My Kid's First Kit: Which one?

I'm buying a kit for my 14-year-old son to keep him busy during the summer.
But which one?

He's built a cigar box amp at a class with no problems and soldered well enough to get it up and running on the first try. He's detail oriented, so has no problem with following a schematic exactly. (He would do these 1,000 piece Lego kits all day on Christmas and not have one brick out of place.)

He's also a good player, and he's got a decent overdrive/distortion (an old Dano)

So what would you suggest in terms of something that'll have a solid chance of success--I have no skills in this department whatsoever--and will be fun when it's done?

TIA.

I would go with a fuzz or boost/overdrive, depending on the music he plays. I would check out the byoc site or mammoth sells kits that use guitarPCB boards and are more reasonably priced

How about a Champ? When I came home from the hospital partially paralyzed, I bought a Marsh Champ kit. The layout was the key.

Pick out a PC board from MadBean, then have him order all the parts himself from SMall Bear. That'll keep him even busier.

MadBean's "Nutrino" Eternity clone is a pretty easy build of an otherwise high-end TS-type pedal.

I just finished a MadBean "Fat Pants" EP-3 style booster. That one's real easy. Sounds great as an on-all-the-time tone-tweaker. Not really enough gain to work as a solo boost.

MadBean rates all their projects by level of difficulty - just look for the "Noob" symbol.

I'd go with one of the kits from Amplified Parts.
I believe they are all point to point wiring pedals. PTP is a skill that translates to both amp building and pedal building.

http://www.amplifiedparts.com/products/accessories?&filters=Effects+Pedals

May be more $$ then your looking for but a Kendrick kit for $499.00 would probably last a lifetime. Your son sounds capable of building these if you read this article.

http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/new-amplifier-kits-from-kendrick-for-those-who-wish-to-%e2%80%9croll-their-own%e2%80%9d/4514

Pick out a PC board from MadBean, then have him order all the parts himself from SMall Bear. That'll keep him even busier.

:mrgreen: Of course, that's if SmallBear has every part in stock. He'd more likely have to source from at least two places, and then inevitably omit a single part from one of his orders and not notice until he sits down to assemble it. Not that that's ever happened to me. No.... Better yet, show him the Mouser catalog.

Seriously though, I would recommend a fuzz of some sort for first time builders. They're fun, they get big results and they're usually fairly simple.

thanks for the suggestions.

For the moment I'm thinking about something like the Ocatve Fuzz or ESV Fuzz (Fuzz Face) from BYOC.

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/octavefuzz.html

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/fuzz.html

thanks for the suggestions.

For the moment I'm thinking about something like the Ocatve Fuzz or ESV Fuzz (Fuzz Face) from BYOC.

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/octavefuzz.html

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/fuzz.html

Good choices. BYOC makes a great kit with quality components and their forum offers excellent support.

While sourcing parts, and maybe even amp building, should be fun down the road, I'm looking for something that has a high probability of success with minimal intervention from me, and the BYOC kits seem a good choice for that albeit for a few extra dollars.

the kits from mammoth can also be ordered with pre painted enclosures for a couple bucks more

http://www.mammothelectronics.com/category-s/117.htm

thanks for the suggestions.

For the moment I'm thinking about something like the Ocatve Fuzz or ESV Fuzz (Fuzz Face) from BYOC.

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/octavefuzz.html

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/fuzz.html

If you go with an ESV Fuzz, get the silicon version. The germanium transistors are mud city. My pick would be the Colorsound Overdriver from Mammoth Electronics. He'll get a lot more milage out of that one, and it's $30 less.

Drew, Snow et al
The Mammoth kits do look cool.
But how does the documentation and support compare to BYOC?
I'm looking for something he can read and understand easily, and get reliable help if he doesn't (or if the pedal doesn't work when it's done.)

Toward that end, one option might be to buy the kit from BYOC and a pre-painted box from Mammoth.

Thanks again.

Drew, Snow et al
The Mammoth kits do look cool.
But how does the documentation and support compare to BYOC?
I'm looking for something he can read and understand easily, and get reliable help if he doesn't (or if the pedal doesn't work when it's done.)

Toward that end, one option might be to buy the kit from BYOC and a pre-painted box from Mammoth.

Thanks again.

The mammoth kits use guitarPCB boards and if he goes on guitarPCB.com there is all the documentation plus support for all the pedals plus a tips and tricks section for general pedal building skills

I've built one of their Overdriver kits, so I can help if he runs into problems. The support available for this stuff is amazing these days.

Thanks Drew, for the offer of assistance, and everyone else, too.
He's pretty excited.

BYOC has lot of stuff to choose from

[QUOTE=mgwhit;3410600]:mrgreen: Of course, that's if SmallBear has every part in stock. He'd more likely have to source from at least two places, and then inevitably omit a single part from one of his orders and not notice until he sits down to assemble it. Not that that's ever happened to me. No.... Better yet, show him the Mouser catalog.[QUOTE]


Well, that's how I do it.

I was going to suggest Mouser as a way to eat up all his availbale time for entire summer, but ended up leaving that part out of my post.

[QUOTE=mgwhit;3410600]:mrgreen: Of course, that's if SmallBear has every part in stock. He'd more likely have to source from at least two places, and then inevitably omit a single part from one of his orders and not notice until he sits down to assemble it. Not that that's ever happened to me. No.... Better yet, show him the Mouser catalog.[QUOTE]


Well, that's how I do it.

I was going to suggest Mouser as a way to eat up all his availbale time for entire summer, but ended up leaving that part out of my post.

Rich
I like your thinking, but he's excited, but not *obsessed* about the pedal project. He's very patient and persistent when something's in front of him, but it sometimes takes more than a bit of prodding to get him to, say, pick up the phone.

Heh. Just last night I was putting the finishing touches on a MadBean Aristocrat board and discovered that (a.) most of my .010uF poly-film caps were just a bit too big for the spaces I had, and (b.) I have the wrong kind of 1uF caps for a couple of locations. Spent most of the evening cramming and cursing. Sourcing your own parts is a pain.

thanks for the suggestions.

For the moment I'm thinking about something like the Ocatve Fuzz or ESV Fuzz (Fuzz Face) from BYOC.

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/octavefuzz.html

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/fuzz.html

Good first choice for a kid.This is about a one day build so start planning your next purchase!!!! He can paint it and have some fun while you look at something else,he might even like the 2 knob compressor instead.

thanks for the suggestions.

For the moment I'm thinking about something like the Ocatve Fuzz or ESV Fuzz (Fuzz Face) from BYOC.

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/octavefuzz.html

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/fuzz.html

What a dad! I've built several kits from BYOC, and they are great products. Well thought out, clear instructions, and an end result that will rival anything the local guitar shop offers. I've built both the ESV Fuzz (Ge) and the Octave fuzz and I love them both, but if I had to pick one of those, I'd say for sure the Octave Fuzz. The octave circuit can be switched in and out with an external switch, so you've got a pretty mean fuzz tone on it's own, and then for some real fun bring on the octavia! Fun in a box! Whatever you go for, I'm sure you and your son will have a blast with it, enjoy!!