Any DIY pedal builders on TB? Strut your stuff!

[JoeDaddio]

Is that standard PVC insulated hook up wire? Have you tried 105°C rated PVC or PTFE (200°C) before?

Are you twisting your ground/signal wires by hand? Want a tip?

I am using some cheap wire I bought about a decade ago from a local Orvac, so to be honest I really have no idea what it is. And yes, I am twisting everything by hand.

I am totally open to tips/suggestions. I've got no ego when it comes to this stuff, so feel free to critique/suggest away!

Quick edit to add: some of these issues are coming from being sloppy with where I put my iron, and others seem to happen where the alligator clips are pinching the wire (the clips are covered with rubber), which is what I suspect this one was. Often times the insulation will look okay immediately after, but it's become so thin and fragile that working with it a little bit causes it to split open.


joe

 

[Deleted member 165050]

Might as well share the ugly stuff. Just did some work fixing the LED and snapped this. Still a lot cleaner than the last one. I feel pretty good about where this is at but am going to call it for now so I can dig in on something else.
Edit: just noticed the exposed wire on the jack. I need some new wire, this stuff I have, the insulation melts when you look at it sideways. I fixed three of those tonight and thought I got them all!
View attachment 4092249
joe

Being just a tad ocd I am obsessive about wiring... this is one where I couldn't hide the cables as they went in after the board was in place, but v2 was much better than v1. It was this build that convinced me single-strand cables are a better idea than multi-strand as they don't break so much. If I did this one again they'd all be underneath! Still one of the most complex builds I've done.

 

[JoeDaddio]

Being just a tad ocd I am obsessive about wiring... this is one where I couldn't hide the cables as they went in after the board was in place, but v2 was much better than v1. It was this build that convinced me single-strand cables are a better idea than multi-strand as they don't break so much. If I did this one again they'd all be underneath! Still one of the most complex builds I've done.

Those look fantastic!

I have solid-core wire but with my current skills it creates a lot of hassle when troubleshooting. I put the Ezekiel I was building on vero together with solid core and it looked pretty good, but I used a positive center supply without any protection and fried the IC. I did so much damage to the guts and had such a hassle digging around in it with that solid core wire making it really tough to get around. One of these days when I have a few more builds under my belt I will give it a go again, but I need to develop a workflow, which is something that (for me, at least), comes with experience (read: frying a few things here and there).

For now I'm happy to have something that works when I plug it in. I am building some pedals for a few people coming up, but I'm not charging them or anything. I just wanted some more projects and I figured that doing it for someone else will force me in to some better practices. I'll also be using pre-made PCBs for those, which should also help quite a bit.



joe

 

[G.Bisson]

Finished two more builds.

Started as a Barbershop, but a couple of substitutions turned it into a tube-sim warm tonal coloration boost thingy.

 

[G.Bisson]

Wolf Computer
Nice roaring fuzz at full voltage. Pure madness when turning the sag knob below max.

 

[Feral Feline]

@JoeDaddio

Stuff breaks down over time, such as the nylon-plastic bags here in HK:

Those red and blue bags in time will fall apart into dust particles, when they get old you touch them and they literally fall apart and become dust — I know, I've gotta clean a bunch of that kraptastik fine particles out of my storage and find some boxes for the stuff that was in the bags.


So, what I'm sayin' is perhaps your old wire shouldn't be used. You might be less frustrated with new "pre-bond wire", I think it's called, that doesn't split or crumble or melt. It's multi-strand, so won't break like solid core after a few bends, and it's "pre-tinned" making it easier to solder AND behaves somewhat like solid-core ie you can make your wiring look as neat as Ficelles' 2nd String Ringer posted above, you bend the wire and it more-or-less holds that shape.

 

[JoeDaddio]

@JoeDaddio

Stuff breaks down over time, such as the nylon-plastic bags here in HK:

View attachment 4096825

Those red and blue bags in time will fall apart into dust particles, when they get old you touch them and they literally fall apart and become dust — I know, I've gotta clean a bunch of that kraptastik fine particles out of my storage and find some boxes for the stuff that was in the bags.


So, what I'm sayin' is perhaps your old wire shouldn't be used. You might be less frustrated with new "pre-bond wire", I think it's called, that doesn't split or crumble or melt. It's multi-strand, so won't break like solid core after a few bends, and it's "pre-tinned" making it easier to solder AND behaves somewhat like solid-core ie you can make your wiring look as neat as Ficelles' 2nd String Ringer posted above, you bend the wire and it more-or-less holds that shape.

