Newbie Builder's build reports thread

[newbie builder]

Well for a while I never really reported on what I thought of the builds I'd done so I figured now that I've done a few it'd be time for a build report on all of them. Fair warning- this post will be LONG. (listed in order of creation)

#1 BYOC Digital Delay- This pedal was relatively easy- BYOC's PCB is very nice and the wiring is straightforward. I know some people on here dislike BYOC- I'm not one of them. The kits are pricy if you know how to source parts and get the right thing and to make your own layout or check to get a good one, but this was my first pedal and I'm glad I used BYOC. It gives you confidence to have your first pedal light right up. I wasn't sure what to expect of this one- I'd never played a delay before in my life. I like it a lot- I use it mostly for small delay times but it has a nice analogish feel and is easy to get good sounds out of.

#2 BYOC Fuzz Face- Second pedal was ordered with first. VERY easy build, especially compared to the delay. I like it but don't love it- I might end up experimenting with transistors to find a sound I like a little more.

#3 GGG Ic buffer- My first perfboard project. I wanted to start with something EASY on perf since it's a lot more to keep track of. I built it and it didn't work- after some troubleshooting I found enough errors that I desoldered the entire thing and rebuilt it. Fired right up then. Subtle effect, but a nice one to have. When using a lot of pedal it really does help restore some high end sparkle. Nice little box.

#4 AMZ Mini Booster- 2nd perf project and a little more complicated than the buffer but not bad at all. I like it a lot- it gives a very nice fat and gainy boost. Soon I plan on building Paul Cochrane's version (of Heritage amps and the Tim/Timmy pedals) of the booster because I'd like to have the added flexability of gain, vol, treble, and bass controls.

#5 BYOC Tube Screamer- Such a classic effect I figured I needed to build one because at the least I thought it'd be good to know what a tubescreamer sounds like when people compare things to tube screamers. I took away the mid hump in favor of a little more bass and used slight asym. clipping making it slightly more gainy than a regular tubescreamer. It sounded nice, but not great so I decided to try some different opamps. I got one of those $5 burr brown opamps from smallbear and now I like the pedal much more. The gain structure is more pleasing to my ears than before. The burr brown doesn't sound great in everything though- I tried it in my Timmy and it made it sound like musch. In the tubescreamer though it sounded nice- warmer and less sterile.

#6 AMZ Mosfet Boost- Very nice little clean boost. Was easy to perf and is great at making a tube amp break up, left on all the time to sparkle up the sound, or to boost up for solos/riffs. Definitely one of my most used pedals.

#7 Dragonfly Sparkle Boost- Fun little overdrive/boost. Stuck with the NTE5458 because MPF102s (which are usually my favorite in pedals) sounded like crap- just dead and lifeless no matter how I biased the pedal. Still experimenting with modding this pedal but I like it.

#8 BJF Folk Fuzz 3,5%- Great pedal. This one I heard about before I even began building pedals and since the first time I grabbed a soldering iron it had been my hope to build one. This pedal took the longest of any to build because there were a lot more parts and all I had was perfboard. At first it wouldn't work- then I realized the layout hadn't been verified. I made the changes to the layout and got ready for it....and nothing. After another 45 minutes I decided I'd flip around the transistors....bingo  . After experimenting, I decided on a 2n222a in q1, 2n219a in q2 and q3, and a 2n3904 in q4. Great fuzz box that almost borders on being a distortion pedal. Definitely not as aggresive as as a hybrid Ge/Si fuzz face. Another one of my most used builds- the folk fuzz as a main distortion/fuzz with the mosfet boost right after it sounds GREAT. Really happy with this pedal.

#9 DOD 250- This one I just finished a day or two ago and already like it a lot. First build where I've been comfortable working on perfboard- I'm starting to get better at keeping track of where I am on the board and what parts I'm looking at on the underside. Using the numbers that are on the smallbear perf helps a lot. I played around with diodes and found for open chords and lower gain stuff and some punchy sounding power chords fairchild hi eff red LEDs where the way to go. I didn't like the sound of just 1n4148s, but I did like 1 led and one 1n4148 so I rigged and extra footswitch. The footswitch has an LED that is off when it's just two LEDs doing the clipping. The led goes on with the 1n4148. I liked this, but thought it'd be great if the 1n4148 which was fatter sounding to start with than the led had even more bass so I rigged up a .1uf cap to run in series with the .001uf (input or output- can't remember offhand) cap. This way I have a nice punchy sounding overdrive and a big sounding overdrive with the click of a switch. Had a lot of fun modding this one and am very happy with the results.

#10 Green Ringer: Still not working...hours od debugging and I can't find anything wrong after going over it with a magnifying glass (literally!)

#11 LPB2: First vero build. I'm now addicted to vero. MUCH easier than perf! Sounds nice, little too bassy at first so I switched one cap to .001 and left one as .1uf...it sounds better that way but I know I could mod it more. I also used a 1k instead of 390 ohm resistor to mess with the gain a bit. Very promising pedal....I haven't gotten to play with it enough yet but I can tell I'm going to have some fun with it.

If I can get a working camera I'll take pictures to post, but nothing is painted- the only way I tell the pedals apart is by looking at the knobs.Thanks to everybody for the help and ideas- this place has been great to learn from. I'm still a newbie when it comes to pedal building, but with each build I'm learning more and more. I'm starting to figure out WHY things are in the circuit, what they are doing there, and what will happen if I change them. Just thought I'd post all this so people researching builds would have a little more info.
thanks-
newbie

[dano12]

Wow, great list. BYOC kits are awesome in my opinion, very well engineered boards, and great documentation. I'm not sure why some folks get down on BYOC--he's introduced a lot of people to DIY pedals.

Good luck with your future projects. It's addicting isn't it?

Also, you'll love the green ringer. I've built two and it is quite lovely.

[petemoore]

  Cool, you're off and runnin real good it seems !!
  Congrats !
 

[markm]

Looks like newbie's been very busy
Congrats E and keep up the good work!
I have to give credit here, he brought the Folk Fuzz build to light on this board and even helped me to trouble shoot some early layout issues and I like to extend a public thank you to Mr. Newbie!! 

[jonathan perez]

my only build has been a BYOC phaser. boooyah!

[petemoore]

  Thanks again for the Folk Fuzz Link Newb, that's a great circuit, I was just firing that one up again, and yes it's a real nice distorter, responding to various input levels quite well, the way I like !!!

[newbie builder]

Glad you guys like it! I'm actually right now showing the guy who showed it to me how to build one as a favor since so many people (myself included) love the circuit! Yeah dano, it's sure addicting. Everyday it seems like my list of things to build gets longer and longer- I think the next one is going to be the green ringer and then the ea tremelo since I've mostly built drives/boosts so far. MarkM, speaking of keeping busy you're not doing to bad with those layouts and etched enclosures I keep seeing in new threads! Great work- I keep intending to start making more layouts but between you, dragonfly, and torchy there are few pedals I've come across I want to build that there isn't a great layout for already!