Journey of a Newbie Pedal Builder

[Aviator18]

PREFACE

It occurred to me, that as I begin this journey into pedal building, I presently possess a somewhat rare and illusive commodity: that is, the perspective of a novice. It is something that soon dissipates as one gains experience and forgets what it is like to be the captive of ignorant bliss, losing sight and memory of the questions one had as they approached something new and mysterious. In recognizing this, I began to wonder if sharing my experience with others might prove valuable to fellow pilgrims who set out on this very same path.  And so, I set pen to page (well, figuratively speaking of course) to document this transition from novice to... well, less than novice, and to do so before all novice ideas and questions fade into the fog of past experiences—forgotten, and forever lost.  So it is that I start this thread in my attempt to record this transformative journey.

To maintain ease of readability, I will try to keep individual posts at a moderate length, making multiple shorter posts instead of fewer longer posts. Initially there will be several posts as I bring this thread up to date with my current personal story. Also, it may take a bit to get there, but we will get to the point in this thread where I am actually building pedals.

Note: This is intended for people who are new to building pedals (and also, possibly, to amuse those who are not). I realize most people on this board probably possess a far great degree of knowledge, insight and experience than I do. But I can boast that my level of inexperience and need-to-learn-more-ness most assuredly greatly overshadows yours! Please, correct me if I present information that is incorrect and feel free to contribute your knowledge to enhance this thread. At its heart, this thread is about learning and discovery.

-Jay

[Aviator18]

How did I Find Myself on this Road?

Now, that is a good question and a good place to start. I recently retired and have been a guitar player for close to half of a century (wow, has it been that long). I did not begin this journey with the intention, nor the desire, to build guitar pedals. The journey began—without my knowledge that I had even begun such a journey—while playing guitar in a live setting and realizing my multi-effects unit did not give me the control, nor options, I desired (to be slightly more specific, it was becoming an obstacle for me). Looking back, I had made the decision to go multi-effects instead of a pedal board many years ago. It was primarily an economic decision: I could get more bang for my buck with a multi-effects unit (a Digitech RP150 to be exact) and my money to buy such things was in very limited supply (I had a wife, four kids, two cats and a dog, and I was broke). So, I found myself, after some twenty plus years of using multi-effects (I currently have a Line 6 and a Digitech RP255), deciding it was time to make a change.

I was not totally uninitiated into the world of the stompbox. I had a Pre-Dunlop Cry Baby I bought in 1978 when I was 16, a Boss PH-1R Phaser I bought around 1980, a DOD FX-25B Envelope Filter a friend had given me around 2004, and a Morley M2 passive volume pedal purchased in 2015, I think. I realized I would need more than this to make the jump from my multi-effects setup to a pedal board. And so, I began to research stomp-boxes to see what I needed/wanted and how much it was going to cost me.

During my research, I stumbled across Josh Scott's YouTube channel which eventually led me to Brian Wampler's channel. Brian had a breadboard and was analyzing the Blues Breaker circuit, demonstrating how changes to different components and additions at different points in the circuit affected the sound. As I watched, a dangerous thought entered my head, I could build a pedal and incorporate the changes and options that I wanted. And thus, without conscious thought of what I was doing, I made the decision to travel down this precarious road—setting off on quite a different journey than I had originally intended or imagined .

[Aviator18]

In Preparation for a Journey

Because of financial challenges I was dealing with (which I won't go into here), I was unable to immediately pursue this new found dream of pedal bliss. What I could do was search the internet to educate myself. I rewatched Wampler's Blues Breaker video, printed out the schematic he was using and recorded notes on it documenting what each tweak to the circuit would do. I wanted to draw up the circuit with my changes and searched the internet for free software to do it. As a result, I discovered KiCad. In the process of watching tutorials to learn how to use KiCad, I discovered I could design my own PCBs and get them made inexpensively. What a revelation and what an unexpected twist in this road I now journeyed down.

For several weeks I drew schematics and then converted them into PCB layouts. The process raised many new questions for which I would search and discover answers. I would then have to go back and correct the schematic and/or change the PCB layout. It was a good thing I was unable to financially pursue my dream at this point in time because I would have most likely had numerous faulty PCBs made before I realized (and corrected) my mistakes.

