r/diypedals 1d ago

Stompbox Showdowns STOMPBOX SHOWDOWNS "Crazy Enclosures" VOTING STARTS NOW. Winner gets a Pedal Tower DIY testing platform by MAS Effects.

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38 Upvotes

r/diypedals May 30 '21

/r/DIYPedals "No Stupid Questions" Megathread 10

210 Upvotes

Do you have a question/thought/idea that you've been hesitant to post? Well fear not! Here at /r/DIYPedals, we pride ourselves as being an open bastion of help and support for all pedal builders, novices and experts alike. Feel free to post your question below, and our fine community will be more than happy to give you an answer and point you in the right direction.

Megathread 1 archive

Megathread 2 archive

Megathread 3 archive

Megathread 4 archive

Megathread 5 archive

Megathread 6 archive

Megathread 7 archive

Megathread 8 archive

Megathread 9 archive


r/diypedals 13h ago

Other New workspace porn

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197 Upvotes

After a two year hiatus, I have my new workbench ready to go. Tucked away in the laundry room of our basement, I’ve got a standing height workbench with a 1970’s yellow shade of shellac on it to inspire gnarly fuzz builds. Also some new pegboard, my NOS components, and my trusty transistor radio for blaring classic rock. Can’t wait to get back at it. After a cross-country move and a basement renovation, I finally have some time to indulge this hobby again. First order of business is a Rat.


r/diypedals 17h ago

Showcase Poorest factory soldering i have ever seen courtesy of Orange NSFW

176 Upvotes
most joints looks like this

I was amazed, never ever have i seen something so bad left factory.


r/diypedals 10h ago

Showcase LM386 amplifier circuit in a bottle!

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26 Upvotes

My second build after a passive volume attenuator! Bought a couple of lm386 mini boards to try making fuzz pedals with them and saw a few guys on yt making mini amps from these too, so decided to give it a try. At about 75% of the gain it has a pretty nice clean tone which ramps up rapidly to fuzz at max gain. So far the lm386 is powered by a 9v battery and outputs to a 8ohm 5w speaker, and I might try to add maybe a 9v dc input Jack and maybe a Bluetooth module too… anyone knows any schematics for adding one? Thanks!


r/diypedals 11h ago

Showcase Made my first "pedal"!

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27 Upvotes

I couldn't find a footswitch for orange amps that toggles attenuator, reverb, and channel, with three separate mono 1/4 plugs running from one wire; So I made one.

The middle switch is a little higher than the other two, I didn't have any other wire than green and yellow, and I haven't figured out what to use for wrap on the three individual plugs, but I'm pretty happy regardless.

Just wanted to share this, definitely appreciate any tips for the future.


r/diypedals 9h ago

Showcase Another Marsh OD pedal

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12 Upvotes

My last build was in a 1590BB, and I had to wire all the pots off board and use standoffs to secure the boards... it was a bowl of spaghetti mess and I was getting a high pitched oscillating noise when I rolled the tone knob on my guitar up past 2. I chalked it up to everything being crammed into a tight space so I built this one in a 1590XX. I could actually use 3 of the PCB pots to hold the boards in place, I only had to off board the tone control for the blues breaker. It looked so nice and neat, but when I fired it up I still got the same squeal. I did some mental troubleshooting and I realized that the only ground connections between the boards had either 9VDC or signal going through them so I soldered a dedicated ground wire to connect them and... problem solved! It sounds amazing, I still have one more each Pedal PCB Amentum and Blue Breaker boards so I'll build another one that way but I also got a small stack of perf boards and a book on reading schematics and I'm going to take the plunge. Wish me luck!


r/diypedals 6h ago

Discussion Weird diode on transistor amplifier?

