Using RTS PCB - Making PCB - Using Perfboard/Veroboard

[Philippe]

Some of the pros & cons are obvious...(i.e available time, monetary outlay, prototyping latitude etc).

Having primarily used RTS-PCBs with great success (just stuff & solder), I'm very impressed with those who actually take & make the effort to create their own boards. It obviously requires a higher level of schematic reading skills, circuit layout visualization & pre-fab/fab circuitboard saavy.

I imagine that from a purist standpoint, true DIY fxs building involves not over-relying on RTS-PCBs as the concept/pastime essentially & originally emerged from folks interpreting & cleverly re-creating various circuits/effects via experimentation on their own home-made boards.

While RTS-PCBs are convenient & great to have available, I've come to the conclusion that
having relied on them for my 'home-built' effects, (e.g. 808, OS, FF etc.), I am not a true DIYer as my efforts are more akin to building a plastic model airplane from a Revell kit...the real model builders generally build their stuff from scratch.

So in closing, with all of the great RTS-PCBs being offered, it's probably safe to assume that they are great for beginners & novices (like myself) or for  those who do not want to design a complex PCB circuit. On the other hand, building a something like a Rangemaster or an LPB-2 from one of these (unless it's a first-time project) probably borders on the lame.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

Both have their place... You can have terrific fun with a breadboard doing your own tweaking and then putting that to vero...


...But if there's something specific you want to clone, there's no shame in buying a PCB if there's one commercially available. Etching PCBs is a messy game and not really practical for those of us without a garage...

[oliphaunt]

If I want to build a specific circuit that is already available it is easier to use a production PC board.  But, the vast majority of what I build is either heavily modded or "original" (no such thing really, at least not for someone at my level), so those boards don't have a lot of use for me.  I tend to agree though, putting together a pedal based on a kit or even a pre-made board is about like building a model airplane.  It stills feels good and there is a sense of accomplishment, but nothing really new has happened.