[Aviator18]

A Curious Community

One thing that caught my attention was how interconnected the DIY Pedal Community seems to be and some of people who contribute knowledge to this community. I saw this when I viewed Brian Wampler's YouTube videos where he shared how to build guitar effects. Indirectly, my first exposure was actually Josh Scott who wasn't talking about making pedals, but would review and recommend pedals from other manufacturers including affordable models emphasizing it doesn't matter how much it costs, it's how it sounds that matters. I have learned about some of the pioneers of DIY Pedals like R. G. Keen and Jack Orman who still make appearances on various forums willing to share their knowledge. I am still discovering how the many DIY Forums and PCBs sellers are connected and I am interested in learning more about this and the history of this hobby.

[Aviator18]

The Journey Begins (Slowly)

Time had passed, I had drawn schematics for several pedals, along with PCB layouts, and I was wanting to get a breadboarding setup. I looked at numerous kits on Amazon, comparing and trying to find the one that offered the most best bang for the buck and with the most components that were relative to building pedals. I narrowed it down to one kit, then I had a revelation: why don't I check to see what I can put together for my own kit from an electronics distributor?  I ended up ordering what I thought I needed from Tayda Electronics and ended up spending twice as much, but got so much more for my money and didn't pay for things I didn't want or need. NOTE: The extra cost was the result of adding extra items, not due to paying more for items. I ended up paying less per item, in fact, and totaling avoided paying for something I didn't want.

In the meantime, I continued to window-shop numerous sites and compiled lists of what I need and/or wanted and who had the best price on particular items. I noticed the numerous pedal PCBs offered by various sellers and slowly came to the conclusion it would probably be better to build a few pedals using other people's PCBs first, acquire some skill and the kind of knowledge only experience can bring, before attempting to design and build my own PCBs. I was conceding the fact there were still many undiscovered questions that needed to be answered before I set off down that road.

[Aviator18]

A Note on Buying from Tayda

Tayda is a great source, but I have discovered you need to be selective in what you purchase from them. Based on what I have read, it appears they have been slowly improving the quality of the components they offer, but there are still some items to avoid. For example, I would advise against buying their unbranded Electrolytic capacitors. These are cheap Chinese knockoffs that may explode at the upper range of their rated voltage. Avoid Chong, Cheng, Chang, ChongX, ChengX and other variations of these. The JB capacitors are Taiwanese and should be good. I have heard their Tayda-branded audio jacks are lower quality. I ordered about a dozen, but they are for pedals I am building for myself (I have about a dozen or so I am building and I am willing to take the chance I will have to replace them later). I also want to personally test them and determine their quality for myself. Current manufactured ICs are reported to be good from Tayda and they have good prices—extremely good on some of them. If they are discontinued ICs, don't buy them from Tayda. Never get NOS items from Tayda. But you should always check prices, first. For some ICs, you can get them cheaper from Mouser or Digi-Key. They sell transistors at very good prices. If anyone has any comments on the quality of these transistors, please chime in.  Tayda has good prices on enclosures and no one comes close to their enclosure printing services.  You will have to use Adobe Illustrator for your artwork (if you don't, you will have to resort to work-arounds that may, or very likely may not, work out). In the past, I believe Tayda sold resistors with thin leads. They now carry Royal Ohm (which may be their in-house brand), and the ¼ watt metal film ones have leads of comparable diameter to most the name brands (0.54mm).  Based on this I willing to continue to buy Royal Ohm resistors from Tayda ($0.015 each), but I have found at the present time I can get most values of resistors cheaper from Newark (their in house brand Multicomp, and sometimes name brands like Stackpole, Vishay or TE Connectivity, can be purchased for as low as $0.004 each). Tayda is also a great source for LEDs, diodes and Alpha potentiometers.

[Mark Hammer]

Welcome.

A retiree myself, I started building in the late '70s.  Not formally trained in electronics, I consider myself to still be learning, and this forum has provided quite the education.  My own strengths tend to be of two forms: 1) being able to explain things to people in a way that makes intuitive sense, and 2) being able to adopt a "systems" approach to the signal path within and across the entire chain.  I also tend to map a cognitive psychology approach to understanding effects, why they can sound the way they do and what we can do to improve them.

