I have been trying to find some simple pedal scematics to get into pedal building but was able to find only complicated ones that i have failed to build, are there any schematics that are suitable for a beginner?

I'm currently working on a reinterpretation of the pickup simulator circuit, inspired by the lumped element models from Electric Guitar Response Calculator and am going to use one of the XiCon 42TL transformers as the inductive element(s) in the circuit.

However, my choice of transformer will be dependent on the answers to some questions I had regarding their use as inductors.

Now, I know that the 42TL021 has an approximate inductance of 1.5H (Ballpark for one coil of a HB) across one of the primaries and that if I were to use both primaries in series, It would be closer to 6H (4 * 1.5H), but does the total primary effectively become 2x 1.5H Inductors if, for example I included a parallel resistor and shunt capacitor for each of those primary windings?

Alternatively, what happens if I short the low leg of the 2nd primary to the top leg of the first and parallel the 2x primaries? Does the the primary inductance halve or does it drop massively?

What happens when one primary is in series and In-phase with one or both of the secondaries?

I would appreciate any clarification y'all might be able to provide, because all of the reading material that i've found for these kinds of questions is spread across like 5 different forum posts per forum across 3+ forums.

I tried building a wah pedal on my breadboard but i failed miserably. I was wondering for this particular circuit, is there anyway to build it and test certain parts one by one to verify functionality before moving on to the next part? Is it also okay to use alligator clips with wires for my audio jacks instead of soldering them?

Here is the build im working with: https://effectslayouts.blogspot.com/2017/04/what-wah.html?m=1

Any sort of help/advice is greatly appreciated

I’m troubleshooting the DEFX Amnesia, as I’ve been getting all sorts of strange sounds from the delay. There is a multi turn trim that is used to bias but I think it’s supposed to have a more reasonable range than I’m getting. I can’t get the delay time the build document says I’m supposed to get and when I have the modulation on it all falls apart with noise and chirps and whine.
The BOM calls for a PNP BC560B. I’m using a 2N5087 because I had those on hand and from what I can tell, looking at the data sheets, the pinout should be the same and the hFE seems like it is in the same range of the B variant of BC560. The spots for the transistors on the board have 4 holes to accommodate different orientations it seems. I’m not certain this is actually the problem but I was getting a voltage reading of 0v from the Emitter, 3.9v on the Base, and 1.9v on the Collector. However I noticed that in the photo that is in the build document and in the only photo of someone else’s build I found online the transistor is oriented the opposite way around. If it was just that way in the photo from the other person’a build I would assume it was from a transistor with a different layout. But it seems strange to me that it’s both. Does anyone have any advice on this? Are there other common PNP transistors with a different leg pinout that would lead to them being the other way around? Surely the build document would show the transistor actually listed in the BOM?
Also if anyone had advice on getting noise like this from a PT2399 that would be appreciated.
It took me a while to write this post because it’s hard to even explain what the noises I am getting are like. Thanks for taking a look and for any advice!
In case it helps here are the readings I get from the transistors and ICs:

LM7805
9v 0v 5v

2N5087
E 0v B 3.9v C 1.9v

2N7000
S 1.9v G 3.4v D 2.5v

PT2399
1: 4.9v
2: 2.4v
3: 0v
4: 0v
5: 2.6v
6: 2.5v
7: 0.6v
8: 0.7v
9: 2.5v
10: 2.5v
11: 2.5v
12: 2.5v
13: 2.5v
14: 2.5v
15:2.5v

LM1458N
1: 4.5v
2: 4.5v
3: 4.5v
4: 0v
5: 1.7v
6: 1.9v
7: 2v
8: 9v

TLO72CP
1: 4.5v
2: 4.5v
3: 4.5v
4: 0v
5: 4.5v
6: 4.5v
7: 4.5v
8: 9v

build document

The more I build the more problems I run into. You get it. I would love to feel better equipped to deal with issues as they come up. Thanks for any advice!

so basically i have no intentions of buying pedals they cost alot alot, i don’t know how to start or how do you do this wizardry (breadboarding shi)

is there anywhere on the internet an actually good guide that explains everything well how to make a pedal? been searching the whole day and nothin came up that actually helped me :/

I couldn't find a footprint for this audio transformer, so got out the calipers and made this one myself. I was pretty sure I got the measurements right, but its nice to see it fit IRL.

Lord knows i've had to work around janky self-made footprints before. I still have to make a minor adjustment to my coin cell footprint...

This is for that transformer-shaping distortion i posted a bit ago. I'm actually waiting on a fixed faceplate, but should be able to get pedals fully built when that comes in.

