Thinking about building a pedal for the first time.

[mistermullens]

I've never tackled anything like this before. My soldering skills are pretty good, only worked on Teles, and I think I'm ready in that department. There are two reasons I'm looking into this. 1. I think it would be fun and somewhat challenging, and 2. I'd like to have a good pedal that I don't have to pay an arm & a leg for. Tryin to save some money.

I was reading the Jimmy Page Tone thread and this wiring diagram was posted.



I've got a pretty good idea about what most items are on the diagram, but I need some clarification on that, and also some recommendations on anything for this project will be helpful. Here we go.

1. What kind of "board" would I need to wire this thing up? An eyelet board?
2. Wavely lines = resitors, right?
3. What are the two side by side bold rectangles?
4. What are the circles with AF127 next to them?
5. There are two rectangle symbols near the input with 4.7, what's that?

Lastly, do you guys think this is a good first project for me? Thanks!

[RocksOff]

Okies... let me answer as much as i can.

1) you could use an eyelet board .
2) wavy lines = resistors
3) capacitors
4) transistors
5) not sure, but they appear to be maybe a xener diode and a potentiometer of some sort. the symbol they're using for the caps isn't electronically correct so i have to assume the symbols in question aren't either.

[red57strat]

I wouldn't build that as a first time experience. The transistors have to be biased correctly.

I recommend building a kit first like the ones that BYOC sells first.

[notyalcer]

The answer to #5 is an electrolytic capacitor, which are polarized (they have a positive side and a negative side). The hollow rectangle with the + sign indicates the positive side of the cap. These typically look like black or blue cans, and the negative lead is usually marked with a stripe (but not always with all manufacturers). If you get them backwards the circuit won't work.

The other capacitors (two solid rectangles) are non polarized and don't matter which way you solder them in.

I have had a ton of fun building pedals, and a fuzz is definitely the easiest circuit to start with. I built a fuzz face on perf board I got from radio shack with gain matched germanium transistors I ordered from Small Bear Electronics. Biasing a fuzz isn't a big deal, you just use your ears, although your diagram has fixed bias resistors. It also looks a lot like a fuzz face circuit to me (which the tone bender fuzzes are based on, but use a third transistor).

You can order pre-made printed circuit boards from places like General Guitar Gadgets. That is my favorite DIY pedal site, where you can get very clear circuit diagrams as well as layouts (easier to build from). They also sell great kits that are very reasonable. I've built two kits (green ringer and octavia clone), and a boost and two fuzzes on their circuit boards. Build Your Own Clone also sells kits that get great reviews, but I haven't tried one yet. Their NOS fuzz face and tonebender clones look especially nice and are still less than a typical boutique fuzz.

Good luck! You'll have a blast and its a great feeling when you get that first blast of fuzz from it when you hook it up and try it out.

[Alnico Sunburst]

I say go for it. I say it's quite likely you could build a workable unit without having to spend a lot of money. I've built a couple of Fuzz Face circuits with germanium transistors salvaged from old stereo equipment. Didn't bias them either time, just made sure they were ok using the semiconductor testing function in an entry level digital multimeter. It did help to replace certain fixed resistors with trim pots in order to season the sound to personal taste.

Since germanium transistors are notoriously leaky, inconsistent devices, no two are alike, which also holds true for the fuzz boxes built with them. Their operating characteristics vary widely with temperature, meaning the fuzzbox under stage lights or the Texas sun will sound very different than that same box on a February evening in Inuvik.

I for one cherish the inconsistency and random magic / disaster that results.

Look for funky old radios that have germanium transistors in them. You would be astounded at the variety of stuff out there. You can find cheap or discarded sets of the right vintage - they will often have nice long leads on the transistors because they used to repair these things. You can often clip them off flush to the board to lessen the chance of destroying them from the heat of desoldering. When soldering them to the perfboard, grasp the lead on the transistor with a pair of needlenose pliers to act as a heat sink, and use a well heated iron so that you don't have to touch it to the connection any longer than necessary.