As a research psychologist, one of my areas of interest over the years has been acquisition of expertise - how people go from not knowing how to do, to knowing how to do better, and eventually quite well.  Not just changes to their performance level, but the mechanisms and changes to strategy that permit and facilitate those changes.  In many instances, one can document such changes in oneself, although you tend not to notice changes to how or what you do until you've been doing it for a little while.  So many of the skills we acquire over our lives are not verbalizable until well after we've acquired them.

Your "journey" documentation here is a great idea, and will undoubtedly elicit insights and reflections from others who may be a little earlier or further on in the journey, or in lock step with you.  Even for those who've been at it far longer, hearing the reflections of a "novice" can still jog insights in someone who maybe hadn't stopped to think about it much.

If you look up the "brand interviews" on the effectsdatabase site, you'll find a great many respected builders cite this place as their inspiration for getting started.  If there can be such a thing as a "character reference" for a web-forum, I think that counts as one! 

So get soldering, and tell us how it's going.

[Aviator18]

The Camera Adds Ten Pounds!

The day came and my package from Tayda arrived. Now, understand that up to this point my concept of component size had been based on all the resistor, capacitor and IC glamour shots on the Interweb. It was also influenced by those terribly misleading, zoomed-in views in KiCad. I opened my package from Tayda and my previous illusions were shattered!  I looked at the breadboard. Wow! That is small. It looked so much larger in the pictures. Then I pulled the ¼ watt resistors out of the package. They were beyond tiny. I AM SUPPOSED TO SOLDER THESE THINGS?  The shock of my first look at a PCB would not occur until several weeks later—this was probably for the best. I needed some recovery time before the shock of that eye-opening experience transpired.

[Mark Hammer]

Get some liquid flux, and maybe some methyl hydrate to dissolve the flux.

One of the things endemic to pedal-building is that we buy a bunch of parts, that then sit in parts drawers for a while until we free up the time to get to them.  In the interim, component leads get tarnished, and the oxidation impairs soldering.  A dab of liquid flux here and there can help supercharge soldering, such that joints are accomplished quickly with minimal risk of heat damage.  A little $10 bottle of liquid flux will last you for the rest of your life.

That said, the flux contained in the solder itself, dries very shiny, often making it difficult to spot solder bridges and other issues on the copper side.  There are other chemicals that do the trick, but I find methyl hydrate does a nice job of dissolving flux in order to clean up the copper side.

Carry on.

[Aviator18]

Thanks for the reply, Mark. I have read a little bit of the history of this sight. It was because this was one of this first places to share this kind of knowledge, and the connections it has, that I chose this place for this thread. I have already learned a great deal from various sources on the internet and would like to pay some of that back. This is one way I think I can do this. It also has occurred to me, that even though I am a novice, I may still even be able to share something of value to even the most experienced pedal builder. A fresh perspective often sparks new ideas and approaches and we all have our own, unique perspective. Even if it is not something new, it may be something not thought about in a long time that can benefit from a reminding.

[Aviator18]

Great tip, Mark!

I have two bottles of liquid flux that arrived today, in fact. Kester 951 and Kester 186 in what looks to be two oz. bottles. Thanks to your comment, I now have a better idea of when and how to use them.

Thanks,
Jay

[Mark Hammer]

Thanks for the reply, Mark. I have read a little bit of the history of this sight. It was because this was one of this first places to share this kind of knowledge, and the connections it has, that I chose this place for this thread. I have already learned a great deal from various sources on the internet and would like to pay some of that back. This is one way I think I can do this. It also has occurred to me, that even though I am a novice, I may still even be able to share something of value to even the most experienced pedal builder. A fresh perspective often sparks new ideas and approaches and we all have our own, unique perspective. Even if it is not something new, it may be something not thought about in a long time that can benefit from a reminding.