Awesome. Thanks for this. I'd been looking at wire and was having a hard time knowing what was what because of the terminology. I'll be ordering some other wire soon.


joe

 

[Feral Feline]

AWG 24 is a good size to get for pedals, so I've read so that's what I got, or get AWG 26 if you're going to do a lot of 1590A pedals. Actually I've got both, but the AWG 26 I have isn't pre-tinned/bonded etc-whatever.

 

[AudioTaper]

I would stay away from anything that has multiple insulated wires that are joined/bonded together like this IDC wire

It might make it look a little tidier, but the wire itself is meant to be crimped so it may not take solder very well (depends on the wire, your solder supplies, and skillset)

I would get high temp tinned PVC or silver clad PTFE such as M16878/4-BEE. It's a little more expensive than the PVC stuff, but its a lot easier to work with once you get used to it.

One trick I use at work is to route the wires nicely (called dressing the wires) and use a heat gun to warm up the insulation a little. Once it cools, the insulation has a 'memory' of how it was routed and stays put better. This also takes some of the mechanical load off of the copper wire and solder joint.

 

[Feral Feline]

Cool! Thanks for the hot tip, AudioTaper.

 

[Fuzzonaut]

I don't like stranded wire and stopped using it about 25 builds ago and haven't had any problems with solid core wire so far. But I also "dry fit" the wires, meaning I bend them once and then they (usually) stay like that. Well, to each their own, I guess.

Here' s another Fuzzdog PCB, based on the expensive and hard to find Animato. When I fired it up the sound was super weak, kinda farty and totally unusable. I fiddled with the trimmer and swapped germaniums but it didn't help .... then I re-checked the 5 C2240 transistors and whaddayaknow, I had one of them the wrong way (note to self: always double or triple check pinout).

Fortunately, I always put my transistors into sockets, so one quick turn and BOOM, there it was - the "muff based bass fuzz with germanium growl", as advertised, although it also has some sort of "Rat feeling" to me.
Whatever. I think, this thing sounds freakin' amazing!

And the (floor) noise associated with this high gain circuit isn't really a thing unless you travel into the last quarter of the DIST knob.

As germanium transistors, I currently have an AC187 and a Russian MP15 in there. I also used tantalum caps in certain places.

The graphics aren't totally straight, but hey, this is DIY, so that's fine.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I don't like stranded wire and stopped using it about 25 builds ago and haven't had any problems with solid core wire so far. But I also "dry fit" the wires, meaning I bend them once and then they (usually) stay like that. Well, to each their own, I guess.

Here' s another Fuzzdog PCB, based on the expensive and hard to find Animato. When I fired it up the sound was super weak, kinda farty and totally unusable. I fiddled with the trimmer and swapped germaniums but it didn't help .... then I re-checked the 5 C2240 transistors and whaddayaknow, I had one of them the wrong way (note to self: always double or triple check pinout).

Fortunately, I always put my transistors into sockets, so one quick turn and BOOM, there it was - the "muff based bass fuzz with germanium growl", as advertised, although it also has some sort of "Rat feeling" to me.
Whatever. I think, this thing sounds freakin' amazing!

And the (floor) noise associated with this high gain circuit isn't really a thing unless you travel into the last quarter of the DIST knob.

As germanium transistors, I currently have an AC187 and a Russian MP15 in there. I also used tantalum caps in certain places.

The graphics aren't totally straight, but hey, this is DIY, so that's fine.

View attachment 4097560

View attachment 4097563

What I love about transistors is they're remarkably resilient to being put in backwards... and a few will even work the wrong way round, but badly. Unlike an IC which is usually toast if you get it wrong.

Your graphics look great to me, how do you do them?

 

[Fuzzonaut]

What I love about transistors is they're remarkably resilient to being put in backwards... and a few will even work the wrong way round, but badly. Unlike an IC which is usually toast if you get it wrong.

Your graphics look great to me, how do you do them?

Thanks. For graphics, I fool around in Photoshop and print it on either water decal or self-adhesive "paper", then put some sort of clear coat on it.

 

[G.Bisson]

Cool graphics fuzzonaut!

