those with kids, any promise for the DIY?

[oldschoolanalog]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJHBNzfgGAw
(Just a joke, kids are not like this)

Wanna' bet? I know parents that go through worse than that. If that's my kid, I go "Elvis" on his computer !

[Threefish]

Maybe DIY stompboxing as we know it will one day be no more, but DIY won't die. People are too curious, headstrong, stubborn and intelligent.

My wife and I are working on the idea that we offer our kids ideas and experiences, and encourage them a little more on things that in themselves might not be something we expect they'll necessarily like to do forever but will make them use their brains a bit, and hopefully help them take that next mental step from A, to B, to G. I'm into DIY generally and I suppose what I would like to impress on my 5 yo son and 3 yo daughter as they grow up that it can be rewarding and fufilling to do it yourself, and you can learn something, particularly something you could some day offer to your friends and family, (and something you can possibly make a living out of). I always share with them other things that hopefully give them an appreciation of the simpler, basic parts of our universe – why ants pick things up and move them around, why the beach is made up of crushed sea shell – I don't take much for granted, and I hope they always will want to know "why" and "how" as well.

My five year old son always wants to join in when I've got the soldering iron out. I let him twiddle the stompbox knobs while I play (found some interesting sounds that way), and I've been able to fix a few of his toys that he really likes. He does take it on board, and I think he's developing an appreciation of being able to fix and build things, and understand how they work. My wife told me that he recently responded to a young mate's complaining about an unresponsive electronic toy by saying- "but can't your dad fix it?" When his mate frowned at him and said "No-one can fix it", my son replied "My dad could! He can fix everything!" (bit of 5-yo exaggeration there...). Mum then apparently got a bit a embarrassed by my son's insistence that "It's easy - I'll bring it back tomorrow".

I'm sure that even if my kids don't really get into DIY, they will at least know they can try. I think that's most important to me.

[km-r]

i thnk my parents worry about me gettin into a lot of diystombox projects...
while everyone else is busy playing fire with girls... i was busy trying to burn the house thru a short circut...
mehh... one girl is enough...

[MKB]

I find it hard to believe that DIY stompboxing will die, unless the thru-hole parts just become obsolete.  Even then you could buy old radios and stereos to rob the parts from.  After all, tubes were suppsed to be completely obsolete 20 years ago, and now you have a greater variety of tubes and parts to choose from.  For whatever reason there are more transformers and kits available now as well.

In our church, there is a kid that a few years ago showed some interest in building a distortion pedal.  I was able to help him a little bit.  Since then, his interest has grown tot he point he has built many stompboxes and several kit amps (even building and covering the cabinets himself).  All this prompted him to go to college for an electronics degree.  This is not an isolated case, so as long as there are curious industrious musicians, stompboxes will be built.

Probably the biggest factor in DIY stompboxing is the internet.  You can find schematics and build instructions for almost anything.  And as long as the Beano album is around, guys will be building Rangemasters and JTM-45's (as well as buying Celestions and Les Pauls and aftermarket pickups).

My two daughters couldn't care less about building electronics.  But they do think it is way cool when their school projects make funny noises and flash impressive lights.

[mattpocket]

I'm really enjoying following this thread... I've got it all to come...

I'm only 19 and dont have any plans of making babies for a long time yet...

[Eb7+9]

For halloween a few years ago ...

reminds me, I was at a buddy's place in the burbs and felt like adding an extra dimension to the experience, so I grabbed his little Marshall combo and his 70's Strat and sat out on the deck out of sight behind the bushes on the side of the house, I turned the amp full up, aimed it straight up to the sky and just played with the volume knob on the guitar and the whammy bar all night - not one note (that was the tough part) ... shoulda seen the look on those little kiddies, boy where they spooked - perfect haunting sounds ringing throuhgout the neighborhood ...

the spirit of DIY is one of self sufficiency to a degree, if anything it can show the young ones that a great deal of worthwhile enjoyment in life can be had through self initiative ... I don't expect my daughters to pick up a soldering gun or play the guitar, but I think they can see that you make it what you can with your own hands and heart - that's the deal in life ... that it can be used to define a more realistic "you" ... this is something else they badly need in their teen years

I think (LOL) I've showed them that if you don't learn to start and maintain a fire on your own - like, wait for someone else to do it for you - then they're gonna end up in a cold and miserable house ... simple, that there's a great reward attached to the effort, pain and frustration of trying and perfecting ... it's facing that initial hump they need our guidance with ... and then I make sure to acknolwledge them when I catch them putting that stuff into action ...

a great bonding DIY experience with young girls I've found is going out and making cordage from stinging nettle plants - I show them how to make the basic stuff and then leave them to making friendship bracelets for each other ... I think that's a good way to add new perspective in their life - there's a deeper appreciation of crafting and a connection to each other through nature ... with young boys it seems to be fire making ...

fire, fire in the wire ...

~jc

[Paul Marossy]

I find it hard to believe that DIY stompboxing will die, unless the thru-hole parts just become obsolete. 

I agree, and that's also my concern. I think one day everything will be SMD, and the stuff we use to build stompboxes today will go the way of the vacuum tube: an endangered species.

[A.S.P.]

I find it hard to believe that DIY stompboxing will die, unless the thru-hole parts just become obsolete. 

I agree, and that's also my concern. I think one day everything will be SMD, and the stuff we use to build stompboxes today will go the way of the vacuum tube: an endangered species.

