Amazingly cheap Chinese effects kits

[Mr.Grumpy]

I saw this on the formerly 'forbidden forum' (we can say the name now, it's freestompboxes.org). I'd like to emphasize I have no personal experience ordering nor building these kits. They don't have step-by-step instructions like GGG or BYOC kits, which is why I'm posting this in the DIY forum and not the effects forum. The build instructions are very minimal, so I'd only purchase one of these if you have previous experience building pedals. But those prices are crazy cheap, I couldn't source the parts for twice what these kits cost. Yes, they're clones of well-known designs, most of them you have to use your knowledge of pedal circuits to figure out what they're clones of.

 

Oh, yeah, they have HORSEY KLON kits, complete with horseyman graphics on the enclosure, $43.

 

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/group/DIY-Guitar-Effect-Pedal-Kits/1045809_260712621.html

[WRGKMC]

I bought a Fuzzrite from GGG because no one made an inexpensive clone. They had the best prices on parts for that particular pedal.

 

The ones on the China site look like they use the same components as Joyo pedals. Same knobs even.

 

Any popular pedal I saw there I'd just buy a Joyo. I bought two recently, a Tube screamer and an OTC clone for $23 each. The components probably all come from the same factories too.

 

A bunch of those kits are like $19. For educational purposes they can be fun for beginners. For only $2~5 in savings you cant get me to waste my time heating up a soldering iron. There again, I'm a professional electronic tech whose done that work for a living. I'd rather buy a clone built already if its only costing me a couple of bucks more.

 

Its like those amp kits you see. They have the prices marked up 400%~600% to price gouge DIYers.

 

Of course on the rare hard to find stuff you don't have allot of options. You either pay stupid high costs because they are rare (not worth much as parts go) or you build your own.

 

I have a set of NOS transistors to build a MKII one of these days. Its an easy project and I probably have all the other parts in my spare parts cabs. Its just not something I'm motivated to do.