How to Build Your Own FX Pedals - Review

[Mark Hammer]

I received a copy of Brian Wampler's (wampcat) recently published book "How to Build Your Own Effects Pedals: A step by step guide" in the mail today.  He did it as a gesture of thanks - and I thank him back - but I think he also knew I would post about it and would not pull any punches.  So, there is a little courage mixed in there on his part, and for that he should be praised. The book was written in good faith and I review it in the same spirit.

When you were 6 years old, people would read to you at bedtime, and show you the pictures before continuing on with the story.  When you were 8, you might read to yourself, but it was good to have the pictures to provide some context, help make those big new words have at least some tentative meaning, and keep your motivation up.  By the time you hit 12, you were nimble enough with words, and a good enough reader that you were content simply to have interesting words on the page, and maybe a small picture at the start of a chapter, or even just on the cover.  The rest of it, you could manage yourself.

Brian's book is essentially directed at the DIY-er who is at the 8 year-old stage.  There are plenty of words and explanations, but there are pictures, and pictures, and pictures.  There are arrows pointing to everything, circles around the important parts, and labels and legends galore.  That is in no way a slight.  Rather it identifies who the book is most useful for.  If you're one of the folks who shyly posts "I've been lurking for a while.  This is my first post.  I'd like to know what my first project/build should be.", then this book is for you.  If you can't look at a board and recognize whether there are ceramic or plastic caps used, or be impressed by the use of metal film resistors when you pop the back off, or you don't know how to wire up a switch, or you can't read capacitor codes, this book is for you.  If you need an authoritative listing of everything you need to get started, then this book is for you.  If you have a half dozen pedals under your belt, and two of them involve biasing germanium transistors while two others involve matching FETs or selecting a delay range, then this book is not for you.  If you have Electronic Projects for Musicians (1 or 2) and you know where to order parts, then this book is not likely for you.  If you can solder properly on only 2hrs sleep, then this book is not for you.

My guess is that some folks will get a copy, and complain bitterly about the vast acres of white blank space.  On the one hand, they may be right to complain.  On the other hand, the book makes it very easy to NOT be lost.  You can flip through it, while asking yourself "Now where was the section on....?", and be absolutely assured of finding it because it's the only page that looks like that.  Some folks will likely complain that a lot of the info contained is simply gleaned from otherwise free sources, and while that may be largely true, it is nice to have everything in one place, and be able to flip through it, without having to be parked by your computer monitor.  For instance, should you PAY for catalog parts lists/numbers from major distributors?  I guess not.  But is it worth it to you to have parts numbers listed for the most regularly used parts from the most regularly-used distributors handy in one easy to consult spot, without having to sift through menu after menu after menu on the corporate websites of distributors who carry tons of stuff you're not interested in?  Probably.  If you don't know where to start looking, there is some very helpful info, complete with URLs.  Again, it is for folks who don't know how.  If you're kicking yourself that you didn't buy a Boscorelli book when you had the chance, hell, if you can UNDERSTAND the Boscorelli book, this is not for you.

If I have a complaint, it is that, for all the content, there are some key areas not covered that should have been covered.  The most obvious omission is the absence of anything about etching.  These days, making your own PCBs is not just for the advanced.  Anyone with a printer, a hunk of photo paper and a nearby photocopier can get in the PCB game, particularly given how many projects are posted around with PCB layouts, and how ready and raring to tackle them most newbies will be after they plow through this book.  Besides, if you've covered the virtues of step-drills, then the assumption is that there will be a drill-press nearby, and once you have something to drill boards with..... Vero-board is nice, but once a project/circuit reaches a certain component count, vero-board won't easily fit in your chassis, and you'll be reluctant to want to work on a vero layout if there is a nice neat PCB mask already available.  (If you are willing to take the pictures, Brian, hell, I'll even write the section for you.)

A second area of omission concerns the use of sockets.  Whether for swapping transistors, or for making it easier to swap discrete components to fine tune a circuit, some brief tips for use of sockets would have been nice.  To be fair, Brian does strongly urge builders to socket ICs, but I think many of us know that's not the whole story on sockets.  Though there is plenty of information about component values, a few words about "normal" tolerances ("The guy SAID it was a 100k pot, but I'm only reading 88k.  What gives?"), and how to identify tapers would be useful.  Remember, part of the goal here is to make newbies feel a little more secure about what they're doing.  Finally, for all the information about tools and basic needs, info about using meters is absent, and would make an excellent addition.

