Gear Building

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File: 1448712896279.jpg (41.49 KB, 720x505, 144:101, airis-effects.jpg)

Gear Building Anonymous 11/28/15 (Sat) 12:14:55 2ea60b No.1431

So i lurked for a bit here tho i'm not sure whether or not this belongs here, so sorry if i don't know my shit. I've seen a lot of posts about software, but not a lot about hardware.

I'm an active guitar player (almost 4 years now) and a freshman engineering student, and i'm looking for ways to get into building myself some gear, since i'm kind of a cheap (and not very wealthy) bastard and the country that i live in is practically the third world when it comes to music, but also because i want to expand my sound engineering knowledge. Where would be a good place to start? I am currently on a course of basic electronics so i know the very basics of how some components work. / Any other tips?

Anonymous 11/28/15 (Sat) 14:14:35 c7ca7a No.1432

File: 1448720075677-0.gif (21.6 KB, 443x423, 443:423, gesdoom.gif)

File: 1448720075679-1.gif (13.75 KB, 557x820, 557:820, components.gif)

I build pedals and synths. Start out with some LM386s, they're cheap as Hell. Look up Beavis Audio and his Nigel Tufnel overdrive, it uses two.

Fuzzes and distortions are easy to get going, ranging from really easy to a good bit more complex, but not hard. Start with building yourself a small battery powered amp to test your circuits through, then the Bazz Fuss, I guess, and look up Tim Escobedo's schematics. They're all really small and simple.

You'll need a breadboard. Get a big one, and lots of wire and alligator clips, solder them together to practice. In the end you'll have a good starting point for soldering, and a bunch of alligator clips you can use.

Anonymous 11/28/15 (Sat) 19:22:45 ca12a3 No.1433

File: 1448738565438.jpg (4.07 MB, 3648x2736, 4:3, DSCF2479.JPG)

Oh hey thanks dude, yeah, these really are pretty cheap, i'll start work tomorrow! ^^

I have had some experience soldering before.

Oh, and i forgot to mention, i'm not exactly gearless, this is a 77 ampeg replica built for me by my grandfather. Guess where the inspiration came from, huh? xD

I've also got a BOSS DS-2 Turbo Distortion which my friend lent to me for practicing, but, it really sounds like shit to me tbh.. Maybe it's just a personal preference..

Out of curiosity, do you think that it's possible to make something that sounds as good as some of those big names out there (investing more in components, of course)?

Anonymous 11/28/15 (Sat) 21:32:15 c7ca7a No.1434

I say build a small amp to test your circuits because it's a bad idea to run a test circuit through an amp that cost you a couple of hundred or more.

It's 100% possible to build better gear than "Professionals" because professionals are trying to market to everyone, and 99% of those people are looking for "That tone." The older Boss distortions are good to modify, like the DS-1 can become a really brutal distortion if you tweak it just right. Also, Boss pedals are made by engineers, not musicians that know electronics also, so they're built to an engineers spec.

Beware of "Voodoo" components, people saying that this one diode from 1962 that cost $900 to buy each is the best blah blah, those people are faggots and are deliberately driving up prices like a pack of kikes.

Also, try to socket things like ICs and transistors, anything with more than two legs, it makes modifying / fixing easier.

Anonymous 12/05/15 (Sat) 18:20:15 681c2e No.1447

File: 1449339615146-0.jpg (45.63 KB, 640x411, 640:411, cover.jpg)

File: 1449339615147-1.jpg (227.5 KB, 1600x1200, 4:3, SK-1.jpg)

For anyone here with an SK1 keyboard here's an easy guide on adding MIDI output.

http://www.maxmidi.com/diy/sk1/article.html