Homemade pedals

[Edutainment]

Does anyone here have any experience with homemade pedals. I'm into electronics and I'm also into guitar so it sounds like fun. Any of you ever made/played any? Maybe post some pics if you've got a cool one.

Also, I've read that some homemade pedals are better than some commercial ones because big companies often skimp on certain components. What do you think?

[Stratin2traynor]

I've made a couple of B.Y.O.C. Pedals - Large Beaver (Big Muff clone) and a 250+ (MXR/DOD Distortion clone) both sounded great. The Beaver is still on my board but I have hacked up the 250+ to play around with clipping diodes.

The pedals are excellent and I would do another one. I wouldn't mind doing a Rat but I think I'll wait for that. Maybe not too long (wink).

I have tried one from scratch but there are all kinds of schematics on the net. From what I can tell it's becoming quite a trend now. If you are handy with a soldering iron they are easy enough to do.

[Budda]

i think you will get a better sound if you use higher quailty components, yes.

i know 3 guys (2 on 1 forum, one on another) who make their own pedals.

if you go over to www.guitarists.net and look up R O Tiree and Papa Lauzarus, they make pedals (RO makes comps and is working on a delay, PL does fuzz and phaser). apparently RO's comps smoke the high end stuff. people seem to be loving PL's fuzz pedal as well.

Joe Bodenhamer (www.bodenhamer-electronics.com) has his own overdrive pedal as well as his company for modding manufacturer pedals. I own a TS7ovChaos and its a great unit at a great price.

there is a similar thread at guitarists.net about this for sites to get one started. im not techn savvy or electronics savvy to do this, so hats off to all the guys who are!

best of luck.

[dwagar]

I'm in the process of collecting the parts to make my first - a Rangemaster clone. They seem dead easy, not many parts. Should be fun to see if it turns out.

The hardest part seems to be finding a good DPDT footswitch, I might have to buy one online. I've been to 4 electronics stores in Calgary now, none seem to carry one.

I did manage to score some CV7003 Mullards (mil spec version of the OC44 which is the original germanium transistor) off of a guy in England (Ebay).

[Ripper]

I'm in the process of collecting the parts to make my first - a Rangemaster clone. They seem dead easy, not many parts. Should be fun to see if it turns out.

The hardest part seems to be finding a good DPDT footswitch, I might have to buy one online. I've been to 4 electronics stores in Calgary now, none seem to carry one.

I did manage to score some CV7003 Mullards (mil spec version of the OC44 which is the original germanium transistor) off of a guy in England (Ebay).
I've built a couple of rangemasters for buddies and they are a dead easy build. perfboard works great for them.

[mhammer]

I've been making my own pedals and pickups for some 30 years now. It is at the same time harder than it seems and easier than it seems.

Certainly the ease with which one can obtain parts now is tenfold easier than it was even 15 years ago. You can get powder-coated predrilled boxes from many places in interesting colours for less in 2008 dollars than you did in 1990. The footswitches needed as well as chips are also easier to find and cheaper than they used to be. The means to produce a printed circuit board with laser-printed materials and toner transfer is ridiculously easy and cheap these days too. A package of 10 sheets of glossy photo paper from any dollar store will probably see you through a whole pedalboard for you AND your friends.

Finally, the amount of information available is leagues above what we had available to us in 1978. Not only in the way of schematics and projects, but also forums, like this one, but especially Aron Nelson's diy stompbox forum http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?board=2.50 which I am proud to have been a member of for a decade or more.

Not to take anything away from this forum, which so far appears to have a good vibe and diverse membership, but Aron's is a solid source of info. People like Zachary Vex of Z-Vex, Antonie Barmentloo (who designs for EHX), RG Keen (engineer for Visual Sound and longtime friend), Jeorge Tripps (Way Huge pedals), Paul Perry (Frostwave Pedals), Robert Keeley, and lots of boutique folks are regulars there, very generous with their knowledge and great nonjudgmental sounding-boards for ideas at every level.

One of the very best suppliers of parts/supplies for pedal builders is Steve Daniels at Small Bear Electronics. Steve started his business as a forum member and hobbyist (he has had plenty of articles in mags like Nuts & Volts over the years) who asked for interest in group purchases. Bit by bit, as he made his business connections and was able to get the sort of inventory people wanted (by asking on the forum first), Small Bear grew and grew into a real honest to goodness business that maintains its DIY roots and dedication to hobby builders even though it now has major commercial clients. I'm still able to find many things in the GTA area at equivalent or even better prices, and there are several online places that will likely sell you a box or a switch at a slightly better price, but as a place that is sure to have everything you need for pedal-building, and that delivers great service at fair prices, it's hard to beat Small Bear. Locally, you are advised to pop by the corner of College and Spadina to visit Honson/Supremetronic on the west side of College, and Creatron just east of Spadina. Both recommended for price and selection.

I said at the outset that it is harder than it looks too. And I meant it.There may be few obstacles in the way of obtaining materials and information, but there is still the matter of acquiring skill in both building and troubleshooting. Don't expect miracles first time out, or even within 6 months. BUT, the advantage that a kid like yourself has these days in terms of online sources is that it easily allows someone to get to where I am after 30 years in a matter of 2-3 years.

Hope to see you on the other forum as well as here.
Mark

[Wheeman]

^^^ What he said.

I've built a couple so far and would have to agree with most of what has been said.

So far, its been relatively simple stuff like the DOD 250 Distortion (theres an excellent forum section for beginners just for this one), fuzz face and a JFET booster.

The hardest pedal to make was the first one but it got much easier after that. I should take some pictures of what I've built so far. The enclosures are light-switch and junction boxes :smile: which give a very industrial look.

Ultimately I want to be able to design and build my own pedals, but thats quite a ways away. I blame my physics teacher for letting me make one for a class project.