The section on machining and painting enclosures is a little too brief to be satisfying for some folks, though I'm quite pleased about the content that IS included (sales of step-drills are sure to go up).  Noobies WILL need to come back here and ask questions.  A perfect version of the book would relieve them of that obligation.  There is good content on breadboards and vero-board.  Perf-board and pad-per-hole are nowhere to be found, though.  Since part of the philosophy of the book is to inform people of options (and what could be more option-focussed than doing mods, right?), construction options are important to articulate as well.

In view of the amount of preparation obviously gone into, the layout work, the photos, the editting, etc., plus the printing cost for limited runs, Brian is not getting rich from the book, even though some folks will whine about the price and have visions of Brian sitting back on the couch, drenched in bling while the girls in lamé bikinis  wheel in barrows full of mo' money, mo' money, mo' money.  With the additions I mentioned (and there may be more that others have noted), even though they may not up the length of the book by more than 20%, filling in these gaps will shift the book from interesting-but-pricey to pricey-but-indispensible, in my view. YMMV.

The book *could* be better (and I have no doubts V2.0 will be), but its still pretty good, and will please many for whom the asking price does not force them to choose between food and reading material.  Just remember who it is for.  If you already know a lot, don't buy it for yourself, but DO buy one for the person who won't stop asking you questions.  It says "Very easy to understand, no experience necessary." on the cover.  I would describe this as the epitome of truth in advertising.

Nice work, Brian.  Hope you find my comments fair, and thanks again.  Now get cracking on those additions!    http://www.guitartone.net/build-effects.htm

[wampcat1]

Very fair, Mark, and thanks!

Some excellent ideas - yes they will no doubt be included in book #2.

I always try to preface the book as sort of a "building pedals" for dummies type of book (the "for dummies" series of books, I'm not calling all of my customers dummies! hehe! 

It is sort of a prequel to Craig Andertons books, and was compiled from questions I was getting so I'm very happy to get feedback on it, and I want to thank you for being totally honest and not 'glossing' over the review. : )

I remember my first DIY modification book was about 30 pages long or something -- now it is about 250! So, you can kind of see it is always a work in progress! 

Anyway, just wanted to thank you - Take care,
Brian

[Mark Hammer]

You're most welcome.  I know exactly how hard it is to produce something that aspires to be comprehensive.  Part of you wants to stop with the consulting already and just get the damn thing out there, and the other part wishes that there were more folks you could turn to who could convince you that, yes, everything that needs to be in there WILL be in there, just as soon as you touch up that one last little detail.  Comprehensive is hard because the boundaries are so fuzzy.

The characterization as a "prequel" to EPFM is actually quite a good one.  I know when EPFM came out, many folks probably glossed over the first few chapters and went straight to the projects, because we all knew the rudimentary stuff; we wanted the PROJECTS, man!  Of course now, the web is flooded with projects.  So much so that there are thousands and thousands of kids saying "I have the projects.  What I don't have is a point of entry into that world."  Your book responds to that group nicely.  I have no doubts that there will be a HTBYOEP-2, and that it will be kickass.  Undoubtedly, the hard part will be in deciding at what point a book like that should stop.

Steve Daniels has found that as business for smallbear picked up, he had less and less time to respond to, and even read, the questions that people sent him.  So, on the one hand, I wish you good luck with your business.  On the other, I don't want to wish you TOO much good luck, because if you can't track the questions that crop up, you'll have a harder time identifying worthwhile content to add to subsequent editions.  Ah, but what the hell, if I have to break a tie between my greed and your good fortune, I'll let your good fortune take it.  I won a couple hundred bucks worth of stuff today at a charity event at work, so I'm in a good mood.

[vanhansen]

Nice review, Mark.  I can think of a very good use for the extra white space......NOTES !!!!!  There's one thing that some reference material never has is enough space for your own notes.  Call it a hidden gem.

Brian, I wish you would have had this out a year ago when I started.  I could probably still use it even though I can identify parts now and ooh and ahh at certain components being used.    With limited time these days to build or modify anything, I could see this being good reference material for those blackout moments.  But I gotta play on the breadboard some more. 

[Mark Hammer]

Nice review, Mark.  I can think of a very good use for the extra white space......NOTES !!!!!  There's one thing that some reference material never has is enough space for your own notes.  Call it a hidden gem.

Well you're absolutely right!  Of course, I write more here in a day than I wrote in notes in over 16 years of university, so that was a feature that would have slipped right past me.

You started a year ago?  Sheesh.  Now there is a testament to how much easier it is for noobies to come up to speed these days than it was 25 years ago, when ALL we had was Anderton, Penfold, and maybe Polyphony.  Brian's book can only accelerate the process.

[vanhansen]

Nice review, Mark.  I can think of a very good use for the extra white space......NOTES !!!!!  There's one thing that some reference material never has is enough space for your own notes.  Call it a hidden gem.

