Where to start

[tonefreak]

Hey everyone! I am new to this forum and have zero experience building pedals. I am eager to get started and look forward to the journey. Any suggestions on the best way to start? Should I start by modding some pedals that I already have? Should I buy an electronics book and learn about schematics/components/math involved? Should I just start with some basic kits and take it from there? If you had to start your experience all over again...what path would you take to get all the knowledge and skills that you have in a more efficient, structured way.
Thanks

[oldhousescott]

Do you have any soldering experience? If not, you could go to Radio Shack and get some perfboard with copper pads, and some tinned hookup wire, and start practicing. I'm sure there are some tutorials on the web, probably even some youtube vids, showing how to make good solder joints.

Do you have any basic mechanical experience for drilling holes, mounting jacks and switches? If not, you might rather look at a kit like the ones from Build Your Own Clone that have pre-drilled enclosures, and very little off-board wiring.

I hope my post doesn't seem belittling, but you gave no indication of your current skill status. Lots of friendly folks here will be happy to help once you decide to dive in, should you run into any problems.

What kind of projects are you interested in building? Boosts and overdrives are probably the easiest to start with. I'd save the choruses and delays for later, once you have a few successes under your belt.

[GermanCdn]

The best way to start is probably with the prepackaged kits from BYOC or General Guitar Gadgets, as mentioned above.  You get everything you need in a ready to go format, and it allows you to understand if you really enjoy the hobby or not.  It is the more expensive route to go on a per project basis, but it will give you a solid grasp of what you're getting into.

As far as projects here go (and they are a lot more diverse and fun), start off with boosters, overdrives, or silicon fuzz pedals.  Low parts count, easy to find, and easy to trouble shoot if you run into problems.  Lavache, Fatpants, Snarkdoodle, Thunderpuss, all easy to source, easy to build projects.

I wouldn't suggest modding your own pedals to start because a) it's far too easy to mess up a pedal that already works and b) most of the mods don't sound nearly as super fantastic as they are described.

[jkokura]

Most of what you need to know you can learn on sites like here. I. Don't know of one place where you can go to gt all the book learning you need, but most of what you need to know is found on the DIY sites. Start reading.

Looking at build reports is a good way to see what has been done and what you like. Modding pedals can be a fun thing, and it's how I started. A kit is a good second step, but the easy mad bean projects aren't far away from that.

Planning carefully is probably the hardest thing to do when you've never done a build, and the planning carefully is the most important element of every build.

Jacob

[Vallhagen]

Hi Tonefreak. i'd say its a fascinating and fun hobby you just enterring! ...and "fairly" cheap.

I second the first post (oldhousescott); learn how to solder and get a good basic kit of tools. Buy a DMM too.

Take your time to get into basic electronics theory as well. You don't have to go all deep for a start, but basic understanding on resistors, capacitors, diodes and transistors is a good thing.

Buy a simple kit as a first project, buildyourownclone kits are great. They ARE overprized if you compare with buying everything separately, but for a first project you will have enough q&a with a kit.

Now, with that finnished great sounding first project up'n'working, you are addicted (i warn you ) and will go for boards from madbean and browse the webstores for the cheapest n best caps n pots. Its not a far stepup as jkokura states, but it is a step.

Then... you will learn how to handpaint an enclosure (which you have allready learnt to drill correctly), spraypaint it... apply a waterslide decal... etch it... etch your own PCB-s... get into the world of digital simulation and your own PCB designs...

Cheers

[icecycle66]

I second Jacob, planning is way more important than I first imagined. It's a pain and very frustrating to get 98% through a project then be held up because you forgot to buy a part or don't have the tools to do something.

This is how I started off, and I think I'm doing pretty good so far.  I started this hobby because I had zero experience or knowledge about circuits, soldering, pedal building or anything related to the task.  I wanted to learn something all new.  You don't need no book learnin'.  Here's a summary of how I did it and am doing it.

Note: shop around for best prices for anything listed here.

