What is a good beginner's project?

Ok, you got your soldering iron and nothing is going to hold you back, but you have no clue where to start or what to build. There were others before you with the same questions... read them first.
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aaronl
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Post by aaronl »

mrhenry,
thanks for the reply, I have looked at the sho a friend of mine actually wants one.
which fuzz is a good place to start? there are so so so many of them.
thanks again for the help and any more ideas!
aaron

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loftyrocket
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Post by loftyrocket »

This is my first post. What a cool site. Thank you everyone for all this info... i can already tell i am going to be up all night looking at all this goodness. There are some nice builds here (but you know that)

I have never built any stompbox before. In fact, i just recently learned to solder (if you can call it that) while building my jazzmaster. But I had a ton of fun doing the wiring. Very rewarding, easy, and somewhat peaceful. I felt like i had accomplished something :horsey:

Anyway, on to my question...

So, i decided to make my girlfriend a pedal for her birthday. I was thinking either a fuzz or tremolo from BYOC. What do you guys think? Like i said, i know NOTHING when it comes to electronics. I cant read schematics and i dont really know what all this R16 and what not are (i am guessing a resistor). I know NOTHING. Is BYOC a good place for a moron like me to start?

Also, i would eventually like to build myself a klone. How hard is it? Should i do a few more builds before i step up to the klone or should i jump right in? Where can i find the parts necessary (Pedal parts plus and whatnot?)? How much would it cost to build it and where do i get the PCB board?

Thanks for helping a noob out. It is really appreciated. I apologize if these questions have been asked/answered a million times. Seriously. Thanks a lot.

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lolbou
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Post by lolbou »

Hi, and welcome!

Well, for a start project, if you buy all your parts, you'll need tools.

Drill bits for the enclosure, mini-drill for the PCB if you only get it print...

These are quite expensive if you haven't got them already.

The BYOC seems a good start if you do not have these very tools, and can get you through some basics like wiring and soldering. Not that expensive too...

I started with tonepad.com projects, because my local shop was doing PCBs, and I had access to a mini-drill at work. I just had to buy the drill bits (very expensive). If you do have some tools, check these!

Sorry I can't help you on the Klon, I don't know enough about it.

Cheers!
- Are you a mod or a rocker?
- Uh, no, I'm a mocker.

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theblackman
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Post by theblackman »

BYOC is a bit expensive, I recommend generalguitargadgets.com for a first time build. brian wampler (indyguitarist) is also selling kits now but i forget where the site is. my first ever electronic thing i did was a mod to my ds1 which was one of his and it sounded great.

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Scruffie
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Post by Scruffie »

If you can source your own parts (let alone yourself) I recon you can make your girlfriend a nice fuzz easily...
Where are you located? That will help me source your parts...
Second do you wanna build on Perf or vero/strip (vero being my and i'd say many first choice for a build, perf being harder) or a PCB Kit.
Switches if you buy a 3PDT switch you can have an LED easily, if you buy a DPDT you can have true bypass easily orrr you can build the millenium bypass circuit and have an LED with true bypass on a DPDT (cheaper depending where you are and easy anyway)
From scratch will require (excluding parts) a Decent fineish nosed tip soldering iron around 30 watts, some solder, a casing, a good drill with the right bits, a face mask n' goggles (metal dust isn't tasty) jacks, switch etc...

I assume your U.S... try something like the EZ face or using a Chip the ROG http://www.runoffgroove.com Big Daddy, both easy, if you want to make a vintage fuzz in the U.S you can use http://www.smallbearelec.com for Germanium PNP transistors or you can use 2N3906/BC558B etc Silicons alottt easier and cheaper

Or just a kit, my advice can go further PM me.

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RnFR
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Post by RnFR »

i would buy a predrilled board of the circuit of your choice at ggg or tonepad like above. then i would get a predrilled enclosure from pedalenclosures.com. this way you don't have to do any drilling. the projects at tonepad and general guitar gadgets all have parts lists and you can find every one of those parts at smallbear.com. this is the easiest way for a beginner to get everything they need without having to do any major drilling. all you are going to need is a soldering iron, a wrench, and a screwdriver. so go to tonepad or ggg, pick a project-one that is listed as beginner or intermediate would be best, and then just order your stuff. meanwhile read as much as you can at geofex and amz. there are links for both of those at my blog in my signature.
"You've converted me to Cubic thinking. Where do I sign up for the newsletter? I need to learn more about how I can break free from ONEism Death Math." - Soulsonic

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loftyrocket
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Post by loftyrocket »

Scruffie wrote:If you can source your own parts (let alone yourself) I recon you can make your girlfriend a nice fuzz easily...
Where are you located? That will help me source your parts...
Second do you wanna build on Perf or vero/strip (vero being my and i'd say many first choice for a build, perf being harder) or a PCB Kit.
Switches if you buy a 3PDT switch you can have an LED easily, if you buy a DPDT you can have true bypass easily orrr you can build the millenium bypass circuit and have an LED with true bypass on a DPDT (cheaper depending where you are and easy anyway)
From scratch will require (excluding parts) a Decent fineish nosed tip soldering iron around 30 watts, some solder, a casing, a good drill with the right bits, a face mask n' goggles (metal dust isn't tasty) jacks, switch etc...

I assume your U.S... try something like the EZ face or using a Chip the ROG http://www.runoffgroove.com Big Daddy, both easy, if you want to make a vintage fuzz in the U.S you can use http://www.smallbearelec.com for Germanium PNP transistors or you can use 2N3906/BC558B etc Silicons alottt easier and cheaper

Or just a kit, my advice can go further PM me.

Thanks for all the responses. I am located in Knoxville, Tennessee. I guess i would want to build on vero... if thats what you recommend. and i would like a LED and 3PDT switch. My reasoning for BYOC is because they offer a signal tester and confidence boost kit with first orders. That and all the parts (except i would get some sweet knobs) are included. Also, they have simple step by step instructions that a moron like me can figure out. It does seem a little expensive, GGG is cheaper, but i dont think they offer the easy instructions, and i know i could get the parts from somewhere like smallbear or where ever. So unless ya'll (yes i say ya'll) dont mind tons of stupid questions i am all for saving money.

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Nilvert
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Post by Nilvert »

R.G. has a set of basic instructions
http://www.geofex.com
http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/howto.pdf
don't count on saving money though, this is an addictive hobby

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Post by blueguitone »

Are the Wampler e-books still available? I signed up for the newsletter but can't seem to find the e-books any help would be great thank you.

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bigmufffuzzwizz
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Post by bigmufffuzzwizz »

blueguitone wrote:Are the Wampler e-books still available? I signed up for the newsletter but can't seem to find the e-books any help would be great thank you.
They were last time I checked( a month of two ago). Here's a link to his site. http://www.indy-guitarist.com/home

I started with the BYOC kits and they helped a lot. GeneralGuitarGadgets might have been easier in the beginning as now they are a total breeze. The easiest builds I've done so far have been vero layouts. Dragonfly's one know colorsound overdriver and Lpb1 were so easy. Definitely helped boost my pedal building confidence! My recommondation!

Magic
Magic Pedals Home of The Shrine Fuzz!

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