Big Guide To Debugging DIY Guitar Pedals
June 6, 2024So, you’ve finished building a new guitar pedal, you want to try it out so you plug it in and… it doesn’t work. If you’re built even only a single guitar pedal, you know that it’s pretty much the rule that something will be wrong the first time you plug it in. You won’t get […]
How To Wire 6.35mm (1/4″) Socket
June 4, 2024Before launching into this quick article on how to wire a 6.35 mm socket, I’m going to tare the band-aid off and talk vernacular. The thing pictured here goes by many names: 1/4 inch jack or socket if you live in the U.S.A. 6.35 mm jack or socket if you live anywhere else. Guitar jack […]
Escobedo Harmonic Jerculator On Stripboard
May 28, 2024https://youtu.be/me2I8VYSMvk The Escobedo Harmonic Jerculator is a wonderful little fuzz circuit that packs plenty of punch. This pedal is based on the classic fuzz pedal from Interfax called the Harmonic Percolator. The Harmonic Percolator isn’t made any more, and the geranium transistors used for it are hard to find these days, so the Harmonic Jerculator […]
How To Read A Circuit Diagram
May 27, 2024Even if you’re just doing PCB kits or following strip board layouts, learning how to read a circuit diagram really comes in handy when building guitar pedals, or for electrons in general. So, if you stumbled onto this article with no interest in guitar pedals and just want to learn how to read circuit diagrams, […]
What Is A Voltage Divider?
May 23, 2024Most guitar pedals use a 9 volt direct current. There are pedals out there that use something else, but 9 volts is the most common, especially when it comes to DIY guitar pedals. However, what do you do if you need something lower than 9 volts? What if your pedal needs both 9 volts and […]
Gear You Need To Make Guitar Pedals
May 21, 2024So you want to start making DIY guitar pedals? It may seem daunting, especially if you’re unsure of what you’ll need to get started. Well, have no fear, this article seeks to help you find out. Fortunately, you can actually get started for relatively cheaply. This is a new hobby after all. While I think […]
Potentiometer Wiring: How To Wire A Potentiometer
May 20, 2024Potentiometers are an electronics component that are essentially used as variable resistors in guitar pedals and other electronics. I have an article on how potentiometers work and the different types if you want more information, but if you’re already pretty familiar with potentiometers but need information on how to wire them, you’re in the right […]
How To Make A Guitar Pedal Tester And Audio Probe
May 9, 2024The most frustrating, but also one of the most rewarding things, about making your own guitar pedals is that they rarely work the first time. You spend hours soldering everything, plug it in, and it doesn’t work. Then comes the troubleshooting, finding where your error is, and finally success! During this troubleshooting and fixing period, […]
How To Wire A Guitar Pedal Foot Switch (3PDT)
April 24, 2024The typical foot switch for a guitar pedal, the 3PDT, is a component that goes into pretty much every single guitar pedal. It’s needed to turn the guitar pedal off an on. Well, in actual fact, it’s needed to swap the signal from bypassing the pedal’s circuit to going through the guitar pedal’s circuit. It […]
Understanding Mid-Scoops And The Big Muff Tone Circuit
February 27, 2024The Big Muff by Electro-Harmonix is another one of those super famous guitar pedals. It has a classic fuzz sound to it with a schematic that’s relatively easy to understand. Sure, it’s quite a bit more complicated that a Fuzz Face, but there’s also a lot more that you can do with it, including tone […]