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Soldering practice:

You'll hear all about different soldering irons and stuff.  A year or so ago, I think, I started with this guy and still use it.  It's really simple to handle.  It's like a pencil and comes with a bunch of crap you'll like.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=15805506&numProdsPerPage=60#

Also get this:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062719&filterName=Brand&filterValue=RadioShack

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062744&retainProdsInSession=1&filterName=Brand&filterValue=RadioShack

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2049743&znt_campaign=Category_CMS&znt_source=CAT&znt_medium=RSCOM&znt_content=CT2032227


Then I bought a few cheap pedals (Digitech and Behringer) and destroyed them. I took parts on and off the Behringer pedals just to get familiar with how soldering works, how things are attached to boards, and how things are arranged in a pedal.  This gave me a nice feel of the scale of things I'll be messing with.  

Then I circuit bent the Digitech Death Metal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKm1Vojdcf0

This got me into the mode of actually soldering for a purpose and not just to see how things happened.

This is the video I watched to learn what circuit bending was. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPPcNQAUnz8

To circuit bend you will need a pedal, or other sound making device, and some of these:
http://www.microcenter.com/product/321047/Multi_Color_Insulated_Alligator_Clip_Lead_Set


------------------------

Then I decided to jump into pedal building.
The first ones I built were all Madbean pedals; Macheen, Cave Dweller, and Mudbunny.
Don't bother with trying to get stuff into small boxes at first.  Use a 125B or larger.  Check out PedalPartsPlus.com for enclosures and other stuff.  Actually get familiar with these sourcing websites:
http://pedalpartsplus.com/
http://www.digikey.com/ (some people prefer mouser: http://www.mouser.com/)
https://www.smallbearelec.com/home.html
http://www.taydaelectronics.com/

There's a million others, but I get what I need from these places.

Don't buy a whole bunch of anything right at the beginning.  Once you put a few pedals together, you'll identify different types of components you should have ordered instead of the ones you did.  I'm still trying to work off some ridiculously small electrolytic capacitors.

Just buy what you need for the pedal you are building, plus 20%.  I say plus 20% because you are probably going to screw something up.  If you build a Mudbunny first, make sure you get at least 6 transistors, 4 for the board and 2 to break.

Don't screw around with not getting sockets for ICs.  Socket your ICs.  You should probably also get some single-in-line sockets for transistors.
http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Categories?category=Sockets


Or, you can go to Build Your Own Clone or General Guitar gadgets and get a pre-sorted kit of all the stuff you need.  That way you can skip sourcing stuff and go straight to the satisfaction of accomplishment.

After three or four pedals I figured out what I needed for certain things and started to order hundreds of resistors and dozens of capacitors at a time to build a stock pile.

-----------------------------

Putting stuff together.
Read my learning pains thread, and beware of pain.
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=4624.0


Put your circuit board together.  It's paint by numbers, just be careful. Put resistors and diodes on first.  Then the higher profile stuff like capacitors, IC's, and trannies.

Switching was confusing at first, and still is a little. Use a pre-printed circuit board to simplify this process early on.
http://1776effects.com/store/
http://www.guitarpcb.com/apps/webstore/products/show/3436229

Since you'll be working upside down, don't get your input and output jacks backwards.

Don't even worry about boxing it yet.  Plug it up and test it first.  It won't work. Use an audio probe/ signal tester to find out why, fix the problem, and test it again.  Now it will work.
http://www.buildyourownclone.com/probe.html


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Boxing

I made about a dozen trips to Home Depot, Sears, and Ace to get all the crap I needed for boxing the effect up. Drilling holes in metal boxes is harder than i thought it would be.

You can get away with a good drill and bit set in the beginning, but you'll want this other stuff over time. Get a drill with a cord.

http://www.sears.com/dewalt-3-8-in-10mm-vsr-pistol-grip-drill/p-00928370000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

http://www.sears.com/dewalt-cobalt-split-point-drill-bit-sets/p-00929343000P?prdNo=23&blockNo=23&blockType=G23

That other stuff:

http://www.sears.com/dremel-300-series-variable-speed-rotary-tool/p-010W043637042004P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

http://www.sears.com/dremel-workstation-and-drill-press-for-dremel-tools/p-SPM6585002001?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

http://www.sears.com/black-decker-black-and-decker-wm125-workmate-125/p-SPM7023749402?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

(I love that little work table.  It serves as my drilling platform and vice.)


