shopping list - efficient buying - easy system to pick and add components

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

hi all. not a noob to electronics but I have never had to order an entire parts list to build a pedal from scratch before.

i want to build the face melter and see that I will need, in addition to the pcb I would buy here, about 13 resistors, 10 caps, IC, diodes, pots., etc.. a decent amount of parts.

does one really have to go to mouser.com and punch in every single value needed or is there an efficient site that you all use when it comes to putting your shopping list together. thanks in advance.

 

[fig]

Hi bpb,

Is that the only build you are planning? If so, I'd suggest getting a kit. If not, then I'd suggest buying an assortment of several components like resistors, film caps, electrolytic caps, at least a few MLCC or ceramic caps, I/O jacks, DC jacks, wire, 3PDT switches, LEDs

 

[Many__Of__Horror]

Tayda might be a bit more user friendly for you to start off with than Mouser

 

[Barry]

Just buy 10 or 20 of everything, nobody stops at one!

Edit: You'd think over time you'd have some of everything, alas it never ends, there's always something else!

 

[fig]

yeah...I typed it thinking....yeah right

 

[Feral Feline]

There is one more thing...


There is no "one-stop shop". Seriously. There is not.

Most builds, I need to go to *(have gone to) at least two shops, sometimes as many as five. Whether it's because of parts out of stock at one place or an obscure part that not every place stocks ... it's never just one shop, and those $₶৲₽₱৲₦௹ fees add up!

So, yeah order in the 10s, or things like 100k resistors or other common parts that are relatively cheap, order in the 100s...

For example:
Common parts such as 4558 chips, may as well order 10 cause that OD requires two, the flanger requires three — so that's already half of your inventory gone... Should've ordered 20!

Less common 4558L, the SIP kind, I ordered 4 cause I needed a couple and thought it'd be good to have a couple spares. Dandy Horse trotted up needing to be fed six (6)! So I should've ordered at least 10...

 

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

Great feedback. Thanks - cool community.
I would imagine if the melter goes well I will get bit by the bug and build more.
What is the most recommended bundle to buy that would get me started on the main caps, resistors, etc. I am working with a buddy of mine so we may go in halfsies.

 

[BuddytheReow]

Here's my experience with pedal building. Take it or leave it.

My first build ever I bought a kit from General Guitar Gadgets. It was a tube screamer clone and was about $50 US. Everything was included (enclosure, resistors, capacitors, PCB, IC, wire, knobs, jacks, etc.) minus any enclosure art you may want to do. I would highly recommend finding a kit out there for an effect you like just to get your feet wet in the process. I don't say love since those effects tend to be very specific and kits aren't available. The good news about kits being generic by nature is that there are a TON of troubleshooting forums for them including here. Once you are done making it you have to decide whether or not to go down this rabbit hole. Some people don't have the patience or get too frustrated during the build or troubleshooting process.

That being said, if you DO want to go down this road....

I decided after my first build that I wanted to make more and enjoy this hobby. I looked online at various sites for PCBs to start my next build. I think I wanted to do 2 or 3 at the time. PedalPCB has been my go to for PCBs and Tayda has been my go to source for 95%+ for all parts. Mouser is a bit too complicated of a site if you're not quite sure what you are looking for. There are higher quality parts out there on different sites, but you will be paying more per part plus the cost of shipping for each vendor. I am not saying that Tayda sells garbage - I'm just a cheap @SS. Looking at the build docs for these builds I created a shopping list on an excel spreadsheet (yes, I'm an accountant lol) to determine how many of each part I needed and it's value. With tayda, certain parts you can buy individually such as ICs or transistors and certain parts like resistors you have to buy in sets of 10. My recommendation is to ALWAYS buy extra of what you need in case you get a bad part and over time if you buy enough extra of everything you can build a "free" pedal, meaning you don't have to make an extra shopping list.

Regarding your "bundle" question...

Yes, the dreaded Amazon does sell bundles of various components (set of resistors, set of capacitors, IC, transistors) and I did consider this for a while since it would be kind of a one stop shop for a type of component. The problem with this (resistors and potentiometers come to mind) is that you will run out of certain values quicker than others and some values you most likely won't use at all (a 1 ohm resistor comes to mind here). The only thing that I did buy on Amazon that I did like was some hookup wire that came in different colors (VERY helpful when troubleshooting). After a few builds I got a sense of what parts I used frequently (1k, 10k, 100k, 1m resistors) and those that were kind of a one-off (5.6 nf capacitor) for a particular build. You will have to use your own experience here to determine this since we all have different tastes in effects. In general I am very please with Tayda and would recommend for anyone just starting out. Considering the shipping time (I'm in the US and delivery time is about 2 weeks for me) It is incredibly worth taking the time to make up a shopping list. Otherwise your build will be put on hold until your next delivery happens.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

Right on. Thank you. I will use Tayda and painstakingly compile the component list to build the melter.

The biggest pain in this all really does seem to be ordering the components. Not to mention the diff values and some sites may represent a value differently than a build doc would call out for, etc. A spreadsheet sounds mandatory so that is what I will do.

As for soldering and building, I've got about 25 years with an iron and have repaired all manner of equipment (amps, receivers, appliances) and have soldered in every guitar pickup known to man by this point. The only thing I have never done in my lifetime is build a shopping cart with 58 different things in it!

 

[peccary]

Right on. Thank you. I will use Tayda and painstakingly compile the component list to build the melter.

The biggest pain in this all really does seem to be ordering the components. Not to mention the diff values and some sites may represent a value differently than a build doc would call out for, etc. A spreadsheet sounds mandatory so that is what I will do.

