Mudbunny Capacitor Questions

[DanRaggedy]

Hi All,

I'm new here and wanting to build myself a Mudbunny pedal. I've ordered the PCB and I'm trying to get all the parts for the build. I've found most of the parts, but I'm struggling with a few of them. Specifically, I'm not finding some capacitors. The 560p, 50n, 4n, etc. are missing from guitarpedalparts.com and the other sites I've "found" them on seem a little sketchy (I've tried converting 'n' to 'u' and 'p' numbering as well). I don't have any local stores that have experts to help me, so I thought I'd throw the question out here before I fall down a massive research rabbit hole. I'm hoping there is an easy solution or alternative someone might have for me.

Again, I'm new to all of this, so if there is any good advice someone can bestow on me about buying parts or if there are variety packs, alternatives, or general advice. That would be SO helpful. I want to get into this long-term, so I'm all ears.

Cheers!

[mauman]

Welcome! 

The vendors listed at the top of this page (see pic below) should be able to supply you.  Also Mouser and Digi-Key have lots of variety.  If you use either of them for caps, watch the voltage ratings (50v to 63v is plenty) and the lead spacing (usually 5mm for most caps, maybe 2.5mm for the picofarad size.)  Making your first few pedals is a bit tricky, 'cause you don't have any inventory of parts.  When you need a part, always get a few extra, and over time you'll build up a stock and can eventually build a pedal from mostly what you have on hand. 

[DanRaggedy]

Thank you mauman!

I'll check out those sites. The information about ratings and sizes is really helpful too! I did read somewhere that 5mm is common, but it's nice to have confirmation on that. I'll be ordering all the parts (and extras) today.

Cheers

[greysun]

Thank you mauman!

I'll check out those sites. The information about ratings and sizes is really helpful too! I did read somewhere that 5mm is common, but it's nice to have confirmation on that. I'll be ordering all the parts (and extras) today.

Cheers

Stomp box parts has been pretty great for the sundry parts I've needed recently (I ordered a lot from their predecessor company, Mammoth parts) and they haven't been out of a lot. Only downside is that you have to order more than you need sometimes, but it's all fairly low cost stuff, and it never hurts to have extra... They also have powder coated stomp boxes in varied colors, which I appreciate.

Just don't make the mistake that I made and order 600+ volt caps... 47n and higher at that tolerance are enormous and will not fit on your board! lol... look for box caps for anything in the nf or uf ranges (unless an electrolytic is needed, of course). ceramic is great for anything in the pf ranges. I try to get minimum 25v, but mauman is spot on that 50-60v is a good range to strive for.

I had a lot of fun with the mudbunny, which was my 2nd pedal build ever (I tested the waters with slow loris, which was a slightly simpler circuit) - subsequently, I actually bought several mudbunny boards and socketed one of them completely so I could test out different cap values, resistor values, clipping diodes, transistors... As mauman said, it's a good thing to get extra!

I built 2 violet rams heads and 2 triangles - but I used LEDs for clipping in the triangles, mixed up the 560pf(s) with 470pf(s) here and there, mixed BC550 and 2n5088s for the transistors, and it gave me louder and fuller fuzz (I can't remember the exact specs - but the gist is: EXPERIMENT!). Some of it comes down to your guitar or your amp, too... I use a guitar with single coils 95%+ of the time, but a buddy that uses mostly humbuckers seems to prefer a green Russian circuit - if you run your clean sound with a lot of bass or vice versa, that will affect things... again, it's really great to experiment and see what you like when you have something as flexible as this circuit.

Good luck - and welcome to your new obsession!