Tips for learning to build a pedal

cst bass · #1 10-13-2011, 01:23 PM

Just wondering if anyone has any tips, advice or starting points for learning how to build effects, working with electronics

(respectfully realizing that building pedals is an art, taking time and both natural and learned skill, not something just to quickly figure out and do. my interest is long term, something new to learn as a hobby, and wanting to start at the ground level with electronic courses.)

rratajski · #2 10-13-2011, 01:46 PM

Http://www.beavisaudio.com
Http://www.generalguitargadgets.com
Http://www.buildyourownclone.com

sillyfabe · #3 10-13-2011, 01:58 PM

Sub'd that's my next thing now that I can solder pretty well and have done a few mods...

walker rosewood · #4 10-13-2011, 07:53 PM

I highly suggest the 'beavis board'. Or building your own beavis board, which can be your first project. LPB-1 is a great first circuit.

Pollinator95 · #5 10-14-2011, 03:15 AM

I<3Fuzz • View forum - DIY
DIYstompboxes.com
Guitar Effects Pedals, Schematics, Stompboxes & Electronic Projects

And I agree that the LPB-1 is a great starting point. And making a Beavis Board, of course.

Stealth · #6 10-14-2011, 03:23 AM

Also, making a simple preamp (like a Tillman FET or Alembic Stratoblaster) and boxing that is also a good place to start. Those are simple circuits and they're a good starting point for more complex stuff.

jwr · #7 10-14-2011, 07:53 AM

I just bought a Great Destroyer kit from Dwarftcraft and its my first build. We'll see how that goes. Lol

Darkglass · #8 10-14-2011, 08:31 AM

Cool to see more musicians wanting to build their own stuff! I think most of the problems I had with my first builds were lack of technique for soldering and assembling.
We used to make our own PCBs back in Chile, and that increased exponentially the chances of screwing something up in the beginning.
Kits are the way to go I think!
Learning how to read capacitors values (I made a list and checked it back then) and using a multimeter in the beginning for reading resistors' values.

The rest is just patience and perseverance... If I had given up the first 5 times (on a row) that my first pedal attempts failed, I probably wouldn't be here

.

That and careful soldering should get you going!

Cheers!

Doug.

cst bass · #9 10-14-2011, 12:32 PM

thanks everyone for your suggestions and info.

im fascinated by the physics and philosophy of signal processing, and electrical current behaviors.

ive played music my entire life, and as i keep getting older my love for music and sound grow exponentially and in many directions.

lately i can't seem to stop buying/experimenting with effects pedals, and now i want to open them up and see whats going on.

pan1k · #10 10-14-2011, 12:43 PM

thanks for the suggestison ive been looking for the same type of boards. PS: Last week i purchased the Confidence Builder from BYOC. I haven't had time to piece it together yet but I'm excited to begin this journey.

Ultimately, I'd like to build my own Rackmount Preamp

warwick.hoy · #11 10-14-2011, 01:16 PM

Get a good soldering iron,...and a set of these.