(Part 2) Best products from r/diypedals

Seconded, also consider this kind of thing: https://www.amazon.com/Aven-17010-Adjustable-Circuit-Holder/dp/B00Q2TTQEE/ - it's invaluable for PCBs. Just populate from one side, add something to hold stuff in place (like gaffa tape, or bend one lead, or clip on a sheet of paper, etc), turn over the PCB and start soldering away. I wouldn't want to miss mine.

Any soldering iron 40+W where you can regulate the temperature should do, I own a nice station but when I don't feel like breaking it out because it'd take longer to set it up than to do the job I use something like this: https://www.amazon.com/ANBES-Soldering-Iron-Kit-Electronics/dp/B06XZ31W3M/ set to 350°C. Just make sure to clean and tin your tip regularly and it will do the trick just fine Oh, but ditch the solder and get a few spools of good rosin core solder of different gauges, it's not expensive but worth it. In my experience, the solder that comes with kits like that mostly works as a deterrent.

If you're not planning on buying all-included kits also get a few spools of stranded core wire of different colors. You could use solid core wires but those tend to break if they're getting bended from movement without showing it. With stranded core some strands may break but as others don't they'll continue to work. Invisibly broken wires (i.e.) inside the isolation) are a *beeeeep* to debug.

Also, a set of tweezers are great to have, especially the kind that holds stuff together per default, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Curved-Tweezers-Cross-Jewelers-Soldering/dp/B000OVPG9A/ (only an example, I'd get a tweezers set that contains one like that).

In my experience a tool set like this one is great to have: https://www.amazon.com/Haobase-6Pieces-Double-sided-Soldering-Assist/dp/B01DLX6V3C/ - especially the bending tool is great to have, as it allows eg to bend the leads of a LED without running the risk of breaking the LED itself. It's also great in order to clean up mistakes, helps with desoldering and such

Speaking of desoldering: desoldering braid is a must. A desoldering pump can be useful, too. And yes, practice soldering and desoldering until you can do both without destroying anything.

If you're not going to buy pre-drilled enclosures then you very likely want a) a center punch and b) stepping drill bits. Those let you drill holes in all kinds of sizes without having to buy lots of drills.

Last but not least a wire cutter is a must

When I read these threads, I'm reminded how fortunate I am that I had a dad who was building circuit boards for the Navy and had a soldering iron in my hand when I was 9. Thanks for the reality check. Let me offer some tips.

> Conclusion: should I invest in magnifying glasses? Do you use a magnifying glass? Also, an absurdly bright light in front of you would help.

I would resist(no pun) this as long as possible. Seems like a really good idea, ends up being a crutch that hurts you. I think once you get more acquainted with the iron, the smallness of the components will matter less. I also sometimes use a headlamp to light up specific areas. Looks kinda silly but works a treat.

> Conclusion: fix your helping hands to something. Make sure your elbows can rest on the table to keep your work steady.

Absolutely, even a couple C clamps could do the trick. That being said, I've been using adhesive putty to hold my workpieces, it's great, highly recommended.

> Conclusion: a very pointed pencil tip would help. Some people like knife tips.

I can understand why you might want this, but it's actually going to hurt more than help. A needle tip does not hold or transfer heat like a larger tip. What you'll gain in precision, you'll lose in actually being able to solder something. Instead, a knife or chisel tip(my preference) both still come to a relative point, but have enough mass and surface area to adequately heat a joint. The precision will come with practice.

> Conclusion: keep track of your components, and maybe put them immediately back in the labeled bags. Or in labelled bins.

Reading component color codes should only be a last resort, especially for small components. Even if the colors are easy to see and understand, they only tell you what the resistor should be, not what they actually are. Instead, get yourself a multimeter. Then, you can measure the actual resistance of components, saving the strain on your eyes, and arming you with advanced knowledge about the actual resistance of the component. Honestly, a multimeter is indispensable for myriad reasons, this just being one. It's the actualization of our greatest commandment, Ohm's Law. It's the tape measure of electronics.

> Conclusion: triple check your order.

