DIY Pedals

[justheretolook]

ok i really2 want to make a clone of a Jordan Bosstone fuzz, but i have no clue how to read the schematics and such. any websites that really2 shows and teaches you? as in with pictures cus all i got is 1 hour, or more, of reading material.

and feel free to show off your diy pedals. need some inspiration.

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

looking at pictures of diy pedals wont help at all, you need to get down to looking at the very basic of electronic and electrical components and circuit plus understanding whats the basic usage of things. It is possible to build thigns without understanding how the circuit works, but it still wont be easy as looking at pics and follow. Such method will only result in problem when the circuit doesnt work and need troubleshooting.

Anyway, if you really want to start try googling using keywords like "picture tutorial of jordan bosstone" "diy guitar effects" etc etc,

This site below, is one of the very easiest site to get intro to basic knowledge to get into diy-ing. For a start, go through the site and see whats useful.
http://www.beavisaudio.com/

 

[justheretolook]

alrite thanks.

 

[boyl]

one of the most challenging part of diy pedal is, in my opinion, printing the PCB. i'm fortunate enough to be in a school that can actually print PCB and with a good excuse like 'this is a school project...', this is settled.

oh, and your soldering skill has to be there as well.

 

[justheretolook]

yup, just had a very very long read about what goes into a pedal. i just hope i can pull the bosstone off.

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

A perfboard is good enough and way easy to work on for learning and diy-ing, without having to think about where to etch or get the equipment for it. The chemical for doing pcb is controlled item locally and cant be just bought over shops anyway.

The idea of pcb would be more practical for producing large batch of board for commercial purposes. For diy-ing, a perfboard for finalised circuit and breadboard for all prototyping would be more than adequate, imho.

diy-ing is really simple as long as having having the basic of tools, which most can be gotten from simlim tower or some geetar shops.

Hehe, working on perfboard is good training for layout purposes without having to use eagle or any form of software meant for layout design as well.

 

[bluelime]

Altium designer winter is what my sch is using. for pcb lessons. Nice program. but idk hw much issit.

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

DIY pedals are always trouble...
Just an opinion. But by all means, go ahead with it!
Waiting for my exams to end to start building my own pedals too!
To start off, try getting a BYOC pedal? PCB board, components all included. And they have around 20 odd pedals to choose from, from modulations to distortions. Good stuff, that.


Edit: Clones are very tough to build. Try starting with something simpler? It's always good to get experience. I'm guessing you haven't tried this before?

 

[justheretolook]

nope but i might be trying something from General Guitar Gadgets, but still sourcing to get it locally though...

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

hehe, trouble?? Playing geetar is also trouble if not knowing whats going on.

Clone is hard to build. not. I suggest reading up more diy sites/forum before giving advice...Over the years, the diy community online has prolly given us more then enough info, from being hobbyist to starting own booteek effect line with the info shared.

anyway, the jordan bosstone is not a difficult project to start with, provided knowing how to read the schematic. I had a look over the thing and everything in the circuit can be easily gotten from simlim tower and breadboarded within 30mins if able to read the schematic.

The thing with almost all schematic is that usually it doesnt include the effect stompswitch wiring, led wiring, input/output jack wiring etc(other then the actual circuit itself), coz its expected of the person reading it, to already know. Thus in order to start somewhere, the beavis audio site was recommended in the beginning to read up on the finer details on potentiometer, effect stompswitch wiring etc.

 

[justheretolook]

yup path the webbie was great info, abit confused in some parts, i'll have a look again at my notes later, and really? i already listed down what to get. i just dont know which wire goes where. nvm i'll try to understand later at night. thanks!

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

for the time being, forget about which wire goes where first. Which schematic will you be using for the build? I briefly google for the schematic and saw 2 with different transistor. 2n2222 with 2n3906 in one diagram and both 2n2222 in another schematic. Both are pretty comman transistors. If you are getting it from simlim tower, go straight to the 3rd floor. Bell electronic is a good shop to start.

Oh, another place to get components is koba electronic at chinatown plaza(3rd floor or was it fourth) or something in the name(the building is linked to chinatown point via overhead bridge). The owner's son was into geetaring and stuff as well when i knew him from couple years back. So if he happen to be at the shop, might be easier to source for stuff.

back to the wiring, for a start, if you can recognize the various components in schematic form, it will be easier for you to trace where the wiring goes, from each component and how they link togther.

 

[justheretolook]

yup the one with the 2n2222 and 2n3906 transistor. i know what the dots and the arc mean i just dont know how to translate the schemetic on the pcb or the perf board. i'll visit simlim soon, what time does it close btw?

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

use a breadboard to build the thing first, it will be easier to visualize it after couple of practices.

The shops round there close round 5 plus to 6 plus.

 

[theblueark]

Oo ooo oooo, someone else picking up building effects

Post pics and progress! And feel free to ask any more questions along the way. If you need some pedal enclosures, I still have quite a few left in various sizes from when I retired.

In fact I have lots of stuff like a drill stand, and all full set of smallbear resistor kit:
4 boxes of these

47 ohms - 1K
1.2K - 10K
12K - 100K
120K to 1 Meg

Bought at $15.25usd per box not including shipping. If ever start building more and wanna get from me I can sell you for like $50 or something. I'll throw in the enclosures for free

 

[justheretolook]

haha i will, if i have a camera on me. abt the casings and resistors, i will get it from you prolly in sept as im saving for lovpedal babyface tremolo or a boss dm2 haha. thanks guys!