Electric Guitars

[warriorpoet]

Minister of music by day, small-time pedal cooker by night.

My specialty is hybrid fuzz circuits, though I do quite enjoy cobbling the odd PCB-based build together for a lark.

I know a lot of us play through a big-ol chain of effects, and I'm curious just how many have felt the DIY itch, and/ or are just plain interested in seeing how it's done.  I have a very special pedal in mind for this build thread, but if no one's interested I can just "photodump" at the end.

Let me know what you think

Here are a few PCBs I've built up for reference; some are quite old (I forget to take pics of everything I'm working on )

[Special J]

Cool man! I love me some fuzz pedals. Do you have the ability to post clips of em when you're done?

[warriorpoet]

Sure I can.  The bigger question is, does anyone actually want ot hear me play?

Should I take that as a "yes" you're interested in the process, or an "I'd rather see it all finished"?

[GilmourD]

I'm subscribing for the whole shebang. :-D

[kayd_mon]

I would definitely be interested in everything from the build process to the end-product clips. I have thought about getting into building pedals, and I was thinking of getting a couple BYOC kits to get started.

[MephitBlue]

I'm interested in a pedal build thread as well as I've started working on my soldering skills in preparation of trying my hand at a few pedals.  There is just something about playing through something you made, over something you just bought, that brings a feeling of pride with it.

[warriorpoet]

One of the best things about building for yourself is that no one knows what you need better than you, and once you get a few builds under your belt you start understanding better what makes you happy.

[Special J]

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warriorpoet wrote:

Sure I can.  The bigger question is, does anyone actually want ot hear me play?

Should I take that as a "yes" you're interested in the process, or an "I'd rather see it all finished"?

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Yes, I'm interested in the process AND I'd like to see and hear it all finished.

[photon9]

Please do a pedal build thread. I will definitely follow!

[killthehippies…]

i'd follow this. i want to start building pedals too!

[phaeton]

Sure.

I've built a pile of pedals and amplifiers but not in awhile.  I was thinking this summer I should pick it up again. 

I made a whole bunch of circuits that I thought were neat and cool and created 'original' sounds, but not a lot of other folks were interested in them.  It was fun to do, though.

[GreatDane]

hell yeah.  you do awesome work!

[mrbrown49]

Great looking builds.  I'd love to see more.

The only pedal I've built is a simple boost.  The enclosure came out great, the guts are not nearly as pretty.

[mistersully]

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warriorpoet wrote:

My specialty is hybrid fuzz circuits,

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very interested.. particularly in a hybrid fuzz pedal

[warriorpoet]

Looks like a lot of folks want to get started on PCB-based stuff.  Maybe I'll whip together a simple PCB-based circuit this weekend to give those of you interested in getting started a little motivation

The one I really want to log, though, is on perf, and that's not really as noobie-friendly as a documented PCB.  Maybe I'll do two threads...

Something like a GuitarPCB Industrial Fuzz oughta do the trick.  The perfboard circuit is my own.

[warriorpoet]

Hey MB, the best thing you can do to improve your soldering skills is pick up the proper iron and solder. A decent temperature-controlled station isn't that expensive.

I use this one, and it's great: http://www.circuitspecialists.com/csi-station1a.html

Also, conical tips will save your life, and 63/37 solder or bust

[mrbrown49]

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warriorpoet wrote:
Hey MB, the best thing you can do to improve your soldering skills is pick up the proper iron and solder. A decent temperature-controlled station isn't that expensive.

I use this one, and it's great: http://www.circuitspecialists.com/csi-station1a.html

Also, conical tips will save your life, and 63/37 solder or bust

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Good tips.  My skills are coming along. What I really suck at is routing and getting things looking neat and tidy.  I've had better luck with solid core.  Is that what you use?

[warriorpoet]

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mrbrown49 wrote:

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warriorpoet wrote:
Hey MB, the best thing you can do to improve your soldering skills is pick up the proper iron and solder. A decent temperature-controlled station isn't that expensive.

I use this one, and it's great: http://www.circuitspecialists.com/csi-station1a.html

Also, conical tips will save your life, and 63/37 solder or bust

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Good tips.  My skills are coming along. What I really suck at is routing and getting things looking neat and tidy.  I've had better luck with solid core.  Is that what you use?

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I've used a few different things, but I swear by this stuff: http://www.guitarpcb.com/apps/webstore/products/show/2249043

I learned a trick by experimenting a bit with different wiring methods.  As long as you can keep your pots and in/ out jacks straight, doing the majority of your off-board wiring on top of (as opposed to inside) your enclosure makes things much, much easier.  Use a piece of paper to protect the finish of your enclosure, and you're all set.  Jacks are easily wired in-box.

It's looking like Wednesday before I can really get down to it, but I will be sure to post this step as it's what gave me the most trouble when I first started, too

[LARRY L]

[LARRY L]

I just finished this stomp box not long ago, from general guitargadgets.

It sounds great nice and warm. I made up the stencils to fit.