HOW CAN I GET STARTED WITH DIY?!?!

[Zack AKA Moose]

I really want to start doing some DIY boxes, but I don't know where or how to start. Help me please. Where to get parts, what parts to get, where to get plans, how to even read the plans....i do know how to solder though (i fix most of my own electronics)....

Thanks

[Scruffie]

Checked the DIY info collection Sticky? Some people have added alot of helpful stuff to that and I put enough info on the first post and links to atleast get an idea of where to start, if you see anything missing you want answering though, post in the thread and i'll do my best to add it.

[veteransdaypoppy]

Get a kit from GGG or BYOC!

[stanimal]

Start small and work your way up, don't try to build a chorus on your first try

Diyguitarist (aka Brian wampler) offers PDF books on his site which are pretty good tutorials on how circuits work and how to build but it's all info you can find online if you just keep digging...

Feel free to post any questions or build issues here, we'll try to help you out...


May the fuzz be with you

[LaoWiz]

Endless amount of info on the net:

Beavis Audio Research was a great for me in the very beginning.

diystompboxes is a place I visit everyday.

My advise, get a breadboard, built a box with in and out jacks and a switch and start with simple schematics like the Bazz Fuss. Its
a world of fun after you get over the beginning learning curves...

[McSpunckle]

Get a kit from GGG or BYOC!

This. Get, like, a booster or a fuzz face at first (or something equally simple). More complex pedals aren't necessarily harder to build, but as a n00b, it's harder to figure out what's wrong (and there -will- be something wrong.

Otherwise, just google and google to figure out how things work. The resources posted are great. Beavis Audio has a lot of great info.

[ifeellikeatourist]

+1 times 1,000,000 for Beavis Audio Research!

[Jero]

Beavis Audio is seriously an excellent diy source

[theavondon]

Beavis Audio is seriously an excellent diy source

Or, an DIY source.

[LaoWiz]

I'm glad so many folks like the Beavis Audio Research site. Before I layed down my first circuit, I was really confused and intimidated. Lots of reading and reading, but how. There's a link on Beavis entitled, "From Breadboard to reality." It shows you how to lay down a LPB on a breadboard and how a breadboard works and all of the connections to be made. This helped me A LOT. After learning how to read schematics, I used this page as a reference and built a fuzz on a breadboard and that later became my first pedal, which I have 86'ed btw.

Since then I have overcome a million learning curves (soldering - layouts - wiring - finishing, etc). But I am still learning and have only built around 10 pedals in a year and a half. My last two came out perfectly, a Shin Ei Companion Fuzz and an Ampeg Scrambler. No noise or hum, my layouts were better, I etched for the first time, and the results seemed somewhat professional. And they just sounded good. I was proud of myself.

Now I am close to finishing two Companion Fuzzes for friends and it has been a nightmare. The first two boxes I etched were fucked so I had to order two more. Etched them today and they came out perfect but the circuits are fucked. It's a really simple design and I thought I built them identically to the successful one I made. I built the circuit board and wired the first one up - no sound. Then I did another one - no sound. Then I did a third and got it working but the bias on the 2nd transistor is off and it sounds too blatty. Not like it should sound. I can't wait to figure this shit out.

DIY is really fun but can be frustrating sometimes. I suggest building something simple at first.