Reddit mentions of Weller SP25NUS Weller SP25NUS 25-Watts Soldering Iron, 3.000mm, Red/Black

a fuzz face is one of the simplest circuits out there. Its just a darlington pair of transistors with an emiter feedback adjustable bias on Q1.

Its literally just 11 parts.

A fuzz face is also one of those pedals where you can make an identical pedal to those 800$+ nkt275 sunface for less than 50$, with even some of the more "mystic-magic-mojo-bullshit" transistors its still going to be dead cheap to build.

Also, heres a little copy paste i made for people looking to start soldering and what tools you should pick up, and what you dont need.

Yes that will work absolutely fine, but as someone who does a lot of soldering there are a few other things I would say.

if you don't plan on doing much soldering in the future and it's more of a one time thing, there's really no reason to get anything bore expensive than this. I spend easily 60 hours of solid soldering on the earlier version of this (same thing just without the leds) and I only ever replaced it because the tips were getting worn out (although you can replace the tips for cheap) and because I thought I deserved a more solid iron considering how much soldering I do.


if you do plan on doing lots of soldering in the future then I would recommend getting something other than a weller, they're honestly just one of those things that for years have been the industry standard but honestly have gone down hill. I've used a dozen different wellers, some old some new, some cheap some costing 300$ but none of them are really good. I, along with almost everyone in electronic repair industry like Luis Rossmann recommend a brang called hakko. I use atd absolutely love the hakko fx888d. It's really honestly just magic. It heats up to 700+ in under 30 seconds, with a live temperature readout (my old weller would take close to 15 minutes), atd the tips are really just magic, they just don't get corroded at all like every other brand I've used.



It's also worth mentioning for anyone new to soldering that the type of solder used makes a world of difference. What your going to want in rosin core, leaded solder (preferably 63/37 but 60/40 will work too). You want rosin core because it makes it a ton easier to not have to worry about flux, atd unless your doing really tiny electronic you won't need flux beyond the rosin core. You want leaded solder for a few reasons. First off, it melts at a way lower temperature (leaded solder melts at about 360f ish where lead free is closer to 460-480f, but saying that that's not at all the temps you wound use to actually solder at, it ranges from 400 - 700f depending on the application ). Leaded also has a way better surface tension, and melts more evenly, all this really just adds up to making it 100 times easier to work with, ESPECIALLY if you need to desolder anything.

Here are some rules to keep in mind:

• Keep your soldering iron clean and tinned, a dirty/oxidized soldering iron doesn't transfer heat well. I use a wet sponge at a bench. If I'm in the field, the hem of my jeans works well. Just quick wipe and a touch of solder for a good shiny tip. (Adding a little bit of solder to "tin" the tip of the iron also aids in heat transfer and keeps dirt/oxidation off.)
  
  
• Be sure your parts are clean too. You want clean, shiny copper to solder to. Wire or circuit boards that have been exposed to moisture are a disaster to solder to. Fine sandpaper and alcohol can clean things up if there's tarnish.
  
  
• Heat the part you're soldering with the iron. Use the hot part to melt the solder. Just like you don't plop your bacon and eggs on the stove, you put a pan down first and put your food in the pan. You're not using the soldering iron directly on the solder...
  
  
• Don't blob your solder on. This isn't paint and it isn't glue. It's liquid metal. Your joint should look almost as if it has been moistened with water.
  
  
• Keep a mental count of 10 sec. Too much heat can destroy components on a circuit board and melt the insulation on wires. 10 sec is a good rule of thumb. If you can't achieve a good joint in that, let things cool down and try again.
  
  
• Too little heat is also bad. It makes the solder joint brittle and the solder doesn't flow evenly. You'll have a grainy appearance. Allow the heat to conduct through both parts you're soldering together. Bigger parts will require a little time to come up to temp. Tiny parts are almost solderable immediately.
  
  
• Remember that solder take a bit of time to cool. Don't move your part around until the melted solder has solidified. Moving it while it's liquid is another way to have a brittle joint.
  
  Start with a pair of wires... Just twisted together wires, like a "Western Union" or "Lineman's" splice.
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Union_splice
  
  It's how I usually install car stereo equipment when putting the car and radio harness together.
  
  Next, you can move up to kits. I wish HeathKit was still selling shit... Velleman seems to sell small trinkets for less than US$10 and you can find them on Amazon. They're fairly easy to assemble, single layer board kits.
  
  http://www.vellemanstore.com/en/minikits
  
  Mainly, it's practice, practice, practice.
  
  You don't even have to spend a whole bunch on an iron... Either of these is quite acceptable and I work on electronics on a daily basis:
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Weller-SP25NUS-Standard-Soldering-Black/dp/B00B3SG70K/
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Weller-SP40NUS-Medium-Soldering-Black/dp/B00B3SG6UQ/
  
  The first one is a 25 watt unit and better suited for smaller circuit board jobs. The second one is a larger 40 watt unit and more suited for wiring type jobs. But both should be acceptable for both types of jobs.
  
  EDIT: Also, as someone who works on electronics almost daily... The was James May should have repaird this was to bend a hook in the end of the wire he was soldering. That way, it'd hang on the terminal strip without the need for a third hand. Iron in one hand, solder in the other.

Look up some tutorials on youtube. A good iron makes a world of difference. I struggled with properly tinning all the irons I've used previously which were just those cheap $8 dollar irons from like walmart. The weller that was in my dad's stuff wasn't much more expensive but they make quality stuff.

The tip tinned very well and everything was fairly smooth. If you don't have a decent stock of soldering supplies I would purchase them before you start.

Here's a quick rundown of what I would recommend:

Simple Weller Soldering Iron

Helping Hands

Desolder Wick

Kester .03" solder

Having the desolder wick saved me a few times when I had some bad flow from the parts not having adequate heat and the solder just clumping on the pin rather than flowing into the connection. You just lay the braid over the solder and press your iron on top and it will soak the solder into the braid and leave your parts clean. You'll probably want something to clean your solder iron tip with. You can buy a Hakko cleaning stand with wire brush for $10 on amazon or you can just wet a scotch brite pad you buy from walmart for a few dollars.

You can use solder you already have if it's a small enough diameter. You want small diameter so that when you touch it to the part (not to the iron) it melts quickly and you dont have to continue to apply heat to the parts. As far as actually handling the solder while you're trying to work I like to cut a small length of solder, maybe 6-8 inches and then wind it in a mini spool around my pinkie finger and leave a length of it sticking out so you have something to hold on to that will give you good control.

How-To Solder Instructable

Once you make the connections look at them, a good connection should typically be shiny and not cloudy. It's likely overkill for this project but those are good practices.

I taught myself how to solder by reading books (before YouTube was around.) YouTube tutorials and $13 at Amazon and you, too can be a soldering master.

Otherwise, WS2812 strips are usually cuttable between each LED.

You can get a great soldering iron for $10 to $15 that will last forever and they're incredibly useful! Anyone into retro gaming or vintage electronics should definitely have one. Replacing capacitors or fixing loose wires yourself will save you so much $ in the long run.