Question on getting started

[Psyre]

About how much would you say it takes to get geared up to start pedal production (i.e. tools, enclosures, components) Also how long did it take you to design your first circuit?

[Ben79]

You can do it really cheaply if you're talking about just building a few fuzz pedals for yourself/mates. I got large quantities of resistors, ceramic caps and a soldering iron all in one lot off ebay for £12. For enclosures you can use old tins. Jacks, pots, switches and other components I have also bought in cheap lots on ebay or occasionally from the Far East. I prefer to salvage or buy secondhand wherever I can though - there's a lot of good old stuff out there waiting to be used/reused. I've spent quite a bit on amassing a hoard of old germaniums but that's not necessary unless you specifically want to go down that route. I've also spent quite a long time desoldering caps and resistors from old radios. That might not have really been worth it! Buy secondhand/cheap lots and you could be up and running building fuzzes easily for the price of one new pedal.

I've never designed a circuit. I don't know enough. I just experiment with the few variables that I understand on old circuits.

[eatyourguitar]

electronics components for a pedal will almost always be less than $5 total not including the box, jacks, footswitch, pots, knobs. the problem with enclosures and jacks is that they are really expensive if you are only buying enough for one project. looking back on it now, it would have been cheaper per project to order enough stock for 10 projects right in the beginning. that could run you $300 or more. some distributors sell 10 packs from china at a good discount.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/10X-Free ... 84021.html

http://www.4siteelectronics.com/Product ... e=500-1000


cost of tools can range from $50 to $1000. there are too many variables. more tools help you work faster but it may take a long time for a tool to pay for itself. you could even spend that $1000 on one tool but it is not the path most people will take.

how long did it take you to design your first circuit?
that really depends on your definition of design and your definition of "your circuit". if I design a circuit with 1 transistor it will fall into one of 3 categories such as common emitter etc... so did I invent the transistor amplifier? no. did I choose what coupling caps make it sound to my liking? yes. does that make me a circuit designer or a capacitor selector? everything is based on something. how much of a circuit is completely unique can be something of luck or skill or both. I design my own circuits now over 3 years from when I started but I acknowledge that I am influenced by smaller functional circuit pieces you can find in any electronics textbook.

[skullservant]

Yeah my words of advice are buy your simple things like enclosures, footswitches, jacks, dc jacks, leds and bezels in bulk- you need them for every build so getting a good chunk of those up front cuts cost later on down the road. Also buying resistors that you KNOW you will be using (led values, my personal favorite being 3.3k) is a good plan and saves the stress of having to remember one with every order. If I didn't do as much custom work as I do, I would definitely have a stockpile of the same size enclosure to work wiht

You want a decent iron, a decent pair of wire cutters, and a decent pair of wire strippers. Those are the three tools I use the most, spare the screw drivers.

As far as 'my own circuit' I've just experimented and modded different circuits to my personal liking. Happy accidents, modding different pcbs to do what you want them to or making them sound the way that you want.

[Gone Fission]

Good diagonal cutter, too, if this isn't your primary wire cutter in the first place. https://www.google.com/search?q=diagona ... =922&dpr=1 I don't have a recommendation but you want a good one to snip excess component leads quickly and close to the board, and these have the best access to do that. Mine is getting dull so I need to look for a new one.

[contraterrene]

i borrowed one of these from work, permanently, since we literally have drawers full of them. i might not have now that i see how much they cost.....
http://www.qsource.com/p-12781-lindstro ... ndles.aspx
theyre sooooo so nice tho....

[BrentMpls]

Soldering Iron, Drilling tools, and other misc will be about $300, depending of course, as you could spend that on one tool alone if you go all out. Your first big order of components maybe $100-150.

[culturejam]

About how much would you say it takes to get geared up to start pedal production

Production? Probably quite a bit.

If you mean what is the initial outlay for the gear to build pedals as a hobby, I think you can do it pretty cheap. Get a decent solder station, a cheap DMM, wire cutters, wire strippers, screw drivers, get some nice solder (Kester). You don't really need a drill press or finishing gear since pre-drilled and pre-finished boxes are widely available. Then stock up on parts and you're good to go. If you do it all in one go, I think you can get by with maybe 3 bills. If you want to get into drilling and finishing, add another couple bills.

But the beauty is that you can add stuff as you go. I don't know anybody who literally bought all the gear they would need in one go. It usually takes months or years to get a decent setup.

Also how long did it take you to design your first circuit?

Forever. But I'm a slow learner.