Ebay DIY Kits ? .....

[MartyMart]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41416&item=3759559170&rd=1

This looks interesting, he also has Rangemaster and FF clones too !!

Not too expensive, as he includes all parts/3DPDT switch and predrilled box also !!
Anyone here ....  DIY goes Global !

Marty. :wink:

[Torchy]

Pretty good deal by the looks of it, and all the parts from one place is handy. Thanks for the link  :wink:

[petemoore]

If you didn't have a drill, and a buncha 'other stuff' that would be impossible to beat. Worth every penny !
 Otherwise the deal looks pretty good !!!

[GreenEye]

Wow, this guy's kits are really expanding.  It's going to be hard for me not to buy one of them eventually.

[b_rogers]

i have seen one of his FF and tonebender kits. very nice eyelet board with schematic on the top of the board. nice components, gain matched trannies.  seemed like a good deal to me.

Brent

[birt]

keith makes really good kits.
i haven't bought any of em but i know people who have, and he has helped me with some diy-issues too.

[Hal]

looks like good stuff.  Its funny that he sends carbon comps....and sad that he sends X-Wings for the green ringer.  Is that a "classic" pedal?  I thought it was just a DIY kinda thing....never realized it had history.  Ok im rabling.  But nice site, good prices, but not for me.  It would like...defeat the purpose of DIY - the fun :-D.  Like...I even feal bad using PCB layouts, like im not really doing it.

[RDV]

I'm not sure where he's coming from in saying that a 2N3904 has higher gain than a 2N5088 or MPSA18? It's in the mod instructions.

RDV

[GreenEye]

Hal:

I don't profess to be an expert on Dan Armstrong, but here's a cool history of his "colored" effects.  I love the pic of all his little colored boxes together in one 70s looking ad:
http://www.beitec.com/stomp.htm

Here's what he was apparently working on before he passed away:
http://www.vintagetoneproject.com/danarmstrong.htm

[bobbletrox]

I've never seen schems for the Yellow Humper or Red Ranger...are these two any good?

[RLBJR65]

Red Ranger schem. at GGG
http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/red_ranger.gif

The Yellow Humper schem. for sale here.
http://www.ronsound.com/schem.html

[mrsage]

The kits are awesome. He uses high quality components like Mullard transistors, etc.

http://www.bigtonemusic.com/CloneMainPage.html

[JHS]

Wow, looks very good but to me a bit overpriced for a DYI-kit.

I think he offered the TS-kit on ebay for 75$/ea - normally I don't pay more than 40% for those parts.

The German MEC-TS-Klon with equal quality is sold for about 80$ and you don't need to assemble it and it has a podercoated box.

JHS

[mrsage]

I don't know about the pricing on the TS kit, but the other kits seem pretty decent for a boutique-quality, point-to-point wired pedal (I know the TS has a PCB, but the Fuzz Face and a few others are PTP). The enclosures come pre-drilled, too, so they're great for a first project...you don't have to invest $15 or $20 for a Unibit or anything like that.

They also have very detailed instructions...more than just a schematic or a layout. They're practically dummy-proof.

These probably aren't for the seasoned DIY-er who buys in bulk from Mouser, but they're awesome for a first project or someone who usually doesn't build their own pedals.

[JHS]

I said they are way overpriced and I mean that they are overpriced.

As I wrote before you can get those pedal-clones from MEC for nearly the same price - and MEK is a small German-Boutique-Maker with highest quality level in sound and workmanship (read the reviews). All MEK pedals are powdercoated as std. and if you add the price for laquering and assembly to the kit-price - the kits are at least 30% overpriced.

JHS

[Torchy]

I said they are way overpriced and I mean that they are overpriced.

Overpriced to you maybe. But for the guy who just wants to build a couple effects, doesnt want to scour the www, and looking at what you get the prices are ok. Once you've been on here a while and picked up some knowledge you get a jaundiced view of what these things are worth.

Or maybe I'm just used to inflated UK prices  :cry:

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

This is a pretty fruitless argument (whether the kits are overpriced).
If you got the parts from 5 different places (the cheapest) and added on the separate packaging/post costs, plus all the shit you need to make ONE pcb,... :x  But if you are just going to make your FIRST diy unit, then IMHO the kit is the way to go. Especially if you aren't 100% sure of the values on the caps you pulled from a VCR in the dumpster.

I'm all in favor of "full kits" for beginners, if people can afford them.
Like Heathkit, that gave rise to a whole generation of diy guys.