One of the things I learned from years of teaching university was that often we don't know what we know until we actually have to say it to someone, whether that's in the context of teaching, working with a study partner in preparation for a test, confessions, keeping a diary, or simply trying to tell a friend what you're doing when they ask you.  The how-to aspect has kept this site far more civil than many other places on the internet.  I've had the pleasure of meeting many members, and it has always been a very pleasant experience.  Sharing knowledge tends to attract and retain a different sort of crowd than bragging.  It has been an absolute delight to watch people join here, and develop into superbly capable builders and communicators.

Just don't spill your liquid flux.  It is an absolute BEAR to get out of clothing or a carpet.  Same goes for ferric chloride etchant.  I've never before recommended wearing an apron when etching, but now that I think of it, it's probably a good idea.  Not only will etchant stains cling tenaciously to clothing, but if you try to remove them by chucking them into the wash, they will "infect" any other items in the machine at the same time.  As big a risk to marriages as hard drugs, unemployment, or infidelity.

A package of cotton-tipped swabs from the dollar store is a good complement for the flux and flux remover.

[Aviator18]

A Note on Resistors

For what we do, ¼ watt metal film resistors will work in almost all cases. They are tight tolerance, have lower noise, and are affordable. In my opinion, it is a waste of money to pay big bucks for Mojo resistors. I suspect (and there is data to back this suspicion up) that most of the mojo exists only in people's heads—if you are convinced it is there, you will hear it even if it is not there—and even if there is any mojo there, you are not going to hear it in low voltage circuits. Now that I have made those controversial statements, let's move on.

Standardization of values dates back to 1936 with a standard established by the Radio Manufacturers Association (RMA). The current standard established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has its origins in the 1950s. The standard created several E-Series that set values based on component tolerances. The broadest of these is E3 which is based on a 40% tolerance. Next is E6 which is based on a 20% component tolerance, E12 based on a 10% tolerance and E24 based on 5% tolerance. It goes all the way up to E192. Below is a chart containing E3 – E24.  Going higher than that (E48 and up) makes no sense for building guitar pedals and you shouldn't find any pedal schematics that call for values outside the ones listed in the chart. The lower the E-series the more common the value is and the less expensive the resistor should be.

[Aviator18]

Time to Embark!

Finances improved some and I was finally able to pursue this diversion in earnest. I looked at my list and started prioritizing. I had a long list of projects I wanted to build; it was very long and I had to narrow it down. I wanted to get PCBs from a variety of sources so I could compare them and I also wanted to spread my business around and support as many people in this hobby as I could. Another objective was to evaluate various alternative components (such as different audio and dc jacks), so I planned to buy a copy of the gold standards (Switchcraft and Neutrik audio jacks, for example) and a variety of the less expensive alternatives to compare. In the next several posts we will examine my process: the decisions I made, why I made them, and the things I discovered along the way. Maybe you can learn something from the things I may have done right, those that I could have done better, and the others I quite possibly did wrong.

[Aviator18]

Compiling Data

I believe in the value of well documented research that informs buying decisions. I think most of us deal with finite funds (some more finite than others) and want to maximize our buying power. One of the advantages of having to wait for an extended period of time to purchase tools and supplies was it gave me plenty of time to research and gather data. It also prevented some (not all) mistakes made in these purchases. Following are two things I did to help organize and make this data more accessible.

1) I established an archive document to record what I was learning.

As I researched questions and read articles, I would make notes on scrap paper. These notes began to pile up on my computer desk. Not only did they clutter up my desk, but they were not very accessible and often duplicated information. One day it occurred to me I should compile them in one electronic document to preserve, organize, and make them readily accessible: to turn a pile of potential trash into a reference resource. So, I created a word document—I will call it my Pedal Knowledge Archive. One by one, I went through my notes and recorded the information that had value in my new archive. Then, instead of making new notes on scrap paper, I instead added to my Word document (and cut out the middle man).

2) I created a spreadsheet to keep track of my growing inventory with separate pages for different components (i.e., a page for resistors, a page for capacitors, a page for ICs, etc.). This started as an extended Bill of Materials for my large "Let's Get Started Building Stompboxes" series of orders.

