Pedal Building Depression!

[Pushtone]

The other day I had a hard time at work. Came home in a grumpy mood. I didn't want to play guitar BUT I did force myself to fix a broken DIY pedal. Got it working, felt a little better. Then I populated a Distorion+ PCB I've had for a long time. When I was finished I felt even better and went up stairs to play with the kids before bedtime.

I don't do it to make effects that compete with the big guys. I do it as a hobby. And it makes me feel good to finish one.

I guess that makes it an anti-depressant for me.

[markm]

Funny,
But I don't use anybody else's builds but my own.
I like the fact that I can tweak a circuit a tad to fit me better.
I do still own a couple of production pedals but, they haven't been used since I started DIY.
I will confess I have cloned a few of those and as I built my own stuff, I sold off alot of my
Boutique and production made effects.
I have learned so much from doing this and I have "adopted" or borrowed some of the
Boutique builders construction techniques such as wiring etc.
The ones I have cloned sound just as good if not better than what I have purchased!
(of course, maybe it just sounds better to me because I built it)
I find this hobby very rewarding and every setback I experience, I usually learn something.
Sorry about the rambling here but, just my 2 cents.
   MarkM

[oldrocker]

No Markm your two cents are worth reading.  It's good to hear a good DIY builders viewpoint.  I don't claim to be a great builder of guitar effects in fact I've just started but I think I might get good enough one day to sell some stomps to some friends.  Who knows they may ask me to.  But the best advice is experiment and tweek to get it right.  As Pushtone said it might just make you feel a little better.  I know one thing since I found out doing DIY's was so much fun I'm happier these days.