New Pedal Kit Day

Cookiemonster

I shall watch with interest. As like yourself I am ok with soldering. But for myself I  have limited or really 0 knowledge of electronics. 

I want to get a fuzz face. Sho. Then try something a little more adventurous down the line. I would like a fuzz or distortion with a stutter momentary switch. But no idea how to make one

english_bob

UnclePsychosis said:

I normally print out a paper copy of the BOM and then, before starting, use my multimeter to measure each resistor. You can then jab the legs through the paper so that the R1 resistor is next to R1 on the BOM. You can also do similar with the other components. 

Then, before soldering every component, I double check and triple check its the right one, just to be absolutely sure. It's not difficult, you just need to be thorough and patient. 

I usually do this too. Sorting components before you even plug in your soldering iron is a good idea. Take it slowly and double check everything (even the stuff you *know* is right, because once in a while it isn't).

Put some beers in the fridge (not too many, mind), put on some tunes and take your time. 

Cookiemonster said:

I shall watch with interest. As like yourself I am ok with soldering. But for myself I  have limited or really 0 knowledge of electronics. 

I want to get a fuzz face. Sho. Then try something a little more adventurous down the line. I would like a fuzz or distortion with a stutter momentary switch. But no idea how to make one

Kit builds can be essentially an excercise in paint-by-numbers. You'll get everything you need to make a complete pedal and in many cases fairly comprehensive instructions on how to do it (Build Your Own Clone are particularly good for that if you want to have your hand held through the process). It gets much more tricky if you're sourcing your own components or drilling your own enclosure since there's much more scope for error.

IMO, it's not strictly necessary to start with the sort of pedals everyone says you should start with- the only guaranteed difference between kits is that the more components there are, the more chance there is that you'll put one in the wrong place, or that you'll have a dry solder joint. If you do, more components mean more difficulty troubleshooting. So if you're OK with that and don't think you'll have any use for a simple boost or fuzz.

Cols

lincolnblue said:

Cols said:

Which boost did you get, out of interest?

I got the box of tone 50

That's a sensible one to start with.  @UnclePsychosis has an excellent suggestion to print out the BOM and fix the components to their corresponding label on the sheet.  

Points to to be careful on:
Getting C3 and C4 in the right way round (see my previous comments).
Getting D1 and D2 in the right way round (the external markings should make this straightforward).
Not cracking the bodies of D1/2 when bending the legs.
Not roasting D1/2 or the transistor when soldering them in.  Diodes and transistors aren't fond of heat; either keep the iron on them for no more than a couple of seconds, or use some kind of a heat sink.  A crocodile clip does well enough; reverse-action tweezers are better.

Above all, take it slowly and check everything against instructions before proceeding.