Yup.

Hey buddy. I did my own build very similar to this earlier in the year.

http://pedalboardshop.com/ is going to be your new best friend.

Things you need:
Wood (duh)

2 solderless 1/4" jacks

1 AC inlet

1 indoor extension cord

1 outdoor/shop extension cord

1 Power Supply (I use a Voodoo Labs PP+2 as well - they're amazing)



After you build the wooden parts of the board and you're ready to wire it will be incredibly easy. Seriously, if I can do it you can.

1: Route the holes where your jacks and inlet will go. I did all the same side, and although you can change your In/Out as much as you like, I stick with input being the jack closer to me and output being the one farther OUT from me (just so I remember without the ugly labels).

2: The AC inlet I linked to is solderless. That's awesome. You're going to need to cut the extension cord and then take the appropriate wires and screw clamp them into the inlet. Make sure you match the +/-/ground correctly. Some extension cords don't have color-coded ground wires. If this happens it's the wire with the groove running down the side of it.

3: After you've wired up your extension cable to the inlet you can mount it onto your board. The rest of the build is as simple as arranging the (I assume) under-board placement of your power supply. I have the PP+2 plugged into the extension cord, and I use the additional open outlet to run some sound activated LED tape under my board.

Making your own build is truly rewarding, and man is it nice to cut so much set up time out of your routine. It's a blessing to show up to a gig, set your board down, and plug in three cables.

I do recommend using industrial strength velcro or locking velcro for your build. I also threw a Fender amp handle on mine for reliable portage. I initially put handles on the surface like Blackbird does, but I removed them after I got into pedal building and needed the extra real estate. Handle placement there is also really only useful for picking it up from a flat state to move it to another spot nearby. Actually carrying it from the van to the stage, etc. is totally awkward with handles on top.

Build post

Shitty quality video clip of it in action

Best of luck to you on your build, /u/TheStrangeGhost/ . If you need any help feel free to PM me.

I'm not sure what level you're at and I'm beginner myself so I'll just go over the stuff I've been doing. Maybe this stuff is super obvious.

> an incomprehensible jumble of jumper wires

If you're not using them already, the pre-cut and pre-bent wires are awesome for keeping things tidy (eg these).

> tightly packed components

Have multiple breadboards - they're like $3-5 at Tayda. The ones that clip together are handy. Having extra real estate to spread things out is invaluable. Although having long jumper wires can introduce more oscillations and noise once you've got things working you can always make things a bit more compact.

Use the buses - the outer two rows that run the length of the board for your power and ground. Use the columns of 5 for your signal path. This way you can just run jumpers up and down for your power/ground. Or if, for example, you have a resistor going to ground you can just connect it directly to the ground bus.

If you use a certain bit of circuitry in a lot of your builds consider making it on veroboard and having it off-board. I've built standard power filtering and reverse polarity protection on vero. You could do the same with something like a voltage doubler or inverter if you're always reusing them. Although it's only a few components it's a bit less on your breadboard and saves you redoing the same thing every time you BB up a circuit.

Try and lay out things as close as they look on the schematic as possible. Ground at the bottom, voltage from the top, signal running left to right. And if you can, down to the individual components. This can be hard sometimes, especially when dealing with transistors/3+ pin devices.

If you've got an old enclosure or something lying around where you can setup your off-board stuff to keep them all tidy makes things easier too. This guide from the Beavis Audio website is a good example. There's a few layout tips in that PDF also. There's also some sample layouts that might be worth a look over for some examples on how to layout certain circuit elements.

Not necessarily related to layout but a few other things I've found:

Test constantly - audio probe and DMM/voltmeter. Grab one of those little pocket battery amps (eg this one for $20) to have on your bench if testing with your real amp is a PITA.

I keep a printed copy of the resistor colour codes on the wall in front of my bench, makes it easy to glance up and check because yeah no way I'm memorising those any time soon.

Draw the pinouts for any ICs/transistors/things with more than two pins on your schematic for quick reference.

