Not all PCB providers are equal...

[Dali]

I'm not ranting against the product itself (didn't build them yet) but we're far away from PedalPCB nice and clean delivery/packaging.

The PCB was loose in the envelope just as you see in the picture. It doesn't look damaged at all.

 

[mnemonic]

I don’t mean to sound like a sycophant, but there don’t seem to be many diy pcb makers out there like pedalpcb.

when I first started building pedals only a few years ago, I ordered some PCB’s from a few U.K.-based pcb makers. If I look back to their sites today they’re largely unchanged, maybe one or two new things. I don’t know how pedalpcb puts out the volume of new stuff it does, it’s got to be a lot of work.

the symmetrical and compact layouts are also great, they make everyone else’s layouts (even many production pedals) look oversized and ugly. The only downside to this is we have to be careful to order the right size capacitors. And when I was more of a newbie, those small solder pads were challenging.

 

[Nostradoomus]

I’ve built quite a few boards from fuzzdog, never had any problems. They aren’t better or worse, just different.

 

[yazooligan]

I've ordered from four different US-based PCB makers in the last few weeks, and only one arrived loose in an envelope. The rest were at least in baggies. My PedalPCB order was vacuum sealed and pristine.

 

[dlazzarini]

All of the different pcb’s I’ve used from different sites have all seemed to be good quality. I myself am most comfortable on Pedalpcb. I haven’t really found another site that has the volume of Pedalpcb and there’s a constant flow of new releases. It never seems to get stagnant around here which I have noticed on a lot of other sites. Also this forum to me anyways has the best “air” about it. You get answers to questions super fast and everybody’s very helpful.

 

[daeg]

Mr. PCB's layouts are unparalleled.

The consistent form factor, pot locations, pinouts, component sizes, board mounted pots, etc have made a night/day difference in the quality and frequency I'm able to build at.

 

[Danbieranowski]

I personally prefer the PedalPCB layouts for all of the little details that make the builds easier. Component layout is really clean. Electolytic caps all point the same way. Etc etc. That kind of thing makes PedalPCB my favorite option.

 

[Barry]

I too prefer the layouts here, and of the few pedal forums I've tried this one is the best I've found

 

[Elktronics]

I love how the off board wiring is handled on these boards. Nice short wire runs that terminate close to the origin point.

Wish the component pads were a little larger, but I need new glasses, so I think that’s on me.

 

[HamishR]

Sometimes Fuzzdog circuits deviate from the original in ways I wasn't expecting, but I have a very high success rate with his PCBs.

The only places I buy PCBs from are here, Aion and Fuzzdog, with PedalPCB being the place I use the most, Fuzzdog the least. As Barry says, the forum here is the best. In fact the forum is the biggest difference in all of these places. This forum has grown so fast and is by far the friendliest forum I have participated in. Most useful from beginner to advanced too. It's possibly all entirely fluke but this is a great forum.

 

[rmfx]

PedalPCB is easily the cleanest packaging of the DIY effects layouts websites. That said, I've had PCBs lose in a box, bag, etc and nothing has ever really been an issue. I would't worry about it but the extra step PedalPCB does for presentation is well appreciated.

 

[p_wats]

I've barely bought PCBs anywhere else since I found this place. It's too good!

 

[dlazzarini]

I've barely bought PCBs anywhere else since I found this place. It's too good!

Same here, just a small handful of pcb’s that I couldn’t find here but that’s rare

 

[zgrav]

plenty of things to like a lot around this neck of the woods.

 

[Ratimus]

All of the above. All the PCBs are clearly laid out by somebody who is annoyed by many of the same minor inconveniences I am. All those paper cuts add up, so the build goes much more smoothly and is far more pleasant than with boards from anywhere else.