Next generation DIYers will acquire the skills to handle SMD parts
and will go: "anybody have a layout for a xyz-pedal?".

Circuits/schematics will remain the same.

The modding/tracing of industry pedals will be just a little more difficult.

DIY pedals will become smaller.

Throughhole and pre-RoHS parts will become vintage with rising prices.


Will happen within the next 3 to 5 years.

[johngreene]

I find it hard to believe that DIY stompboxing will die, unless the thru-hole parts just become obsolete. 

I agree, and that's also my concern. I think one day everything will be SMD, and the stuff we use to build stompboxes today will go the way of the vacuum tube: an endangered species.

This is silly. I've been doing most all my DIY stuff with surface mount for close to 10 years. In fact, when I first was publishing stuff R.G. Keen himself said I should stop with the silly surface mount stuff and sell 'kits' with leaded components. ('member that R.G.?). I actually find it easier. A lot less drilling and much easier routing. Of course you need to be able to burn your own PC boards but that is a piece of cake today. I was doing photo-resist etching back then before it was considered 'easy'. Even though it WAS easy back then once you got the hang of it. The only drilling you had to do was to drop a ground via down to the bottom layer (unless it was tight enough you needed to route traces on the bottom). I work with 0402 and 0201 components every day. For me to do DIY with 0805 is a pleasure. Try it, you'll like it.

--john

[Paul Marossy]

been doing most all my DIY stuff with surface mount for close to 10 years.

How the hell do you do that?! Using a microscope with a soldering iron that has a needle for a tip?! I can't imagine trying to do SMD stuff in a DIY environment. I guess if someone wants to do DIY bad enough, they'll find a way, huh? 

[Hiwatt25]

My four year old son likes to step on the switches and he LOVES the continuity test feature of my DMM.  He'll come down stairs and ask if we can "test" stuff.  I'm always happy to oblige until he wants to stick the leads into a wall socket, then we have ANOTHER talk about electricity and safety.  He was shocked to see that I don't conduct... but more shocked to see that my workbench did. 

It's hard to tell what his "thing" will be in the end.  Kids of that age are so zen.  They are doing exactly what they want to do at any given moment (bathtime and bedtime aside).  One minute he's Darth Vader (but the good Darth Vader), the next minute he wants to buy a rhino.  Honest to god, he wants me to buy him a rhino...I looked on ebay but...

[johngreene]

been doing most all my DIY stuff with surface mount for close to 10 years.

How the hell do you do that?! Using a microscope with a soldering iron that has a needle for a tip?! I can't imagine trying to do SMD stuff in a DIY environment. I guess if someone wants to do DIY bad enough, they'll find a way, huh? 

I've always used an iron with a sharp point for a tip. Better control. When I first started, I didn't need any magnification but since then age has messed with my eyes and I now need to use a magnifying visor (http://www.amazon.com/Magnifying-Visor-Light-Multiple-Lense/dp/B000E4WZQO) to do my work. But I need that for leaded components too. Anything within arm's length. 

Here is a Axis Fuzz type circuit I did back in 2000: http://www.greene-pedals.com/GEAD/images/fuzzbrd.jpg

--john

[markm]

Here is a Axis Fuzz type circuit I did back in 2000: http://www.greene-pedals.com/GEAD/images/fuzzbrd.jpg

--john

Wow!
I don't mess with SMT.....it scares me....

[Paul Marossy]

Here is a Axis Fuzz type circuit I did back in 2000: http://www.greene-pedals.com/GEAD/images/fuzzbrd.jpg

Very impressive! I guess I could do it if I wanted to, but I probably don't have the patience for that. 

[johngreene]

Here is a Axis Fuzz type circuit I did back in 2000: http://www.greene-pedals.com/GEAD/images/fuzzbrd.jpg

Very impressive! I guess I could do it if I wanted to, but I probably don't have the patience for that. 

With that board I think I went from printing the artwork to having a PCB ready for soldering in less than 20 minutes. Soldering the parts on the board takes very little time provided you have them all there ready.

I was digging through my old backups this morning and found a little photo-essay I did back then on the whole process. Maybe I'll put that back on the web. There's even a pic of me with no grey hair. 

--john

[hippo]

Hippetto (a kind italian way to say little Hippo):

[Ben N]

There's even a pic of me with no grey hair. 

--john

So the green-coiffed fellow with the feline features is NOT the real John Greene?  

[hippo]

maybe better with the link:    http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=5629795

[Ge_Whiz]

Will happen within the next 3 to 5 years.

Yup, just about the time that controlled nuclear fusion will solve the energy crisis. I've been losing sleep over this for the past 30 years.

[Ben N]

For halloween a few years ago ...

reminds me, I was at a buddy's place in the burbs and felt like adding an extra dimension to the experience, so I grabbed his little Marshall combo and his 70's Strat and sat out on the deck out of sight behind the bushes on the side of the house, I turned the amp full up, aimed it straight up to the sky and just played with the volume knob on the guitar and the whammy bar all night - not one note (that was the tough part)
~jc

Then I consider myself in very good company! A few years ago my son had a spook-themed sleep-over birthday party. I found a spot inside the house, and in addition to a Strat-whammy, I had a volume pedal, a slide, a Big Muff and a DOD analog delay to twiddle with. Great fun! Very spooky sounds. The kids loved it.

Just to keep this on-topic, though, there does not appear to be any impulse to DIY in my offspring. It is a ready-made, disposable world.

Ben