Have a decent understanding of the circuit first and how the stages work. I like to redraw stuff in KiCad/Eagle - forces me to learn what connects where. It's a lot easier when you can look at your board and go 'oh I'm missing a resistor that should be connected to the drain' (or whatever) without having to reference your schematic for everything.

I've also found I've been more successful when I'm putting things together to say in my head "signal goes through 68k resistor to gate", "1M resistor connects from gate to ground", "220p cap from gate to ground" etc etc, rather than just going "this thing connects to that". Helps you understand the circuit better and will make you then ask yourself things like "which pin on this component is the gate?".

Like I said, I'm still learning, so if I've said anything blatantly wrong feel free to call me out, always up for getting better.

The only kind of DSP I've ever looking into is the one linked below (Sharc DSP) which is from Analog Devices. I'm sure there's others but that seems to be the trend on which to use.

The really best starting point would be to read some shit about it before hand. I had a decent article with some sample code but I don't remember what I did with it.

http://www.amazon.com/DAFX-Digital-Udo-ouml-lzer/dp/0470665998/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405345129&sr=8-1&keywords=DAFX

This book has sample matlab code, but I expect this to be a better reference book than a learning book. I wish I could find that article but I know that Analog Devices' website has some better information.

Good luck on it, the stuff is definitely complex to understand. Probably way easier to just get one and start coding than it is to constantly read up on it.

It depends on the component. Resistors and caps usually either work or not, and even really cheap sets tend to be within rated tolerances. I just buy the cheapest sets of those that have the values I want.

Transistors and ICs will depend on what you're getting. Common and still produced values are cheap and easy to get. Again, just buy whatever's cheap and gets you what you need. Watch out for fakes or seconds when buying out-of-production parts like 308s or 3007s. Best to get those from reputable places (smallbear, Mammoth, etc), because they're expensive and it's easy to get burned. I'd really look at the values you're getting when ordering ICs and possibly transistors in bulk. Those parts are usually really specific to a build and buying a lot of values might leave you with a bunch of unused parts.

The Joe Knows sets are good, if a little expensive. They tend to be well sorted, which is nice, but not something I'm willing to pay more for. Like this set of resistors is going to be just as good and is significantly cheaper than the equivalent Joe Knows set. There's certainly nothing wrong with the Joe Knows stuff though - if it has the values you need at the right price, go for it.

You can also score some great bulk deals on ebay and alibaba, but you'll be stuck waiting for overseas shipping a lot of the time. I'd go Amazon for an initial order and then shop around when you refill.

I was recently approached by a guitarist to build a Meathead Deluxe clone. I had never heard of this pedal before, but after some research I realized it was quite an iconic pedal. Its the same pedal used by Troy in Queens of the Stone Age.

This pedal, simply put, is a modern voiced Fuzz Face. It uses silicon transistors that are biased wide open for a rich crunchy grind. It is bigger and much more aggressive than your standard Fuzz Face. To quote the original designer of the pedal, "If you want a true vintage sounding Fuzz Face and purchase a Meathead, you wont be a happy bunny. The Meathead is supposed to break things."

I decided to use this build as an excuse to experiment with a few new build techniques. Screenprinting graphics is fairly cumbersome for just one off builds and I wanted a way to apply professional looking decals simply and effectively. Other DIY builders on the forums have been using Waterslide Transfers with impressive results... It was totally worth it. Its a very simple process and I think it looks very nice and tidy. I coated the transfer with a clear-coat once it dried for added durability. I would highly recommend this process to any pedal-builder. For better results, I think I need to wipe down the surface of the decal while it dries. I had a few water spots on the surface while it was drying that caused some minor dimples in the finish on this build.

I also wanted to find a better way to mount veroboard builds inside the case. With PCB builds, I typically design them to mount to the back of the pots and anchor in place that way, but its not always easy to do this with vero builds. I have seen some other guys use plastic standoffs in their builds and decided to try this for myself. These require a 1/8" hole to properly mount, so you will have to find a fairly empty "cut" to drill out in order to use these, but I think they worked pretty dang well. It makes the build look much cleaner in my opinion.

