10 replies to this topic

[bruxism]

...more accurately, can i build it?

Having never built anything electronic, besides soldering together some kind of door alarm thingy in a grade ten metalwork class, I've decided that it might be a hobby I'd be into.

I have no gear, no experience and no idea what to do next.  I'd like to put something together that'll make noises, hopefully of the squelchy bassy variety.  What gear do i need?  Is there a kit out there that might be a good starter?

Any help much appreciated.

[Jester_Fu]

There's plenty of kits... probably best to start with a filter kit. You'll get a good understanding of how filters work and they're pretty easy to build + cheap..Only real tools you need are:

1. Curious mind - check
2. Decent set of side cutters/pliers
3. a Soldering iron. Don't bother with the temp controlled jobbies yet - just a basic iron from DSE or Jaycar will get you under way
4. A solder sucker and some wick. Try both, see which you prefer to use. They're both cheap.
5. The ability to read...

[bruxism]

Thanks Jester.  I've done a bit of looking but haven't really found a kit to try my hand on.  Can you recommend anything?  A website or store that specialises in this kind of thing?

[Captain Terrific]

Luko would be best to ask methinks...

[ehsan]

I saw a range of FX pedals in kit form at a store the other day with things like distortions, big muff style fuzz, digital delays etc. I was at Pony Music www.ponymusic.com.au.

OK here we go. http://ponymusic.com...y=product_price

Have a look at them for an idea of some things out there.

Or go the Dick Smith Theremin Kit.

[dylab]

I was looking at the BYOC stuff the other day - mm fuzz box

[Jester_Fu]

Those kits are quite exy...

http://www.buildyourownclone.com (cheaper from the source!)
http://www.jaycar.co...AT&SUBCATID=557
http://www.quasarele...cts.htm#Effects
http://www.paia.com
http://www.effectsdatabase.com/diy/
http://www.snippets....s/crossover.htm
and on and on


There's always the educational ShortCircuits kits as well:

http://www.jaycar.co...AT&SUBCATID=251
http://www.jaycar.co...AT&SUBCATID=695
etc...

[bruxism]

Cheers for putting in the hard yards guys.  Might go out and buy one of those ShortCircuit kits to get some skills then try my hand at building a Fatman from PAiA.

This is gonna be fun.

[Megatroid]

I've built the Fatman, its not that hard theres just alot of components. It was one of the first kits I had built but I'd done a little soldering before. Sounds really cool, the oscillators are so raw, they sound alot different to other analogs I've played. A little harder to tame in a mix but lots of fun. There's tonnes of mods out there for it, on my list of things to do is add a sub-oscillator, mod the filter (its nothing special as is), and mod the envelope so its snappier.

After you've build a couple of kits you'll want to get into something meatier like the SSL bus compressor clone.
http://www.gyraf.dk/gy_pd/ssl/ssl.htm

The big audio DIY forums are here, lots of info:
http://www.prodigy-p...m/diy/index.php

There's lots of other good kits around, filters and preamps are a good start I reckon.

Also if you're looking for a square wave noise maker that you can build in half an hour, google Atari Punk Console.

Good luck, have fun!

[joshua.rayson]

I bought all the parts to build a basic distortion pedal, but it's taken an awful long time to get organised and just start. Having very little science and metalwork experience doesn't help.

[Nelson18]

No something i like to do.If i need it i'll buy it.......if i can. I am not very good building electronic stuff.