedal/

 

Jake was talking about doing it earlier in the thread.  Think it's something I'd try once I was solid at putting together the kits.  But first I'd go for breadboards.

 

At the moment I'm stuck on the RAT clone. Put it all together with all my PCB soldering looking tidy as fuck and it doesn't work.  Need to set aside some serious debugging time but haven't had a chance for weeks.

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Jake was talking about doing it earlier in the thread.  Think it's something I'd try once I was solid at putting together the kits.  But first I'd go for breadboards.

 

At the moment I'm stuck on the RAT clone. Put it all together with all my PCB soldering looking tidy as fuck and it doesn't work.  Need to set aside some serious debugging time but haven't had a chance for weeks.

 

Is there any advantage printed copper boards have over breadboards?

 

I'm currently comparing prices between buying a fuzz face kit and buying all the components separately. Should hopefully get it ordered over the weekend :)

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Is there any advantage printed copper boards have over breadboards?

 

Guess they're neater.  The RAT kit I've put together looks much nicer soldered than the clean boost I did before and it's on a PCB.  The main advantage is that if you want to build another one you can just print out another sheet and transfer it quite simply.

 

Don't think there's any physical advantage and it won't sound any different.

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What's everyone's thought's on making your own PCB's?

This guy makes it sound easy.

http://thesoundgrad.com/2013/01/19/how-to-build-a-fuzz-pedal/

Etching your own PCBs is entirely possible, but I find it unnecessary. I wouldn't recommend this unless you are making several copies of the same circuit. I've made a few, with varying success. It can be hard to get all of the circuit right, but I'm sure that would come with practice.

Circuit etching leaves you with some nasty chemicals which are hard to dispose of responsibly (They will corrode copper pipes, so don't tip them down the drain!). Using perf or strip board can be very tidy if you plan your layout and wiring well. Strip board is great, really easy to use. I only use PCBs that I have bought from suppliers, never bother etching now.

Some people favour point-to-point wiring over PCBs and will claim that it affects sound in amplifiers, don't think it makes any difference in pedals though.

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So I got the RAT clone working today and it sounded immense. Then I put it in the case and it stopped working :(

 

Looked like the problem was the board touching the bottom of the case so I went over the solder points and trimmed any sticking out wires then before I put the bottom back on I had a brainwave to stick a wee poly bag that some screws came in between the board and the case to insulate it.  Now that didn't work and when I took the bottom off and plugged it in again all that I get is a fucking horrible constant tone.

 

I don't have time to dismantle it all tonight and check it so wondering if anyone has an opinion on what's happened? Could snipping the solder points have just knocked one of the components or is it more likely that using the wee bag has fucked it (though if something's shorted and fried why didn't it do it with the case)?

 

Guess I'll have to dismantle it out of the case and just go through it all again. Really annoying.

 

Anyone got any tips for what to do if the board is touching the case bottom?

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So I got the RAT clone working today and it sounded immense. Then I put it in the case and it stopped working :(

 

Looked like the problem was the board touching the bottom of the case so I went over the solder points and trimmed any sticking out wires then before I put the bottom back on I had a brainwave to stick a wee poly bag that some screws came in between the board and the case to insulate it.  Now that didn't work and when I took the bottom off and plugged it in again all that I get is a fucking horrible constant tone.

 

I don't have time to dismantle it all tonight and check it so wondering if anyone has an opinion on what's happened? Could snipping the solder points have just knocked one of the components or is it more likely that using the wee bag has fucked it (though if something's shorted and fried why didn't it do it with the case)?

 

Guess I'll have to dismantle it out of the case and just go through it all again. Really annoying.

 

Anyone got any tips for what to do if the board is touching the case bottom?

Rule 1, take your time. You are going to fix this, it will work again and every bit as good as when you were happy with it, but you will start by accepting this can not be rushed. Don't like to be dictotorial, but the seemingly longer systematic, methodical route is often the quickest.