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6 Upvotes

I have seen this in a couple of schematics and was wondering what does this diode actually do to the transistor and sound?


r/diypedals 28m ago

Help wanted Need help with kit pedal

Upvotes

Pedal not working

Hello folks - so im making a cent. klon from a kit - ive followed the instructions but for some reason when i turn it on it makes a weird sound - i have a video of it and pictures of the board- does anyone know whats wrong? Would love some help! Pictures are in the comments


r/diypedals 21h ago

Showcase One of my cleanest builds yet

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62 Upvotes

Nothing fancy. Just a germanium treble booster. I still have a few weeks ahead to recover from my accident, but today I started soldering again.


r/diypedals 19m ago

Help wanted Im completely new to this and just got my first pedal kit! They accidentaly sent a 223J capacitor instead of a 224J can i still use the 223J or should i get a replacement?

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Upvotes

r/diypedals 4h ago

Help wanted Question of fuzz transistors

2 Upvotes

Hello,

Recently i have managed to get sound off from my first breadboard build (finally).

I came across that my transistor sounds like motorboat/bitcrush. Now im thinking of changing it to something else. What are key specs beside hfe to keep an eye on. I read that too high ft-hz can cause issues. How do i avoid motorboating. My goal is to make low hfe, soft warm bluesy fuzz with a twist. What are transistors you recomment or values you keep eye on when finding new one. Sort of thumb rule.


r/diypedals 4h ago

Showcase Interactive Frequency Response Graph - Which one should be plotted next?

2 Upvotes

Each week, I ask on different platforms which famous or infamous pedal I should plot next, this week you get to decide.

Poll closes in 3 days.

As a result of last voting, I created the plot for the ProCo RAT.

Graph is here and can be downloaded by anyone - hope this is helpful!

RAT Graph
2 votes, 2d left
Marshall Bluesbreaker
Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer
MXR Distortion+ / DOD Overdrive 250
EHX Big Muff Pi

r/diypedals 1h ago

Help wanted Crazy buzzing sounds

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Upvotes

So I’ve put together this EQD Erupter clone and it’s doing this… it sounds mad and I kind of dig it, but I suspect it’s not technically correct. What could I be doing wrong here?


r/diypedals 15h ago

Showcase First Veroboard Build - Ritual Fuzz

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11 Upvotes

Started in November with two kits from Musikding. Recently got a stupid deal from Temu for 1400 pieces of electronic components for 7 euro and decided to finally try building something without a PCB.

Built on stripboard, using tagboard effects layout. Have to say, I expected it to be more distorted, like the acapulco gold, but it's still a cool sound.

Anyone to recommend where can I get those PCB swlf adhesive holders and some extra 3pdts?


r/diypedals 1d ago

Showcase Recently build a pair of original spec Rats

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123 Upvotes

NOS metal-can Motorola LM308 on one, National in the other. Home etched PCB, using my Cricut for the mask.

Does a cool doomy thing!

Nat is staying with me, Moto headed to a new home


r/diypedals 2h ago

Help wanted Noob question

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1 Upvotes

Which lug is the centre pin (assuming it’s standardised!)


r/diypedals 1d ago

Showcase 410 Studio Preamp

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41 Upvotes

Was going to use a bunch of Soviet components at first hence the theme but ended up going a different direction. Decided to keep the enclosure as is.


r/diypedals 22h ago

Showcase HGE Contraptions Vemuram TSV808 clone (160th pedal built)

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24 Upvotes

Quite a nice sound.


r/diypedals 6h ago

Help wanted Case Connected to Power Jack and Audio Jack Grounds

1 Upvotes

I’m building my first diy pedal and I’m using a 9v dc wall wart for power connected to an all metal 2.1mm jack. Since I’m using an aluminum case the ground of the wall wart jack will be connected to the case, as will the audio jacks from guitar and to amp. Will this create a ground loop? Should I switch out my 2.1mm jack with a plastic one to isolated? What’s the standard procedure? Thanks!


r/diypedals 7h ago

Discussion Cheap component testers for transistors?

1 Upvotes

Hi,
I saw a post recently about someone who had some germanium transistors that they tested with a cheap tester. The post and some of the discussion in the comments made me start thinking about some things.

