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Per Snowy's post:Snowy posted:A pedal building thread would be loving awesome hint hint. I have an overdrive kit that’s overdue to be built and I’d like to eventually get into making noise machines and simple synth boxes. I thought I would make this thread to discuss learning about and building effects pedals, amplifiers, synthesizers, guitars... heck even drums! If it's DIY it can go here. I've been building effects pedals for a little while and here are some resources I use frequently. Please let me know if there's other stuff you'd like to go in this post: Forums: http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php http://www.freestompboxes.org/index.php http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php https://www.facebook.com/groups/6110761372/ <--- probably the best resource for asking questions Simple circuit debugging: http://www.diystompboxes.com/pedals/debug.html Great places to order parts: http://www.smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com https://lovemyswitches.com https://www.mouser.com https://www.digikey.com Books: Art of Electronics Vol. 3 https://www.amazon.com/Art-Electronics-Paul-Horowitz/dp/0521809266 How to Modify Guitar Pedals by Brian Wampler https://www.amazon.com/How-Modify-Guitar-Pedals-how/dp/1434801063 Electronic Projects for Musicians https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Projects-Musicians-Craig-Anderton/dp/0825695023 Handmade Electronic: The Art of Hardware Hacking Music https://www.amazon.com/Handmade-Ele...g/dp/0415998735 The Op-Amp Cookbook https://www.amazon.com/Ic-Op-Amp-Cookbook-Walter-Jung/dp/0672224534 Small Signal Audio Design https://www.amazon.com/Small-Signal-Audio-Design-Douglas/dp/0240521773 The Active Filter Cookbook https://www.amazon.com/Active-Filter-Cookbook-Donald-Lancaster/dp/0672211688 Just about every pedal ever has had a VeroBoard clone uploaded here: https://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com All-around great site for beginners: http://www.coda-effects.com/p/tips.html And a purple sparkly Boss HM-2 clone I'm finishing just for good measure:  If anyone has any questions ask 'em here. I'll do my best to answer with what I know (which ain't a ton). Dang It Bhabhi! fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Mar 24, 2018 |
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Mar 10, 2018 22:44
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Yo thread, synth & studio DIYer checking in. Some additional resources that come to mind: http://taydaelectronics.com/ -- cheap jelly bean components from Thailand, they regularly release discount codes on their Facebook page. https://www.diyrecordingequipment.com -- low-end luxury studio kits, stuff like DIs, EQs, etc. http://electro-music.com/forum/ -- lots of great, small-scale breadboardable circuits hidden away on this (slowly dying) forum. UK & Euro-centric places: http://thonk.co.uk/ -- synth PCBs & kits & selected components. https://uk.rs-online.com/web/ -- good old RadioSpares, ask me about my favourites of their cheap solid metal knobs. http://www.sowter.co.uk/ -- rather pricey, but sometimes you just really really need a highly specified transformer to some obscure exact parameters, y'know. http://www.banzaimusic.com -- huge assortment of stuff from Berlin. https://www.musikding.de -- lots of guitar effects kits, plus some really dapper knobs. ynohtna fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Mar 10, 2018 |
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Mar 10, 2018 23:42
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Cool thread! I've been building pedals for awhile too - mostly as a hobby, a few to sale to fund more builds. Here's the majority of what I've put together so far:  I've built most of them from the tagboard schematics site listed in the op, at least as a start before swapping out components and tweaking values, adding/subtracting controls, etc. I'm happy to answer anybody's questions about any of my builds - I get a lot of interest in my finishing techniques. I've got a FB page for my pedal building as well here: https://www.facebook.com/MajesticShawkPedals/
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Mar 11, 2018 15:32
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JohnnySmitch posted:Cool thread! Your enclosure art is amazing! Holy moly.
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Mar 11, 2018 17:55
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Dang It Bhabhi! posted:Your enclosure art is amazing! Holy moly. Was just going to say I just spent 10 minutes inspecting each of them because they are awesome. Building pedals seems really interesting, but I don't know that picking up ANOTHER hobby is really the thing I should be doing right now. Also, I haven't soldered in years and would probably blow at it.
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Mar 11, 2018 18:55
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MrSargent posted:Also, I haven't soldered in years and would probably blow at it. A small bit of conscious practice will fix that!
