Suggestions for a newby

[RobW]

I'm pretty new to pedal building, and looking for advice. Many of the projects I look at suggest having an Oscilloscope, and/or audio probe as part of your general tools to work with. Any suggestions on what are good items to get for a beginner? I'd rather get something good, than take the cheap path, but don't want to break the bank either. I've never used either one, so it would be helpful to get something that is user friendly if possible. Thanks ! Rob

[GermanCdn]

If the build calls for an oscilloscope, you might want to leave that project for a few years until you've got your feet wet.  Brian (and others) have done a really good job in defining difficulty levels of builds, and it's advisable to start from the ground up.  It'll take a while until you've exhausted those options.  And everyone needs to build every variant possible of the BMP.

Don't cheap out on the soldering iron.  Not saying you need to buy a Hakko right away (though you won't regret buying it), but getting the cheapest one available is equally unadvisable.  Adjustable output would be advantageous, as you can then dial it in for the solder you're using.

A good set of flush cutting snips is nice.  Big bulky wire cutters meant for household wring are not so much fun.  Xcelite or Knipex would be my choice, but they're expensive.  But the cheap ones tend not to last.  And never, EVER, cut a guitar string with them.

Don't cheap out on the wire strippers either.  Yes you can pick up cheap ones, but they tend to do a lousy job and break.  I think I settled on a pair of adjustable Irwins I really liked (I haven't unpacked my build kit in a long time).

A good quality step bit for drilling enclosures.

Audio probes are fairly easy to build on your own, and there are boards out there for them as well.

A good desk lamp/magnifying glass.

A small fan to blow the soldering fumes away.

A power bar with dedicated lit switch which sits on top of your build desk which EVERYTHING is plugged in to.  Because you're going to forget to turn your iron off, so if it's running off a power bar and you turn that off, you're covered.

[vizcities]

A Beavis Board-style hookup for audio probing and "rocking outside the box" is pretty essential, as are a decent adjustable-temp soldering iron, some quality solder (I use Kester), a Helping Hands variant for awkward angles, a stripper/crimper, decent wire cutters, and an adjustable wrench or socket set (e.g. the Rocket Sockets at Love My Switches). At some point, I also invested in a drill press to make the enclosure process easier. Oscopes can be useful for certain builds (like synths and LFO-based stuff), but they are - for the cost, anyway - overkill in most instances; one can easily build a great-sounding tremolo, vibrato, fuzz, OD, distortion, delay, phaser, flanger, etc. without them.

[matmosphere]

100% agree with what has been said.

Get some desoldering wick, and maybe splurge on the ss2 solder sucker (forget who makes it) because one of the hardest things for me starting out was fixing stuff and getting out parts that had already been soldered in.

I was displaced last year and had time to kill so I bought one of these from Amazon. I have to say I actually like this iron better than my low end hakko/circuit specialist iron. Overall everything in it was decent at least. Well worth the 20$

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07GTGGLXN/ref=syn_sd_onsite_mobileweb_429?ie=UTF8&adId=200053659497231&qualifier=1619539683&id=4569648717513589&widget=sd_onsite_mobileweb&spPl=1&psc=1&uh_it=19c9c74c7bb38fcd9de93fff47e49b68_CT

[RobW]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far! Great to get tips from you guys who have already been down this rabbit hole. The more I look, I'm finding there's a whole lot more to learn.

[davent]

I'd hazard the guess that very very few people on these pedal forums have oscilloscopes, i  started soldering stuff together in the 80's, still don't have one. Audio probe is very simple thing to make to get you started.

Did anyone mention a digital multimeter (DMM), as essential as the soldering iron.

dave

[Drew Hallenbeck]

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/Circuit-Board-Clamp-Holder.html

I absolutely love this thing. For the price, it's well worth it!

[midwayfair]

An audio probe is nothing special. I literally make one with alligator clips and a jack, I don't even bother soldering something together anymore. You're just poking a capacitor connected to your guitar cable at a spot in the circuit you want to listen to.

[matmosphere]

These are worth having in addition to a multimeter.

https://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/measurement/esr-meter-transistor-tester-lcd-diode-multimeter-capacitance.html

They allow you to get transistor hfe readings, and more importantly tell you the transistor's pin out.

[vizcities]

Seconding davent & Matmosphere: you should def have a DMM & component reader. Both made me a much smarter, more conscientious builder with a far lower failure rate.

[RobW]

I do have a DMM.. So far it sounds like the Audio probe and component reader are must haves.
Another question for you all...
I've been sourcing parts from Tayda, Small Bear, Mouser, and a few others..
What I've been finding is that the tolerances on many caps and resistors are +-5% or +-10%.
In a build that calls for a 47nf capacitor for example.. if the cap only tests at 43nf due to the tolerance variance, will that cause issues with the build?
I'm trying to be aware of those things, but also wondering if it's really not that big of a concern.

[davent]

I do have a DMM.. So far it sounds like the Audio probe and component reader are must haves.
Another question for you all...
I've been sourcing parts from Tayda, Small Bear, Mouser, and a few others..
What I've been finding is that the tolerances on many caps and resistors are +-5% or +-10%.
In a build that calls for a 47nf capacitor for example.. if the cap only tests at 43nf due to the tolerance variance, will that cause issues with the build?
I'm trying to be aware of those things, but also wondering if it's really not that big of a concern.

Unless you need caps for an RIAA network, i'd say no concern, resistors 1% & 5% are most common and cheap, pots 20%, electro caps typically 20%... close enough.

Anyone mention a breadboard(s)?
dave

[GermanCdn]

In a build that calls for a 47nf capacitor for example.. if the cap only tests at 43nf due to the tolerance variance, will that cause issues with the build?

Dave's right, but it depends on the build.  In a Fuzz/OD/Distortion, you'd likely not notice a whole lot of difference if any, because they're (typically) lower part count builds and their job is pushing the front end of an amp, not modulating the signal.  In a higher parts count complex build (like a delay), a single lower tolerance component would likely not be noticed, but if (for example) the majority of your components were all consistently under spec, you might notice a cumulative result, but then again, you'd likely need a 100% spec built pedal beside it to compare to to tell the difference.

I generally measure most of my components before I install them, and anything that's way out of spec gets sorted into the "use on a veroboard build for a random build" bag.  I typically measure all my pots when I receive them, and mark their readings so I know if I'm building an expensive part build that I'm using as near spec as I can be.

[RobW]

the breadboard is also a new concept to me... I've heard them mentioned enough in various information I'm reading online, but have no knowledge of how important they are, or how easy/hard it is to set one up. Reading up on that is probably a good place to spend some time.
Thanks for the info on the tolerances as well.. I plan on getting a component reader and since I'm buying resistors and caps in bulk ( nothing crazy,, if i need 2, i'll get 20 ... plus the cost of them is minimal ), I can use ones that test with the closest value.

[jjjimi84]

Everything that has been suggested is perfect, if you have the cash I recommend the pedalpcb.com breadboard setup. It takes a lot of headaches out of bread boarding and makes it really easy to get your first pedals up and running.