bluesguitar65 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Man this DIY pedal stuff is addicting. Now, I want to start building from scratch instead of kits. The MODKitsDIY kits were a great starting/learning experience and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to get their first try at DIY pedal building. By bluesguitar65 at 2012-03-19 By bluesguitar65 at 2012-03-19 By bluesguitar65 at 2012-03-19 By bluesguitar65 at 2012-03-19 By bluesguitar65 at 2012-03-19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brundaddy Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 That is so cool. Did you have any electrician experience before you built your 1st pedal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesguitar65 Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 That is so cool. Did you have any electrician experience before you built your 1st pedal? NOPE! Non what so ever. I didn't even own a soldering iron before I ordered my first MODKitsDIY pedal kit, the Persuader tube drive. That was just about two weeks ago I think I've improved on my soldering skills, the last pedal I built was the Thunderdrive (unpainted aluminum finish). No burnt wires or cold solders. The MODKitsDIY instructions were so easy to read and they have tips on how to solder. I'm also getting much familiar with reading schematics now. This is why I highly recommend MODKitsDIY for someone just starting out. Now, I feel confident I can make a pedal from scratch. Now, deciding on which pedal to make first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Is there such a thing as a DIY wah-wah pedal? I've never seen one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Nice! Did you understand how the LED works with the switch so you can freestyle them from now on? pfox14- few people build DIY wah wahs because the enclosures are extremely expensive. It's actually much cheaper to buy a used crybaby or something and rip out the guts. Madbeanpedals.com has a wah PCB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesguitar65 Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Nice! Did you understand how the LED works with the switch so you can freestyle them from now on? pfox14- few people build DIY wah wahs because the enclosures are extremely expensive. It's actually much cheaper to buy a used crybaby or something and rip out the guts. Madbeanpedals.com has a wah PCB. Yes! Finally understand it now. BTW....I've been looking around some electronic places and can't figure out which board to get.... I starting to stock up on parts and materials. What are common resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors values and enclosures? Where is the best place to get them? What books would you suggest to learn basic electronics, reading schematics and such? I've already learned some of the resistor color codes and in what order you should populate the circuit board, wires, resistors, cap, diodes, transistors, and ICs. The less heat sensitive components should be installed first and most sensitive should be last. Was that right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I like to shop at mammothelectronics.com Common resistor values: 1k, 10k, 100k, 4k7 (for LEDs) Common cap values: 100n, 10n, 47p, 470p, 1u, 10u Diodes: 1N914 (for clipping), 1N4001 (rectifier) Transistors: 2N3904, 2N5088 ICs: JRC4558, TL022 Pots: 100kA, 100kB Switches: push button 3PDT, toggle DPDT, toggle SPDT Enclosure just depends on the size of the board you're using. 125b is great because if you top mount the jacks It takes up less pedalboard space than an MXR style box but has plenty of room inside. 1590b (MXR) is common, 1590BB is good for more complex circuits. The wire from mammoth is the bees knees. I highly recommend it. You'll usually want to populate your board with the smallest parts first. That way you can flip the board upside down and have your workbench hold the component right up to the board while you solder. Craig Anderton's "Electronic Projects for Musicians" is a classic book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesguitar65 Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Thank you so much Dubs [thumbup] I'm just looking at that book your referred at Amazon. What about colors for wired, are there certain colors to choose for a particular connection aside from the red is positive and black for negative connections? Also, are 22 AWG wires very common as those are the guage used with the kits I've done from MODKitsDIY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Of course those are just a few really common parts and you'll need more but that's a good start. Buy the bags of 200 for those resistor values from mammoth. It will become worth it quickly. The 10n and 100n will be the most common for the caps. Don't worry too much about buying a whole bunch of those transistors or ICs, those vary a lot from circuit to circuit, although the 2n3904 is really common. Of the switches, the 3PDT is the one you'll be using in just about every pedal build you do, so focus on stocking up on those as far as switches go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Thank you so much Dubs [thumbup] I'm just looking at that book your referred at Amazon. What about colors for wired, are there certain colors to choose for a particular connection aside from the red is positive and black for negative connections? Also, are 22 AWG wires very common as those are the guage used with the kits I've done from MODKitsDIY. No problem buddy. I usually use white for all the wires, but now I've started to use red and black and some other colors just for fun. It doesn't really matter. But red for + and black for - is helpful to keep yourself from messing up on wiring the power. Yeah 22 AWG is the stuff to get. EDIT: scratch that 24AWG is what I use and I recommend it. The stuff from mammoth is 24 AWG and it's easy to work with and holds its shape and I've never had it break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 This is incredibly impressive to me. In fact it's a revelation. Now I want to have a go myself. I'm not good at soldering but not that bad either, just haven't done any in years...the Thunderdrive looks simple enough for me to take on. Do they all sound good? Did you have any dry joint problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 What about colors for wired, are there certain colors to choose for a particular connection aside from the red is positive and black for negative connections? I like purple myself. Those pedal look greats. I like their point to point circuits. Keep up the killer work. You gotta start making their enclosures look cooler though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesguitar65 Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 I like purple myself. Those pedal look greats. I like their point to point circuits. Keep up the killer work. You gotta start making their enclosures look cooler though! LOL!! Thanks I know...mine enclosures are bland city indeed. I'll work on it when I actually make a "real" DIY pedal from scratch....drilling the enclosure and doing all the foot work in getting the parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvinator Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Man this DIY pedal stuff is addicting. Now, I want to start building from scratch instead of kits. The MODKitsDIY kits were a great starting/learning experience and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to get their first try at DIY pedal building. I didn't know kits like these were out there You did a beautiful job on those pedals! I checked out their site http://www.modkitsdiy.com/ and I want to build "The Persuader". I hope it'll work for bass so I can warm-up my Mark Bass head. Do you think it can crunch a little with minimal distortion? The reviews look promising........