Building

Equipment

Soldering iron

These are personal. I really like Metcal, and one can be had on eBay for about the cost of a decent new iron if you watch: I paid a little under $200 shipped for an MX-500P-II with the handpiece and stand, and about $175 for a desoldering gun, which makes desoldering a little easier. I would not go this way until you know you want to keep building pedals.

To start, get a decent iron with replaceable tips, adjustable temperature and a stand. Spring for a soldering mat too, so the tip does not burn your desk.

Solder

There are two broad kinds: leaded and lead-free. I lean toward lead-free.

Before you solder

Set up

Clean the area where you are going to work; a clean bench makes for a much easier time. Lay out everything you need and check that it all works.

Read the instructions

It sounds obvious, but we often jump in and start soldering, only to find we have messed something up. Read the build document through a few times, so you know which parts you need and what the PCB and the schematic look like. Every circuit here links its build document and lists its parts; where to order them is under Sourcing.

Build order

Build from the shortest part to the tallest: resistors first, then up to the pots and the off-board wiring. Have the drilled enclosure ready before you solder the pots, switches and other off-board parts. It works as a template and shows whether everything fits.

1. Prepare the enclosure
2. Resistors and diodes
3. Sockets
4. Capacitors
5. Transistors
6. Potentiometers and switches
7. Off-board wires, DC jack, audio jacks
8. Test
9. Box
10. Play