[Aviator18]

The Let’s Get Started Building Stompboxes Orders

I set out with two objectives in mind: get the components needed to build several pedals and purchase what was required to set up a workspace to build them. I did have a somewhat decent variety of components I had bought from Tayda for my breadboarding setup, but decided I would not factor them into what I was getting—I wanted to build up my bench stock.

I figured the place to start was with a soldering station because you can’t build very many pedals if you don’t have a way to solder. I had a cheap Radio Shack soldering iron and I knew I wanted something better than this to tackle PCBs. I had looked at numerous soldering stations online and read all the reviews I could find. I determined I wanted something with a digital readout and had precise control over my soldering temperature. I was considering two units: the Weller WE101 for $103 and the Hakko FX88D for $105. I saw many cheaper units on Amazon that were tempting, but I was concerned about getting a cheap knockoff that had issues. The soldering station would be the central part of my work area and I wanted to make sure I had something that would be an asset and not a liability. I had pretty much decided on the Hakko when I saw the Xytronic LF-389D on Small Bear’s site for $52. It was half the price, had the features I wanted, and because it was being sold by Small Bear, I felt I could trust it (I had also read a few favorable comments on different Pedal Building Forums from satisfied owners). Thus, the first place I went was Small Bear’s and I began to load my cart.

I shopped at different sites and began to fill my cart, not purchasing yet, just loading my cart with what I thought I needed/wanted. I knew I needed to get more focused and intentional about this. So, I went back to my Pedal Knowledge Archive and looked at my list of PCBs I had interest in building. I compared prices, what was on sale at the time, and considered what I needed to set up a functionable pedal board. I also wanted to get boards from several different sites—in order to compare and also to spread my support around.

I went to Mad Bean Pedals, put the Retrograde and RangeMaster PCBs in the cart and placed the order. The game was afoot, the blood was in the water, and the shark feeding frenzy had just begun!

Next, I went to Pedal PCB and ordered the Blues Breaker (this journey had begun because of the Blues Breaker circuit and, by golly, I was most definitely going to build me one!). I added a Woodpecker Tremolo, and a Seabed Delay. Two pre-soldered MMBFJ201s went in the cart (I am intent on building Jack Orman’s Mini-Booster at some point, plus they are used in so many different pedals). I added a few more small items and checked out. I was beginning to feel a bit light headed.

I think it was at this point that I created what would eventually become my inventory spreadsheet. It began life as a shopping list/expanding BOM for the PCBs I was buying. I opened the build documents for the PCBs I was getting and added the required components into the spreadsheet. It was one page with separate tables for resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, LEDs, ICs, etc. I would use this to keep track of what I needed to get.  As I ordered these items, I would highlight them on the spreadsheet to keep track of what had been purchased and what still needed to be ordered.

My next order was with Newark. In the days preceding this order, I had priced resistors (primarily) and capacitors at numerous sites looking for the best prices on good components. Time and time again, Newark had the best price. I went to their site and started loading my cart with resistors. I intended on getting all the E24 values of resistors from 1K to 1M, plus all the values outside that range required for my builds.  If the price was one cent or lower, I got 50, if it was over one cent, I got 30. Some were $0.004 each and I ordered 100. The majority were Multicomp which I discovered was their house brand sourced from various suppliers which I am okay with. Some were name brands like Vishay, Stackpole and TE Connectivity. Newark also had very good prices on capacitors. I got Multicomp, Vishay, Kemet, Epcos, United Chemi-Con, Rubycon, Panasonic, TDK, and Cornell Dubilier capacitors at very low prices. Note: They have been the slowest to ship, but part of that may be that I selected some items that had to come from their UK warehouse. Just note that if you buy from Newark, they may not be the fastest to get your stuff to you. For the prices I got, I can deal with the wait, I think.

While all this is taking place, my order with Small Bear is still in the cart and I am adding to it what I need as I go. I don’t remember what time this whole process began, it could have been 7 or 8 pm, maybe even earlier in the evening. What I do know from my records is my first actual purchase (Mad Bean) was at 9:58pm Eastern Standard Time.

Orders with Digi-Key and Tayda were placed next. I needed a lead bending jig and Digi-Key had one in stock. I also got a PCB reference ruler. From Tayda, I ordered transistors, ICs, potentiometers, heat-shrink, jacks, some enclosures and other miscellaneous supplies.

