Recommend a breadboard kit to me!

[JasonE]

Hi All,

I have been doing wiring in guitars for many years and have a little experience with electronic components.  I had a class in college many years ago and have forgotten a lot of what I learned in that class.  I have always had an interest in electronics but didn't really know what to dig into.  That all changed recently.

I am about to embark on my first pedal building journey.  I have been wanting to do this for many years but had not found a pedal kit of something that I though I would use after it was built.  That changed a little over a week ago.  I found a kit for a very popular pedal that has a 4 year waitlist to obtain.  The kit looked great so I pulled the trigger.  It is a nice kit. 

I knew that I wanted to upgrade some of my tools and decided to do that now.  The new soldering station showed up today.

I have already found two more kits that I think I would like to build and I haven't even put this one together yet. 

This takes me to something I really have an interest in.  I want to try to build some circuits and then swap components to see what difference it makes in the tone of them.  I am mostly interested in OD pedals at this point.  I have a bit of an addiction to them.  I would like to purchase a nice breadboard kit that comes with components and the things I would need to build an OD circuit and then play with it.  I have found a couple on Amazon that look fairly decent but I figured I would ask here since there is so much knowledge here.  It is very possible that someone here knows of a prefect kit for this and could point me in the right direction.

So, with my first post, I am asking you for your recommendations for a breadboard kit that will get me going on this journey that I want to take.  What do you recommend?

Thank you in advance for your recommendations.

[rhondafarris]

I suggest CopperSound DIY Breadboards. I don't have to worry about wiring those parts when using it and there are different sizes and colors.

[deadastronaut]

Just buy a larg breadboard,  but make it true bypass.

You will need:

Breadboard

In out jacks.

3pdt toggle switch latching.

Led/ 4.7k resistor.

Dc socket..


Wire the 3pdt toggle as truebypass. 

You now have an empty pedal...that you can mess with.

Buy common components, and common resistor and capacitor values, and off you go.....

Great fun, i recommend breadboarding big time....what your ears like might be very different from
What the schematic might be.....have fun. 

[duck_arse]

welcome to the forum.

Hi All,
.....
Thank you in advance for your recommendations.

here's a thing. have a look at the list of threads, see just how many people are seeking help with a klon clone of some description, and how many of those are first pedal builds. then, if a klon-alike is your first wanted build, quietly put it to one side for a little. put it on/start your own 'to do list' - we won't think less of you.

then build those other pedals. unless they are flangers or bbd based. in which case, add them to the list. find something simple, build a few easy boards first, even if you don't box them. and we'll help you if you run into trouble, with soldered or breadered.

[JasonE]

I suggest CopperSound DIY Breadboards. I don't have to worry about wiring those parts when using it and there are different sizes and colors.

Thanks for that recommendation.  I had not seen their boards yet.  They look like they are designed specifically for pedals.  That could be handy.

[JasonE]

Just buy a larg breadboard,  but make it true bypass.

You will need:

Breadboard

In out jacks.

3pdt toggle switch latching.

Led/ 4.7k resistor.

Dc socket..


Wire the 3pdt toggle as truebypass. 

You now have an empty pedal...that you can mess with.

Buy common components, and common resistor and capacitor values, and off you go.....

Great fun, i recommend breadboarding big time....what your ears like might be very different from
What the schematic might be.....have fun. 

My plan is to take an enclosure and mount 5 pots in it for volume, drive, bass, mid and treble.  I will also mount the jacks and switch into it.  I will run wires out of it to the breadboard.  That way I have something solidly mounted to plug the cables into and pots where I can easily grab and adjust them.  At least that is the plan I have at the moment.

[JasonE]

welcome to the forum.

Hi All,
.....
Thank you in advance for your recommendations.

here's a thing. have a look at the list of threads, see just how many people are seeking help with a klon clone of some description, and how many of those are first pedal builds. then, if a klon-alike is your first wanted build, quietly put it to one side for a little. put it on/start your own 'to do list' - we won't think less of you.

then build those other pedals. unless they are flangers or bbd based. in which case, add them to the list. find something simple, build a few easy boards first, even if you don't box them. and we'll help you if you run into trouble, with soldered or breadered.

Thanks for the welcome!

I will absolutely do my homework and use the resources on this forum for troubleshooting before I ask for assistance.  That is just the type of person I am.  I have worked in tech for over 25 years and am used to digging for answers when working on systems or writing code.

[JasonE]

welcome to the forum.

Hi All,
.....
Thank you in advance for your recommendations.

here's a thing. have a look at the list of threads, see just how many people are seeking help with a klon clone of some description, and how many of those are first pedal builds. then, if a klon-alike is your first wanted build, quietly put it to one side for a little. put it on/start your own 'to do list' - we won't think less of you.

then build those other pedals. unless they are flangers or bbd based. in which case, add them to the list. find something simple, build a few easy boards first, even if you don't box them. and we'll help you if you run into trouble, with soldered or breadered.

I probably should have mentioned that the one I am starting with is a modified blues breaker circuit.  The others are clones of a Nobles OD and Klon.  I would do the Klon circuit after getting the other two up and running.

[JasonE]

Just buy a larg breadboard,  but make it true bypass.

You will need:

Breadboard

In out jacks.

3pdt toggle switch latching.

Led/ 4.7k resistor.

Dc socket..


Wire the 3pdt toggle as truebypass. 

You now have an empty pedal...that you can mess with.

Buy common components, and common resistor and capacitor values, and off you go.....

Great fun, i recommend breadboarding big time....what your ears like might be very different from
What the schematic might be.....have fun. 

I had another thought on this from what you posted.  Is there a standard value for the pots that I mentioned I would mount in an enclosure that I should look for?  I haven't seen many schematics yet to try to determine if there are certain values that are typically used.

Are there any other common components you would recommend?  Some of the breadboard kits I have looked at come with a host of components.  I was thinking about starting there, unless there is a place I can buy a bag of common components.  I would probably go that route so I don't end up with a bunch of stuff that may not be usable for what I am planning on doing.

[ElectricDruid]

Is there a standard value for the pots that I mentioned I would mount in an enclosure that I should look for?  I haven't seen many schematics yet to try to determine if there are certain values that are typically used.

There are no "standard" values, beyond the typical E6 series values. "Common values" aren't common enough that one set of pots will do for all jobs, unfortunately. In my own designs, I try to limit myself to 10K and 100K values (which is generally do-able with a bit of imagination), just to keep the stuff I have hanging around down to a reasonable amount, but it doesn't *really* work.

Are there any other common components you would recommend?  Some of the breadboard kits I have looked at come with a host of components.  I was thinking about starting there, unless there is a place I can buy a bag of common components.  I would probably go that route so I don't end up with a bunch of stuff that may not be usable for what I am planning on doing.

The cheap packs of capacitors (film, ceramic, and electrolytic are all useful - they'll cover different ranges of values, and overlap quite a bit.) and resistors are sometimes a good buy, especially if you don't have anything already. There will likely be *something* you're missing in most circuits you try and build, but at least you'll be most of the way there and won't have a ton of bits to buy to finish it off.

[jchrisf]

I recommend the ProtoBoard at PedalPCB.  I recently got one and have learned a lot breadboarding pedals with it.
https://www.pedalpcb.com/product/protoboard/