As for soldering and building, I've got about 25 years with an iron and have repaired all manner of equipment (amps, receivers, appliances) and have soldered in every guitar pickup known to man by this point. The only thing I have never done in my lifetime is build a shopping cart with 58 different things in it!

If you're a spreadsheet kind of person you may find this Google doc useful:

Tayda Master Parts List

Resistors-1/4W Value,Tayda,Mouser,Description,Marking,Mouser (100),2nd Source (100),Preference,2nd Source Name / Notes,Stock,Xicon # 10R,A-2198,603-MFR-25FTE52-10R,Metal film resistor, 1/4W,Brn-Blk-Blk-Gld-Brn,$0.02,$0.06,$0.06,SML Resistors,271-10-RC 4r7,<a href="https://www.mouser.ca/ProductDe...

docs.google.com

It has the parts codes for a pretty large chunk of the most used parts for both Tayda and Mouser which can be helpful.

There are some other user-generated spreadsheets you may find helpful in this thread as well :

Help Wanted Making a Tayda General Parts List

So I just found out today Tayda has a quick order form for parts if you have the correct item numbers. I'd like some help filling it out, I don't think I have the time to complete my list in a timely manner. If anyone is interested in helping out, please continue reading. Before anyone asks, I...

forum.pedalpcb.com

 

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

Dude - RIGHTEOUS! Thank you!

 

[almondcity]

As a relatively new builder, I would also highly recommend Tayda. As posted above, sometimes you'll need to go to multiple sites for some parts but I've had pedals with only parts from Tayda for sure. Their shipping is a bit slow but cheap. Mouser's site seems to be a pain to navigate and their shipping is rather expensive (though fast).

The parts list may seem daunting but I think if you just go one by one and add things to your cart you will reach the end. People like to joke that you will nevertheless always forget one part but if you double check your order you should be OK. If I forget something I just make a $5 Tayda order (their minimum) with random stuff (LEDs, wire, DC jacks, extra 1/4" jacks, sockets, etc) so I typically have those things on hand.

 

[almondcity]

Also if you are not custom drilling anything, Tayda has predrilled enclosures specially made for PedalPCB (for most pedals) which are very helpful.

(If you can't tell, I love Tayda!)

I also think Lovemyswitches is a nice place to go for knobs and pots that may be out of stock elsewhere

 

[peccary]

Tayda is also the reason I'll never have to buy bubble wrap ever again.

 

[zgrav]

note that there is a lot of duplication from build to build on footswitches, LEDs, power jacks, and audio jacks. and enclosures if you are drilling them yourself. so if and when you decide you are likely going to build a few more pedals, it makes sense to go ahead and stock up on those parts so you can avoid needing to wait for a footswitch, audio jack, power jack, or some wiring when you are assembling a pedal. You may find that these audio jacks and power jacks give you fewer issues with tight fits --

https://www.taydaelectronics.com/ha...-jacks/6-35mm-1-4-mono-phone-jack-socket.html ( about double the price of the wider tabbed metal jacks, but worth it IMHO)

DC Power Jack 2.1mm Panel Mount Round

Get It Fast - Same Day Shipping

www.taydaelectronics.com

 

[bitzie]

Also if you are not custom drilling anything, Tayda has predrilled enclosures specially made for PedalPCB (for most pedals) which are very helpful.

(If you can't tell, I love Tayda!)

I also think Lovemyswitches is a nice place to go for knobs and pots that may be out of stock elsewhere

Oh damn.. You just saved me a ton of time messing around with the Tayda drilling service! Thanks!

 

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

Thanks for all of the great help. A buddy of mine and I are both building face melters and I have the first set of 6 resistors soldered in and was then pulled away.

Ordered a nice pair of very small micro snippers since my other snippers sucked for the micro lead snipping work.

My pal did most of the heavy lifting as far as sourcing parts and they came from a mix of Mouser, Small Bear, Stew Mac, etc. He sent me a boatload of stuff in a shoe box all meticulously labeled. t is really hard for me to read the color codes because my eyes are crap and the colors are just really difficult to actually decipher so I'm glad he clearly labeled the 10k, 470ohm, 1k, etc etc etc....

 

[peccary]

Thanks for all of the great help. A buddy of mine and I are both building face melters and I have the first set of 6 resistors soldered in and was then pulled away.

Ordered a nice pair of very small micro snippers since my other snippers sucked for the micro lead snipping work.

My pal did most of the heavy lifting as far as sourcing parts and they came from a mix of Mouser, Small Bear, Stew Mac, etc. He sent me a boatload of stuff in a shoe box all meticulously labeled. t is really hard for me to read the color codes because my eyes are crap and the colors are just really difficult to actually decipher so I'm glad he clearly labeled the 10k, 470ohm, 1k, etc etc etc....

Getting a inexpensive digital multi-meter will be helpful. I have terrible eyes and also have a bit of colorblindness so I'm kind of useless at reading the bars without extreme magnification, but the DMM is a good way to cheat.

 

[burger-patty-and-bacon]

AH!! Yes, yes. Great point. I have a wonderful DMM that is auto sensing that I use mostly to measure guitar pickup resistance and vol/tone pot values (looking for the best tolerances). I will employ the DMM post haste! Thanks. Great community here. The Melter will be a very fun build indeed.

 

[Big Monk]

I transitioned to using Tayda a few months ago. Once I settled on designing my own PCBs and fitting them to the pre-drilled, pre-finished Tayda Pedal PCB enclosures, it was a no brainer.

For what I can't get in a bulk order from Tayda, or for specialty items like germanium transistors and knobs, I use Small Bear Electronics.