I can't be bothered to kerble this thread, but there are others on this topic in this forum, so you're conceptually kerbled.

Do a search. You'll find some info.

The site you linked to looks good because they're sending you full kits, which will save you some headaches with learning what parts are what and how to order them. If building pedals tickles your fancy, you're going to want to start buying components separately because it'll be cheaper and give you more room to experiment. We have small bear over here who specialize in pedal parts (switches, cases, the occasional odd transistor or IC, as well as basic electronics stuff you can get anywhere), don't know about the UK but there's got to be somewhere similar.

You might also want to check out these guys:
http://ggg.anomielife.com/
I've used their schematics and some of their PCBs. Learning to read schematics like this is very useful - I'm not particularly good at it, but what I can do has proved useful.

There are several other forums and sites out there, like diy stompboxes, that can also help you sort out how all of this works.


And no, rolling your own really won't save you more than a little bit of money. Do it because you want to learn something, and eventually you'll be able to customize your pedals for what you do.

Building stuff is easy, even without the kits. I ordered a bunch of parts from Small Bear, and proceeded to build Doug Hammond's Highway 89 overdrive, which I use more than any commercial pedal I own.

even when you are a newbie your solder joints will probably be better than those on some commercial stompboxes (umm eh russians suck). you are probably best starting out with a simple booster project like and lpb-2 or something. You'll be much better off with a nice soldering station though (i think you can get one for ~$60US)
I've built a few including a harmonic percolator, big muff and some weird ring mod/bit destroyer/oscillator type things, quite a fun hobby.

this place looks quite awesome.

officially license circuits. pedal copies of various amps. nice.

the 250+ is a good kit to start with. it's pretty straight forward. if you check the 250+ page on the byoc site there are some good videos to help you. enjoy!

I finally got my shit together and made a Fuzz Face clone!

Thanks for everbodies advice. It was loads of fun. And it works too!!! I just used it today - it needs some fine tuning, but it's excellent. Maybe just too fuzzy at the moment. But I can tweak it a little.

And making a Fuzz pedal was inspired by Kerble describing a solo in a Carpenters song as 'splattery fuzzy goodness' - so I've called it the "FaizFace".

I'm in the process of building a boss SG-1 copy using the BYOC PCB. I had most of the parts lying about at home, so it was a lot cheaper than getting the whole kit.
I've done fuzz face copies before aswell, i've got one inside one of my guitars!
DIY pedals are fun. My next project is going to be a FET based clean boost, maybe with 2 stages, sorta like a Zvex super duper 2-in-1. I'll be designing the circuit myself though, I feel like more of a challenge than just soldering!

Matt

General Guitar Gadgets is another kit place.I've built a couple of their kits and they sound great.Here is a forum that deals with building this stuff.

B_M_L wrote:I finally got my shit together and made a Fuzz Face clone!

Thanks for everbodies advice. It was loads of fun. And it works too!!! I just used it today - it needs some fine tuning, but it's excellent. Maybe just too fuzzy at the moment. But I can tweak it a little.

And making a Fuzz pedal was inspired by Kerble describing a solo in a Carpenters song as 'splattery fuzzy goodness' - so I've called it the "FaizFace".

Salut! B_M_L. I'm humbled. when you get a chance, some sound clips would be fantastic.




Faiz

kerble wrote:when you get a chance, some sound clips would be fantastic.


Faiz

My next tech type project is called "getting my shit together to do recording at home". So hopefully I'll be able to put some clips up soon...