What do you love about pedal building?

[Muadzin]

I always found soldering to be incredible relaxing. Maybe it was inhaling the soldering fumes, but if it weren't for the changing background noises of the TV somewhere in the room I could completely forget time when I was soldering.

The moment you fire up a new build was also an incredible rush. Too bad it was often countered by the dreaded no sound at all moment.

But one of the most fun things was planning a new build. As in playing with my ordering spreadsheet. Adding in the number of components I would, seeing if there was room in the order for another build, and if so which one. I have whole spreadsheets full of planned pedal builds that never happened, and yet they still give me great pleasure compiling them.

[culturejam]

I like working on "new" circuits the most. I love cranking out a schematic in Eagle and then moving to the breadboard to see how poorly it performs. 

[peterc]

Its good to create something from virtually nothing and using it for creative purposes.

I love putting on the resistors, then sitting back and admiring them. Then the OCD takes over and I make sure they are all parallel...

Same with the caps until it is done.

I still hold my breath when powering up, and I have been doing this for 40 years....

Then, SOUND! O yeah!

[EBK]

From the time I first started dabbling in electronics, the thing that has given me the most joy (and my motivation for studying electrical engineering) is this silly idea:

A resistor sitting in a parts bin does nothing.  It has no magical powers, and by itself is selected for its trivial-sounding property of resisting current.

A capacitor sitting in a parts bin does nothing.  It has no magical powers, and by itself is selected for its trivial-sounding properties of storing charge or resisting changes in voltage.

A transistor sitting in a parts bin does nothing.  It has no magical powers, and by itself is selected for its trivial-sounding property of controlling a current with another current (ok, that is a bit magical, but still).

But, put these ordinary, non-magical components together in a very specific way and their synergy creates magic.  Even becoming a simple oscillator is more than any of the parts could do individually.

[davent]

It was all about the planning, figuring out parts needs, designing and etching a pcb that would work with an aesthetically pleasing control layout, form over function... designing a graphic, hand painting/multimedia for the enclosure, populating and soldering the pcb... actually finishing a pedal was pretty anti-climatic and a build would often stall just short of the finish line - fear of failure or total loss of interest because there was another build process in the works.

It was all about the creative journey and getting something that i thought 'looked' cool, how's it sound, like a pedal...
dave

[jjjimi84]

I love that I am always learning something new. Through pedal building I learned that I like to paint, something I wiuld have never tried had I not gotten tired of bare enclosures. I learn so much on an electronics level with every build and yet still manage to feel like a total noob.

Even as I write this I am taking a break from GIMP tutorials to help me start using water slide decals to finish pedals.

I have learned that almost 20 years of playing guitar and namely using a fuzz face that I actually prefer tonebenders.

Every new pedal is a new source of inspiration for my playing and every build is a great way to flex different parts of my brain. It keeps me busy and keeps me sober.

[Yahoo67]

I love the look of a newly populated pcb, i still remember the first time i build one!! I said to my girlfriend "look it looks like a small city!!". The smell and look of a just lackered enclosure when you finally start to see what the finished product will look like and how all the colors pop out is hard to beat !

[Marshall Arts]

Designing something new, trying it out on a breadboard, drawing a schematic, layout of a PCB, ordering it, getting it, building it, sharing it. It's great to build something "real", if your main job is creating intangible stuff.

And I really like this forum, everyone is really friendly, helpful and funny. It's the only one I contribute to.

[storyboardist]

Ok, not quite everything. The biggest thing is the kick I get out of putting something together and it working. Then getting lost in my guitar as I play random rifts and poorly noodle around. Beyond that, I love getting the low res picture of my boards before Elecrow ships them. I love populating a new board (tho I do not love trying to figure out what I did with that bag of 1µF non-polarized caps from Tayda). I love designing PCBs and helping other builders with their designs. Sometimes I start to drag with the hobby and lose some steam, but DIY is just in my blood I think. Can't quit.

[oip]

perfect combo of geeking out, hands-on work, problem solving, and creativity.  there is SO much to learn and it's almost all fun.

getting a board from the fab house and having it roar to life on first power up is ridiculously satisfying (and relieving).  as is doing up a vero layout and getting it working.  as others have said the 'making something from nothing' element.  wanting to claw your eyes out with hours of troubleshooting before realising you've wired the input jack to the output pad.

i also love the sharing aspect, learning from other people, building things other people have designed, ordering parts and boards from all over the world.  without wanting to jinx it, it feels like one of the more wholesome uses of the internet.

[vicfiveleven]

Are Verobuilds allowed here? I've just started building, I think 4 months ago? I used to always buy pedals but most of them lack the sound/feature I wanted.  I would love the sound of one overdrive but then I thought that it would be cool if it had this feature and that design so I started modding but ended up building from scratch instead.  I love that feeling of accomplishment every time a project runs, especially the first time you plug it in. Currently on my 7th project, a TS9 with clipping switch. Almost done with 7th project, but 100s more to go.

[Leevibe]

Are Verobuilds allowed here? I've just started building, I think 4 months ago? I used to always buy pedals but most of them lack the sound/feature I wanted.  I would love the sound of one overdrive but then I thought that it would be cool if it had this feature and that design so I started modding but ended up building from scratch instead.  I love that feeling of accomplishment every time a project runs, especially the first time you plug it in. Currently on my 7th project, a TS9 with clipping switch. Almost done with 7th project, but 100s more to go.

Welcome aboard, and vero is well represented here! Looking forward to seeing some of your builds. You have found the right community.

[Willybomb]

This is the point I love most about building pedals.  The moment I get the sticker on (bonus points if it's in the right place with no dust bumps under it first time around, like this one)....  It just looks so clean, and the colours usually pop really well.

[EBK]

Are Verobuilds allowed here?

Vero builds are actually my favorite!  Can't fully explain why, but it's true.

[vicfiveleven]

Thanks Leevibe and EBK. Yeah, for some reason I got stuck with vero. I've tried perf and pcb building but I just like starting a build by cutting up the vero, from scratch. and that weird smell, dunno know if I should avoid smelling it. should I? lol is there a prop 65 warning on those boards? 

I don't know if my builds are worthy enough to be posted here. XD I still suck at clean wiring and have zero talent in designing enclosures. I will get there soon. Need to practice my soldering skills first. hehe