how to be an el-cheapo

[phector2004]

Hey guys,

I've planned out making a Green Ringer, but i feel like it's going to be a good 10$ more than I planned. It's not enough to stop me from doing it and I'm not cheap or anything, but I was just wondering if there's a less expensive way to build future pedals. It would especially come in handy for larger builds with more expensive parts, i.e. Ge transistors, 3dpt switches, etc. as well as allowing me to make more builds for less money

Currently I buy pre-painted cases + all my electronics from small bear as all the radio shacks near my house have a very tiny selection of overpriced mixed-parts bags. For what i think are harder builds, I look at buying premade PCBs, which usually cost a ton more than regular perfboard. I could save by making my own PCBs, but that would require an etching kit and a laser printer, something I don't have access to (anal university computer techs won't even let me print on transparent acetates and they've padlocked the paper tray!!!).

Anyways, feel free to share any cost-reducing suggestions, I'm sure others could benefit as well!

[bluesdevil]

Think ahead for future builds and buy all the parts at once at few places as possible.... also shop around around for the cheapest sources and stock up on parts used the most.
   

[bluesdevil]

Also forgot salvaging parts off old circuit boards for the real cheap bastards!!

[phector2004]

is it possible to use parts from burnt out motherboards and the like  (assuming they're in working order)? seems like a good idea, although the short leads would be hard to use

[bluesdevil]

Didn't say it was exactly worth the trouble, but if you want cheap go for it. I've got a small stash of boards I keep around in case I need a part I don't have on hand. you really need older electronics to salvage from because the newer stuff is mostly surface mount components.
Also find alternatives for enclosures: 'puter power supply boxes, raco electrical boxes, cookie/candy tins and such. I've been using cut rectangular tube for my builds lately. Only hassle is making ends for 'em.... using bent sheet metal.
   Look up the thread about making a fuzz circuit from burnt out power compact bulbs somewhere on this forum.... some good caps inside, but be careful of the mercury!!

[R.G.]

In the first edition of the guitar effects FAQ at geofex.com, from almost ten years ago, I noted that the electronics part of building your own effects is almost free.

At least it is compared to the mechanical parts: the box, jacks, battery clip, footswitch, control pots, knobs and so on that will be on every effect. If you do a detailed listing of each part and what it costs, the electronics themselves are always less than half, usually much less than half.

One maxim that was pounded into our heads as designers was working on reducing the cost of the most expensive parts first. If you get the cheapest parts FREE it doesn't reduce cost much. So go work on making the expensive parts cheap - the box, the controls, jacks, ...

[humptydumpty]

search around ebay for resistors, good value packs (think about $9.99/shipped for 1000, or $12.99/shipped for 2000) and read geofex's page on making your own enclosures

[Baktown]

Maybe my motives are different, but when I build pedals I'm doing it as a labor of love, not to try to mass produce a product.  The pedals I build are for friends and fellow musicians, so I try to make each one unique, and something they'll want to keep forever.  I'm not so pretentious to imply that I'm creating art, I just try to make things a little different, and if it costs a few more $$$, it's not a big deal. 

I will, however, use the best quality mechanical parts I can find such as switches, jacks, pots, etc.  Just because a build is unique doesn't mean it can fall apart in the middle of a gig!

Rick J

[philbinator1]

can you use a photocopier with the press n peel?  i have an inkjet so i can't use that, but it does have a photocopier built in to
it and i've heard you can use that.

[studiostud]

can you use a photocopier with the press n peel?  i have an inkjet so i can't use that, but it does have a photocopier built in to
it and i've heard you can use that.

be very careful with that logic.  Inkjet printers that have photocopiers are essentially just an inkjet printer that has a built-in scanner and the ability to print scanned photos without a computer.  Yes, it is a photocopier, but it is still inkjet printing which won't work for press n peel.  What press n peel needs is ink TONER, which comes from either laser printers or actual copy machines.  The reason is because toner, unlike inkjet, is transferred to the paper by heat.  The heat essentially melts the toner onto the paper.  So when you print onto press n peel, you then take an iron and re-melt the toner to transfer it to the PCB copper.  That being said, laser printers aren't the only thing that works.  From my first try till the present, I've always printing the design onto regular paper and then used an office copy machine to transfer the image to press n peel.  It has worked flawlessly every time.  If you don't have one accessible at school, most copy centers or even minimarts that have copy machines will let you copy on to press n peel.  If they are skeptical when I pull out the sheet, I usually just tell them it's the same material as an overhead transparency. 

A quick note to contribute to this thread though... if you are planning ahead for multiple projects, use a graphics program like illustrator to get all your layouts onto a single page.  Then when you make a copy, just run the entire sheet of press n peel through the copy machine.  Saves a lot of time and hassle to do it that way instead of cutting the PnP to appropriate size and taping it to the other sheet to be re-copied.

[mikemaddux]

Currently I buy pre-painted cases + all my electronics from small bear as all the radio shacks near my house have a very tiny selection of overpriced mixed-parts bags. For what i think are harder builds, I look at buying premade PCBs, which usually cost a ton more than regular perfboard. I could save by making my own PCBs, but that would require an etching kit and a laser printer, something I don't have access to (anal university computer techs won't even let me print on transparent acetates and they've padlocked the paper tray!!!).

Anyways, feel free to share any cost-reducing suggestions, I'm sure others could benefit as well!

