DIY effects pedal build

[Jimothey]

I’ve decided to give building my own effects pedal a go 

so I bought an Overdrive pedal PCB off eBay for a couple of quid 

I won’t be getting the components till just after Christmas as there is a big electrical wholesalers near where my Dad lives so he’s going to get all the bits and bring them with him when they next come up

So I started thinking about enclosures and everybody uses the Hammond type Alu enclosures so I thought how about trying to make one out of wood to be a bit different, Its going to have a water slide decal on top with the lettering for the knobs etc

Here’s my first attempt out of so scrap pine I had

I'm not sure if I should veneer it instead as it looks a bit bland at the mo?

What does everyone reckon veneered or leave it natural??...............😀

Edited December 5, 2019 by Jimothey

[Wilson_51_]

You may want to think about lining the inside of it with some copper tape or similar.

 if you struggle to get any of the bits a good place to get components is bitsbox usually pretty decent prices and usually have everything you need.

looks like it should be fun to build, but be warned it is addictive!

 

Edited December 5, 2019 by simon88wilson

[Pea Turgh]

It’ll match the barncaster well!  Keep the outside as unfinished as possible I reckons.

[Jimothey]

  On 05/12/2019 at 18:58, Pea Turgh said:

It’ll match the barncaster well!  Keep the outside as unfinished as possible I reckons.

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That was kinda what gave me the idea to do it wooden and it’s a bit different.........👍

[Jimothey]

  On 05/12/2019 at 16:35, simon88wilson said:

You may want to think about lining the inside of it with some copper tape or similar.

 if you struggle to get any of the bits a good place to get components is bitsbox usually pretty decent prices and usually have everything you need.

looks like it should be fun to build, but be warned it is addictive!

 

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Do pedals need to be shielded then? I didn’t realise that they did

I would have got the wholesalers to ship the components straight to me but they charge a flat rate of £8.95 for P&P which I thought was a bit ridiculous especially as the whole order has only cost me £14 and I’m not in too much of a rush for them anyway

Yeah if this one goes well then I’ve got a Bass Fuzz, Chorus and a JTM-45 in the pipeline...........😀

[Stub Mandrel]

  On 05/12/2019 at 19:24, Jimothey said:

Do pedals need to be shielded then? I didn’t realise that they did

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Not necessarily. Some pedals have plastic  cases and work fine. Plenty of amps have a steel chassis but large parts open to the air,. The answer is really 'it depends'.

[BigRedX]

If you want it to look boutique get a 5-year old to draw you something and then burn it on with a soldering iron.

Ideally everything in the signal path should be shielded to avoid interference pickup.

[Jimothey]

I got started on the pedal this afternoon..........😬

I didn’t have anything to hold the pcb so I nicked a photo holder off my daughter!!

I finished doing the board, tested it and bugger me it worked first time just got to do the switch now and get it in the enclosure I’ve decided against the wooden and gone with Alu instead.........👍

Edited December 29, 2019 by Jimothey

[Jimothey]

The box is all drilled out now 

The top of the pedal will look a bit like this except I might change the name on it to Blues Screamer instead but I haven’t decided as yet.........

Where it’s white will actually be bare Alu with chrome knobs I’m going to try and do an image transfer again then spray a clear coat over the top...........😀

[Si600]

Erm, why isn't it yellow? What have you done to @Jimothey and where have you hidden the body?

 

Is that you @Raymondo? 🤔

[Jimothey]

  On 02/01/2020 at 16:21, Si600 said:

Erm, why isn't it yellow? What have you done to @Jimothey and where have you hidden the body?

 

Is that you @Raymondo? 🤔

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Not everything I do is yellow I might just keep them all brushed Alu with black writing but you never know what terrible colour combo I might choose!?!.....😄

Edited January 2, 2020 by Jimothey

[Jimothey]

Here’s a mock-up of how the graphics might look??

But I’m thinking it looks a bit boring so I might paint it hmmmm...............Yellow maybe!!😀

[Jimothey]

I am probably going to do it White as I’ve got some Satin at work.........😀

[Si600]

Won't that restrict you to only using it at night?

[Si600]

  On 12/01/2020 at 18:05, Jimothey said:

I am probably going to do it White as I’ve got some Satin at work.........😀

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  On 12/01/2020 at 18:27, Si600 said:

Won't that restrict you to only using it at night?

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Nights in White Satin?

Never mind, I'll get off your thread 😉

[Jimothey]

I did think that was what you meant and was going to reply 

‘and I’m worried about never reaching the end of the song’.......🙄

[Jimothey]

I’ve sprayed a couple of coats of White on the enclosure today 

I couldn't sleep so I had a little play around on the computer trying different ideas and remembered @Simon.‘s idea from my effects pedal name ideas thread so I came up with this.............

I’m kinda trying to make it look a bit like a tiled wall at a tube station, I’ve only got a black and white laser printer to do the image transfer with so I couldn’t do the red and blue on the logo but I like the monochrome look of it 

What do you all reckon looks better the original design a few posts up or this one???..................🤔

[Wilson_51_]

i like the design with tiles, it would look great etched. I always wanted to get into etching pedals but never had the equipment.

[Stub Mandrel]

I've done my own anodising. Anodised colour with decals could look good.

[Jimothey]

Anodising looks a bit too technical to me! Would look really good though! But I think for the moment I’ll stick to rattle cans

I tried to do the image transfer today but I didn’t leave it to dry for long enough so it didn’t take very well but I’ll print off another one and try again tomorrow!! I might try and print it off at work and do the Underground logo in red and blue..........😀

[Rexel Matador]

Tube Driver - brilliant 🤣

Re printing in colour - I quite like it in monochrome - looks kind of punky.

Damn you basschat - now I really want to build a pedal in addition to everything else!

[Jimothey]

Building pedals is just as addictive as building basses I’ve built this one and I’ve got another 3 in the pipeline!!........😬

[Rexel Matador]

  On 14/01/2020 at 16:20, Jimothey said:

Building pedals is just as addictive as building basses I’ve built this one and I’ve got another 3 in the pipeline!!........😬

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Where do I go to learn? I only really use overdrive, but I'd love to make my own one day!

[Jimothey]

  On 14/01/2020 at 19:22, Rexel Matador said:

Where do I go to learn? I only really use overdrive, but I'd love to make my own one day!

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I could solder before I made it but YouTube has somebody good tutorials on it 

If you get a PCB they make your life easier because it’s basically soldering by number but you have to source all the components 

Pedalparts.co.uk has some great PCBs or you can buy full kits as well from them.........😀

[Jimothey]

I tried the logo in red and blue but it just didn’t look good I think monochrome was definitely a better choice!

I remembered I had some waterslide decal paper so I printed it off last night and have just applied it to the pedal just got to clear coat it tomorrow.

I think it looks good if I do say so myself!!..........😀

Now the quandary is do I fit black knobs or chrome ones?? The foot switch is chrome so I’m leaning more towards chrome at the mo??

Edited January 15, 2020 by Jimothey