Grounding.

[H4T]

This is a super quick and stupid question, where do the ground wires go? I built the Beginner project and it works like a charm, but only when you physically hold each ground lead, lol. I know about why and what grounding is about, but I don't really know where to physically put the ground leads, haha. Kinda funny really.

I read the FAQ but got a little confused. Do I connect all the ground wires I have together, then connect that to the - side of the battery? + side? I dunno.

[80k]

The (-) black wire from the battery should have its own connection at the ring of a stereo jack (middle connector).  This will ground when you insert the plug into the input jack (this way it won't drain your battery when not in use).

Yep, tie up all the ground wires together.  There is always at least a ground connection at the board, and then both jacks (the sleeve), and depending on the project, potentiometers... (for instance, lug 1 of the volume pot for many pedals... although sometimes a layout calls for it to go the board, which goes to ground from there).

I think there are better methods for tying up your grounds for the most "proper" method, but the quick and dirty way to get your pedal to work is to just tie up all the ground wires, and solder it up.  maybe someone can offer a few "rules of thumb" to follow when doing this for the best sounding circuit with the lowest noise.

[H4T]

Whoa, so all I do is connect the ground wires together, then to the sleeve of a stereo plug and thats it?

[80k]

Whoa, so all I do is connect the ground wires together, then to the sleeve of a stereo plug and thats it?

well, like i said, the battery black wire should go to the RING of the stereo sleeve, and the grounds should be connected together and go to the SLEEVE of BOTH JACKS.