Build your own effects pedal

md_pedal.jpg
"Build Your Own Clone" has a ton of different DIY guitar FX pedals that are all ready to be soldered up and plugged in. Most of the pedal kit links feature a video so you can see and hear the pedal in action. For those of you out there that are a little fearful of soldering, they even offer a "Confidence Booster" kit for free. Go ahead and give it a try! - Link

Related:

    Soldering Tutorial - Make Video Podcast - Link

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Comments

Oldest comments listed first.

Posted by: Trevor on February 6, 2008 at 5:35 AM

I can't say enough about BYOC! For anyone who is looking to get into pedal building, BYOC is the perfect starting point. Their PCBs are the best in the market, hands down!

Thanks for covering them!


Posted by: samurai1200 on February 6, 2008 at 11:50 PM

this is awesome. i've been thinking about getting into designing and building some pedals, mostly only because I could not find somewhere with kits. too perfect.


Posted by: schlendrian on February 7, 2008 at 3:08 AM

Yeah well, nothin' against BYOC but one should check out more obvious places like generalguitargadgets.com, diystompboxes.com, runoffgroove.com or fuzzcentral.com AND musikding.de!! those were my starting-points with diy-pedals and have way more info-resources than byoc. great infos for enclosure design as well, (lacking at byoc) and many many links. not that commercial as well, very much more encourageing and informative to modify your stuff or develop your own.
and if you want to start the tube stuff (amps & pedals) check out tube-town.de


Posted by: culturejam on February 7, 2008 at 11:15 AM

BYOC is, in my opinion, the best starting point for someone new to pedal building, especially if you don't have a background in electronics. There is also a great support forum where you can ask questions and get help (even help on painting your enclosure).

If you want a pedal kit with everything you need included (except for solder and an iron) and *excellent* documentation for each kit, BYOC is the way to go. Other places have great kits as well, but nobody does the documentation like BYOC.


Posted by: noshoeswlkrsn on February 7, 2008 at 2:55 PM

if you don't like BYOC then you've probably never dealt with them.

Their forum is my FIRST source for information on just about anything DIY guitar/bass/pedal/tube amp related. Keith, the owner, is a joy to work with and his products are far superior to those offered from other 'diy pedal' retailers mentioned in this comment thread. (trust me, i've bought products from almost all of them.) if you want to know for yourself, check out the website and download the instruction manual and build guide for any of the pedals and you'll see the time and documentation that goes into making sure even the most naive of diy'ers can build an above average sounding pedal. as far as finishes, the forum again has volumes of information on all kinds of enclosure finishing ideas from all kinds of paint to waterslide decals to acid etching.

as for the product itself, most pedal kits come with extra components to try out all the popular mods to these classic circuits. the enclosures come predrilled, with everthing you need to build a pedal except a soldering iron and solder.

on a scale of 1 -10, i would easily give BYOC a perfect 10.


Posted by: GeekMacDaddy on February 7, 2008 at 7:48 PM

I will be forever grateful to Keith and BYOC for getting me started in building. I have used tonepad, and GGG before. Both are very good. BYOC is great. Fantastic support forum, and contrary to what one poster here reports, there is a TON of info available on finishing enclosures, as well as support for each pedal sold. Not to mention, it's a friendly place for newbies, much friendlier than some of the other DIY forums that exist, who expect you to be an expert before you ask a question. Oh yeah, the pedals are the real deal. Believe it.


Posted by: ManicSubsidal on February 8, 2008 at 5:35 AM

The sad thing about BYOC is that the more kits I buy, the more I need. I just can't stop building. They have great instructions and I love my BYOC effects!


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