The things I love about DIY effects

[Marc.yo]

This is a short list of why I've fallen in love DIY effects


It's a learning experience
It's much cheaper than buying a completed pedaland much more fun
I can build whatever I want this way, I'm not at the whim of the manufacturer
It helps my creativity
it's fun
It's relativelyy easy, especially in proportion with how good some of the pedals sound



Anything to add? This is just a random thought I had......

[cloudscapes]

-tweakability

-oddball and completelly insane additions and modifications to known circuits that you wish more manufacterers would implement (adding a LFO to a fuzz, or something)

-the fun in decorating

[widdly]

In most cases a pedal is the kind of project you can finish in a weekend.  That's a definite plus

[R O Tiree]

The feeling of success you get when you get something working just the way you want it.

The satisfaction when you plug in for the first time and hear a new sound.

The flashes of understanding when something you did alters something and you know why it happened.

The frustration when something you thought would change it in a certain way does something else instead.

The elation when you figure out what you should have done.

Happy days...

[Zero the hero]

Girls going crazy when they hear I'm a pedalmaker 

[newbie builder]

When your friend hears you turn on a pedal and says "Wow! I want one of those"

The look on other people's faces when they see my Raco-box creations (I usually test pedals in RACO boxes before deciding if I like them enough to give them a nice home) with lots of knobs, no labels, and crazy sounds.

I love DIY pedals...

[ambulancevoice]

its pure fun

its something interesting to do

makes my bands mates want some pedals 

lets you be as creative as you want

[oldrocker]

Besides reissues the idea that you can build a vintage pedal that you can't buy in the store and get that sound again is awesome. 
Electronics create magic.  The components are the ingredients.  And when you mix them together in the right way and add electricity to it they change the sound of your guitar.  Magic.  All the magic boxes I made never cease to amaze me and the people around me just don't realize how easy it really is.

[Ronsonic]

My experience is that 95% of a pedal's greatness is in how well it is suited to the player - or the player and his other gear becomes suited to it. Doing it yourself, or having a pro dial it in for you is everything.  Doing it yourself costs much, much less and there ain't a whole lot of guys who can do it for you.

Ron

[darron]

some of the great pedals you can ONLY own if you build it yourself because they are released as diy. i just got my bsiab2 going (: hehe. great minds worked on that one....

[ambulancevoice]

another thing
is that something so simple (most of the time) can produce such pleasing results

[runmikeyrun]

the fact that regardless of how many (or few) people we play in front of, and whether they like us or hate us, people ALWAYS compliment me on my stuff and ask all kinds of questions about it.  EVERY time. 

And when another guitar/bass player or band compliments you on your killer tone you feel good knowing that you helped to create it.

I'll second all the other responses about figuring it out, having a one of a kind pedal, and the satisfaction of building or modding something to your exact taste.

[mojotron]

"I've got blisters on my fingers!"

[DuoSonicboy]

ditto...
Complete immunity to soldering iron burn (at least the pain part)

[R O Tiree]

... I feel your pain...

[markm]

Girls going crazy when they hear I'm a pedalmaker 

Yeah, they're all over ME too!
I love doing layouts.....even if I don't end up using the circuit personally, I like "solving the puzzle" so to speak.
It's my favorite part of this crazy hobby! 

[petemoore]

  It allows an attempt at mastering understanding of how to alter what the air waves carry to the listener...or 'comprehension of user requirements' [for optimum tonal potential].
  All the experience gained while 'pedal racing'...#1 is that building your own unit allows understanding of what makes a winning circuit.
  pedal racing...#1 Vs. #2, then a re-tuned #5 takes on the winner of the first race...competition is a good thing !
 

[MetalGod]

my reason for pedal building is that no pedal I've ever bought has done what I wanted right out the box (with the exception of the MI Audio Crunchbox, fastastic pedal).

take a Fuzz Face for instance - imagine how many you'd have to buy (and the ££££ spent) to find 'the one'.  I can make my own for £20 in parts and tune it to my taste - same with TS-808s, BMPs and anything else I've modded over the years.

Of course it doesn't stop there - you start on pedals then progress onto amps, that's just as addictive 

[dachshund]

It's a good mental exercise - I don't do crossword puzzles, so this is my way to keep my brain active. This and, of course, playing a lot of music.

I can try out almost an infinite variety of pedals without paying retail $$. While it does cost some money to build & experiment, it's more satisfying to build it myself for a few bucks and find out I didn't like the sound.... than spending > $100 per pedal !!!

By the time it takes to buy a pedal and try it in a few gigs, time's up on returning it if I don't like it. So I'm basically agreeing with MetalGod here - I've got a shelf full of pedals I stopped using.

[solarplexus]

The cute little way your handmade pedals look at you from time to time... just saying..."Play me".

Or the fact that no matter how pissed you get at doing a pedal, you always figure out the problem and you fall in love forever...





*Geekiest lines ever*