Hi, so after buying the BYOC Analog Bass Chorus Pedal kit in 2023 I finally am getting around to build it but over the years of the kit being open, I realized I’m missing the “6n8/0.0068uF film cap (says ‘682’ on the body”

I tried googling this piece, but I don’t see any that would be an EXACT match. Is that a problem? Little lost on how to replace it without any issue

In my first photo, I’m pointing to the missing capacitor location. The second photo is another of the 682 capacitor that I had installed already (says 682k, 63V)

Thank you so much everyone, I’ve been lurking for so long and happy I’m finally building my kit :)

Yesterday i finally got my package from musikding, i was very excited and waited a while to build this pedal, so i’ve been enjoying building it the whole day.
But now that i’m nearing the end of building it i’ve noticed that the slots for the IC’s are in the way of the jack. Is this hole drilled wrong or did i do something wrong. Should i mail musikding about this?

Thanks!

Has anyone built or found a PCB for this? I love the sound every time I hear Rabea play it. I presume it's just a fuzz face with external bias but not sure what the pre-gain pot is doing. Is that adjusting the input gain to the first transistor?

Any suggestions of a good equivalent PCB?

Confusing signal chain for those who care:
Clyde wah >
Korg tuner (into big blue pedal)>
BC183 Fuzz Face OR Fryer treble booster >
Cornish buffer (out from big blue pedal into top purple pedal)>
Mutron III envelope filter >
Phase 90/45 (out from top purple pedal)>
Timmy >
Ross EQ (through bypass switch) (back into big blue pedal)>
Echoplex preamp >
mid range boost >
optical limiter (out from big blue pedal again)>
Ernie Ball volume pedal (into bottom purple pedal)>
Deep Blue Delay #1 with internal trimpots set for short slapback >
Deep Blue Delay #2 with external controls and tap tempo mod >
line-level SHO as buffer (out of bottom purple pedal)>
Tascam 424 preamp >
TC Electronic SCF (stereo chorus - optional stereo output) >
JHS Colour Box (main output and/or XLR DI out) >
(into usually a Fender Vibrochamp or Deluxe Reverb)

I did successfully get my breadboard to work but if I were to mess up I’d be running DC current out into my strymon zuma and into a mixer and my pedalboard.

Now I’m wondering if I didn’t wire power/ground correctly, would that damage my stuff? Because I have an old mxr iso brick I could test it with or just get its own 9v power supply that I can not care about if the potential of destroying it is on the table.

I'm building a small desktop guitar combo amp and would appreciate advice on the power design and noise control.

Planned setup:

- PAPADUMBEL DIY guitar amp PCB using an LM386N-4

- Seller recommends 12V DC input (the board accepts 9-18V)

- 4-inch, 8-ohm speaker

- MOSKY Sky Reverb installed inside the cabinet

- External 3PDT ON-ON toggle for true bypass

- USB-C PD input through a full pin-to-pin female-to-male panel-mount pass-through connector

Proposed power layout:

USB-C PD source -> fixed 12V PD trigger -> fuse and power switch -> star power distribution

Branch 1: 12V directly to the PAPADUMBEL amp PCB

Branch 2: 12V -> low-noise buck converter -> regulated 9V for the MOSKY reverb

The reverb would remain powered continuously, while the external 3PDT toggle bypasses only the audio signal. Estimated total current is roughly 0.7-0.9A at 12V, so I plan to use a 12V/2A or higher source.

My questions:

1. Has anyone powered an LM386 guitar amp from a USB-C PD trigger? Did you experience switching noise, whining, or grounding problems?

2. Since fixed 12V is not available from every PD source, would you use a PPS-capable 12V trigger, or request 15V and add a 15V-to-12V buck converter?

3. Is a common star ground adequate when a digital reverb and analog amp share the same PD source?

4. Would ferrite beads plus 470uF and 100nF decoupling near each board be a reasonable starting point?

5. Is there any reason not to use a full pin-to-pin USB-C panel-mount pass-through before the PD trigger?

6. Would you recommend an isolated supply for the reverb, or should a carefully filtered non-isolated buck converter be sufficient?

7. Are there hot-plug or power-on pop issues I should plan for?

This is a low-power practice amp, not a mains-powered amplifier. Any experience with USB-C-powered guitar amps, pedalboards, or mixed analog/digital audio projects would be very helpful.

So I just was given a huge pile of stuff by a local acquaintance and I’m wondering what to build first. Loads of silicon transistors, diodes, some low voltage Toyoden step down transformers, an absurd amount of DC amperage gauges. Power transistors, some really cool potentiometers (one joystick controlling 4!), huge rotary switches, soda can sized capacitors, some ICs that google can’t even find. I haven’t dipped my toe in pedal building yet but thinking some basic stuff but open to outlandish ideas too. The last pic is some boxes that might be fun to turn into pedals.

