Basic components kits?

[Soulscratch]

Hey everyone!

New here and so stoked to have found your community. These pedals are totally the projects I've been looking for. While I think I'm a relatively well-rounded maker (machining, welding, 3d modeling, powder coating, woodworking, etc.), my electronics skills need a lot of growth. I have a decent soldering setup and bench-top power supply and have done plenty of minor electrical repairs over the years, but I'd love to get deeper into some actual builds. I've been meaning to do some projects like the DIY synth modules from Erica Synths, but I think stop-boxes are a more practical endeavor for the moment. 

One of the things I've been meaning to do is build out a decent kit of basic electronic components and I was hoping you guys could give me a list of items I should keep on hand. I'm thinking resistors, transistors, capacitors, diodes, etc. Maybe some pots and jacks as well. Not sure if I should just grab small kits off Amazon or put in an order on Mouser/Digikey but I'll take whatever recommendations you all have!

Thanks in advance!

[jessenator]

Welcome!

I'm sure you'll get more replies, but you're on track with what's good to have on-hand. Typically, if you're just starting out, the least expensive components like resistors and certain capacitors. Other parts can be bought ad hoc, but it's good financial sense to buy them from as few distributors as possible

While tempting, some of the Amazon kits aren't what I'd call "quality" but if you're looking for soldering practice, they work just fine. Speaking of, I know you mentioned you have a decent setup, but if soldering components is relatively new, I'd suggest purchasing some practice boards, especially for SMD (which has been creeping its way slowly into DIY).

For more expensive things like BBDs (bucket brigade device) for delays, chorus, phaser, flangers, you'll definitely want to buy a la carte. (or, out of necessity, rather)


What I would do is choose a few easy ("noob") projects from Bean's Standard Series, and purchase your first swath of parts based on those. In a lot of the build documents there will be links to parts also.


There are several places you could buy parts from. These are my thoughts, but others will have suggestions as well.
Stomp Box Parts is a well-stocked, US-based supplier. They even have whole pedal kits (which look like they are boards from PedalPCB). Their prices have been very competitive, especially for sellers stateside. I think they have the most well-rounded selection of parts.

Tayda Electronics is a very well stocked supplied based in Thailand with (for the most part) decent shipping rates. They also have drilling, finishing, and even UV printing services. However, there have been reports of mixed production times for all of that as of late. That said, they have nearly everything under the sun, except germanium-based parts for things like vintage fuzz circuits, etc.

Small Bear Electronics. These guys were the place to go back in the day, but after the original founders sold to SynthCube it's been mostly okay, but recently kinda spotty, IMO. They do carry some harder to find parts the other vendors don't (if they're in stock, that is).

Love My Switches is another. Like the name says, they carry switches! More of the hardware side of things: enclosures, jacks, switches, knobs, etc.

Sometimes deals can be found at places like Mouser and DigiKey (large-scale suppliers), and are the most reliable place to get standard dual op-amps and other (still in-production) ICs, though navigation, shipping, and MOQ can be tricky if you've never ordered there before, and it's easy to drop money on the wrong parts.


I favor SBP and Tayda, personally. Between them you can find just about everything.

[jessenator]

Couple things I'll add:
If you go the route of buying parts based on the project(s) you'd want to build, it's good to buy more than you need—within reason.

Resistors are typically pennies, so no real harm there. Caps hover around 10-20 cents (US) each, so use your own judgement there. Some other common parts like barrier and schottky diodes, certain silicon transistors, and others are inexpensive.

I'd sort out some part storage if you haven't already—doesnt need to be fancy. Be aware that nearly all partitioned plastic bins are not ESD safe, so things like ICs, transistors, and diodes should be stored in ESD bags (not the pink or blue ones, but real mylar-looking ones, though they aren't actually mylar).

[Soulscratch]

Couple things I'll add:
If you go the route of buying parts based on the project(s) you'd want to build, it's good to buy more than you need—within reason.

Resistors are typically pennies, so no real harm there. Caps hover around 10-20 cents (US) each, so use your own judgement there. Some other common parts like barrier and schottky diodes, certain silicon transistors, and others are inexpensive.

I'd sort out some part storage if you haven't already—doesnt need to be fancy. Be aware that nearly all partitioned plastic bins are not ESD safe, so things like ICs, transistors, and diodes should be stored in ESD bags (not the pink or blue ones, but real mylar-looking ones, though they aren't actually mylar).

Man, thank you so much for all the info. Hugely appreciated! I'll check out the stores you mentioned and stick with them for parts when possible.

Your idea of buying parts based on projects and buying more than I need is exactly what I'm thinking. I figured I'd order a few boards from MBP, a few boxes of different components in a range of values, and then go through the BOM of each pedal and see what else I need, ordering more than needed if it makes sense.

Huge thanks for the tip on ESD storage. I hadn't thought of that. I just finally started upgrading my small parts storage/hardware to the Gridfinity system and thought I'd be using that for the electronics components but hadn't thought of ESD safety. I guess I'll have to rethink that for a moment!

As far as experience/skill with component soldering, I still have a long way to go. I've only replaced individual components one at a time, and only done one or two SMDs. I did an IC once where the solder joints had evaporated, but man, that was a freaking challenge. I can at least say I've done a better job each time, but building a single board will be more components at once than I've done in total previously. Absolutely up for the challenge though.

[NorthCoast]

A while back someone posted on here that he was... taking a class where he was learning to write software that would read documents? ...something like that. Anyway, he tallied up all the components used in madbean projects. I couldn't find the thread but I saved this. It should give you some idea of what values are the most common:

[Soulscratch]

A while back someone posted on here that he was... taking a class where he was learning to write software that would read documents? ...something like that. Anyway, he tallied up all the components used in madbean projects. I couldn't find the thread but I saved this. It should give you some idea of what values are the most common:

Whooaaa, this is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. Sounds like he built a web scraper that could sort output into a table. Very cool. If you happen to find the thread, I'd love to see it! But this is excellent. Thanks!

[Bio77]

I second the buying extra parts to build up your stash. I'd pick a few PCBs you'd like to build, create a combined parts list.  When you order parts, order extra resistors, caps, leds, knobs, ect.  The next time you order you can run through what you have before you order.  After a few cycles of this you might have enough to build without ordering. Wouldn't recommend ordering extra pots....no matter how many I have in my stash, I always have to order at least one, lol, so it's not worth the extra storage and cost.   

The goal is to avoid ordering from multiple vendors, the shipping costs add up.  I always need a Tayda order, so, I also have a list of things I'm getting low on and Tayda sells.  When I order caps or chips from Mouser, I usually buy in bulk.  Both for the bulk discount and to only order from them a few time per year.  Small Bear and other specialty vendors, I try to order for multiple projects or buy in bulk for stuff like chips.   

 

[jimilee]

Well, I'll throw in my 2ohms. Planned out about 5 builds and then bought twice as much as I needed. I would do that for builds after that until I had a decent stash. Now I order more as I get low.
A couple of places, you can build carts as you need the parts and then keep going back to it until you're ready to order.


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