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I know, because I am (still) an electronics idiot, and I've managed to put them together.
You'll need a decent soldering iron and an ability to solder pretty accurately. We're talking small joints, not 1/2lb of solder blobbed on to the back of a pot.
Depending on how good your eyesight is, I also found a headloupe really useful for close up examination of what I was doing (and checking on resistor values, etc).
Start with a simple kit (ie a few components and no surface mounted chips!) and build up your understanding and confidence from there.
With the soldering iron/ability, decent vision and ability to read/follow instructions, you'll be fine.
I'd say to start with kits with a small number of components. The fewer solder joints you have to make, the fewer opportunities you have to get one wrong. Likewise, a smaller number of components are harder to mix up and put in to the wrong places.
The cost of kits rises pretty much directly in line with the number of parts involved, so any of the cheapest ones will likely be suitable for a beginner. (If you want a compressor an Orange Squeezer type has a fairly low parts count).
Even if you're not buying from them, I would suggest looking at some instructions from https://buildyourownclone.com/ who are the gold standard in hand-holding guides for DIY n00bs, IMO.
My top tips:
Check before you start that you have all the parts you need, and identify which is which (the instructions for your kit will come with a "bill of materials"). Check twice. I find it helpful to stick the parts to a piece of paper and write the values of each component next to it.
Solder one component at a time. Check twice that you've put the right component in the right place.
Check whether the component has a polarity (a right way round and a wrong way), and that you've placed it the right way round, BEFORE you solder. Check twice. Resistors can go in either way round but diodes, transistors and some capacitors can't. In some cases you won't like what happens when you put them in backwards and power up the circuit.
Start with the smallest components- the ones that will lie closest to the PCB when it's finished- usually diodes, then resistors. That way you can lay the PCB down on a mat and have the component sit neatly in place while you solder. If you put the taller ones in first, the smaller ones won't be forced to sit flush to the PCB, it'll look messy and if the bare component legs touch it won't work right.
Don't rush. Try to make sure you can stop and put the half-built kit aside somewhere safe if you need to.
All of which is in aid of the main point: it's much easier to not make a mistake in the first place than it is to try to fix it afterwards. Desoldering a component you've already placed is a fiddly job that can end up causing damage to the component and the PCB, so should be avoided if at all possible. Check twice.
Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.
Lots of good advice above. I watched some old NASA (I think??) training video on YouTube. It was really long (an hour maybe!) but there was so much good advice that it was well worth it. On my first order I asked Fuzzdog to throw in a crappy old PCB and a bunch of resistors to practise with before starting on the real pedal.
Thing from Fuzzdog which have stood out in my rig:
Hot Snake
Boner
The Nuclear fuzz was good but I've given up on fuzz
Deuterium boost is excellent
I'm currently building 3 more which I have high hopes for.
What type of effects do you need in your setup?
In most cases the challenge is keeping all your parts organised, building in a way that allows you to keep track of what you've already done and what's left to do, and maintaining your own mental quality control on your soldering. The level of difficulty is in how many parts you're keeping track of and how many solder joints you need to make (and how many things you have to check over to figure out what you did wrong if it doesn't work first time).
Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.
I've 'grown' beyond using kits and am now designing my own circuits, perfboard layouts and building them, but I still get components from Fuzzdog and study his docs from time to time. Lee is also quick to help whenever you have a query.
My trading feedback: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/210335/yorkie
My trading feedback: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/210335/yorkie
My trading feedback: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/210335/yorkie