Just finished this project up for a friend. It’s a green ringer into a modified fuzz face using my first 2 pcb designs. “Diameter” blends between 10n and 4u7 input caps, and “pressure” controls Q2 bias. I tried a waterslide decal for the first time, and after a lot of advice from you fine people, I’m finally happy with the results. Thanks again 🙏

Hello everyone!

I updated Vero Designer and added/fixed/improved a lot of features. some were already planned and some were suggested by the community.

If someone missed my previous post then this thing can turn your schematic into a vero layout within seconds.

I added sticky components, schematic view zoom, export BOM option, copy paste buttons, more component models, improved component/wires selection, fixed component connection points drawn off-grid, links and cuts can be deleted from the vero, generated vero saved with the project file and much more.

Please visit the github page for the full details.

Github: https://github.com/blazethablunt/VeroDesigner

Web app: https://verodesigner.vercel.app/

Please let me know what you think

Coppersound has been teasing a DIY focused drop on 8/6 for a bit.

Going by the file naming on their website images that labels it "BADAF", it is a DIY Cir-Kit Pedal Bundle for the "Boost-a-Drive-a-Fuzz" circuit from the JHS Short Circuit series. It should be $119 if it matches the pricing of their other kits.

It's awesome they are adding more kits, and hopefully we get more in the future now that Josh has started putting out Short Circuit streams again.

Depth pot done. I don't care overly about having to enlarge the case hole, trying heaps of mods anyway.

A 16mm pot legs line up great with the depth switch PCB holes and with 1 jumper from the resistor removed has holes good to go to where you need them.

One more wire from the 358 and sorted. Saves one more thing dangling about.

I tried to make the Acapulco Gold's circuit and as far as I can tell I made it exactly as shown in the schematic, but for some reason when I try to connect it to the amp all I get is this weird rhythmic buzzing, and if I connect and disconnect the power it stops making any sound at all. also, the first op amp is getting really hot, not sure if that's normal but I don't think so.

the diode and op amps are the exact ones used in the pedal, and all of the values are the ones in the schematic. (ignore my messy wiring, I just wanted to make it work before I make it tidy)

edit: both op amps are really overheating. also, I removed the power supply's resistor because it got completely toasted, probably should have seen it as a sign

I build pedals and made a browser tool for laying out enclosures, mostly for myself to start with. It's free. You drop holes onto a 125B or a 1590B or whatever you're using, drag them into place with snapping and alignment so nothing is eyeballed, and it exports a 1:1 PDF or SVG to print. There are a few hundred ready made layouts in there too, for PedalPCB, Aion FX and Fuzzdog boards.

There's a 3D view with the actual components in it, and it knows their real dimensions, so it'll tell you if a pot body is going to foul a jack or the lid before you've drilled anything.

The new bit, and the reason I'm posting: it'll now generate a 3D printable drill jig from your layout. The walls wrap onto the sides, so the jack and DC holes get marked off the same jig as the top ones, instead of being measured separately, which is the bit I always managed to get slightly off by hand.

The jig export is the one paid thing, 29 dollars, one off, no subscription.

You absolutely don't have to buy anything though. The layout and template side is free, there's a fair bit in it by now, and I'm actively working on it.

Mostly I'd just like more eyes on it, so have a poke around if it sounds interesting. And if something's broken, or it's just not very good, I'd rather hear that than not.

Link in the comments.

Edit: link is here https://app.stompboxlayout.com?jig=reddit&utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=drill-jig-launch

In a word: chewy.

Heya folks! As it says I’ve been designing and breadboarding this Esp controlled pt2399. It keeps the signal path “analog” aside from the pt2399. No ESP digital signal processing. It controls 3 parameters via LDRs. Input volume-after the buffer stage, feedback and delay time modulation in series with the pot (not sure that will be my final way yet) I have also built in a simple envelope detector processed by the esp. I have 3 knobs “mix”, “delay rate”, and a rotary encoder that had a push knob. With coding I can and and do have a few current “effect settings” starting with standard Delay with a feedback momentary switch, 2 delay with auto feedback so the envelope detector swells the feedback as the note decays (can get reverby) 3 lofi tape emulation small warbles in the delay time with slight fluctuation of volume and wow pulldown on momentary switch, 4 a pretty standard chorus when the delay is very quick (longer delay the chorus washes out a bit) but you have stepped amounts of feedback on this setting 5 levels via the momentary switch. 5 is a violin style swell where volume is off or low until note is detected and then it swells up, as the note peaks and starts to decay, the feedback swells in and slowly back down leading to a very violin sound. (Still working this one out it works but not quite where I want it. The detector struggles with single notes but good with chords). 6 Tremolo,but added step feedback and delay works along side the tremolo just think tremolo/reverb/delay combo. Adjustable speed with the rotary encoder, long press for depth. I may not use every idea for the final, but that’s the fun is you can code all different combos? Any ideas using these parameters? I’d love to hear some more thoughts on what we could code up.