Ultimate Guide to DIY Guitar Pedals (Kits, Equipment, Tutorials)(Ⅱ)

June 23,2022

guitar pedal knob,pedal effect housing,drilled pedal enclosures

 

 

Guitar pedal knob,pedal effect housing,drilled pedal enclosures

It’s a Fun Hobby

 

Even if the thought of soldering a guitar pedal circuit together is daunting to you right now, you might be surprised by how fun it can be once you learn the basic skills.

 

There are guitar forums and sites filled with guitarists who love building custom pedals.

 

I’ve only recently got into building pedals and I can tell you that it’s an incredible feeling to power up the newly soldered circuit and hear the effect come to life.

 

Taking a handful of components and turning them into part of your guitar tone is ridiculously fun.

 

Equipment You Need to Build Guitar Pedals

 

The good news is that you can get into building your own pedals without needing too much equipment.

 

The absolute minimum equipment you need to build a guitar pedal is a soldering iron, solder, wire cutters, and a multimeter.

 

There are other tools and equipment to make your job easier, but you can still build guitar pedals with very few tools.

 

Let’s go through the basic equipment you will need or may want to buy.

 

Soldering Iron

 

Building a guitar pedal requires you to use a soldering iron.

 

If you’ve never used a soldering iron before, don’t be intimidated by the thought of using one. It’s a simple skill to use and easy to practice.

 

Any soldering iron rated above 30W will work fine when building your guitar pedals.

 

You can buy pretty much any cheap soldering iron and it should work fine.

 

I used a soldering iron like the above photo for a long time on many projects including changing the pickups in my guitar.

 

If you want to make your life easier, I recommend buying a soldering iron station with temperature control as shown below:

 

I recently upgraded my cheap soldering iron to a station like this one with temperature control and it did make things much easier. Having a holder for the solder and a place to clean the tip all built into the station was surprisingly useful.

 

Being able to adjust the temperature will allow you to dial in the perfect setting so you don’t overheat components.

 

If you want to go all out, I regularly see glowing endorsements of the Hakko soldering station.

 

The Hakko is expensive compared to a cheaper soldering station like this one, but if you plan on using it often, it might be worth it.

 

Solder (Required)

 

Along with a soldering iron, you’ll need solder to wire up your guitar pedals.

 

There are two main types of solder you will see for sale: lead-based solder and lead-free solder.

 

The main difference between the two to keep in mind is the melting temperature. Lead-based solder has a lower melting temperature, so it is easier to work with.

 

Typical lead-based solder is sold with a ratio such as 50/50 or 60/40. The first number is the tin in the solder and the second number is the lead. So 60/40 solder contains 60% tin and 40% lead.

 

Conclusion

 

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