Enclosure? If you don't need to make a box to step on, you can use any kind of metal enclosure to put it in. Even a flavored coffee tin, or a small carboard box covered in foil tape. Jacks and switches can also be gotten from salvaged electronic gear. Old stereos and tv's, etc. (all safety warnings apply)

Still a small Hammond enclosure a la Dunlop Phase 90 will set you back $15 and the stomp switch another $15, so why not make a pedal you will actually use?

Use a breadboard for your rough copy, and then when you're happy, immortalize it in perfboard, diecast glory!

[weiner71]

I want to see how this turns out. Keep the progress posted.

I built the MKII fuzz from byoc. loved it.

[surfoverb]

Originally Posted by weiner71

I want to see how this turns out. Keep the progress posted.

I built the MKII fuzz from byoc. loved it.

+1 I love my BYOC MKII. You might want to start with one of those, they provide everyting and it's just like solder-by-numbers. You'll learn a lot too, definitely enough to tackle one of your own.

[vjf1968]

Ditto on BYOC. They have everything you need in the kit so you can get started immediately and the directions are easy to follow and intuative.

[Jerry J]

Originally Posted by surfoverb

+1 I love my BYOC MKII. You might want to start with one of those, they provide everyting and it's just like solder-by-numbers. You'll learn a lot too, definitely enough to tackle one of your own.

Good luck and by all means just buy the BYOC MKII kit and be done with it.

BTW, I just completed my first two BYOC builds - first one was the Phaser and it came out perfectly w/o any required tweaks or corrections. I just had to dial in the trimpot to hit the sweet spot and it is the best Phaser, just like the Retro-Sonic. I can hit that classic 70's phased sound and even do a passable Pink Floyd or Stones.

However, my MKII build is not working. It should have been simplier than the phaser (less parts) but I can't get the LED to work and worse, I can not get a pleasant, warm fuzz out of it yet. I haven't had the time to go over my connections to confirm my wiring. If I have continued problems, the BYOC board is very helpful, just like this board. I'm sure I must have reversed some wiring and it should be simple to fix.

But don't let that deter you from trying it. I was probably too tired trying to finish the project instead of taking my time and doing it right!

[11 Gauge]

BYOC is a great place to start...

Alternatively, General Guitar Gadgets is pretty spiffy, too.

BYOC seems like a good place for someone who wants an accurate clone with minimal hassle. They also add options to the pedals, if there's more than one classic recipe.

GGG is pedal tweaker's heaven, IMO. You can typically get enough info from their site to turn a mass production circuit into a boutique affair. For instance, their TS clone has an $8 option that lets you convert it into a Keeley 808 or a FullDrive II. If you're patient, they'll probably have a mod kit that will turn it into a Lovepedal Eternity soon.

[pango_twango]

While you're getting ready to solder... 2 things to consider if you decide to go with the original plan:

1. the circuit you posted above is positive-ground. Nothing wrong with that really (the original Rangemaster was too). But it can cause some problems if you try to chain the pedal to others that are, as most are, negative ground. That's especially true if you use a power supply to run several pedals.

2. the Tonebender is a popular circuit, so there are lots of clone circuits that will get you to the same audio location, in some cases, with fewer parts, and certainly (in the case of the schem you posted) easier to find parts.

Ok, I said 2 things, but here's a 3rd. Nothing against BYOC, but for the price of one of their clone-kits, you could really load up on parts from Mouser.com or Futurelec.com (or smallBear as well, for that matter). Remember, with more parts, it will be easier to feed the addiction that is likely to develop once you fire up your first home-brew pedal.

Good luck either way

[mudbean]

Originally Posted by red57strat

I wouldn't build that as a first time experience. The transistors have to be biased correctly.

I recommend building a kit first like the ones that BYOC sells first.

+1

As an Electronics Tech, I would say building from a schematic isn't a first timer kind of project. I really think you'd enjoy a kit more. I like BYOC kits, too.

mud