Next, I stopped by LoveMySwitches. I picked up another enclosure, some potentiometers I needed that Tayda didn’t have, and a bunch of footswitches. Most of them were their standard ones in Old Blood Red, but I also got a Pro model, a premium blue switch, and two of the smaller sized ones. I wanted to be able to compare the different switches.

My next stop was GuitarPCB. They had several PCBs at reduced prices (and I find it next to impossible to pass up an item on sale). I got the Tube Screaming Ultra (I had to build something based on a TS), the MUFF’N 10, G2 Animal, Fuzzstortion, Red Special, Ratt Deluxe, Super Sonic 02, one SOT23 adapter (to test the waters of SMD), and the Squishy Octopus. (Note: when I got my shipment, they included a State 3 Booster PCB in the bag with my free guitar pick. Thank you, Barry.)

After this I completed my Order with Small Bear at 1:42 AM.

Now began the process of “oh, I forgot this” and “oh, I didn’t realize I needed that.” I needed 1N34As and AC128s. I stopped by Stomp Box Parts, revisited a few places I had already been and placed second orders (wow, that was poor planning on my part and cost me extra shipping). I placed an order with Mouser.

Looking for MMBF5457s, I noticed several places were out; one listed them as obsolete. Fearing the worst, I found them at Digi-Key and ordered 100 (along with more stuff I suddenly decided I needed)!

I think it was between 4 and 5 am when I finally ended the feeding frenzy and headed off to bed with the realization I had spent much more than I had planned (and should have) and really not wanting to know how much it all totaled up to.

[Aviator18]

My Initial Adventure in Soldering

Well, I staked out a small corner of a room and set up my work area. I put my supplies in storage cabinets and boxes, made nice little labels with my wife's label maker, tried to find a proper space for all my new stuff and set up my soldering station. Now it was time to test that heat machine out.

Next, I had to select a victim... um, PCB to solder. I had purchased a Velleman Pre-Amplifier kit from Small Bear. I bought it because it was cheap and so I could not afford not to buy it, right. It was a fortuitous decision because I needed something that I was not emotionally attached to on which I could test my deft (and soon to be revealed, deadly) soldering skill. I turned on as much light as I had available and located my most powerful reading glasses. With some degree of trepidation, I turned on the soldering station and let it warm up per the instructions. (Yes, I read the instructions and I am not ashamed to admit it! When embarking on a task so perilous, you should never take any short cuts).

Now I faced a dilemma: what temperature should I set this wonderous machine at. After much soul searching and a moment of deep meditation I arrived at a nice round number: 600°F. And so, it began. Unfortunately, the male genes kicked in and I didn't bother to read the instructions for the kit. Who needs those stinking instructions! I got all the information I need on the schematic. It is big boy time! If I had only taken a brief moment to read the instructions, I would have soldered the components in a more logical and reasonable order, thus avoiding the acrobatic soldering that was necessary later on. I would share those details with you, but to recall them is much too traumatic. Suffice it to say you should always ensure you solder all the short stuff before the tall stuff. Oh, and don't use the lead bender to bend and cut the leads of a resistor before discovering that you are supposed to install it standing on its head. Now its leads were too short for it to maintain its balance. Luckily there was a replacement resistor in my Tayda stash (my resistors from Newark have not arrived, yet). With the aid of my trusty, inexpensive third hand with attached magnifying glass, I began my task. (You know, it is very difficult to get the little magnifying glass in the right place to see the component you want and for it to be in focus (and it is disconcerting trying to determine where your soldering iron is as you approach that little glass you are starring into only to be startled when it suddenly appears as it jumps into view in that small glass. (Did I mention that magnifying glass was small))). At some point in this process, I decided to up my iron's temperature to 620°F.

After much work, frustration, blood, sweat and tears, I had my first completed board. I was so proud. I showed it to my wife. She admired my handiwork and tried to conceal her excitement and amazement (or was it tried to fake having any real interest in it at all, I can't clearly remember). Then she had the audacity to ask, "Does it work?" I couldn't believe she would even ask such a thing. This beautiful object I had skillfully made, why of course it works!

