Building/Creating Effects Pedals

[BiC]

I'm not savvy with electronics, but I'd sure like to learn.

 

And, I'm not talking about putting together a pre-built kit where the only knowledge needed is how to read schematics and operate a soldering iron.

 

I want to understand the process.

 

So, where do I start?

[BiC]

Hummm... this looks handy:

 

http://www.geofex.com/effxfaq/fxfaq.htm

 

[BiC]

Neat lil' site:

 

http://www.moosapotamus.net/index.html

 

[BiC]

Now, these are sweet:

 

http://www.moosapotamus.net/THINGS/autocrash.htm

 

http://www.moosapotamus.net/THINGS/tri-negistor.htm

 

[pinkjimiphoton]

check out diystompboxes.com, geofex.com, etc...there's a lot of places to learn.

now...kits can be good, as they simplify the learning process, particularly with high gain effects...trust me, nothing more annoying than building a circuit, thinking it will work, and then debugging for hours or days.

 

rg keene is da man, if ya wanna learn...he's the resident brain at the diystomboxes forum, and the man behind geofex...he explains a lot of stuff on his site in ways even a simpleton moron like me can understand.

 

if you google around enough, you'll find sites where you can learn about electricity...and believe it or not, one of the best resources for beginners may well be "inside tube amps" by dan torres...while it's all about the tube and not solid state effects, he explains stuff in everyday language without the math to the point where things make sense!! and you can apply that knowledge to all your future endeavours.

 

you have to get your soldering chops together...that's about the hardest physical part..what may seem to be a decent connection often isn't. the more you do it, the better you'll get.

 

when possible, use transistor sockets, or cut up ic sockets so you can substitute parts...that way, it's easier to fine tune component values and try different transistors, caps, etc...

 

here's the SIMPLEST circuit i've found yet:

 

http://www.forrestwhitesides.com/node/93

 

http://www.forrestwhitesides.com/files/up/img/layouts/ded/DED_Vero.png

 

it's a 1 chip overdrive with a diode clipper..a couple parts, and you're done. haven't built this one yet, but it's the next project i'll probably do, as i'm looking for easy stuff.

diode clippers are common...mxr distortion plus, dod 250, boss super od, even the tube screamer..

and are open to a lot of mods.

 

my advice is start simple, with stuff you can get easily at rat shack or whatever...and you'll learn a lot, and have a lot of fun. the more ya learn, the more you'll be able to do.

 

good luck mate, and have fun!

[BiC]

Thank you for your time, Jimi!

 

A LOT of great info you provided! I did in fact run across that DIY site you mentioned. It looks like a great, handy site to begin with.

 

In addition, I already have a few handy books on my shelf:

 

"A Desktop Reference Of Hip Vintage Guitar Amps", by Gerald Weber (He was kind enough to autograph a copy for me... at my request... before he mailed it to me)

 

"The Guitar Amp Handbook", by Dave Hunter

 

"Guitar Electronics for Musicians", by Donald Brosnac

 

I found these on Amazon:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0945053282/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087930359X/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

If anybody else has any book suggestions, please post them.

 

Hey Jimi, how about a quality soldering iron/kit? Any suggestions?

[Winston Psmith]

Craig Anderton had two pretty cool books that might help - one was called "Guitar Gadgets", and it was mostly a primer on effects & signal processors - more how-it-works than DIY, but I haven't seen it in a while. The other is called "Electronic Projects for Musicians" which is still on Amazon, and a bunch of other retail sites.

 

Have fun, brother.

[pinkjimiphoton]

Thank you for your time, Jimi!

 

A LOT of great info you provided! I did in fact run across that DIY site you mentioned. It looks like a great, handy site to begin with.

 

In addition, I already have a few handy books on my shelf:

 

"A Desktop Reference Of Hip Vintage Guitar Amps", by Gerald Weber (He was kind enough to autograph a copy for me... at my request... before he mailed it to me)

 

"The Guitar Amp Handbook", by Dave Hunter

 

"Guitar Electronics for Musicians", by Donald Brosnac

 

I found these on Amazon:

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0945053282/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087930359X/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

If anybody else has any book suggestions, please post them.

 

Hey Jimi, how about a quality soldering iron/kit? Any suggestions?

 

best bet would be to reg on the diystompbox forum, and ask the peeps there...they're pretty friendly.

i don't wanna advise ya, cuz i'm really just an egg for all intents...and i use a cheap 30 watter i got at harbor frieght years ago. google up some soldering advice!

 

as for books...guitar effects for musicians by craig anderton is a great book, but a bit above beginner in my opinion.

 

the weber book, the tube amp book etc are great references, but again, assume ya have some knowledge of electronics.

the good thing about dan's book, is he assumes ya know nothing...

which is a good thing in this case, cuz he tells you in plain english what you need to know, how to understand signal flow, and even how to debug stuff by listening. can be really handy!

 

some other tools you'll want are a good multimeter, a stepped drill, a butload of hook up wire (stranded...trust!!) maybe 22 guage or smaller, and a soldering station with a sponge to help keep the tip of your iron clean...also a dremel can be invaluable, as are them "helping hands" things ya see with a couple of jointed roach clips and a magnifier. use a good quality high silver content flux cored solder, i find the thinner the better...a solder sucker and a soldering braid, as well..

as ya start to look at schematics and layouts, you'll start to notice a lot of the same value parts...stock up on common ones.

 

if ya need weird resistor values, remember ohm's law, think like speakers in a guitar cab...in series, it's additive...in parallel, it's subtractive.

you can change the resistance of resistors with a file..believe it or not...hell, you can even draw your own with a pencil if you have to!

my best advice is to read, read, and read...follow links, use the internet archive if you encounter 404's (just copy the url to the lost page, hit the archive, pop it in and if you're lucky you'll find it)...and read more.

look at the flow, pay attention to common parts, connections, and issues...and don't be afraid to ask for help if needed, cuz we're all in this together, and i suspect some take a perverse pleasure in helping people clone things..it's all good, bro,

get your feet wet and have fun.

 

here are two stupidly simple kits to get ya going...just the pcb and parts...and cheap enough that ya won't mind if ya bugger them up...and both in that cheezy video demo i put up here yesterday...

 

http://sciencelabs.com/fuzz_box.asp

 

in the case above, i'd reccomend changing the first cap to .047 rather than the 1000pf cap that comes with it, and modding the pot by either changing to 50k or slapping a 100k resistor across pins 1&3 of it...the bigger cap will let in more bass, so it will be phatter and distort more, and the pot mod will give it more balls. use input jack switching (which means wire the - terminal, the black wire, to the sleeve connection of a stereo 1/4 inch jack...that way, when ya plug it in, it connects the battery to ground and completes the circuit) and a dpdt (or if ya want an led, a 3pdt) stompswitch...stick it in a metal box, and you've got a real nice one knob fuzzface variant..

 

and this one..

 

http://www.gssteched.com/G-138P.html

 

a really nice double fuzz..fuzz one i'm not mad about yet, but i haven't really set to tweaking it...but DAMN!!! fuzz 2 is SWEET!!!! the octave up is even noticeable in 1/2 (open) position!!

 

that will need some modification too, but will get your feet wet.

 

one last tip...try not to burn the living s*** outta yourself!

trust...

 

[Gruupi]

The actual building shouldn't be that, buying good componants, reading shematics, and soldering isn't that hard. But understanding the ciruitry and design could be quite daunting. You basicly need to be an electrical engineer. Those guys are usually the smartest guys in the room.