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Mar 11, 2018 20:30
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Honestly a few YouTube videos on basic technique were enough to remind me generally what you do when I was super rusty.
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Mar 11, 2018 20:58
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Dang It Bhabhi! posted:Your enclosure art is amazing! Holy moly. Thanks! I’m a product designer in my day job, so that probably has a little bit to do with it. One thing I always recommend to people who want to start soldering is to invest in a decent iron, or even better, soldering station. My soldering was terrible until I got an iron that kept consistent heat. That, and make sure you keep your tip clean and tinned. I use a little can of tip tinner that works awesome and seems like it will last pretty much forever.
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Mar 11, 2018 21:20
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Yea soldering takes only a little bit of practice and then it is a very soothing, zen-like activity.
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Mar 11, 2018 22:44
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Actually there is one unintuitive thing about soldering electronics for guitar stuff that gave me trouble until I figured it out, the potentiometers nearly all have an annoying powder coating that solder just really does not want to stick to and you'll never get a good joint there until you scrape a bit of it off where you want to solder something, like say the ground that you want on the back of every potentiometer.
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Mar 11, 2018 22:52
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^ this for sure. Another piece of gear I’d recommend is a flux marker. Great for priming solder lugs and especially potentiometer casings for soldering. Another random piece of advice - ALWAYS socket your ICs and transistors. IC’s especially can be very heat sensitive, and for real - gently caress trying to desolder a 16 pin IC from a completed circuit. Plus, if you socket your transistors, you can easily swap them out later for 
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Mar 11, 2018 23:37
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Shugojin posted:Actually there is one unintuitive thing about soldering electronics for guitar stuff that gave me trouble until I figured it out, the potentiometers nearly all have an annoying powder coating that solder just really does not want to stick to and you'll never get a good joint there until you scrape a bit of it off where you want to solder something, like say the ground that you want on the back of every potentiometer. Yea I haven't noticed this with the lugs but the back of the pot can be tricky. Speaking of pots this article, the Secret Life of Pots by R.G. Keen, is a must-read if you haven't read it yet: http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/potsecrets/potscret.htm Learn how to modify the value and taper of a pot with a lug-joined resistor, how to swap out the phenolic taper disc and more!
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Mar 11, 2018 23:46
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Another builder checking in - I've built two cabs, built a few pedal kits, and repaired a few things too.    
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Mar 13, 2018 00:57
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It's a little less professional looking than the other builds posted in this thread but I made the circuit in this post: Rupert Buttermilk posted:Holy poo poo, I love his channel! I've always toyed with the idea of actually making gear, at least just for myself, and might actually get into it in the next little while. Thanks for posting about it, that cereal box distortion one is great. For reference: Ended up soldering it to protoboard and mounting it in a case:   It sounds pretty good.
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Mar 13, 2018 01:47
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Dr. Video Games 0081 posted:It's a little less professional looking than the other builds posted in this thread but I made the circuit in this post: I love this.
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Mar 13, 2018 01:49
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MrSargent posted:I love this. Likewise.
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Mar 14, 2018 16:51
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Been building a lot of eurorack modules within the last couple months, gone from being barely able to solder wires together to being confidant with surface mount stuff pretty quickly (the secret is flux and good tweezers). It's a really cool way to build up a lot of utility effects really affordably.
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Mar 15, 2018 09:41
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Are you doing drag soldering with SMD or a heat gun or??? I want to start doing surface mount.
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Mar 15, 2018 14:03
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Cool thread! I've been trying to get back into soldering lately with the aim of building pedals. I wanna start with a question though: what tips, tricks, and gear to people have to recommend when it comes to drilling enclosures? I bought an enclosure a while back that i thought was pre-drilled but isn't.
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Mar 15, 2018 15:45
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Uncle Boogeyman posted:Cool thread! I've been trying to get back into soldering lately with the aim of building pedals. Get yourself a stepped drill bit. Pre-drill your centers with a small bit, then drill them to size with the step bit. Even a cheap step bit will chew threw enclosure aluminum like a dream. I’ve got a bit that pretty much covers every size hole I need with one bit - from small LED bezels up to power jacks.
