Modding... aah the Pandora's Box

[Radius_Vector]

Hey Hey!

I just am tired of always sending out my stuff for others to mod.. Im thinking of starting to mod my stuff on my own..

I have no previous experience of soldering or the parts used in modding.. Is it safe to start modding my stuff

I basically want to mod my Bad Monkey cos its one of the cheaper ones.. Can I end up screwing the parts ? Oh well. Where would be a good place to start, with schematics and instructions and stuff?

Thanks a ton softies!

 

[edder]

Hey Hey *does the monkey jump*

www.google.com

and you'll find every single thing about modding.

 

[Radius_Vector]

Haha.. indeed google is the mother.. but most of the websites make it sound as though modding is as simple as tightening a screw or something like that... Well, it might be..

But lol Im no rich guy and I have to be careful not to screw up my stuff.. Just want some opinion and maybe inspiration from people who have just started off and completed some good mods??

 

[thor666]

Learn soldering. Info online. If you don't know, find someone expert at it, get/pay him to teach you.

Buy soldering equipment. Based on the above.

A multimeter can help sometimes.

Good knowledge of circuits and physics is useful but not necessary.

The thing is modding, as with setting up guitars, fret leveling, amp repairs and other forms of expertise, requires a fair bit of trial-and-error, as well as a lot of initiative and extensive research from the individual himself. Fail to do it, and you get half-f***ed work.

If you just want to play as a hobby, probably you might just want to go www.tymusiccenter.com and work on a BYOC pedal.

 

[ShredCow]

Modding costs $... esp when you are new, and clumsy with the solder - you'll damage/destroy things.

It will cost $ dude... how much...

Well, perhaps google-ing on how to start/practice soldering & desoldering is a good start.


You don't have to look far for people who have done good mods.

 

[Radius_Vector]

Ah great thanks fer the replies..

I have a friend who can solder really well, hes been soldering PCB boards and stuff for god knows how long.. So lets say I have the soldering part covered. How expensive would the replacement parts and stuff be? Almost as much as the pedal? Or even more ? :S

 

[bluepowder]

depends...u can get expensive parts...read somewhere about how expensive parts can be...ie.landgraff mods.... :lol:

why exactly do you want to mod ur bad monkey

 

[Radius_Vector]

Im modding it for some more sharpness to the tone, bring it closer to match a BD-2's sharpness, right now even the highest treble doesnt seem to cut through my band

 

[bluepowder]

i guess your sharpness=my brightness.... :lol: ...tried an eq? dano

 

[Radius_Vector]

Yeah sharp bright anything goes.

EQ yeah got one, Monte allums modded GE-7, the monkey cuts through better with it yeah, but still doesnt quite feel like the actual treble from the pedal.. I cant describe it. Its all in your sense of hearing.

BD-2 alone sounds so much meaner, so thats why I wanna spike up the treble on the monkey a bit.. Well hahah now that my essay on "why to mod" is over.. Let me try getting started :lol:

 

[Mobius]

Erm y not buy a 2nd hand BD2 since u are trying to mod ur monkey to sound like the bd2?

 

[Radius_Vector]

I already have a BD-2, but use it more for the gain, I want to use the Bad Monkey to push the tubes, but would just like more sharpness on it

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

soldering on a circuit board ain't that hard, i think soldering to switches are slightly trickier... haha tried soldering in sec 2 and found it quite fun actually..

the part that's not fun is unsoldering... there's this pump thingy that sucks ur melted solder or soemthing...

i might try it but i require some work space which i dun have in my house... so oh well...i'll just continue paying for the service... :twisted:

 

[gsonique]

try changing the LED first ....success ...then proceed to maybe simple mods like cap change or some resitor tweak :wink:

 

[Elias]

I don't know...to me, the sian part is accidentally melting other wires while soldering...or causing damage to the pots/components if you apply too much heat for too long :/ I'm a noob when it comes to such stuff and I usually leave it to my dad with the soldering (cos he's a mechanic)...I only help with the 'pump-action lead sucking thingy' :lol: But if your friend has the soldering part covered, the next best thing is to learn how to read schematics or simple diagrams I guess. Oh, get extra components too! You'd never know when you'd need a pot/cap/etc. Of course, mod on your cheaper stuff first until you're more confident. And if all else fails, call the experts! :lol:

 

[freakyfir]

eh bro if u do manage to successfully mod your bad monkey, do tell me. i understand what you mean about the monkey since i'm using one in my setup as well. keep us updated! grin.

 

[theblueark]

Bad monkey is a bad place to start. It's got lots of surface mount devices, which means a tough job, even for people seasoned with a soldering iron.

Also the bad monkey's inherent tone is mid humpish, and you'll probably find that it's quite impossible to attain the high end sizzle of the bd2 with it.

 

[gsonique]

surface mount devices

oh no you just killed monkey ...bad...bad .......b a d dd d d :smt018

 

[Victorinox]

Assuming you've got all the tools for soldering, the parts for modding should not be more that 10 bucks. As an example mods for a ds-1 cost about 5-7 bucks.