want to build effect pedals - where to start?

[avdekan]

Hi

after building several guitars I decided that I want to try building effect pedals as well (mainly OD and distortion for the moment).

I have the soldering technique and equipment covered, but I know close to nothing about designing circuits and selecting the right components and values. I am also more interested in coming up with my own designs or modified known designs than building replicas or kits.

Can someone direct me to a good online database or good books that cover the basics of effect circuit d

thanks

[jpfamps]

There are plenty of DIY websites. Geofex web-site is a good place to start:

www.geofex.com

[juansolo]

A someone who's got into this recently there's:

The BYOC forum. Probably the friendliest of the lot. Helpful and not limited to BYOC's own kits (which are excellent by the way and are marketed here by Vibe-o-tronic).

For a vast collection of circuits look at Freestompboxes. Another invaluble resource.

Finally (for me) there's DIY Stompboxes. Which can be a bit unwieldy to navigate but is another vast resource.

I started with an all inclusive BYOC kit, did a couple of them and went from there. It's worth it just to get your head around things. Then when you start getting more adventurous look at perf and vero board or just getting the boards from BYOC, GGG and the like and populating them yourself (you can save lots doing this). Get your bits from Rapid and Farnell.

...and it all goes on from there. It is a VERY addictive hobby. I've currently got 1 build on the go and 4 more planned. You'll end up with a vast collection of components over time and the further on you get the cheaper they become. I've just assembled for example, an effect for about £1 and it's brilliant (useless, but brilliant). Once I house it and add a stomp it'll be about £8 all in.

I'm already thinking about having a go at an amp soon...

[jibidy]

I found the Guitar and bass magazine compressor quite easy to build. Might be a good start point.

[gingataff]

I've made a few pedals from DIY books, the first was the ubiquitous fuzz pedal and it's a real hotch-potch but I like it a lot (it sounds awesome with bass too!), and I'd recommend starting with something like that.

[CJ]

after a suggestion from the ceriatone thread... i think i want to try building an effect pedal to get my feet into the whole electronics thing. i took a look at those BYOC pedals... they're still pretty expensive considering you're only buying the components. are they supposedly really nice pedals once assembled? or why are they still so expensive? and does anyone know of any similar type companies located in the US?

by the way, what kind of work is involved with these? do you think it could be a dorm-room project? i wonder if i could have my parents ship up my soldering iron and try to get some of these done up here while i've got nothing else to do.

[WezV]

there is also these a bit cheaper
http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/

although the ones i have had have not been as good as the BYOC's i think i may have learned more from them.

doing a BYOC is a bit like painting by numbers - it doesnt make you understand the art behind it.  but if you follow the instructions you will have a very nice pedel at the end of it.

although there is plenty of room for modding them and that increases understanding

and pedals are great projects to do at a desk

my first work on pedals was with vox and crybaby wah's.  there are a few really easy and cheap mods you can do to get a lot more from them so a little experimentation can give great results.  just changinh the odd resistor here and there

[CJ]

there is also these a bit cheaper
http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/

although the ones i have had have not been as good as the BYOC's i think i may have learned more from them.

doing a BYOC is a bit like painting by numbers - it doesnt make you understand the art behind it.  but if you follow the instructions you will have a very nice pedel at the end of it.

although there is plenty of room for modding them and that increases understanding

and pedals are great projects to do at a desk

my first work on pedals was with vox and crybaby wah's.  there are a few really easy and cheap mods you can do to get a lot more from them so a little experimentation can give great results.  just changinh the odd resistor here and there

thanks a lot for that site Wez. the prices are a bit cheaper, and they're pretty close to me so shipping should be much better. do you have any recommendations on which pedal to get? i'd like to get a distortion pedal of some sort. i want something to run into the clean channel of my microcube so i can get footswitchable distortion rather than using the amp's distortion. ...and are distortion pedals a good place to start anyway?

[CJ]

also, from the guys who have done these before... what will i need to make these? i'd like to give my parents a list so they can send everything to me asap.

[murraymurray]

Hmm this could be a fun little project.
I've got a tubescreamer but want a bit more juice out of it, dont really want to mod the one ive got.
I had a look at the GGG site and was thinking one of their TS projects with mods could be cool
Anyone know if they sound decent? (if put together well)

[juansolo]

Hmmm, a minimum tool kit:

A good soldering iron and stand (which is a little hypocritical of me seeing as I use an ancient 15w jobbie that I've had for eons)
Multimeter
Some small pliers, cutters and wire strippers
A good desk lamp

You'll accumulate a decent tool kit and collection of parts over time.

Wez is nailed on that BYOC kits are a bit painting by numbers. However they're good for getting your confidence up and if you screw up, they usually have a decent trouble shooting section in the back of the instructions to follow. Also, you will end up with a decent pedal at the end of it. The BYOC kits are excellent (though pricey) in that regard. When you're feeling more confident, start looking at the schematic vaults on the above sites. Things like the Super Hard On are a piece of piss to make, take it from there.

[CJ]

thanks guys. has anyone here built, or used similar, either the big muff or the Rat distortion? i think i'm going to try one of those two out. i'd prefer to get whichever can get me a heavier, metal type tone. the big muff seems more like what i want, but it's hard to tell from the clips seeing as they don't really play much of that type of music in them.

[WezV]

i have the byoc large beaver and that was a nice simple build

i woudlnt class either of those as metal pedals though

Big muff's are a great big grungy filthy sound.  very grinding and sustains forever when on full.  not really enough clarity for metal

I tend to think of rat's as being more punky attitude although in fairness its more versatile than that - but not quite reaching metal territory really

much better to go with a tubescreamer clone i reckon

[juansolo]

In searching for things to build next, I found a couple of pages full of clips of various pedals. From the sounds of it, a Dr Boogie is probably right up your street though I suspect it might be a little advanced for your first pedal.


http://mrdwab.com/john/soundclipspage.html
http://www.home-wrecker.com/salvo.html


I got too many ideas from those pages...

[CJ]

Wez, isn't a tube screamer only good through a distortion channel in the first place? i thought it was basically just a booster. i know i'm not going to get a real "metal" pedal from GGG, but i want something that can get me close. i want whichever pedal can get me the most gain going through a clean channel.

and thanks juan, i'll check those sites out. but seeing as this is my first pedal, i want to start with something from GGG so i have plenty of help building and troubleshooting.