I used the madbean templates at first, but eventually I made my own drilling templates.

-----

The start up cost on all this is more than I expected, but it's still cheaper and funner than classes at the local community college.  The way I justified my expenses was by building a Madbean Macheen first.  I got all the stuff listed, new skills and knowledge, and a nice new hobby for the same price of just purchasing a Zvex Machine.

-----

If you  start out with simple Madbean builds, have faith in the information provided on the build sheets.  They will drag you along and you will build a functioning pedal.  It might not be pretty, but it will work. As you build more and more you will figure out how to change things the way you want them, how to substitute things, and what stuff means.  For the first one, let the build documents be your brain and you just be the muscle.

Have fun. But be careful, this stuff is addicting. It is slowly replacing my music playing for pedal building.

[midwayfair]

^^ Great post, Icecycle! I still remember you learning pains threads. (Vividly! Because I lived through a couple of them.)

tonefreak:
Everything here is good advice. One of the best things about this hobby is that there are very few rules beyond the safety rules. This is some of my current batch of advice for people starting out:

1) Unlike a lot of people, I don't recommend starting with a kit or even a printed circuitboard. Buy a breadboard and find a few simple projects to start with. It's an extremely important learning tool and costs a mere $5 from Amazon. There are tutorials on Smallbear that will teach you how to use one. Also, it gives you something to play with while you are learning to solder, or when you run low on parts or boards and just want to tinker. Or when you want to know "What happens if I change ..." I wish I'd gotten one right away instead of jumping in on kits and PCBs.

There are highly experienced people who breadboard almost every effect they make before soldering. And if you get into designing your own pedal (it'll happen), the breadboard is also the place where you learn how to duplicate a result with multiples of the same component.

Plus, the breadboard makes a workable test rig. Because you need to Rock It Before You Box It.

2) Read. Everything. Two of your best resources are Geofex and Beavis Audio -- Geofex will tell you how things really work, and Beavis Audio will tell you how to understand what Geofex just told you. Read the tutorials on Smallbear. Read the beginner project threads on BYOC and DIYstompboxes. Put the stuff into practice (on the breadboard you bought!). I suggest picking an effect you really want to build and then learning about that specific effect, rather than learning general stuff. You'll have questions that might require further side research, but each pedal, in this way, becomes like a course all its own, and it can keep you focused.

You don't NEED to obsessively read everything about any particular effect before soldering it up and marveling at the sound of it. And maybe that's too much of an impediment to a newbie who just wants to jump in and start building a collection (in more ways than one). But you should force yourself to learn as much as you can tolerate. You will get better at identifying when something goes wrong, you'll learn how to make your own effects, and best of all you'll know things you can pass on to others. Even the gurus can be taught something new!

3) Plan ahead and take your time no matter how much experience you gain. We can all use a reminder.

[tonefreak]

Wow! You guys are all awesome! You all seem to be giving sound advice and you all replied so quickly and thoroughly. I can't wait to start. I am going to put a Christmas list together and have my wife get me some of the basic start up gear. Looking forward to the addiction. I am sure you will hear from me after the holidays with more questions. Thanks again and special thanks Icecycle!

[jeffaroo]

It all starts with a Pastyface, very easy build with 4 options. If i were you, id get a few of the same board so that you can try the different builds. The golden rule is NEVER solder in a transister, use sockets. That way you can switch things around later on if you want to. We are all here to help. Have a question, post it. I usually order from Mammoth Electronics and get my matched germaniums from Small bear. After 2 or 3 builds you will step up to the Cowboy level. A very useful tool i wish i started out with would be a breadboard rig, but i wouldnt jump into that right away. Ive rebuilt mine 3 times and still tweak it. Once you get it perfect some douchebag comes along and one-ups you so you make yours better ! Most importantly have fun with it. My first build I didnt understand a thing so i stuck to the plan. By my 3rd build i would force myself to stop and understand what i was doing and how it worked. You'd be supprised what you pick up and learn from these old scallywags in here ! Welcome to the clan !