Newbe questions

[jamie]

hello i'm new to the world of everything guitar
i've only been playing for about 1 year and a half. I have a wah-wah pedal, a uni - vibe and this goes into a v-amp 2. I really like the sounds, but sometimes i feel the need for more gain, distortion, octives etc. I want to know a few things. How much does a little begginger setup (and parts for the little booster listed) cost? Secondly, how complicated is this, really? i've read some diagrams and it's all hyroglyfics to me. Finally, how much effort does it take to make some effects that i will actually want to use in my little setup?
thanks for your answers

[tonepoet]

The cost for getting started is not much, this is not a top of the line effect. The most expensive thing to get is probably the soldering iron, which cost me about 12 bucks or so. I got ALL of the parts from radio shack (what I could, the rest I ordered from Small Bear, but hey, I live in Alaska!!). The box to put it in you cannot get there, the quality is too bad. I would say probably around 35 bucks with parts that I ordered from Small Bear (pots, knobs, enclosure, transistor). It is pretty cheap when compared to paying someone 50 dollars more for the hour of labor that it takes someone to build this (actually, mine took about 4 hours, I'm a newbie!). I bought Craig Anderton's Electronic Projects for Musicians (you can find it online at Amazon) and read it and try to understand it. I can now look at a schematic and understand what's going on, I just can't yet visualize how it looks in 'real life'. Just print out the instructions and read them a little bit and it will sink in! Don't give up!

[aron]

Well, it takes time and patience.

Please see the FAQ forum for most of your answers. The GEO FAQ has been around the longest and has most answers covered.

The truth is if you want only one effect, it's probably cheaper to buy one.

Where DIY comes in effect is that it can liberate you so you can mod your existing pedal to suit your needs better or in some cases, all you to design your own new pedal creating your own tone/sound.

Initial costs can be pretty low.

I started with a Radio Shack iron and simple tools. A $20 digital meter and used these for years.

However, like any other hobby, once you really get into it, costs can go up as you will want better tools.

[smoguzbenjamin]

No kidding. In 4 months I've spent over 200 euros minimum on tools alone. GOD where do I get all that money from :lol:

[aron]

Isn't that the weird part?

I guess since the tools/parts are relatively cheap, you don't think about it much.

At the beginning I was buying NTE parts at about $1-$2 a pop and that's nothing for a new distortion pedal right!  :shock:

Well, after a ton of circuits, I know I pretty much could have bought any pedal on the market now easily.

I found it strangely relaxing to make circuits.

I hate wiring them up though....  :roll:

[smoguzbenjamin]

Same here, I love researching, buying parts, putting them on perf and putting the finished product in a box and playing it. But I hate the offboard wiring somehow :evil: It's not difficult or challenging, hmm maybe that's the whole problem

[aron]

I like to think that the circuit's done after perfboard wiring. Then I can't stand waiting for the pedal to come alive!