 

Probably you did short something live to the chasis, which you may or may not have grounded. If it wasn't grounded then you may have shorted two or more nodes together. If the unit hasn't worked since you shorted it you have done something irreversible - like blow a tranny or IC. If it works out the box then all is readily recoverable. The wee poly bag is unlikely to have blown anything as most ICs (since the 70's) have protection diodes on the inputs/ outputs. Germanium trannys are easily blown I'm told. No personal experience though.

 

If you used tranny/ IC sockets and have spares you could try fault finding by substitution, ie plug in spares, does it go? type idea.

 

The other thing about the poly bag insulator is that if your solder joints have sharp ends to them, they'd have little difficulty penetrating the bag and making their way to the chassis again. Trimming off the tops of the solder joints may have opened a node, or shorted two together. For a few bux you can buy a x9 magnifying glass. Give the board a squint through it.

 

Key question is, does the assembly still work out of the box?

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Rule 1, take your time. You are going to fix this, it will work again and every bit as good as when you were happy with it, but you will start by accepting this can not be rushed. Don't like to be dictotorial, but the seemingly longer systematic, methodical route is often the quickest.

 

Probably you did short something live to the chasis, which you may or may not have grounded. If it wasn't grounded then you may have shorted two or more nodes together. If the unit hasn't worked since you shorted it you have done something irreversible - like blow a tranny or IC. If it works out the box then all is readily recoverable. The wee poly bag is unlikely to have blown anything as most ICs (since the 70's) have protection diodes on the inputs/ outputs. Germanium trannys are easily blown I'm told. No personal experience though.

 

If you used tranny/ IC sockets and have spares you could try fault finding by substitution, ie plug in spares, does it go? type idea.

 

The other thing about the poly bag insulator is that if your solder joints have sharp ends to them, they'd have little difficulty penetrating the bag and making their way to the chassis again. Trimming off the tops of the solder joints may have opened a node, or shorted two together. For a few bux you can buy a x9 magnifying glass. Give the board a squint through it.

 

Key question is, does the assembly still work out of the box?

 

Haven't tried it out of the enclosure but it doesn't work with the back of the enclosure off, just the horrible screeching.  There are germanium diodes in it however it's switchable with some normal diodes and the screeching is present on both so I think they're OK. Which means it could be the IC, which is in a socket.

 

Going to take it out of the enclosure and have a look under a magnifying glass then try taking the IC out and plugging it back in again.  Guess it might be worth an email to Poodle Parts to see if they can send out another IC (need to get some knobs for the pots anyway).

 

Someone on diystompboxes suggest using either foam tape or a business card to insulate between the enclosure and the board. So I'm going to try a bit of card.  Need to get it working out of the enclosure again first though.

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After a lot of poking around tonight I traced the problem to a snapped wire going from the input jack to the switch. Was just about to go order a new op-amp chip so glad I don't have to bother now.

 

Still temperamental so I'll need to strip the wire and redo that connection completely (just did a quick fix with a blob of solder to test first) but looks like I've sussed it.

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Good work! The most head scratching and frustrating problems I've had with circuits have turned out to be something like this. It's often the most ridiculously simple thing ever. It's easy for wires to break or joints to come loose if you're moving it all into or out of the case.

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I'm keen to give a beginner-build a try. For those who have a bit of experience, how difficult would you rate this one from looking at the circuit/instructions:

 

http://shop.pedalparts.co.uk/Crusher_-_Analog_Bit_Crusher/p847124_9120292.aspx

(and here's a link to the instructions PDF) http://pedalparts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Crusher.pdf

 

It doesn't look like there's much to the circuit, but it's the wiring instructions that seem quite vague for a complete novice. I wish they were more like the BYOC instructions, as they seem totally idiot proof, colour coded, the lot, but BYOC seem quite expensive, and they don't really have anything I'd want to build. I'm pretty set on either a Bit Crusher or a Harmonic Percolator. Both seem to be touted as easy builds.

