Post-Lockdown pedal building

Cookiemonster

SteveF said:

I didn’t.  I did the PCB layout from a schematic and had it made.  I’m aware you can get them from pedal pcb though, 

Awesome don't think I am quite there yet to design the PCB but that is awesome. 
I have seen the tagboard for the plumes but it sounds like it's not quite 100 percent from the comments

Cookiemonster

SteveF said:

I didn’t.  I did the PCB layout from a schematic and had it made.  I’m aware you can get them from pedal pcb though, 

Not sure I am ready to design the PCB yet.
Saw that tagboard had the plumes but looks like it isn't quite right.

Do you have a template for the art work anyone  could send me I have a Rat I need to box

rsvmark

SteveF said:

rsvmark said:

Considering the second graphic design as the lettering is clearer - gonna remove some darker areas in photo shop so the base colour (RAL 5013) shows through and send for UV printing... direct onto the painted enclosure. In theory is will work. Updates coming in another 2 months. 

Looks great.  The UV on mine seems pretty solid.  Tried scratching at it with a fingernail and no marking at all.  Time will tell how durable it is. 

Where did you send yours for UV? 

Not sent it yet- only got the enclosure back yesterday from the powder coating. I had a play last night in photoshop to remove the darker areas in the base image and inserted a ral 5013 background. Didn’t look right at all. Back to the drawing board. What lessons did you learn around UV printing?

SteveF

Mainly about rounding off the corners (you can see in mine that it’s printed the corners down the edge slightly) and that I have a big learning curve to get over around vectors and Adobe Illustrator.  

Working with vector is so different from raster graphics, you need to think about it very differently.  I’m currently working through a bit of a beginner tutorial series on YouTube. 

SteveF

Cookiemonster said:

SteveF said:

I didn’t.  I did the PCB layout from a schematic and had it made.  I’m aware you can get them from pedal pcb though, 

Not sure I am ready to design the PCB yet.
Saw that tagboard had the plumes but looks like it isn't quite right.

Do you have a template for the art work anyone  could send me I have a Rat I need to box

Which artwork? 

Cookiemonster

Apologies should have been clearer, I have a 125b box and need a template. If anyone has one, so I can add art to it.

Springywheel

How did you guys learn to build your own pedals - any books or online resources you recommend? 

rsvmark

SteveF said:

Mainly about rounding off the corners (you can see in mine that it’s printed the corners down the edge slightly) and that I have a big learning curve to get over around vectors and Adobe Illustrator.  

Working with vector is so different from raster graphics, you need to think about it very differently.  I’m currently working through a bit of a beginner tutorial series on YouTube. 

I see what you mean but it’s far from a disaster. I have been mocking mine up On photoshop and printing out on paper with 2.5mm Between the enclosure and the edge of the graphics with a 2.5mm radius corner. 

@springywheel buy a kit, buy some tools, get building. Plenty of helpful folks out there and on here

SteveF

@Springywheel I started with a simple fuzzdog kit - The boner boost (super hard on clone).  They come with decent instructions. If you’ve never soldered before then there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube. 

SteveF

Cookiemonster said:

Apologies should have been clearer, I have a 125b box and need a template. If anyone has one, so I can add art to it.

https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=7351.0

have a look here - they have most of the common sizes I think

roberty

@SteveF that looks fantastic mate, very professional, love the colours 

SteveF

roberty said:

@SteveF that looks fantastic mate, very professional, love the colours 

Thanks mate

LastMantra

SteveF said:

roberty said:

@SteveF that looks fantastic mate, very professional, love the colours 

Thanks mate

There's some really great looking stuff on here. 

You can buy all sorts of decent stickers on eBay for a cheap and cheerful finish. 

stickyfiddle

I’m still a fan of Dymo labels. And note there’s a new limited edition of the TPS D&M drive in Dymo-esque livery, so they obviously agree with me

english_bob

SteveF said:

@Springywheel I started with a simple fuzzdog kit - The boner boost (super hard on clone).  They come with decent instructions. If you’ve never soldered before then there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube. 

Build Your Own Clone kits don't have the same range of choice, and are a little more expensive, but their instructions are more detailed and beginner-oriented than other kit sellers. Even if you don't actually buy any of their kits, having a read through their instructions (free pdfs on their website) is not a bad way to get an idea of how to go about assembling any kit.

Agree with the general principle though- the best way to learn is to get a kit with a low number of parts*- ideally one you'll actually use when it's finished- and dive in. 




* fewer parts means less soldering, less opportunity to put parts in the wrong places and less time from start to finish on a build. If you're methodical about sorting parts before you start, double checking everything before you solder anything in place and generally taking your time to get everything right there's no reason you can't start with a bigger kit.

Springywheel

Thanks, i’ll look into buying some kits

Cookiemonster

Springywheel said:

Thanks, i’ll look into buying some kits

I got my kit from Jed's Peds. First one worked and the forum on Facebook is super helpful if you have any issues at all

https://www.jedspeds.co.uk/beginnerkits

rsvmark

Springywheel said:

Thanks, i’ll look into buying some kits

Have a think about how you want to finish each build as well. Some favour the Ali enclosure with dymo tape and hand drawn graphics. Other favour full on photoshop or illustration, painting the enclosure and all sorts of fun whizz bangery- the decision is yours to go as far as your creativity takes you. Have fun!

TAOZ

  

TAOZ

Thanks again for your help  @kossofffan ;