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The BYOC Rat clone is fairly easy. That is to say, if a clumsy oaf like me can build one and have it work first time, it must be easy. That one, with the 6-way switch, I'd say is quite a bit more difficult than the muff clone. I'm giving the compressor a go next, which doesn't seem any harder, although there is a lot more of it.

Give the 'Confidence Boost' a go first. It's a simple circuit that you can come back to and mess with later, adding pots and switches and what have you.

Just make sure you're organised, identify and mark up your resistors first (either stick them to your workspace with masking tape and write on it, or stick them into a strip of polystyrene), and if your as clumsy as me keep all your important stuff (pets/kids/offsets) away from the working area. I did at one point lose my cool and was 'juggling' the iron. Take your time, if you lose your patience at any point take a break.

Does anyone know where i can find an round Fuzz Face enclosure ?

Don't forget madbeanpedals.com as a PCB supplier!

tehVox wrote:Don't forget madbeanpedals.com as a PCB supplier!

Definitely a big +1 for Mad Bean. Just built a SunKing(Klon Centaur), Firebomb(Super Duper 2n1), and a Slow Loris(Rat). All of the boards were excellent and his instructional PDFs are easy to follow.

chnlone wrote:

tehVox wrote:Don't forget madbeanpedals.com as a PCB supplier!

Definitely a big +1 for Mad Bean. Just built a SunKing(Klon Centaur), Firebomb(Super Duper 2n1), and a Slow Loris(Rat). All of the boards were excellent and his instructional PDFs are easy to follow.

Yeah, his stuff is great. I've done the Zombii (Fuzz Factory) and Fatpants (EP-3 Preamp) and both are awesome. I'm sure I'll go through madbean PCBs for most if not all of my future builds.

tehVox wrote:Don't forget madbeanpedals.com as a PCB supplier!

Wow, they seem really cheap compared to say, BYOC kits. It looks like they don't include an enclosure, is anything else vital missing?

swoosh wrote:

tehVox wrote:Don't forget madbeanpedals.com as a PCB supplier!

Wow, they seem really cheap compared to say, BYOC kits. It looks like they don't include an enclosure, is anything else vital missing?

It's literally just the PCB. You have to buy the components/enclosure/etc. separately from say, SmallBear, etc... so it's an added complication, I suppose. I'd personally prefer to go that route anyway, as you end up paying a premium for the "convenience factor" of not having to source the parts yourself.

chnlone wrote:It's literally just the PCB. You have to buy the components/enclosure/etc. separately from say, SmallBear, etc... so it's an added complication, I suppose. I'd personally prefer to go that route anyway, as you end up paying a premium for the "convenience factor" of not having to source the parts yourself.

Aha! That makes a lot of sense. Hmm...maybe something to consider after a bit of practice. Thanks for the quick response, by the way

swoosh wrote:

chnlone wrote:It's literally just the PCB. You have to buy the components/enclosure/etc. separately from say, SmallBear, etc... so it's an added complication, I suppose. I'd personally prefer to go that route anyway, as you end up paying a premium for the "convenience factor" of not having to source the parts yourself.

Aha! That makes a lot of sense. Hmm...maybe something to consider after a bit of practice. Thanks for the quick response, by the way

The Zombii build from madbean was actually my first. Its a fuzz pedal so the circuit is pretty simple. To be honest the most overwhelming part for me was sourcing all the parts, so in that regard a BYOC kit might be easier as a first build, but now that I have a feel for what to do as far as ordering parts, I'm glad I didn't go with a kit first.

Hey guys, I want to put together a "tool kit" for working on guitar electronics and possibly DIY effects kits. I plan on buying the CSI soldering station on page 1 of this thread, but need to know what else I should get. For example, what type of solder, do I need flux?, do I need solder sucker?, what types of tips would be the most helpful for the work I'd be doing? What is desoldering braid and do I need it? Any help would be appreciated guys!

For solder 60/40 or 63/37 will work fine. 63/37 has a lower melting point and cools faster, so you're less likely to get cold joints. They both work fine though. You can usually get some coiled in a tube that's small enough gauge to be used for electronics. For tips, I find a cone tip to be the best. A pretty small tip helps for circuit boards if you can find one. Desoldering braid or a sucker is a must, sometimes you'll accidentally get solder in a hole on the circuit board close to the one you're working on and those things are pretty much the only ways to get it out. Braid is essentially braided copper that solder will stick to. You lay it down where you need to remove excess solder, then put the iron on the braid and the solder sticks to it. They also make desoldrering irons, which is basically an iron with a sucker attached to it so you can desolder with one hand, but I don't really think thats necessary for small stuff. Also you're gonna want to get a helping hands (or third hand) device which is basically a stand with alligator clips to hold your circuit board. Its a huge pain to work without one.

thanks for the reply! I ordered the soldering station, a couple of conical tips, some 60/40 no clean solder, a solder sucker, and a free multimeter that comes with a $50+ purchase. Hope this will be a good start.

Also, another one for the list (PCB only): http://musicpcb.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They have the Echo Base, which is a pretty popular DIY delay. Their build docs include a lot of mod options for most of the pcbs. Their other PCBs look good too, might do the Gristlezier next.

Run by Taylor from DIYS, a top bloke who always helps out with people's issues.

Best place to buy a soldering Iron in UK/Ireland?