SteveF's Pedal Building Journey

Danny1969

I've just brought that solder sucker @Adam_MD ... it looks a cut above my RS one which has been ok for 20 years but needs replacing
Solder braid can be very good but quality varies ... some is next to useless some really does mop up well. Some is better at leaded rather than lead free etc. 

Philtre

I find the Chemtronics solder braid works really well for me. I just love it when I burn my fingers on it...

Adam_MD

Danny1969 said:

I've just brought that solder sucker @Adam_MD ... it looks a cut above my RS one which has been ok for 20 years but needs replacing
Solder braid can be very good but quality varies ... some is next to useless some really does mop up well. Some is better at leaded rather than lead free etc. 

It’s fantastic Danny makes desoldering a doddle.  

SteveF

Would a 3.3nF or 4.7nF cap be a suitable replacement for the 3.9nF one in this circuit (right hand side - tone cap)?  I can't find a 3.9nF but have the others. 

Philtre

If it's for the tone control, it should do the job but might be a different tone. You can get 3.9nF on eBay.

SteveF

Ah awesome, I always forget eBay as I don't really use it much.  Got a few coming. 

Adam_MD

Use a socket and put in a 4.7nf intially then when it’s finished try 6.8 and 8.2 then pick the one you like best.  You won’t like 3.3nf trust me.  It’s a common mod on Madbean for builders to use a 8.2nf in that spot it’s also what I use in mine it adds something awesome to the mids.

It’s another handy mod from Juan Solo and cleggy to the diy community.  

SteveF

Awesome, I'll give it a try.  What type of cap are you using there?  I am struggling to find polyboxes in some of the values without them being daft high rated voltage and usually fairly big therefore.  I've had to buy a few greeny type ones. 

Adam_MD

I’m just using 8.2n poly boxes in mine I buy all my caps from cpc or rs components.  

SteveF

Well, it's been a while.  Been away on a course with work and not had the chance to do much of anything.  Hopefully be a bit more active now.  Got this one finished off today:

Philtre

That looks well tidy @SteveF :-)

SteveF

And this one today - took a fair while!  

I think I have wired up the Gain pot the wrong way as it is operating backwards, but I'm pretty sure I've wired it the way it says in the diagram.   Bass pot is very subtle too, to the point where I'm not sure it's doing anything much at all.  Sounds great overall though.  

EDIT - just looked back through this page and forgot to try the different tone caps that @Adam_MD suggested.  I have another one to build yet, so will try on that one and can compare the two. 

SteveF

Prolific week - did this one today.  Trying to get neater each time. This one sounds amazing, possibly my favourite pedal so far: 

Philtre

Good stuffs, there! How's it going with the Envirotex now? I guess you must have got the hang of it now?

SteveF

Yeah not too bad. All these ones were in my second ET pour a couple of months back, I just hadn’t got around to building the pedals yet. A couple of minor issues but still looking great. How’s the double sticker method going? Holding up to abuse? 

Philtre

Double sticker's good! No problems. And, as I said, easy to remedy if it doesn't work out.

Last pedal I built was an RC Booster last month, but not done anything since that. I think I made about 24 pedals in 7 months, so probably good to give it a break. Just wondering what to build next...

SteveF

Got a second Klone to build for a friend and then I am going to have a go at that Skreddy fuzz you recommended.  After that I'm going to try and produce a Vero layout from a very simple circuit diagram - it's a passive circuit that mimics the signal from a guitar pickup so that you can put it before a fuzz if you can't get the fuzz first in the chain (e.g. after a wireless receiver) - hopefully will make the fuzz behave better.