PCB or P2P

[WC1]

Hello,

 

I am planning on buying a Sonic Boom pedal from Acid Fuzz and it is available as either a PCB build or a P2P build. They are both the same price.

 

Which is better and why?

 

Thanks

[Mr.Grumpy]

PCB is probably more reliable, but point to point has the MOJO. Extremely unlikely that there's any tonal difference, and if there is it's more likely to be due to component tolerances and not the construction method. All other things being equal, the P2P version will probably have better resale value if that's even a factor. But neither is "better" than the other.

[Phil O'Keefe]

What Mr Grumpy said - It probably won't make any significant difference in reliability, but if they're the same price and you're not going to be doing any high mileage gigging with it, I'd go for the P2P just for the mojo and potential resale value down the line. Sound-wise, any slight sonic differences that might be perceived in a side by side comparison of the two versions are almost certainly going to be due to slight variances in actual component values due to the parts tolerance. I'm not sure what tolerance range they typically use - I didn't see it mentioned on their site, but even with close tolerances, things can vary a bit. 10% +/-, 5% +/- or 1% +/- parts translate to a 20%, 10% or 2% range, which can definitely be audible if one pedal's parts are at one end of the range, while the other is at the other extreme. Either way, it's much more likely to be the reason for audible differences between two otherwise identical circuits than using a PCB vs P2P wiring is.

 

 

PS Thread needs pics and links...

 

 

http://www.acidfuzz.com/pedals-are-b...hip-out-within

 

[WC1]

Thanks Mr. Grumpy and Phil.

 

I googled PCB vs. P2P and found a lot of information about guitar amps. The general consensus (from what I'd read) seemed to be they were pretty much equal with the exception of that the P2P versions were easier to repair if there was ever an issue.

 

I took your advice and purchased the P2P version.

 

P.S. The lack of pics and links are noted Phil, I'll do better in the future.

[Phil O'Keefe]

It wasn't intended as a real criticism... just a friendly suggestion using an old school phrase ("this thread is worthless without pics!") that used to be commonly used around here. You certainly don't have to post images or links, although they're always welcome!