FIRST BUILD - Face Melter - SUCCESS

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

I just did my first build ever, the Face Melter. It worked on first boot up and sounds GREAT!
Would have been wise to mount the mini toggle first before installing the caps that surround it.
I did all resistors first, then diodes, then caps. I did not know the toggle would be hard to install so I had to desolder a cap, solder in mini toggle, then add the cap back.
Had to desolder the 4 pots because I did them opposite. Next time I will look at a finished pedal for knob layout.

Will be on to the next build!

 

[BuddytheReow]

Pictures! Let us see the robot porn!

 

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

Here it is, but not yet in the box!

 

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

And yes, the RED caps are a BIG TOO BIG! Hahah. Lesson learned. As someone said, it takes more time to build the BOM and find the parts than it does to actually BUILD the thing!

 

[fig]

Great job! Welcome to your new obsession!

 

[BuddytheReow]

Make sure those pots don't touch the board or any other metal. Dust covers are invaluable here!

 

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

Aye! I am using black elec tape as a temporary measure but did order a bunch of these:

16mm Potentiometer Dust Cover- 10 pack

Top Quality Parts for Guitar Effects Pedals and DIY Music Devices. Knobs, Pots, Switches, Kits, LEDs, Enclosures, Jacks, Wire, Resistors, Capacitors, Semiconductors

stompboxparts.com

 

[BuddytheReow]

Tape is good enough for me

 

[AgAuthority]

Put in the clipping diodes yet?

Ag

 

[Feral Feline]

Plastic milk-tugs glued on backs of bare pots are good enough for me.


Socket the clipping diodes...

 

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

Put in the clipping diodes yet?

Ag

Yes, I sure did. And once I saw those things flash and growl when playing some savage riffs I knew the pedal was an "LED clipping" pedal. now I know what that actually means because I had no idea before.

I put in 2x green 5MM LED's in the pedal where the A and K were right below the toggle. Was that the right thing to do? I think I may make an opening in the enclosure right above where those LED's are and install a clear "porthole" so I can see them flash. You said "clipping diodes" but I did them as LED. was that wrong? here is a pic and this is after I f'd up and broke the C5K pot for "booty" (long story but never ever work on an enclosure drill when you have stuff inside of it. stupid bonehead mistake but i was able to fix! my pedal is quite frankenstein'd now but its working!! i had to order a new C5K pot though.

 

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

Well I will be darned, fellas. So an LED = a DIODE. So when you said clipping diodes you meant LED's. Ok, phew.
Now here is what is blowing my mind. The fact that (allegedly, apparently) different color and size LED's SOUND different?!?! WAAAAAAAAAT!
I put 2x green 5mm in there cuz that is what was on my bench.. i assumed all led sound same, could not possibly sound diff. Wow.

How does one SOCKET an LED? Stick a little 2 pin slot thingie in there and then insert the pins of the LED's into the little 2 pin socket? COOL IDEA!

 

[AgAuthority]

Stole this from the net and posted it before

 

[mjh36]

Steel Panther pedal for your first build? Well played, sir... well played. What kinda design/enclosure are you thinking of using?

 

[BuddytheReow]

Well I will be darned, fellas. So an LED = a DIODE. So when you said clipping diodes you meant LED's. Ok, phew.
Now here is what is blowing my mind. The fact that (allegedly, apparently) different color and size LED's SOUND different?!?! WAAAAAAAAAT!
I put 2x green 5mm in there cuz that is what was on my bench.. i assumed all led sound same, could not possibly sound diff. Wow.

How does one SOCKET an LED? Stick a little 2 pin slot thingie in there and then insert the pins of the LED's into the little 2 pin socket? COOL IDEA!

LEDs (light emitting diode) are a type of diode. The other "standard" diodes for signal clipping are 1n914 and 1n4148. There are many others as well and they all behave differently in terms of when the clipping occurs (voltage drop).

To socket diodes or anything else you want to experiment with use these. You'll have to trim off whatever you need and simply solder them in to the board. Then you can experiment til your heart's content by simply shoving them in there. When you are happy with the final result you can put a dab of solder on the socketed part to tack it in and make it less likely to fall out. The more you experiment the more you'll learn.

40 Pin 2.54mm DIP SIP IC Sockets Adaptor Solder Type

Lead Free - Get It Fast - Same Day Shipping

www.taydaelectronics.com

 

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

Steel Panther pedal for your first build? Well played, sir... well played. What kinda design/enclosure are you thinking of using?

It is going into a white powder coated enclosure that I bought and hackily drilled the holes into. My first pedal was a huge success and I learned a lot while doing this!! My next one will be cleaner and I will carry over all of the lessons learned!

 

[Feral Feline]

After you get the sockets installed, try a Red and a Green for some slightly asymmetrical clipping.

 

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

Ok, I can do that. I will experiment with colors and sizes. Easy to do with the 2 pin socket in there.

 

[fig]

After you get the sockets installed, try a Red and a Green for some slightly asymmetrical clipping.

orange

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

Tape is good enough for me

Tape is crap. A sharp lead will poke right thru it.