Well you're absolutely right!  Of course, I write more here in a day than I wrote in notes in over 16 years of university, so that was a feature that would have slipped right past me.

You started a year ago?  Sheesh.  Now there is a testament to how much easier it is for noobies to come up to speed these days than it was 25 years ago, when ALL we had was Anderton, Penfold, and maybe Polyphony.  Brian's book can only accelerate the process.

An honest miss.  Me, I like to jot down simple notes of maybe some other values or simple formulas or even something that will help me remember what I was looking at that diagram or schematic for in the first place.

Yes, it's been a year.  I don't own one electronics book.  Everything I've learned came from reading posts here from you, R.G., Jack, the ROG guys, and everyone else.  I'm a pretty quick study on most things too.  Hopefully when we get back to normal financially (wife is job hunting) here I can snag a few books.

[troubledtom]

what a great review of brians work , mark!
     the blank white part on the pages in the book are wrighting down things you learned, so now all basic info of diy and personal notes could be found in one book!
                    peace,
                             - tom

[SteveFromBerlin]

I'm desperately looking for this book! Does anyone have a copy to sell?!?

[Mark Hammer]

More importantly, where the hell is Tom?  has anybody heard from him lately....like in the last 6 years?

[alparent]

You will need to bring it in. So a REAL 8 year old can have a look at it! (In effect building years I mean. )

[Rimustrat1]

Where can I get this book? My search draws a blank. I need this book

[Jmsteele187]

I, too, am curious about finding this book.  I googled it, and came up with nothing.

[blackieNYC]

I don't know where the idea of modifying my pedals came from, but my first googling was about two years ago, and I found all these references to Brian Wampler's work. 
But I couldn't find any schematics! Ah, he has his own website!  Wait -no schematics!  Why would the guy pull them from the web? (Let me remind you - noob then, and now)
I discovered the various references to "Brian's mods" and schematics were all from around 10 years ago or more.  For only a second I thought he a was selfish rich bastard, with a team of lawyers greedily snatching any free version of all his work from all over the web. Like Saturday Night Live episodes that would be yanked off you tube by NBC on Sunday mornings.  I didn't imagine leggy bimbos with wheelbarrows full of cash.  Takes a certain frame of mind.
Then the light went on (dim incandescent.  LEDs desperately needed). This is a DIY contributor that quit his job and decided to make pedals......    For A Living!  And others have followed! Living a dream.
It's nice to see he does still care (a lot) about the DIY community. (He must have never stopped, and he's still in the forum.) Not just contributing to, but fostering growth - this book, in a community that has learned (and perhaps - taken) so much from him already.  I'll be telling the solder-capable friends of mine that offer me money for my sloppy looking pedals to buy this book, and for the others I'll suggest they checkout a Wampler. 

[Mark Hammer]

Between Brian and Robert Keeley, it seems like they come out with a new pedal every other week.  And, given that those pedals are NOT items made in batches of 10 on vero, with hastily painted-on legending, to be sold in stores within 20 miles of their home, I suspect their respective plates are a little too full of negotiating with distributors, and arranging with sub-contractors and parts distributors, these days to concentrate on the DIY market.

Nothing secedes like success, I guess.

[wampcat1]

I'm still around

I think someone on freestompboxes site uploaded an older version of the ebook somewhere. I'm working on rewriting and updating it right now.
I don't offer it as a free download because it causes massive amounts of email questions (especially for older pedals that now have different pcb layouts and/or schematics), and i simply don't have the extra time to answer them all :/

[smallbearelec]

I'm working on rewriting and updating it right now.

Pls let me know when you are ready to publish. I will gladly sell for you and help to handle some of the inevitable questions about "exactly which make/style of capacitor do I use for Cnn?

Regards
SD

[wampcat1]

I'm working on rewriting and updating it right now.

Pls let me know when you are ready to publish. I will gladly sell for you and help to handle some of the inevitable questions about "exactly which make/style of capacitor do I use for Cnn?

Regards
SD

will do! thanks Steve!

[LightSoundGeometry]

I have not yet had a chance to read this book, google searched for it with no results other than a mod book which is very thorough; and that is how a book should be. Complete , step by step, from start to finish, covering every detail and niche.

I also do oil painting and watercolors - the most popular books and books authored by the top artist in the world take you by the hand from the primary colors (paint by numbers) to stretching your own canvases..but either way, its a encyclopedia of knowledge, passed on by the power of the crowd; and leaves no one out..there is something for the noob, and a thing or two for the guy who knows it all already. 

[Hatredman]

People in this thread

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=112444.0

are asking about the book. Hope it is still alive

cc wampcat1