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Mar 15, 2018 15:51
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Which one of you sexy nerds wants to fix my Digitech Supernatural? The reverb type selector is a little weird about not wanting to select certain reverbs until I move it around a little. Any idea? Sorry for being so vague. I could get a video of it if necessary.
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Mar 15, 2018 16:03
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Dang It Bhabhi! posted:Are you doing drag soldering with SMD or a heat gun or??? I want to start doing surface mount. I got started doing drag soldering after watching a couple EEV blog tutorials. Fine pitch chips kinda suck (flux and heat help as always) but if you have 20/20 vision down to 0603 / SOIC is really not bad. My process is: dot one of every pad, heat and tweez all my stuff onto that pad, then melt the other one. Sometimes I have to press down and melt it again to get it not to tombstone, which is much easier when it's half on there. Chips I start 10 o'clock, pin it down, and just drag around, flux pen usually to start and then when necessary. I'm very anal about bridge checking but I usually do that with a meter in the final troubleshooting stage. I build with someone who has a heat gun but its kinda lovely so we mostly use it for desoldering, but honestly I feel like it would be trickier to hold stuff in place and make that whole thing work than just doing it with an iron. Paste kinda sucks, I usually end up just making a mess and I don't trust it not to bridge as much as I do myself dragging. I hear it works with stencils better but eh... PERSONALLY I wouldn't bother with anything elaborate unless you had a whole run of boards (and then I'd maybe look at stencils + a hot plate or oven if you were doing that many) but like I'm talking 10+ of the same thing in one sitting. Anyway... DIY rules. After I decided I wanted to learn to repair my poo poo, I got started with a Big Muff kit around this time last year (after growing up with a dad who built tube hifi) and realized I wanted Eurorack, so did that. I build some kits, learned how to fill a BOM, built a couple of classic clones (a Jurgen Haible dual Wasp Filter, a Buchla 259 in Eurorack, a Wogglebug), plus a few of the new hotness CV generator, Ornaments and Crimes, and a few other things. I hosed up pretty good along the way and most importantly learned how to troubleshoot from a schematic w/ a multimeter, but learned a lot fixing my mistakes. Now I'm looking at working on some of my own/my build partner's designs either as an open source project or posssssibly commercially, Mutable Instruments style. We're running a surface mount teaching workshop soon too. Anyone else doing any design? How'd you learn the EE? I'm not trying to get another degree right now and I'm wondering if there's a shortcut. Right now all of our novel stuff is basically what can we do with Arduino & DSP? Which, granted, is a looooot of stuff. But it would be cool to get creative in hardware like I am in software.
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Mar 16, 2018 04:36
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Dang It Bhabhi! posted:Are you doing drag soldering with SMD or a heat gun or??? I want to start doing surface mount. Mostly just reflow soldering - put a tiny bead of solder on the point, use tweezers to hold the component on it, tap the component+bead, then solder the other side normally. For ICs, you just reflow one pin, then drag or normally solder the rest - it gets pretty easy after a couple sessions.
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Mar 16, 2018 05:42
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Dang It Bhabhi! posted:And a purple sparkly Boss HM-2 clone I'm finishing just for good measure: Got a picture of the front of this? That's pretty.
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Mar 16, 2018 23:17
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Gorgar posted:Got a picture of the front of this? That's pretty. Thanks dude! 
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Mar 17, 2018 03:19
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Very nice!
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Mar 17, 2018 09:00
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I’m so loving pumped for this thread, thanks for making it! I have some time off from work now so I’ll finally make the overdrive kit I got as a present, then I absolutely have to make some absurd hm2 after that. And eventually use some controllers like this to make weird noise poo poo 
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Mar 19, 2018 16:23
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Dang It Bhabhi! posted:Thanks dude! I need a HM-2 in my life but don't want to pay £100 for it - how much would a kit for this set me back?
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Mar 19, 2018 19:05
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Snowy posted:I’m so loving pumped for this thread, thanks for making it! Sweet dude! Can't wait to see the results. Southern Heel posted:I need a HM-2 in my life but don't want to pay £100 for it - how much would a kit for this set me back? This is almost identical to an HM2 and is very inexpensive: https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-HM300-BEHRINGER-HEAVY-METAL/dp/B001383XS4 The only kits I've seen are the one from BYOC and it's about 56€. https://buildyourownclone.com/products/the-swede
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Mar 19, 2018 19:32
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Anyone with a Boss DS-1 they don't use because they sound like poo poo should strongly consider modding it. I used this mod: http://csguitars.co.uk/ds1mod.html But there are many others. It sounds like an actual, good Marshall-esque drive pedal now instead of the flaccid donger it is when it's stock.
