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Any DIY pedal builders on TB? Strut your stuff!

#602
Thanks for all the tips on using epoxy. I've only used it for glueing broken pieces together so using it as a gap filler and painting is new.

Feral Feline said:
8-Bitar Mods
Any ideas on how you'd mod the 8-Bitar to improve it? Clean blend? Make a resistor a pot/trimmer?
Click to expand...
I need to review the schematics and find the resistor on the 8-Bitar that serves as the input trimmer. On the Arcadiator and Sidescroller I set the 200K trimmer to about 10 o'clock position toward the less sensitive, more gated side.

More notes about recent builds;
I found germanium diodes in stock at Jameco. Put 1N270's into my Depth Charge for a more accurate clone. They improved the noise level and made high gain settings more pleasant. After lowering the transistor gains and using correct diodes this fuzz keeps getting better.

Klon klone and my Digitech Bass Synth Wah weren't behaving together on a dasiy chain. The Digitech restarted several times. Recent talk about isolated power supplies was right on time.
 
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#603
Heres my status...
Delegate: Waiting on caps and LEDs, they are in the mail from Digikey but USPS cant figure it out. I still need to order the photo resistor.

Depot Fuzz: Caps in the mail
20210402_233748.jpg


Ocelot: Caps and ICs are in the mail. I need to find a replacement for the 2SK30A. I was reading you can use 2N5458. I'll order some. I used some NOS 1N270TR diodes if that matters.

Obsidius: I'm still missing some resistor values, caps are in the mail. I have some nice NKK switches and the sockets ready to go. I have some 'plans' for this build. More details to come....
20210402_233849.jpg


I have 1590B enclosures and the pots. I'll have to order an 125B enclosure for the Mini Hyperion. The ICs are in that Digikey box, rotary switches will be here this week from PedalPCB. I'm also getting a Captian Bit board. On the waiting list for the Spirit box.

So much in the works, but I feel like I'm just treading water.

Fun fact: I didn't read the instructions for the Obsidius and ordered 1/4W resistors the first time around. I actually reordered Stackpole 1/4W mini resistors the 2nd time around for most of what you see populated. That odd one out is the proper 1/8W from Multicomp.
 
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#604
I brought up the topic of quality parts from Tayda. Everything I received seemed OK, except for the 1N5817 diodes. They seem like they will function, but the leads are pretty crappy. I had to pre-tin the lead (using an abundance of Kester 197 liquid flux) twice before insertion and it still didn't flow well. It's not me, it's not my material. It was questionable plating on the lead.

I'll order some other parts from Mouser soon (need to order the transformer for the Captian Bit from them anyway).

I was pretty pleased with the knobs and pots from Tayda, especially for the price.
 
#605
AudioTaper said:
I brought up the topic of quality parts from Tayda. Everything I received seemed OK, except for the 1N5817 diodes. They seem like they will function, but the leads are pretty crappy. I had to pre-tin the lead (using an abundance of Kester 197 liquid flux) twice before insertion and it still didn't flow well. It's not me, it's not my material. It was questionable plating on the lead.

I'll order some other parts from Mouser soon (need to order the transformer for the Captian Bit from them anyway).

I was pretty pleased with the knobs and pots from Tayda, especially for the price.
Click to expand...

I've used their 1N5817's in almost all of my builds and haven't had any issues. I ordered a bunch a few months ago so maybe they were a different shipment or something. I'm using Kester 66/44 and no rosin.


joe
 
#608
I have this plan for a desktop Engineer's Thumb for recording... I use an Akai EIE into Logic Pro which works really well but could do with a compressor on input, having built the Fuzzdog 1590b version of the ET I decided the larger format DeadEndFX version in a spare 1590xx with top-mount i/o would be good. Parallel XLRs to the jack sockets rather than isolated is the plan although there might be room for isolation transformers at a later date. Having never drilled for XLRs it will be a bit of a challenge!

Would be interested to hear anyone's experience of DFX Engineer's Thumb... the circuit is slightly different to the Fuzzdog version.
 
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#612
_sky_ said:
I´m interested in building a pedal...just for fun and curiosity. What is the best way to start? Are the any good websites with the components and boards? I have no problem soldering but knowing where to solder...that is the issue.
Click to expand...

Probably the easiest way would be to buy a complete kit which already includes all of the needed components including the enclosure, pots, knobs, and all that. Aion sell complete kits as do BYOC and Small Bear. These are all in the US, though (and I'm sure there must be others). The only European one I know of is Musikding and they seem to be very popular and I believe have deals with multiple PCB makers, but I'm sure there are others that people who live in Europe can help out with more.

If you can follow directions well and be somewhat organized and patient you can build a pedal kit.

Likewise you can buy the PCB and components separately (which will likely save money) but if you are unsure if you'll build more than one or two it's probably best to stick with kits. Not to mention drilling the enclosure and any artwork you might want to do which can add a lot of time depending on your abilities/access to tools/perfectionism.

Have fun and share your results!


joe
 
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#613
_sky_ said:
I´m interested in building a pedal...just for fun and curiosity. What is the best way to start? Are the any good websites with the components and boards? I have no problem soldering but knowing where to solder...that is the issue.
Click to expand...

Das Musikding is a good choice as @JoeDaddio says as they do full kits with instructions and there is also a support forum on their site. Musikding Onlineshop für Musikelektronik
 
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#614
_sky_ said:
I´m interested in building a pedal...just for fun and curiosity. What is the best way to start? Are the any good websites with the components and boards? I have no problem soldering but knowing where to solder...that is the issue.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Musikding has everything: PCBs, parts, full kits. I'd recommend something simple like a one knob fuzz for starters. The Bass Fuzz is just a handful of components - and sounds pretty good.

