Getting into this DIY stuff more

[u6crash]

Hey, I'm looking for some recommendations on getting started in some more DIY projects, mostly as a way of cutting down costs in terms of fixing or building my own stuff instead of paying someone else to do it. Here are some of my goals:

 

Short term: Fix my roommate's bass. Sounds like one of the pots might be dirty/bad. I'll probably order some replacement components and wire the thing back up. Shouldn't be a problem, typical P-J pup combination in an Ibanez Soundgear bass. Previously have wired a Carvin bass kit with no problems.

 

Further out: Design/wire a custom pickguard for my Strat. My original idea is fairly simple: Concentric 250k pots for master volume, master tone and one 5-way rotary switch for the pickups. The sole purpose is to eliminate one knob nearest the bridge pickup and the 5-blade pickup selector (at various times I tend to hit both of these while playing). I'm not able to do this on my own now. It also occurs to me that since I always play with the tone control all the way up, I could eliminate that component and wire in some fixed value. Further more I could use a push/pull volume in combination with a 4-pole 5-way rotary switch to get some wild combos, but this is far above my skill level.

 

Even further out: Building some tube amp kits, maybe even a hi-fi stereo amp. I found this Chicago School of Guitar Making that offers a number of interesting classes (I'll be taking Guitar and Bass Setup & Maintenance this year as I got a deal), and as much as I value one on one instruction, I can't help but think the amp building classes run a little high and I could learn a lot of this out of a book.

 

So what I'm asking from some of you veteran tinkerer's is if there is any one book or other resource that I should start with first. I've used soldering irons before, but don't really know what I'm doing with an ohmmeter. I understand (more or less) how capacitors and resistors work, and have a recollection of terms like series and parallel from high school physics projects. And as far as my Strat mod goes, if anyone has other suggestions that I should consider, that would be cool too. Thanks in advance for your input!

[WRGKMC]

First. its a complete misunderstanding that you'll save money building. Some things are cheaper of course, others cost 2~4X the amount. manufactures buy parts in bulk so they get them for pennies on the dollar when thay buy in huge lots. They also get them at wholesale costs. When you buy buy retail you get gouged in comparison to what they pay so you really cant build cheaper unless you become a pack rat.

 

If you do get into modding guitars and start saving the older parts, Buying cheap on ebay, scrounging instruments at flea markets and garage sales, then the cost of building something from scratch comes down as far as parts go. The labor is never recovered unless you have a thriving business and your work is in demand. Thats hard to do because most musicians are so tight with cash their asses squeek when they walk. Putting in say 80~160 hours to build a single instrument build equals $400~800 if you worked a minimum wage job for the same amount of time.

 

Amps are pretty much the same. If you can pick up amps that need restoration, have an electronics education to work on them, and know how to scrounge parts, its cheaper to restore than to build from scratch and again that doesnt include the parts scrounging or build and testing time. Without an education, you are basically stuck with kit building or copy cat builds. That can be fun but its not cheap. A 20w tube amp kit can cost $500. You "may" save a hundred or so scrounging all the parts on your own. It makes no sence though because you can score a 20w tube amp brand new for $300, and around $150 used. Theres just nothing saved.

 

There was a time before the internet guys like myself could get parts cheap cause we were in the business and had access to wholesale pricing. But nearly every place now charges you list. Even places like Mouser has public pricing and Dealer pricing which is 30~50% cheaper. Working for a dealer to get the good prices would likely require an education. Otherwise you dumpster dive and scrounge parts when you can and build up your stock.

 

I dont have any books to recomend. The text books I used are out of print at least 30 years now. When I took casses they basically start with magnitism and how it generates electricity then batteries, DC voltage, AC voltage, then resistance, capacitance and inductors, then tubes, semiconductors and IC's. Then there how all the componets function in combinations in AC and DC circuits which really starts getting deep. Learning the components themselves and what they're made of is pretty simple. identifying components on a schematic is fairly pretty simple too. Whats hard is the physics. Its all raw math, algebra, calculus and formulas thet predicts how componets will react to AC and DC voltage is where ita at. Thats what takes two years in a formal class with instructors to learn. Then you have the practical part where you do labs, test and adjust circuit types and learn to use all the test tools properly.

 

I'd say learning is much easier than its ever been before. They have computer cources and circuit design programs that eliminate all kinds of impediments now.

 

One of my old schools offers online classes. http://www.devry.edu/choose-devry/index.html?vc=166086&WT.mc_id=DeVry_OnlineEducation_Google_PaidSearch&WT.srch=1&gclid=CP3G9uuU9KUCFcnc4AodpA23nA

 

Heres some free ones you can try to see if its something you like. I have no idea how good they are. Maybe good enough to help you read a basic electronics project book.

 

http://www.electronicstheory.com/

 

http://www.docnmail.com/learnmore/electronics.htm

 

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/

 

http://www.ciebookstore.com/

 

http://www.homestudycourses.net/electronics-home-study.html

 

http://101science.com/Radio.htm

 

http://101science.com/basicelectronics.htm

 

http://www.freebyte.com/electronics/

 

 

others

 

http://electronics.wisc-online.com/

 

http://education-portal.com/online_electronics_engineering_classes.html

 

Theres probibly 10,000 more sites. Theres were just my first google results.

This one has class lectures.

 

http://freevideolectures.com/Subject/Electronics

[Belva]

I agree with WRG on this one. Repairing, yes you can save quite a bit. Start building and I guarantee you'll spend more than you thought. When building something like, say, a custom/hotrod car the rule of thumb is to add up what the parts are gonna cost before you start. When you have a total, double that and add 10%. Now you're talkin'. It isn't that bad with a guitar or an amp build, but close.

I do it for fun. Keeps me out of the bars and off the streets.