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Mar 19, 2018 21:25
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In high school I knew a guy who ran a ds1 into a Marshall mg half stack and it sounded good But probably, he was just really good. I played with him a bit when bumming studio space and amps from a guy who just sorta had that and his sound on the recordings is way better than mine. I was using a Steve Vai carvin and I think he was borrowing a Marshall mode 4? (Dude was the dad of another guy in the school and seriously he just collected gear and knew how to use all of it)
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Mar 20, 2018 02:24
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I need a new soldering iron for this, mine are either too strong or propane powered. Does this seem good enough? I like Weller and variable heat seems smart Weller WLC100 40-Watt Soldering Station https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AS28UC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_h5fSAb3QPRH0F
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Mar 20, 2018 03:11
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Snowy posted:I need a new soldering iron for this, mine are either too strong or propane powered. That's what I use FWIW.
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Mar 20, 2018 04:19
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https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D...&keywords=Hakko These are nice too. You're gonna like the digital control more than you think - in practice you'll be doing most of your stuff at Very Hot (and just being quick w/ delicate stuff) so consistency is more important than range. That being said the weller might own idk speaking of tools, I outgrew my 10 dollar dmm and need something that does 4.5 digits to calibrate some stuff. how cheap can I go and not regret it?
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Mar 20, 2018 04:49
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Fluke do a model for the Chinese market that can be had for less than $100 from ebay. That's just about the best value for money you're going to get for a meter. https://youtu.be/XDm5BfRrAsg
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Mar 20, 2018 06:57
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Dang It Bhabhi! posted:Sweet dude! Can't wait to see the results. Ah, Did have a SF-300 already but totally forgot this existed., thanks!
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Mar 20, 2018 08:30
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I was loving around on a breadboard last night and then while I slept I had a dream that I had built a big complicated device that only sort of worked. I asked the internet for help and a guy came to my house and fixed it, but also told me I had almost killed myself in building it. He showed me a picture of a guy and said, "This guy killed himself building pedals. You have to be careful." Anyhow this is a good book that could go in the OP: https://www.amazon.com/Handmade-Electronic-Music-Hardware-Hacking/dp/0415998735 Today I am going to the electronics parts store.
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Mar 23, 2018 19:00
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I figure I'll ask here as it pertains to DIY modding a guitar. I have an old 2005 (I think?) OLP MM2 bass. Love the thing. However the tuners are rattling and whoever the previous owner was replaced some of the screws in the bridge (for the saddles) with literal wood screws. Tuners I can get from GFS no problem but they seem to have discontinued their Music Man 4 String bridges. Anyone know of a cheap-ish replacement that I can drop in? When I finally get the parts for modding some of my guitars I will definitely post progress pics and thoughts on how hard/not hard it is.
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Apr 2, 2018 06:40
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So what would be a good place to start for someone that's never soldered anything in their life and has no idea how circuits work or how to read a schematic? Would I be best off buying and trying to build a kit and learning as I go? Or doing some kind of basic electronics hobbyist poo poo to get accustomed to soldering and working with circuits? How much knowledge and skill does someone need to build a basic boost or fuzz or whatnot? OP has a lot of good stuff in it, but I had to look up what veroboard was and I still don't know what an opamp is.
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Apr 5, 2018 00:44
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Just bit the bullet on actually spending money on my next big DIY music project. The other guitarist in my band was drooling over the Fender Meteora, but both didn’t have the cash for one and doubts they’ll be making any left-handed ones. So, in the spirit of camaraderie, I’m helping build one, especially considering the amount of weird crap he’s learned to play thanks to me. Going with a premade neck because I’m lazy and hate contouring, but the rest is gonna be formed of raw wood and craftsmanship. I’ll post actual pictures as actual progress happens, along with my Rhodes V refinishing project. Finally warm enough to use the woodshop without running up a huge propane bill.
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Apr 5, 2018 04:07
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