Effect pedal circuits?

LOL, if you would have just looked at the post right below this one, you would have had some pretty good information on the subject.

https://www.guitarnoise.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=37210

Well yeah, I did, but those are kits, I want something where I can just add a resistor or a few conductors or something, I know NOTHING about electronics, and those diagrams they have on those sites don't help me one bit.
I'm COMPLETELY new to this.

-Bennett

Well yeah, I did, but those are kits, I want something where I can just add a resistor or a few conductors or something, I know NOTHING about electronics, and those diagrams they have on those sites don't help me one bit.
I'm COMPLETELY new to this.

-Bennett

Are you sure you looked at the Texas Cattledrive kits' layout drawing? They give you an already-made printed circuit board that's clearly marked and labeled with where everything goes, plus a drawing also showing where every part and wire attaches. They also have a builders' forum where you can ask questions if you get stuck. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't get a lot easier than that.

I know the whole thing may seem a little overwhelming at first, but just relax, take a deep breath, and just take it one step at a time. Don't try to look at the whole thing, just the one step that's next. Have a little confidence. If you can hold a job and drive a car, you can also do this.

It's not rocket-science, it's a $30 kit (actually, a $20 kit and a $10 box) that runs on a 9-volt battery. Even if you screw something up, chances are very very good that nothing at all will happen, other than it not working and then you'll have to re-examine the thing to see which part is in backwards or which wire is in the wrong hole. The absolute worst thing that could happen is that you fry a $2.50 germanium transistor that you can replace. Nothing can explode, start a fire, create clouds of smoke, or blow up your amp, although I recommend starting with the amp volume at zero and slowly bring it up, in case the thing is at max volume or something.

If nothing else, you can always seek help right here, as there's a number of very experienced electronics guys here including myself. There's also tons and tons of electronics hobbyist sites on the 'net that are a quick Google search away that can help you learn everything from what all those squiggly lines and weird symbols in that schematic mean, to how to use a soldering iron.

Cheers!

Strat

Alright, so do you know any easy ones that have a item list? And where I can get them?(Would radio shack have them?) The item list would help a lot, compared to just a schematics, I can find out which is which, but a full name, or a certain item/company would be nice. And I was hoping to just make one, without a kit.
Thanks a bunch!

-Bennett

The Weber Texas Cattledrive pedal is one of the easiest/simplest ones, as it has just a single transistor, a switch, and a few resistors and capacitors.

https://taweber.powweb.com/store/kits_weber.htm#texas

From Webers' website on the Texas Cattledrive kit:

"A real fun, quicky project.
Here's what you get: Circuit board, parts, 9V battery with snap, jacks, pots, knobs."

An enclosure can be had for it for an additional $10.

If this is your first attempt at building anything electronic, I'd *highly* recommend starting with a kit rather than trying to gather all the correct parts yourself, and besides that, the kit comes with a clearly-marked board ready to drop in the parts. Radio Shack has really gone downhill as a source for electronics hobbyists trying to get parts. Guitar effects pedals commonly use parts that are not commonly found at a local Radio Shack.

Kits are a great way to gain experience before attempting to build something from just a schematic and maybe a drawing. There are subtle differences in part types that make a major difference in whether what you build will work that aren't obvious. A PNP transistor looks just like an NPN transistor and the only difference between the two may be a letter before or after the part number. That difference completely reverses the whole power polarity of the circuit among other things though.

I'm not trying to be difficult by dissuading you from just finding a schematic somewhere and attempting to navigate esoteric parts catalogs and listings that can be difficult for even an experienced electronics tech to parse. I'm trying to steer you in the best direction I can so that you have a good and successful first experience and come out with a working project and a better understanding of what you're doing and more of the skills you need to do what you're asking.

As they say, you have to crawl before you walk, and the same applies here. What you're asking for is similar to someone who has never played guitar asking you how to play Jimi Hendrix' "Little Wing". You'd start by telling them to take the basic steps of learning to play the guitar before you told them the chords and riffs, as it wouldn't mean much to them unless they had the basic skillset and the vocabulary to understand what you tell them first.

Cheers!

Strat

Radio Shack has really gone downhill as a source for electronics hobbyists trying to get parts.

+100! Back in the day Radio Shack they had all manner of parts, kits, plans, etc. I learned my soldering iron skills - and limitations on RS stuff. I miss those days sort of!

The good news is the Internet has way more knowledge (including right here) and sources for parts to build some pretty fine circuitry - especially related to pedals!