After the build was complete, I tried it out on my Bass. It was noticeably more aggressive than any of the fuzz faces i have tried in the past, but still sounded very musical. That being said, this is definitely a Guitar pedal. It sounds incredible higher up on the neck, but starts to lose some definition at the low E... Forget about even trying to play drop C with this on Bass haha.

The schematic I used can be found here

Sound clip can be found here

Picture of the cute little circuit

Gut shot here

(The photos are missing a resistor... Smallbear sent me 820K instead of 820R resistors so I had to wait another day for this to re-ship.)

Wow, thanks fro the great answers /u/crb3 ! Really interesting stuff.

Number 3 I'm going to read through really slowly again to try to makes sure I get it all. Reverse protection diode makes sense. I think I can leave it out since I am using only 9v DC from the wall wart so it'd be hard to get it backwards like a battery. It seems like increasing the value of C3 would allow a larger reservoir of power and less sag?

One question, why does it matter it it is a 0.1 uF MLC cap vs some other type of capacitor, i.e., What desirable properties are exclusive to MLC?

This is exactly what I has hoping for. I'm slowly working through this book now to get a better understanding of this stuff, but practical explanations like the ones you provided are really interesting and provide an awesome supplement to what I have learned so far from the text book!

Next step is the breadboard to try some of this stuff out!

Not worth $60 IMO. I have one of these guys and highly recommend it -
https://www.amazon.com/Mastech-MS8268-MS8261-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B000JQ4O2U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474646922&sr=8-1&keywords=mastech+8268

Looking through the reviews it seems like they send out the occasional lemon unit, but I've had mine for 3 years now on the same battery and it's awesome, especially for a $25 multimeter. I've tested it alongside a friend's $400 Fluke meter and it's very accurate. It also includes an attachment for reading transistor gains, which is especially helpful if you get into using germanium transistors. It's rated for 1000VDC so I use it when working on tube amps as well.

If you get into building pedals these are also worth picking up -
https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Multifunction-Transistor-Resistance-Inductance/dp/B00NKY3M1W/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1474647579&sr=8-13

It will measure inductance & and it's invaluable for getting quick gains and pinouts for transistors. It's not a substitute for a meter but it makes stuff like identifying a mystery transistor or matching FETs a breeze.

I just went over to it and picked it up and was surprised by how light it is. I think the wider base gives it better stability than the old one I was using but the old one might actually be heavier. I just weighed them, the new one is 13.3 ounces, and the old is 12.2. So not much difference in weight, but the new one sits higher and has the wider base, that makes it more useful to me.

I just remembered this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/diypedals/comments/5fu93u/i_finally_bought_an_oscilloscope/

The helping hand in that picture might be worth pursuing. Whoever's desk this is has obviously spent a lot of time perfecting his workstation. I'd imagine he's gone through a few helping hands before settling on the one on his current desk.

I will say that this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003UCODIA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

has been my single most useful DIY helper....

Thanks, this was really helpful! Since with this blog I finally better understood the process of building pedals, I’ve made up my mind about getting into this and learning as much as possible. It’s a great blog.

I do have a follow up question thou. I’m now making a list of tools I’ll need to get for the job, I already have a few but I’m missing a multimeter. Would [this one](Innova 3320 Auto-Ranging Digital Multimeter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EVYGZA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_A3m-AbTVDFTA0) be good enough?

here's what i currently use - http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D-23BY-Digital-Soldering-FX-888D/dp/B00ANZRT4M/ref=sr_1_1

get a good iron, don't get something really cheap. everything is easier with something that works well.

There's the Brian Wampler book that people always talk about in this sub, I don't know if it's exactly what you're looking for, but you should check it out anyway, it's a great source.

Ah yeah those will cut but you need something that will cut shorter. I found these on Amazon they work great!

ElectroSmash has some very good breakdown of famous pedals, their circuits and how each part of the circuit shapes the wave. Here is Big Muff for example.

