Where to Start?

[Kesh]

How I started:

1: Just make something, on a breadboard (my breadboard has audio jacks and a 9V supply permanently affixed), and read up on how to mod it and played with the values. NPN fuzz face is a good starter project, as it's simple.

2: Box something. I love how pedals are design projects as well as electronic projects. You will learn a lot about finishes and the craft of making these things look good.

3: Make something really simple like a 1 transistor gain stage and learn exactly about what each component is doing. http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~jcgl/Scots_Guide/experiment/lab/expt5/page1.html and http://talkingelectronics.com/projects/TheTransistorAmplifier/TheTransistorAmplifier-P2.html#Design are good tutorials.

[petey twofinger]

really quick like , find something like this :

http://www.hobbytron.com/electronics-lab-learning.html

or

http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?129799-160-In-One-Project-Kit-Why-they-were-so-cool.-and-a-challenge

or similar , any spring clip electronics it will really help , and you do not need the 500 in one , just a basic set up .

those are great because you u can change values very quickly , and they come with a book with all the circuits and  info .

if you can find an old one great , i recently expanded my collection , with a digital voice recorder / pitch shifter chip one , but i have found 6 of these in the last few years . or if you are really serious and can spare the cash , buy one new .

mind you , you can skip this , get a bread board and some parts and get the info yourself , but , this type of kit is an all in one solution . really the thing is , as long as you are working you will be learning , so you will need a meter , side cutters , a mini needle nose , iron , flux , helping hands . if you plan to do this a lot , build the quick and dirty test oscilator . that is a great tool . also , the audio test probe , and power supply are very very handy for your bench , check those out maybe .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X7VrcYwKM4

you are in the right place , if you cant get a spring clip kit , dont worry so much , it will all come to you as you go , and also there are a lot of paint by numbers guys here that do very very well . ( better than the EE guys , more prolific anyway , lol ) .

[dreadlocks1221]

Thanks again for all the advice guys, I'm buying all my parts today for a simple boost pedal and I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good digital meter?

[.Mike]

I can't recommend a good meter.

If, however, you have a Harbor Freight near you, you can pickup an adequate meter to get you started.

Their item # 98025 is around $5, and is adequate for our uses.

While you're there, consider picking up #91616 (step bits for drilling enclosures), #31675 (6-piece precision plier/cutter set), #90566 (magnetic parts tray), #621 (automatic center punch), #97626 (80-piece rotary tool), and #4614 (12-piece precision file).

Maybe we need a topic about which Harbor Freight tools are good for pedal building.

Mike