My first BYOC build: Progress diary. :)

[Nadz1lla]

Hey guys,

Got an itch to dive in to my first pedal build, wouldn't mind building a Meathead clone, as I've heard that's what the Nine of Swords Tyrant is based on.

I've done some googling and by Odin's beard it's a minefield of options out there! My mind is well and truly boggled. I don't suppose any of our resident Pedal Builders could point me at the best way to go about it and where to buy from? I'm a complete newbie, so if there are links to a decent set of instructions that would be awesome, too.

As an extra request, does anyone know how to mod a Meathead schematic to sound closer to the Tyrant? From what I've gathered from videos, the Tyrant seems to have a bit more low-end OOMF and sounds a bit more raucous. I don't know if that's just me or if that's a shared conclusion. 

I promise to share some utterly harrowing gut pics of my messy wiring before I seal it all up and start using it. 

[Nadz1lla]

Was talking to a friend about this and have now gone for this kit here: http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=280_281&products_id=2029&zenid=2qhesv1c5dg3tpmnaehu4htbi1

Looking at the little diagram, it doesn't look as daunting as I first thought. Had to source the input jacks from another site as this one seems to be out of stock, but the enclosure / wire / knob etc I got all from this one.

Wish me luck! I'll post gut-shots and audio clips when I've put it all together.

One question I have, though: what do people fasten the guts down with? The board isn't screwed to anything, would a square of that kind of padded white tape do the trick? Or hot glue gun maybe? I want to make it as neat as possible, don't want my pcb etc dangling in mid air. >_<

[Nadz1lla]

The kit came yesterday, just spent the last couple of hours jumping in at the deep end.
Progress update:

[JacksonRR]

Looks like they drilled larger holes to make breaks in the strips. There are posts with adhesive backing on that site that fit a 4mm hole. Maybe you are in luck for a mounting solution there.

http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=238_240&products_id=1822

Looking forward to hearing your review once it's completed. :)

[Nadz1lla]

Yeah I had to drill those holes to break that part of the copper strips, cheers for the link, I'd completely forgotten about those. Which is odd as I used to build computers a lot when I was younger... maybe I still have a couple of these knocking around in a dusty box somewhere! :D

I can't wait to get this thing assembled and plugged in. Just waiting for the lacquer on the box to go off now and then I can get it going.

[Edit] Just checked the spec, they're for a 4mm hole, the ones in mine are 2mm. Will have to look around and see if anyone does them that small. I imagine somewhere does.

[Nadz1lla]

Started on the quick paint job today. It is further along than this now, just waiting for the lacquer to go off. Not bothered about the graphics on this one as it's just my "test pedal" to see if I can do it, really, so a quick dash of paint and some kind of basic design element is all I needed. I'll get water transfer paper and do proper designs later on if I decide to do this some more.

[Kiichi]

That is a charming paint job. I´m impressed!

[Nadz1lla]

Cheers dude!

Well, I've just finished it! Naturally because of the time of night I couldn't crank it, but there is signal going through and it sounds okay so far. Only problem I am hearing at the moment is the volume drops when you turn it on, my clean signal sounds quite loud and full, but when you hit the switch, although the effect is there, only about four fifths of the volume comes out. Not sure why that is, maybe I've not soldered something properly or I've overheated a component (entirely possible), but as far as a first build goes I'm going to say it was pretty good!

I will post clips up as soon as I can record at proper volume, but until then, have some untidy guts and a "Complete" shot! :

[Kiichi]

That looks really good for a first build. I´m impressed.

Now go down the rabbit hole! I can recommend doing a 9v powered amp for a first somewhat free build. Super easy, good fun, and much better sounding (and louder!) than you´d expect. http://www.runoffgroove.com/ruby.html

[Nadz1lla]

Cheers Kiichi! Yeah I'd love to try out an amp build, but before I do I need to get this one right, hah! (read on)....

https://youtu.be/gVPnCKsq_5U

Unfortunately I seem to be having an issue with it, this is what it sounds like. Any suggestions?

The clean signal, as you can hear, is much louder than when the pedal is on, the Fuzz is really weak, but if you turn the knob all the way up it just squeals. It's all treble, there is no low end in the sound at all.
I'm new to every part of this, so there is some risk that I may have accidentally over-heated a resistor when I had a soldering problem.
I also forgot to properly research whether or not resistors have a positive and negative ends, I just soldered them in completely ignoring that this might be the case (if so I guess that's where my main problem is).

[EDIT and UPDATE]

FIXED IT! Turns out all I needed to do was go over all my soldering to make sure it properly flowed over the terminals, I guess some of it was a bit shoddy the first time around. Also to be on the safe side, took my stanley knife to the channels between the copper strips on the circuit board to make sure any unwanted accidental bridges were broken. Now it sounds like it should! High volume test tomorrow, but for now, this late-night low-volumer will haver to do. :D

https://youtu.be/VTLgWEs_kOE

[Nadz1lla]

SHAZAM!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMlCXEqbrgM

[JJretroTONEGOD]

nice paintjob on it, looks cool

[Nadz1lla]

Cheers dude! All my future efforts will have properly illustrated and printed designs (water transfer paper etc), but I do like the Rat look, sometimes. ^_^

I might experiment with some stencils and a spray-can, get some nice, layered mini-graffiti going. 

[Hammerheart]

I never realised the parts were so cheap. How much did your pedal cost you altogether?

I bought a tyrant recently. Fk me it's loud!

[Nadz1lla]

Hey Hammerheart,

Roughly £20 including an enclosure and a couple of little bits that weren't included in the kit, like wire, knob, LED and jacks. I've been buying enclosures from Farnell, and eventually when I get the hang of what kinds of parts I need, I'll probably buy all my stuff from there in the future. I get a bit confused though, because there are so many different types of capacitors and resistors available at Farnell I'd end up buying all the wrong things!

You do have to order over £20 worth of stuff from Farnell, though. It's a trade site really, so you can just order a packet of resistors for a couple of quid.

http://uk.farnell.com/

Some sites sell the entire kit, but Bitsbox seem to be the most reasonably priced, and that's where both my Meathead clone kits came from and the Timmy kit I've got waiting for me.

Here's the Meathead clone kit: http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=280_281&products_id=2029&zenid=2qhesv1c5dg3tpmnaehu4htbi1

Yeah the Tyrant is an amazing pedal. It's a shame the Meathead doesn't get as gnarly, but I'll crack it one day. Some people have already suggested parts to try swapping out to get different results. The BYOC community are always pretty helpful.