What circuits and tools would be ideal for a beginner?

[nexekho]

The fuzz pedals seem like they might be deceptively tricky - I've noticed there are LOADS of people opening threads because they are hard to debug.  A Tiny Tremolo is a pretty good starting project in my opinion, because it's fairly simplistic (just a very standard astable 555) with nothing active in the signal path so you can't accidentally bridge 9v to something else and blow up your amplifier.  Also, both halves of the circuit (the blinking light and the light resistive bridge) are independently testable - get the LED flashing, get the volume dropping when you close the blinds, and then put it all in a box.

[artifus]

Thankyou to everyone here for all your friendly advice

You are making what seems a big step really feasible to me with all your help, I feel quite humbled actually. I shall be back here to report on how things are going and of course to pick your brains!!

Thought i'd start with this to learn some basics, breadboarding etc. : http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/select.html#ElectronicsClub

Then maybe once I've soldered a few leads etc, get myself a simple PCB fuzz or something.

Cheers Guys

i would advise against that kit as an initial purchase unless you have a bunch of 555 projects in mind. it's a useful enough pack and has stuff you'll find useful in the future but getting results early is a great motivator to continue. decide on a pedal or project or two to complete before ordering any parts to be sure you can finish them by having everything you need. compare the price of that kit to the price of their various component pack deals. think about what you want and what you need. what do you play? what kind of sound do you like?

[newfish]

Couple of recommendations, if I may...

As far as suppliers go, I've had plenty of success with Steve at Doctor Tweek (Google!).
Wide slection of stock, fast delivery and very reasonable prices too!

One thing I've found almost essential for building is a file.
A short, flat file does an excellent job of 'scuffing up' the shiny chromed finish applied to pots / sockets.

With this finish scuffed, soldering is faster, since the flux / rosin / chemical what-not has a 'key' to adhere to.

Oh - and a stepper-bit will save you time when you come to drilling your own cases, too.

http://www.doctortweek.co.uk/shop/article_500/Stepper-Drill-Bit-----Titanium-Coated---4mm---22mm.html?shop_param=cid%3D19%26aid%3D500%26

Hope you get to grips with pedal bulding.  It *is* addictive though...  

Cheers!

p.s. you could do an awful lot worse than try the Beginner's Project on this very Forum!
It's a single-stage booster, and is presented in a clear, concise way that's *very* easy on the maths.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=763.0

Despite its apparent simplicity, it's a very handy box to have in your gig-bag

[Boromedic]

i would advise against that kit as an initial purchase unless you have a bunch of 555 projects in mind. it's a useful enough pack and has stuff you'll find useful in the future but getting results early is a great motivator to continue. decide on a pedal or project or two to complete before ordering any parts to be sure you can finish them by having everything you need. compare the price of that kit to the price of their various component pack deals. think about what you want and what you need. what do you play? what kind of sound do you like?

Hi there, thanks for the advice, I see what you mean about what's in that kit and the possible projects that I'd use from it!! I suppose I just thought I'd learn something about actual electronics and breadboarding along the way. I haven't really considered any beginner pedal projects as such because I thought they looked a bit daunting tbh, although the one on the forum here newfish mentioned seems like a good starting point. I shall have to get my thinking head on again and decide what to do first.

Cheers again,

Alan

[Boromedic]

Couple of recommendations, if I may...

As far as suppliers go, I've had plenty of success with Steve at Doctor Tweek (Google!).
Wide slection of stock, fast delivery and very reasonable prices too!

One thing I've found almost essential for building is a file.
A short, flat file does an excellent job of 'scuffing up' the shiny chromed finish applied to pots / sockets.

With this finish scuffed, soldering is faster, since the flux / rosin / chemical what-not has a 'key' to adhere to.

Oh - and a stepper-bit will save you time when you come to drilling your own cases, too.

http://www.doctortweek.co.uk/shop/article_500/Stepper-Drill-Bit-----Titanium-Coated---4mm---22mm.html?shop_param=cid%3D19%26aid%3D500%26

Hope you get to grips with pedal bulding.  It *is* addictive though...  

Cheers!

p.s. you could do an awful lot worse than try the Beginner's Project on this very Forum!
It's a single-stage booster, and is presented in a clear, concise way that's *very* easy on the maths.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=763.0

Despite its apparent simplicity, it's a very handy box to have in your gig-bag

Hi there, thanks for them sites, I've bookmarked em both already, always good to find some UK based sites!!

Also I'm considering that beginner project to start with seems like a good idea.

Thanks for your help:)

Al

[Gramatron@mac.com]

I've just recently started building things again after many many years of not touching a soldering iron.

I started with a simple True by pass looper to get me back into the swing of things and i kind of needed one.

http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/PedalHacker/index.htm

I then decided to build a valvecaster which turned out to be really quite easy.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=63479.2460

I can suggest anywhere great to buy parts, I too live in the uk, I pretty much bought most of the crap for maplins and bought the valve, valve socket and switch on the clicker web.

[Electron Tornado]

Want to save some money on parts and get some practice with a soldering iron?

http://guitarkitbuilder.com/content/spare-parts-save-more-money

Hope that helps.