Apart from that, I can't 100% guarantee it will answer your questions, but I've recently stumbled upon a book called Electronic Projects for Musicians by Craig Anderton. I've skimmed over it and it seems to explain everything quite nicely.

Last thing - you can try and get a degree in Electronic Engineering :D

Build Your Own Clone

I doubt you'd keep track of any more websites I could mention above once you find a few kits there. As far as equipment goes, get:

A decent soldering iron ... Alternative (please also get this with the alternative)

Solder

Micro Cutters to trim leads

Hopefully you have a small flat-head screwdriver to set knobs and a small flat pair of pliers to attach hardware to the enclosures.

I doubt you'd need to but if you ever need to get any components that aren't supplied with a kit, go to Tayda Electronics for nearly any part (they tend to be cheapest for hobbyists, you can find anything from passive components like resistors and capacitors, to knobs/switches/audio and power jacks, etc.).

I've used this one for many years.

It lacks capacitor- and transistor-testing modes, but it was designed mainly for automotive use, and for the price, it's very good.

Any jack like that is going to have exposed lugs because the are supposed to GO INSIDE A ENLCOSURE! :)

I suggest heat shrink tubing but if you aren't going for switching do the cut the cable thing on something like this. It will work with the cable clip also.

https://www.amazon.com/Devinal-6-35mm-Stereo-Female-Extension/dp/B07D1NWY91/ref=asc_df_B07D1NWY91/?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid={creative}&hvpos={adposition}&hvnetw=o&hvrand={random}&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl={devicemodel}&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583520382579907&psc=1

If you really want to get into audio electronics design, I would pick up a book called Small Signal Audio Design. It's long, and it's technical. But it will be a wealth of information for a very long time. https://www.amazon.com/Small-Signal-Audio-Design-Douglas/dp/0415709733/

and maybe something like this may help? https://www.amazon.com/SE-Illuminated-Dual-Flip-Magnifier/dp/B003UCODIA/ref=sr_1_16?crid=14P7OOC4DPSD4&keywords=magnifier%2Bwith%2Blight&qid=1573913544&sprefix=magnifi%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-16&th=1

and i use this to hold components and board in place while soldering: https://www.amazon.com/June-Gold-Kneaded-Rubber-Erasers/dp/B074DC4F7G/ref=sr_1_12?crid=1QYF5TLM7IU2G&keywords=moldable+eraser&qid=1573913686&sprefix=moldable+%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-12

Craig Anderton's Electronic Projects for Musicians! I actually bought this book in 2010 and it completely overwhelmed me. Then I watched an interview with Jeorge Tripps (I think in the FUZZ documentary) where he mentions this book specifically as how he got started. I recently dusted it off and now I totally understand everything going on in there (I think!!!)

I think it is this book Splunlen is refering to: https://www.amazon.com/How-Modify-Guitar-Pedals-how/dp/1434801063

Please note that there seems to be a new version out soon.

> Have I received bad information?

Yes, very bad information.

> (1) is this passing along the power into my own effects chain?

Unfortunately...yes. And that's not good because...

> (2) if so, would that power be too much and risk damage?

Absolutely yes. The amp, the effects, and just about everything "down river" may be ruined.

If you really are interested in learning more about DIY FX and stuff, this was a book I got decades ago and still own a worn, dog-eared copy...I have never built any of the projects (many use obsolete parts and I'm too lazy to cross-reference them when there are so many great projects available from modern sites), but it's a good read for how many things like this work. BTW, if you google the book title, you might find a PDF of it on a university website. It's probably also available through a library.

That looks like it's from the Anderton book Electronics Projects for Musicians

The 4739 opamp and CLM6000 optocouplers are unobtainium nowadays, but geofex has some tips for replacing them.

http://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Projects-Musicians-Craig-Anderton/dp/0825695023

Here is the mobile version of your link

http://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Projects-Musicians-Craig-Anderton/dp/0825695023

Cheap soldering irons suck, no matter the brand.
Save up and get this:
Hakko FX888D-23BY Digital Soldering Station FX-888D FX-888 (blue & yellow) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ANZRT4M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apu_86QSBb47A3XH3