List of all parts that are needed for diy builds?

[cnspedalbuilder]

I was in the same boat, and eventually did stock up though not fully.

I got a film capacitor set from SmallBear which is fantastic. It comes in an acrylic organizing box with labels, which is a HUGE timesaver when trying to find just they right one. Also, their selection matches perfectly with what the layouts call for. I've only had one time when I needed a cap that was not in there (a 1mF cap).

I got a cheapo resistor set off EBay (I think 26 types of resistors, 10 each). It's fine, but the leads are much more wiggly than what I've gotten in kits, so if you go cheap the might be just a little harder to work with. I don't know about others, but I think it's absolutely impossible to keep every possible resistor stocked unless you are doing this for a living. The veroboard layouts call for some crazy resistors that I can't even find at RadioShack. So, do what you can, but don't expect that you will get everything unfortunately.

Good to get pots but I find there's a lot of variance there too. Not only sizes, but also type (linear, audio, reverse...) and differences in lugs vs pins. Plus pots are expensive so I don't keep a ton of them around.

I also got a polarized electrolytic cap set off EBay and that was cheap and it included all the sizes I need. Another poster said to avoid polarized, but I am not sure why--I was under the impression that electrolytics are used when a polarized cap is required. Is that not the case???

I don't have enough experience to talk about ICs or trannies, nor do I stock them. Ditto diodes. They vary enough across what I've done that it didn't seem worthwhile, but forum posters are convincing me otherwise

I've experimented with different wire ("Barry's Best", Small Bear, and various wires included in kits) and agree with the large # who swear by SmallBear's wires. They are "pre-bonded" which I think means the strands are pre-soldered. That makes it really easy to get the stripped wire through holes w/o fraying, and they are stiff enough that you can bend it around corners and it stays in place. They have an assortment pack with lots of colors. Get that, because LOTS OF COLORS really help when you are debugging your pedal. It's a pain to work through a circuit with a ton of black wires crossing over in various places. I use 24AWG because thats what I've heard to use, but I know others use 22AWG. Worth trying out if you don't mind spending on two wire sets.

Also, I bought a nice Hakko wire stripper designed for the 24AWG range, and it made the process so much better. I had so many instances of wire breaks due to bad stripping before. Now it's a fast, mindless process.

I got a set of various colored LEDs for cheap on EBay. It's really nice to get away from the standard red LED.

Buy a set of battery tabs on Amazon or EBay. They are cheap.

Buy standard DC jacks WITH EXTERNAL MOUNTING NUT. That is huge. Do not buy the default version with internal mounting unless you enjoy tedium and frustration.

Jacks are good to get. I have had good luck with a set of cheapo switchcraft-like jacks on E-bay, especially for testing circuits (see below). But for a long-term operation, I'd get real switchcraft or other type jacks.

3PDT Switches. I already stocked but when I get new ones I will go to BitchesLoveMySwitches.com, just because.

I also like to get 3PDT wiring boards because I lack dexterity so I hate wiring 3PDT switches. Those wiring boards make it very easy to ground the circuit (they have several ground lugs so you don't have to run multiple ground wires to the same point) and you can mount the LED right there. If you are not going to do a ton of circuit bending, then I recommend the ones from 3PDT.com (now on Amazon). Works out to about a buck each and they work very nicely. There are others but they are either more expensive and designed more poorly or more complicated than I need (guitarPCB).

I've not really done any breadboard prototyping yet (should do it but no time). But it is still useful to get a breadboard because they come in handy for all sorts of testing. After a long struggle with a Phase 45 clone (documented on this forum) I discovered that I should test the effects circuits before hooking them to offboard wiring. So I now have a setup where I have 2 1/4 inch jacks, and a 9V battery clip running into the breadboard. I can run the circuit in and out into the board and test the circuit integrity w/o the possibility of defective switch or offboard wiring.

Hope this helps!

[cnspedalbuilder]

Update: Guitar PCB.com has a sale on 3PDT boards for .69 each. They also throw in a boost circuit PCB. That's a good deal.

[domdec314]

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[cnspedalbuilder]

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Did you mean that I violated posting rules with the sale info? The system isn't showing a delete option.