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesguitar65 Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 I didn't know kits like these were out there You did a beautiful job on those pedals! I checked out their site http://www.modkitsdiy.com/ and I want to build "The Persuader". I hope it'll work for bass so I can warm-up my Mark Bass head. Do you think it can crunch a little with minimal distortion? The reviews look promising........... You going to love the persuader. That pedal was my very first DIY build. It was easy due to the instructions being so clear and easy to follow. I would recommend downloading the instructions to see first hand what is required and to prep you. The persuader is such a cool pedal as you can get so much different tone variations by just swapping out the tube. I've found an surplus RCA "made in USA" from the 60s 12AU7 tube, and it sounds much louder, warmer and more gain than the Chinese made 12AX7B that came with the persuader. I just made a youtube comparing the tubes and will post it soon. Right now, I'm uploading my youtube demo on the Thunderdrive pedals I just built over the weekend. Here is a preview shot of the persuader video comparing the 12AU7 and 12AX7B preamp tube. By bluesguitar65 at 2012-03-20 By bluesguitar65 at 2012-03-20 By bluesguitar65 at 2012-03-20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtim Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Hey that is pretty cool!!! How much are the kits? I used to fool around with this some and even got good enough to download a scematic and wire up from scratch. the parts are cheap enough if you can find a good source besides that chain radio shaft I mean radio shack:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDK Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Thank you so much Dubs [thumbup] I'm just looking at that book your referred at Amazon. What about colors for wired, are there certain colors to choose for a particular connection aside from the red is positive and black for negative connections? Also, are 22 AWG wires very common as those are the guage used with the kits I've done from MODKitsDIY. You can use any color insulation you like, provided it is hooked to the correct component. I often use multiple colors, and for the delay I just built, only used green. I would just buy 3 or 4 different colored spools (or more) of 24 AWG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDK Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 The other thing you might look into is a board for the 3PDT switch. I haven't used them yet, but ordered a bunch last week. The solder tabs on 3PDT are very small and close together. With the PC board you just solder on the switch, and have plenty of room to attach the leads. May not save me a ton of time, but hopefully a lot of headache! http://www.mammothelectronics.com/Wiring-Board-for-4SFS3PDT-Switches-p/1100-401.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesguitar65 Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 Hey that is pretty cool!!! How much are the kits? I used to fool around with this some and even got good enough to download a scematic and wire up from scratch. the parts are cheap enough if you can find a good source besides that chain radio shaft I mean radio shack:rolleyes: The MODKitsDIY kits range from $25 for the line booster and up to $109 for the reverb kit. The Persuader tube drive was $64 and the thunderdrives were from $29 for the standard and $39 for the deluxe. MODKitsDIY is more affordable than the other DIY competitors. That was what prevented me from getting into making my own pedal, as I was afraid to screw up and paying $$$ for it. With MODKitsDIY, you can try it out for only $25 and not really much lost if you screw it up and since MODKitsDIY does not use any PCboards, you cannot mess up the trace by over heating it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesguitar65 Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 Well, here is a little demo comparison between the thunderdrives. Whatcha think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFLvUfAsvQw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvinator Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 You going to love the persuader. That pedal was my very first DIY build. It was easy due to the instructions being so clear and easy to follow. I would recommend downloading the instructions to see first hand what is required and to prep you. The persuader is such a cool pedal as you can get so much different tone variations by just swapping out the tube. I've found an surplus RCA "made in USA" from the 60s 12AU7 tube, and it sounds much louder, warmer and more gain than the Chinese made 12AX7B that came with the persuader. I just made a youtube comparing the tubes and will post it soon. Right now, I'm uploading my youtube demo on the Thunderdrive pedals I just built over the weekend. Thanks for the info... I'm looking forward to the youtube demo. I have several 12AX7s, and most have different tonal qualities; It is kinda fun to spend time swapping tubes and finding out what they can do in different positions. I have USA Sylvania long plates in V1, 2, & 3 in my old Traynor and it sounds great. I've found that short plate GTs and Sovteks are kinda brittle sounding in my amp. Can't wait to build a Persuader! BTW: Thanks for a informative and useful post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesguitar65 Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 Thanks for the info... I'm looking forward to the youtube demo. I have several 12AX7s, and most have different tonal qualities; It is kinda fun to spend time swapping tubes and finding out what they can do in different positions. I have USA Sylvania long plates in V1, 2, & 3 in my old Traynor and it sounds great. I've found that short plate GTs and Sovteks are kinda brittle sounding in my amp. Can't wait to build a Persuader! BTW: Thanks for a informative and useful post! Anytime. I've found that using an old RCA 12AU7 gave the Persuader much more gain gave it that 60s full stack tube saturation kinda tone......something Hendrix would like. What do you think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijl7hhqiTL4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvinator Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Anytime. I've found that using an old RCA 12AU7 gave the Persuader much more gain gave it that 60s full stack tube saturation kinda tone......something Hendrix would like. What do you think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijl7hhqiTL4 Sounds great & for $64.00 - Wow, that's a deal..... Good jammin' too I haven't heard Hey Joe in a while! Thanks for posting the video; well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesguitar65 Posted March 24, 2012 Author Share Posted March 24, 2012 Sounds great & for $64.00 - Wow, that's a deal..... Good jammin' too I haven't heard Hey Joe in a while! Thanks for posting the video; well done. Thanks! Yea, $64 is damn deal for this pedal indeed. By bluesguitar65 at 2012-03-21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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