Now I had to rig up some way to test it (and prove it works!). Ok, I had to find this, grab that, rig this, voltage not quite right, hook this wire here and that one there. Finally, I had it wired up to test. It was hooked up to an old Behring mini mixer I had that hadn't been used in years with a pair of headphones plugged into it. I plugged my guitar into it and fired up the power, hit a celebrative chord and... nothing. I check all my connections, the jumpers all looked good. The alligator clips had all the right parts in their ferocious jaws. I hooked the guitar directly into the mixer. Nothing. Oh, it's the mixer that is the problem, I declared to myself. I jostled and punched buttons, turned knobs, and finally got a sound. One of the buttons seemed to be faulty. I jostled it just right and got sustained tones. I re-hooked-up my guitar to the marvelously crafted pre-amp and then connected the beautifully made device to the mixer, prepositioned my pick above the string, prepared to strike the chord heard round the world. Struuuuum... Nothing. I am not entirely sure what went wrong here. It could have been the mixer; I haven't totally ruled that out. It could have been the power. It called for 10-30Vdc and I had 9Vdc (and I may have even mistakenly used the 5.1volt wall wart). So, insufficient power could have been the fault. Of course, there is the very slight, miniscule, hardly worth mentioning possibility that my hack... I mean skillfully preformed soldering could be the culprit, but I seriously doubt THAT is the case.

What did I learn:
1)   I need more light.
2)   I need more magnification.
3)   I am glad I started with the cheap pre-amp.
4)   I need to make a test box.

[Aviator18]

Solder and Soldering

I have been researching this subject and here is what I have found out:

Solder
I have always used 60/40 which will work, but 63/37 eliminates the rubbery transitionary period between liquid and solid that occurs with 60/40. What this means is it reduces the chance of producing a bad solder joint. Since I need all the help I can get, I decided to go with 63/37 (even though I had already purchased two sizeable spools of 60/40.

You also have leaded, lead-free, no clean, and water soluble. What to avoid? Lead-free, if you can, and definitely water soluble. The lead-free does not perform as well as leaded solder and the water soluble contain acids that will eat your board if you do not clean it off after you solder. (YIKES!).

Soldering
Soldering temperature is based to some degree on personal preference and what works for you, dependent of course on what you are doing. The higher the temperature, the more it will stress your soldering iron and reduce tip and heating element life. Based on the recommendation of several sources, here are some good starting points to determine what works for you.

Lead-Free Solder: 650°-700°F (340°-375°)

Leaded Solder: 600°-650°F (315°-345°)
Note: 63/37 has a slightly lower melting temp than 60/40 so 63/37 would tend to be lower in this range while 60/40 would tend to be higher in this range. I am using 63/37 Chipquik .031" No-Clean Water Washable (not to be confused with water soluble which is entirely different) and have my iron set at 620° (also understand that I am inexperienced and don't have a clue what I am doing, so take that into account, but it seems to be working for me).

[Aviator18]

The Test Box

After my incident with the pre-amp, I decided I needed to build a test box before I tackled my next PCB. I searched the house for materials. I found a blue plastic rectangular electrical wall box and a dual coax face plate. I removed the coax jacks, drilled an extra hole, and mounted two ¼" audio jacks and a footswitch. I drilled a hole in the long side of box for a DC jack and two holes in one of the short sides: one for power and ground, and one for signals to and from the PCB to be tested. I drilled another small hole in the face plate for a 3mm LED. It soldered everything and installed test hook clips on the four connection wires (power, ground, PCB in and PCB out). I used some wood glue to hold the LED in place and to secure the wires where they exited the box. I hooked power up and the LED turns on and off with the foot switch, so that is a good sign. Here is how it looks:

[kaycee]

Good stuff! Next you need to build a signal/tone generator, an audio probe and a bench amp. The tone generator will put out a constant tone signal, use that as your circuit input then you can test whether you are getting output without having to juggle a guitar on your lap and keep strumming it.

The audio probe will help you trace your way through a circuit to identify where the signal gets lost if you get a non working build. A multi meter is of course another must, if you don't already have one.