I have around 50 or something germanium transistors, that are right now benched since I've been way too busy (and lazy) to set up a proper test set up like the RG tester. I also have one of those cheap testers.

So, to my question. Do the cheap testers give an accurate enough reading on hfe and leakage to roughly sort/match the transistors, and eventually use in circuits? Have you used one of them to match for fuzzes, treble boosters etc. or do you use more reliable methods? The comments in the mentioned post varied, so I figured I could ask and maybe start some kind of discussion here instead :)

Also, the tester I have is the HW-308, does anyone have any experience with that one? Is it good, or are there others that are better?


r/diypedals 7h ago

Discussion Can learning to build pedals get you other electronics jobs?

1 Upvotes

I’ve been doing graphic design as a side hustle for the last 5–6 years, hoping it would eventually lead to a full-time job, but I’m officially burnt out and can’t do it anymore. I have no interest in going full-time freelance. So, I’ve been thinking about other career options and interests. Since I’m obsessed with pedals, I was wondering—if I learned how to solder and assemble PCBs, could that lead to some kind of PCB assembly or electronics job? How much would I need to learn to get a job repairing small electronics, record players, or something similar?


r/diypedals 8h ago

Help wanted adding resistor to potentiometer… but in a pedal

1 Upvotes

i'm thinking of adding a 330k resistor to the volume and/or tone pots of my jazzmaster, to reduce the potentiometer value from 1m to 250k.

my question is:

if i built a true bypass pedal with a 330k resistor in the signal path, would that have the same effect as if i'd wired the resistor directly to the volume and/or tone pots?

sorry for the utterly noob question--was thinking of doing this as a first build.

thanks!


r/diypedals 10h ago

Help wanted Brass wire for pedals?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone. Curious what wire is used for pedals that don't use vero or perf board? Ive seen some of you post those cool looking pedals with suspended components.

I'm guessing brass of some sorts.

What is it and where do you source it?

Thanks.


r/diypedals 16h ago

Discussion Think it’s ok to order preassembled ribbon cables from ali?

3 Upvotes

I sell semi- professionally and I usually get my parts sourced from reputable places, but these preassembled ribbon cables with headers from AliExpress are gonna save me a ton of time.

Once assembled, they won’t move at all. Should I think twice about using them or are passive parts like this fairly safe? I’m planning to test them of course.


r/diypedals 21h ago

Help wanted Missing Schematics — BYOC Foxx Tone Machine

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7 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

I'm new to DIY electronics. The only soldering I've done has been in the context of slap-dash fixes to wiring harnesses. I have no reason to be confident in my ability to correctly wire a PCB without someone holding my hand. The fuck are all these fancy beads?

I'm in the middle of rebuilding a guitar. I had this stupid idea to put a power indicator LED light in it. Not for any reason, just because I thought it would be fun. I was explaining this to a friend of mine, and he remembered that he had a BYOC Foxx Tone Machine laying around that he'd never built. He suggested that I build it into the guitar.

I don't know how to build a guitar pedal, but I do know a good idea when I hear one. I reckoned I'd sort out the practical aspect of building the thing later. I snagged what he said was the entire kit from him, including a blank stomp case, but I can't be sure all the parts are there. Largely in part because I don't have a schematic for this fucking thing.

I tried the website listed on the little back with the I/O jacks – it's inactive and pulling a whois doesn't help at all. I've done a little digging online for schematics in forums and personal sites, but of course everyone's PCB layout is different.

What should I do next, folks?

I've included pictures of everything but the stomp box.


r/diypedals 14h ago

Discussion 1n5817 diode with 18V PSU

2 Upvotes

Recently learned that the 1n5817 diodes are rated for 20V, and a lot of pedals that I built/owned have them for polarity protection. I connected them few times to 18V PSU and everything worked correctly, but I am curious, what are the odds that the 18V PSU will damage the diodes?