Avoid radio shack at all costs......

Craigslist - got a $10 panasonic laser printer
Ferric Choride - $20 a gallon at Frys
a couple of plasic trays - 99 cents at the 99 cent store...
PCB material - Ebay (cheap)
staples or epson inkjet glossy photo paper - $5 on ebay (or)
magazine paper - free
patience and knowledge........................priceless

[Quackzed]

heres an idea for you to consider...

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=81803.msg680191#msg680191

basically  you take all the costly parts... jacks, stomp switch ,power jack
and put them into a base unit with a standardized/inexpensive connector
then you can 'plug' whatever board you want to use into it.
so instead of having to box up 20 circuits and their pots
you just make say 3 boxes and plug any 3 circuits into them interchangeably...
...in the long run it allows you to build and design away, without needing a constant stream of jacks and switches and boxes ...

[mikemaddux]

and save up your money and make a big order (to save on shipping) from:

mouser (if you can figure out their part system - watch out for surface mount!)

futurlec (if you can handle waiting a little bit for shipping - but prices are awesome!!) get a few of their packs - resistor, capacitor, and IC/transistor it will set you up for a while for all kinds of projects

pedalpartsplus.com (great prices!, fast shipping!, everything under one "roof")

smallbear

diystompboxes.com store

watch the for sale/trade threads in this forum (some great deals!)
---------------------------------------
Important:  Plan for your first 3-5 projects and order ALL the parts so you dont need to pay for shipping twice (or more....doh!)

[mikemaddux]

heres an idea for you to consider...

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=81803.msg680191#msg680191

basically  you take all the costly parts... jacks, stomp switch ,power jack
and put them into a base unit with a standardized/inexpensive connector
then you can 'plug' whatever board you want to use into it.
so instead of having to box up 20 circuits and their pots

GREAT IDEA!
Ive got an extra breadboard stuck to a tin with double-sided tape
that tin has a 9v, 2 jacks, and a dpdt switch with wires sticking out of the tin into the breadboard.
I wire up my circuit and plug in the in, out, 9v, and ground into the corresponding places on the breadboard and tweak away on the circuit into my test rig

[philbinator1]

heres an idea for you to consider...

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=81803.msg680191#msg680191

basically  you take all the costly parts... jacks, stomp switch ,power jack
and put them into a base unit with a standardized/inexpensive connector
then you can 'plug' whatever board you want to use into it.
so instead of having to box up 20 circuits and their pots

GREAT IDEA!
Ive got an extra breadboard stuck to a tin with double-sided tape
that tin has a 9v, 2 jacks, and a dpdt switch with wires sticking out of the tin into the breadboard.
I wire up my circuit and plug in the in, out, 9v, and ground into the corresponding places on the breadboard and tweak away on the circuit into my test rig

that sounds great for testing.  does anyone have a link with diagrams on how to make one?  instructables etc?

[Joe Hart]

that sounds great for testing.  does anyone have a link with diagrams on how to make one?  instructables etc?

Scroll down to the bottom of this page: http://rabbathrecordings.com/DOD250.htm

Hope it helps!!
-Joe Hart

[Processaurus]

Being a cheapskate myself, I must say the mechanical quality of the builds will suffer from trying to approach pedalbuilding from a hardcore cost saving perspective.  Ugly and difficult to machine steel electrical boxes, rattle can paint, crappy plastic chinese jacks, questionable switches, crummy melty wire, mismatched thriftstore knobs, questionable no name pots with shafts that don't match the thriftstore knobs, used electroytic caps that might fail, might add up to save $15, but  that pedal sucks.

Hint, if money is tight, you could find a musician friend that would be really excited to buy a pedal from you at the cost of the parts of it and an identical pedal you made for yourself.  It takes much less time to make the second compared to the first.  You made your pedal for free.

An exception, is you can build cheaply if you can buy broken pedals and build your circuit into them.  Perfboard too, is a economical way to go, with the extensive benefit that you're learning your circuit, and have a good memory of how the schematic corresponds to the physical board.  There are so many veroboard layouts here too, that is almost as easy as stuffing a printed circuit board.

[jacobyjd]

Don't forget modules--you don't necessarily need to be married to the concept that your pedals need to be footswitchable. If you realize that they don't (especially in the 'I'm not sure if I like it THAT much yet'), use toggle dpdt switches instead of 3pdts for bypassing and make a modular setup (check out the modular ideas at Geofex for SUPER-cheap ideas).

[phector2004]

love the breadboard setup!

and i haven't really thought of making non stomp-able pedals... i know its a huge pain in the ass to balance my guitar on my knee while i fumble with patch cables, although i do leave many of my effects on for my entire jam session. I'd probably do so for something like a compressor or reverb, thanks for the idea!

i think the best option is to just buy in bulk, maybe planning 2-3 projects in advance. It means getting good quality components and saving myself from having to use those fugly electrical boxes (although i've seen some pretty sick uses of them! congrats if you can pull it off!). should also invest in PCB making, found a friend with an ancient 300dpi laserjet

guess i could also make some double builds for my friends, although they mostly play stuff like A7X and Bullet for my Valentine... nothing near what im into, but they might be interested in dist. pedals

[DerHoggz]

they mostly play stuff like A7X and Bullet for my Valentine... nothing near what im into

I know the feeling.

I think planning ahead for multiple builds is a pretty good idea.