Fuzzdog also has kits and PCBs, but practically no components. They have a "one knob fuzz series", that lets you build different versions on the same PCB. The "Thug Dark" is great on bass!
 
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#617
_sky_ said:
I´m interested in building a pedal...just for fun and curiosity. What is the best way to start? Are the any good websites with the components and boards? I have no problem soldering but knowing where to solder...that is the issue.
Click to expand...

Probably easier/cheaper to stick to European sources.

In addition to the already-mentioned ...

FuzzDog
and
MusikDing ...

...There is also :
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
uk-electronic.de (Germany)
Moody Sounds (Swedish but has BYOC kits, BJF kits, Lehle kits, Moody kits, and more )
Diy effect pedal kits and PCBs | Effect Pedal Kits (No idea where this one's from exactly, I've emailed them)
Guitar Effects Kits (UK)
Link Removed (Dutch)
OP Electronics (Italy)
Products – TH custom effects (UK PCBs, but has kits at MusikDing)
https://www.arcadiaelectronics.com (out of Tel Aviv, I think)
PCBs for Guitar pedal effects - PCB Guitar Mania (Czech, IIRC)


The cool thing about MusikDing is there are a lot of PCB suppliers that you can get the full kit for their projects, including a lot of PCB suppliers from North America, and of course all around Europe and the UK. It's worth checking out MusikDing just as a launch point to explore brands such as Parasit, TH Custom, Schalltechnik_04, Dead Astronaut, JMK, GCI, etc.



Also check Electronic Parts for extra parts or parts substitutions you may want to make. Other stuff to check out:
Link Removed

A great resource for people starting out and fun for old hands alike: http://beavisaudio.com

Another parts supplier out of Thailand, with a few PCBs also offered: Invalid Link Removed


Each PCB supplier has little nuggets of info worth finding, even if you're not purchasing anything from them just yet it's worth a visit. The more informed you are, the higher your success rate.







Also, as has been suggested — Go for something that has a relatively low parts count, so you can more easily diagnose a problem should one occur. What's a low parts count? The Bazz Fuss has 5 components, but you could probably go as high as something with 20–30 parts (Red Llama is another popular first-timer project ). Depends on how confident you are and whether the circuit you choose is easy to dial in. Sometimes a lower parts count is more finicky to dial in than something else with a slightly higher parts count.



Good luck, have fun.
 
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#618
johnk_10 said:
i just finished these three (built for a friend):

View attachment 4227458
Click to expand...
@johnk_10 . Very nice. I really like the dials on the Sunn. Curious. Does the polish ever oxidize or is there a clear coat on there. How long does it take you to make a pedal start to finish? I’m pretty sure you make all your own pcbs. Your pedals are a true work of art. I’ve often though about making my own pcbs but it looks like a long and tedious process and I’m sure my wife would agree, I’m not a very patient person.
 
#619
mdalamond said:
@johnk_10 . Very nice. I really like the dials on the Sunn. Curious. Does the polish ever oxidize or is there a clear coat on there. How long does it take you to make a pedal start to finish? I’m pretty sure you make all your own pcbs. Your pedals are a true work of art. I’ve often though about making my own pcbs but it looks like a long and tedious process and I’m sure my wife would agree, I’m not a very patient person.
Click to expand...

thanks! they're polished with no clear coat but i usually put a car sealer nano clear coat of wax on them to help prevent oxidation. i have some that are 8 years old that remain polished looking (without oxidation).

as far as how long it takes to build one, it depends on the complexity of the circuit and the complexity of the etched graphic on the enclosure. sanding and polishing the enclosure, designing the graphic, ironing the design onto it, then masking, acid etching and drilling a single enclosure can take hours and hours alone, let alone etching , tin plating and drilling & populating and wiring and testing the PCBs.
 
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#620
Feral Feline said:
Probably easier/cheaper to stick to European sources.

In addition to the already-mentioned ...

FuzzDog
and
MusikDing ...

...There is also :
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
uk-electronic.de (Germany)
Moody Sounds (Swedish but has BYOC kits, BJF kits, Lehle kits, Moody kits, and more )
Diy effect pedal kits and PCBs | Effect Pedal Kits (No idea where this one's from exactly, I've emailed them)
Guitar Effects Kits (UK)
Link Removed (Dutch)
OP Electronics (Italy)
Products – TH custom effects (UK PCBs, but has kits at MusikDing)
https://www.arcadiaelectronics.com (out of Tel Aviv, I think)
PCBs for Guitar pedal effects - PCB Guitar Mania (Czech, IIRC)


The cool thing about MusikDing is there are a lot of PCB suppliers that you can get the full kit for their projects, including a lot of PCB suppliers from North America, and of course all around Europe and the UK. It's worth checking out MusikDing just as a launch point to explore brands such as Parasit, TH Custom, Schalltechnik_04, Dead Astronaut, JMK, GCI, etc.



Also check Electronic Parts for extra parts or parts substitutions you may want to make. Other stuff to check out:
Link Removed

A great resource for people starting out and fun for old hands alike: beavis audio research

Another parts supplier out of Thailand, with a few PCBs also offered: Invalid Link Removed


Each PCB supplier has little nuggets of info worth finding, even if you're not purchasing anything from them just yet it's worth a visit. The more informed you are, the higher your success rate.







Also, as has been suggested — Go for something that has a relatively low parts count, so you can more easily diagnose a problem should one occur. What's a low parts count? The Bazz Fuss has 5 components, but you could probably go as high as something with 20–30 parts (Red Llama is another popular first-timer project ). Depends on how confident you are and whether the circuit you choose is easy to dial in. Sometimes a lower parts count is more finicky to dial in than something else with a slightly higher parts count.



Good luck, have fun.
Click to expand...

Thanks, man! I might not tell the wife I´m going to order a couple of kits...!
 
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