Tips from a noob to noobier noobs...

[camsna]

So far, I've completed the following MadBean builds:
Firebomb
Slambox
Cupcake (x2)
Chunk Chunk
Patsyface
Glitterati
Neutrino
Sunking (not finished...in progress...)

From these builds, I've amassed some limited wisdom that I'd love to share with anybody whom it might help! Here's what I've learned:

1 - Be organized. Put your parts in bins. Label them. Have a neat workspace.
2 - Work from small to big when populating your board. Jumper wires, resistors, diodes, film caps, IC/transistor sockets, electrolytics, transistors, etc.
3 - Be careful. The more careful you are during your build, the more likely the pedal is to work right away which, in many ways, is ideal. Double check component values. Check for cold or dry joints and bridges.
4 - Test it before you button it up.
5 - When asking for help (in the tech help forum), follow the simple guidelines. It's helpful for you and keeps the mods from choking their pets.
6 - Always (ALWAYS) tin your iron.
7 - CLEAN your iron. Keep the tip clean as can be. Black spots are bad and really hinder heat transfer. Makes soldering awfully frustrating.
8 - Cut all your wires (a little) long. It's more of a pain to replace a short wire than it is to clip a long'n.
9 - Everything down the middle. What I mean is that, with most things in life, the target is right down the middle. When it comes to solder, you need enough, but not too much. You need enough heat for it to melt (and "sink," as I like to call it), but not too much. Etc.
11 - DON'T blow on your freshly soldered joints. Let them cool on their own.
12 - When you remove the iron from the joint, slide it up the leg of the component you're soldering. It'll cool better and leave the 'point' of the joint pointing up rather than to the side. Looks nice and is less likely to cause a bridge.
13 - Think and plan. Then plan a little more. It's like "measure twice, cut once." A little bit of care and planning will help with a smooth build, minimal troubleshooting, and clean guts. Clean and well-planned wiring (guts) help with noise and problem diagnosis. Plus, it just feels good to look at your work and for it to look neat and nice rather than a messy rat's nest.

If I think of more, I'll let you know. If this was unhelpful, sorry for the time waste. But I would've liked to have been told some of this and not have had to learn it myself

G'luck!

[maysink]

Wise words.

I'll add it's good to read the entire project document in advance. Maybe twice. I also like to try and make sense of the flow of the schematic.

[night-B]

Read all build reports and tech help, and mods about your project.
Be curious, creative and learn from your mistakes.
Jul

[BassXtreme]

what works for me is I spread the soldering over a period of days instead doing it all at once. then I ALWAYS check each part for continuity to the next part in the path

[chromesphere]

Well done camsna.  It took me more then 8 builds to work out some of tips you listed above.

If i may add, a couple of basic tips:  I ALWAYS measure resistor values before soldering them in place. 

Also, the first thing i solder in on my boards are sockets for IC's and transistors.  You never know when you will have to remove one (or re-orientate).  Much easier to replace.

Paul.