I've been using solid core wires for "box" wiring between switches, pots, and jack's. This allows me to wire together everything in the enclosure that stays in place until I'm ready to fire up the soldering iron. Then I use stranded wire for PCB-to-box wiring where some flex and forgiveness is needed.
I've broken a wire off a pcb in the final minutes of a build and had to desolder several points to get to the underbelly of the circuit board to solder a new wire in. I've changed by pcb mounting so I can get to the solder side should something go wrong. Visible in my last photo is a red piece of plastic cut to wedge into the enclosure. Circuit is strapped to the plastic with zip ties with a thin piece of foam sandwiched between. This is removable in case something needs to be changed out. No adhesives, metal fasteners, or tools needed!

 

[Feral Feline]

Looks great inside and out, Fuzzonaut!

 

[Liko]

I've been documenting my progress and tribulations putting a stack drive together, over on this thread: BYOC - Stack Drive Custom DIY Build

Basic project is an 808 and a Blues Driver in one enclosure, with an order switch that includes a parallel option. After getting the kits, there's a ton of available mods, I've picked four for the 808 and I'm upgrading caps and doing the "Fat Mod" on the BD.

Here's a few pictures of WIP:

 

[Feral Feline]

I probably thought I was in this thread when I posted the following in the Fuzz Addict Club thread...

I love how you can be into the hobby and still make discoveries: "How did THAT fly under my radar for so long?"

Certainly building my own pedals has made me appreciate the vagaries of commercial building, whether on a small or large scale. Just getting enclosure holes to line up for ONE pedal is a PITB, can't imagine doing 100 (even if it's CNC automated).

View attachment 4098378 View attachment 4098379
First pedal I built/drilled. The oval holes are covered by the skirts of the knobs, so ... pas problemo!



I think what I like most is with DIY pedal-building, like Burger King, you can "have it your way". In fact, it's like when I was 14 working in restaurants, I'd make myself my own snacks for break and my own lunch — food that wasn't just a deviation from the menu, but not on the menu at all.


For my Parasit Flash filter build, I saw no reason for side jacks or to waste space with a 1590BB (knobs 5-in-a-row, so I offboard wired a couple of the pots and the switch...

Demo from Parasit:



My Flash chassis, 1590N1:
View attachment 4098381 View attachment 4098382

Sorry, I don't have a shot with the PCB in place, but it's toight lyke ah toital.

 

[JoeDaddio]

I'm still on the basics of building. I do have a breadboard in the drawer, though, for when I feel comfortable to begin explore modding, combining, and all that. One of these days!

Today I was able to finish up the board for my Prunes and Custard clone. I still need the pots and switches, but I've got a Tayda cart that's nearly ready to go, so I'll be adding those in today. I feel a lot better about this build than my previous ones. There's more to work on, but this one is much more clean and well put together. I also got myself some better solder and flux, which has made a big difference. Still over soldering some, but getting a better feel for it.

joe

 

[Feral Feline]

From another TB thread about passive tone controls in a box, came this link

Passivator (Tonalité Passive Format Pédale)

I like this DIY jig!

For things like building a Muff Tone stack "free-floating" on the back of pots or Electras or BazzFuss P2P with no perf/vero, this jig would make it a Doddle — so much more sturdier than cardboard.

I already have a mod for the jig though:

Slot the legs so the working surface slides into the legs with some overlap on top as well, then when you flip the jig to work on the back, the components (pots, jacks etc) won't make contact with your solder-bench's surface — the jig would be ambidextrous!

[—————]



Easier than working within the confines of an enclosure; sling solder then drop the circ into its permanent home.

MODKITS' PILEDRIVER (similar to a SHO)

 

[mdalamond]

I'm still on the basics of building. I do have a breadboard in the drawer, though, for when I feel comfortable to begin explore modding, combining, and all that. One of these days!

Today I was able to finish up the board for my Prunes and Custard clone. I still need the pots and switches, but I've got a Tayda cart that's nearly ready to go, so I'll be adding those in today. I feel a lot better about this build than my previous ones. There's more to work on, but this one is much more clean and well put together. I also got myself some better solder and flux, which has made a big difference. Still over soldering some, but getting a better feel for it.

View attachment 4099119 View attachment 4099121


joe

Looking good. Just a friendly suggestion. You should look into getting some sockets for the ICs and transistors. Good deals on both can be had on Amazo. The nice thing about the ones you use for transistors is that they have a million uses. You can socket just about anything . They come in strips that you can break apart.
I learned the hard way that ICs and transistors don’t like the heat from an iron if held on them to long. I have also read about a lot of people getting bad ICs and trannys. Sockets make changing easy.
Please forgive my rambling, I’m on vacation and just woke up, working on first cup of coffee.