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I'm keen to give a beginner-build a try. For those who have a bit of experience, how difficult would you rate this one from looking at the circuit/instructions:

 

http://shop.pedalparts.co.uk/Crusher_-_Analog_Bit_Crusher/p847124_9120292.aspx

(and here's a link to the instructions PDF) http://pedalparts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Crusher.pdf

 

It doesn't look like there's much to the circuit, but it's the wiring instructions that seem quite vague for a complete novice. I wish they were more like the BYOC instructions, as they seem totally idiot proof, colour coded, the lot, but BYOC seem quite expensive, and they don't really have anything I'd want to build. I'm pretty set on either a Bit Crusher or a Harmonic Percolator. Both seem to be touted as easy builds.

 

Just looking at the picture of the board the components look very close together so would require some steady soldering.  Getting all the bits and the use of IC sockets on the board would take alot of pain from the build though. 

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Poodle's kits are really good. I think you'd be okay if you can solder well already, His PCBs are quite compact (at least the ones I've used). This is great for fitting it in the box neatly and leaves plenty of room for your wires and all the rest. A bit trickier to solder though.

 

All the info you need for wiring is there, but it does take a little bit of decoding. On the plus side, that's probably gonna help you to learn more.

 

Poodle's kits are dirt cheap, so definitely worth a go if you feel anywhere near confident. If you're not sure, he would probably suggest something more suitable if you fire him an email.

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I've been looking around for easy builds for a while, but I don't wanna build something for the sake of building, just to say I built it. I'd rather it was something I am going to get use out of. I'd use the hell out of a bit crusher. I sent him an email and he reckons it's very beginner friendly. Small circuit, single knob. I might give it a go. I had a look at the instructions, and it was the grounding/daisy chaining that confused me, but he explained that a bit clearer, so it seems relatively straight forward.

 

I haven't done any soldering since I was at school, so I should probably get a bit of practice on something scrap before diving right in. I've got needlenose plyers and a stripper, but I don't have an iron. Is there one you guys can recommend, or will any soldering iron do?

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I use one very similar to this, though I thought mine came with a stand:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/30w-soldering-iron-mains-powered-32909

 

There's another 30W one with a stand here:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/antex-30w-soldering-iron-includes-stand-45545

 

It does the job.  Unless you're going to get serious with it then I wouldn't bother spending a fortune.  I'd say it's also worth getting some de-solder braid for if/when you make a mistake.

 

Poodle's instructions makes a big deal about using a heat sink.  Just be careful with how long you're holding the iron on the board and you shouldn't need to bother and don't put the chip in the socket until after you've soldered the socket onto the board.

 

The only other bit of kit I've found helpful for two builds I've done is a little "helping hands" stand:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/helping-hands-with-magnifier-4017

 

You don't really need it though and I found I used it a lot less with Poodle's kit than with the boost kit I did initially.  Having everything laid out on a tidy circuit board instead of perfboard made it a lot easier.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I built a Harmonic Percolator. It was the least fun I've ever had doing anything. I am terrible at soldering. I'll quit whilst I'm ahead, and never do it again. I put it together, and it didn't work at first. I couldn't figure out why. I stared at it for ages. I even tried yelling at it. Then I re-soldered a couple of ropey looking bits about a week later, and it worked. I'm still worried it's not very robust though. I guess I'll find out after it's been given a few stomps

 

Sounds decent, though I've not had a chance to crank it loud. But it gives a nice scuzzy crunch, which is want I wanted.

 

 

 

I want to make a graphic for it somehow, so it's not just a metal box. Or I might just glue on a picture of Steve Albini wearing stilts. Just because.

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I put it together, and it didn't work at first. I couldn't figure out why. I stared at it for ages. I even tried yelling at it. Then I re-soldered a couple of ropey looking bits about a week later, and it worked. I'm still worried it's not very robust though. I guess I'll find out after it's been given a few stomps

 

 

This is exactly my experience with the two I've built except I thought I was having fun...

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I've kept them plain for now.  Might get some red knobs for the rat and see if I can stencil some kind of design on the case. But probably wait until I'm buying parts for another build before I order them. Apart from anything else I'd need to desolder the DC input before painting the case and can't be arsed.

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