What matters - what doesn't

[aron]

A digital multimeter is a required tool.

[aron]

If you are hand-wiring with perfboard, never cut a lead off a component until you are sure you don't need the lead anymore.

[Hal]

pulls are your friends - they can save you lots of money, and can help you experiment.  Boards with solder on one side are _much_ easier to pull from than double solder boards.  

And yes, as mentioned in the first post, the tiny 1/8 watt resistors are good for effects.

[aron]

Yes you can use left over leads from components to create jumpers, lengthen leads etc....

[Hal]

tin every twisted copper wire before soldering it.

[aron]

Any brand jack will work fine, but for 1/4" jacks, Switchcraft seems to be the best. In general, the Radio Shack jacks will work, but are probably not worth the cost and aggravation.

[aron]

Pre-tinning a wire/lead can help you solder a bit easier. Solder flux is very useful when soldering onto hard-to-solder surfaces.

[aron]

If possible, test your board before putting it in the enclosure. This way you know the board worked before securing the board to the enclosure etc...

[aron]

You can exchange "audio", "log" etc... tapered pots with linear. It will work and you can always replace the pot with the correct type later on. Don't let this stop you from building the effect.

[aron]

The same circuit can sound different from another "identical" circuit and usually does.  :?

[Fret Wire]

Not mandatory, but a capacitance meter can be extremely helpful for building, debugging, and tracing . Here's an inexpensive ($29.95) one that covers the entire range of useful values.
http://www.electronickits.com/gold/capacitancemeter.htm

[Hal]

when testing outside a box, you might experiance some noise that sheilding will take care of.  Don't worry about that.

[davebungo]

It usually matters that copper traces and solder lugs are clean before you try to solder to them (especially if you don't have any flux) - you can use an ink eraser to clean them up.

[Fret Wire]

Sound clips from effect's sites are only a general guide as to the pedal's character. They can and will sound different than your pedal, due to the guitar/pickup/amp differences between you, and the rig they were recorded on.

[Hal]

I think Aron just made this thread to get his post count up  :twisted:  :twisted:  :twisted:

jk  

[Paul Marossy]

"The same circuit can sound different from another "identical" circuit and usually does."

That's because of the differences in the tolerances of the parts. Kind of like no two guitars of the "exact same make and model number" don't sound the same - no two pieces of wood are going to have the same density, mass, pickups can be slightly different from one to another, etc., etc. Sometimes all this works out for a great sounding guitar and sometimes you get a dud. That's why I would never buy a guitar without playing it first. The classic stompbox example is the original Ge Fuzz Faces.

[RDV]

Brush after every meal!

RDV

[aron]

Always test the voltage of your battery before you start debugging a problem with your circuit.

[Paul Marossy]

If you are using a DC jack, make sure it is isolated from your enclosure. Most commercial guitar effects are center negative.

[Paul Marossy]

Don't forget to use a current limiting resistor with your LEDs. They will get fried on 9V.