Where are you at in your pedal building journey?

I’ve built maybe a couple dozen pedals over the last 5 years. I have other projects such as hifi and guitar amps that have occupied my time in between pedals and have another 3-4 of those in various states of completion. I’ve also dabbled in turret board pedals and such for fun along with basic PCBs. Funny thing is I have a small pedal board and power supply, but I’ve never mounted one and typically just plug in direct to the amp. I build because I want to hear what a pedal sounds like as opposed to actually using it. The Supa-J I built is probably the only one I use consistently as it sits on top of my Vibrochamp. I am digging modulation and some of the non-fuzz stuff lately.
 
I've been more focused on practicing than building lately, as dwindling resources dictate.
Not currently gigging on bass, which really puts a kink in motivation to complete builds — no way to use builds in battle on the bandstand.

I'm far from done building, though, still too many demons ideas to excise from my brain — and I'm still not happy with my builds' aesthetics, so I have lots of unfinished builds and projects that need new-skills, time, and money to bring to full fruition.



As soon as it becomes possible to do so, I will ramp up building again.
 
Great thread Chris. I've downsized massively so I've transitioned from bringing home repairs for the music store I've done repairs for the past few decades to actually setting up shop there. Upside: direct interaction with customers and bringing in some repeat clients, now that they know what I do. Downside: don't do any of my own stuff for the most part.

I do find it hugely rewarding to do repeat work for folks that trust me to really lay into their stuff. Like entirely gutting a Gretsch to redo the electronics from scratch to replace all the worn out stuff. Or bringing a dead amp back to life and making it bullet proof to go out on the road.

I sneak in a few builds as the itch needs a scratch and I certainly live vicariously thru your's and other's builds.

In a good place.
 
The other day I realized that I haven't built one single pedal in the last year :oops:

The last pedal that I actually bought was a used Ludwig Speed King :LOL:

I've been doing a lot more breadboard tinkering with ideas I've had thinking I'll put the schematics up on the forum, but most of the time I don't think it's good enough to share or make a pcb for it. I think I've built most of the stuff I've wanted to build for the most part. There's still a few odds and ends I'd like to build. Thinking about building a Frajeelay distortion or something else with a clean blend to work with the bass. Speaking of which I've grabbed a little bit of bass gear over the past couple of months, I need to make a separate post about it.

I haven't been playing much guitar over the past year. I've been scoping out deals on used drum equipment and putting my drum rig together. Not that I can even play to a level that I feel like I deserve the gear I've amassed, but I like sitting behind the drums and making noise. Too bad I can't just build a cymbal like I can modify and build a distortion pedal.
 
Guardians of the analog said:
I spent the last couple years trying to make projects that don't exist for the pedals I wanted to make. There are only a couple left and I feel like I'm out of gas. Part of it is that building two amps made building pedals feel inadequate 😂. I think I'm just gonna box up my scope, iron and other stuff and clear off my bench for just string changes🤡🤡🤡
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But it you don’t guard the analog, who will???
 
Silver Blues said:
I've been building for 12-ish years now and am still enjoying it; I have a huge backlog and am at the point where I have to force myself not to purchase boards for projects I am interested in or start something I can't devote time to. I haven't built anything or engaged at all with this hobby outside of chatting on this forum for months though just because of life circumstances; I have soft-started a new job while also trying to finish my PhD (which I've already been in for too long) and my entire existence seems to be in a perpetual state of transitional period, so I pretty much have zero time for anything but work. I am hoping that once I finish the degree and settle into the job that I will be able to allot more time to myself and get back into building and playing!
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Oh yeah, I built hardly anything while working on my BS.
 
I still find myself building even though it takes me a lot longer to get things completed. Half the time the boards just sit and collect dust for a month before I even think about starting. I just had a run of finishing up a handful of half finished projects just to be disappointed by the majority of them. Still a couple that I just have no desire to get over the finish line. Still looking forward to the release of a few circuits that I would really like to build (looking at you Bean), but in the words of BB King, “the thrill is gone” otherwise. The coolest thing pedal wise that I have gotten to do lately was setting up a board for a trumpet player. More than anything It made me think a lot about things I hadn’t previously especially concerning sound mixing. I also enjoy the fact that my oldest plays bass and has recently caught the pedal bug mostly for emulating the songs he is listening to. Lucky for him he has access to a large toan library. The next big thing on my sketch pad is building another lap steel. I love to tinker, but for now, pedal building is kind of in it’s twilighting days for me.
 
jimilee said:
But it you don’t guard the analog, who will???
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I’m definitely slowing down. I’ve built probably 60 pedals in the past two years since I got into this hobby and I’m really at the point that I not only have pretty much everything I need but actually multiple flavors of each that I don’t really play. Speaking of playing, I’ve got all these pedals and I’m not a particularly great guitarist even though I’ve been playing for decades, so actually I’ve started focusing more on becoming a better player rather than building of late.

That being said, I actually just enjoy the process of building something - it’s calming, gives me something to focus on that isn’t my day job, and I enjoy the feeling of coming out with a finished work product. I’m also in that odd position of having a huge stash of parts (don’t worry, chances are still good anytime I go to build something I will find out that I’m still missing one little component I need 😂). Because I enjoy the building process but don’t necessarily need more pedals in boxes, I’ve been dabbling in breadboarding. But since I’m less interested in the electronic theory and more in building something just to see if I can make it work, I find myself only breadboarding things once in a while to audition them to see if I might want to buy a PCB later and build an actual boxed pedal.

Tl:dr - definitely slowing down because I have everything I want, but I’m still going to stick with the hobby at least to some extent because I enjoy the actual building experience.

Mike
 
mkstewartesq said:
I’m definitely slowing down. I’ve built probably 60 pedals in the past two years since I got into this hobby and I’m really at the point that I not only have pretty much everything I need but actually multiple flavors of each that I don’t really play. Speaking of playing, I’ve got all these pedals and I’m not a particularly great guitarist even though I’ve been playing for decades, so actually I’ve started focusing more on becoming a better player rather than building of late.

That being said, I actually just enjoy the process of building something - it’s calming, gives me something to focus on that isn’t my day job, and I enjoy the feeling of coming out with a finished work product. I’m also in that odd position of having a huge stash of parts (don’t worry, chances are still good anytime I go to build something I will find out that I’m still missing one little component I need 😂). Because I enjoy the building process but don’t necessarily need more pedals in boxes, I’ve been dabbling in breadboarding. But since I’m less interested in the electronic theory and more in building something just to see if I can make it work, I find myself only breadboarding things once in a while to audition them to see if I might want to buy a PCB later and build an actual boxed pedal.

Tl:dr - definitely slowing down because I have everything I want, but I’m still going to stick with the hobby at least to some extent because I enjoy the actual building experience.

Mike
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When I started slowing down last year, it was to figure out my rig because I wasn't totally happy with it. In the process I fell in love with playing and recording again. I realized I preferred hanging out here versus at my bench. 1000013396.jpg
 
I don’t know…I ended up up in the same place I started, just in a different form factor, there are probably a few more things I would build, but I think I got multiples of just about everything I want and like, I did learn some cool shit and met some cool people along the way, not saying I’m done but I’m in a spot now I’m going to think hard about if I really want it, will I use it, and do I already have something similar.
 
Interesting thread, in a way it's kind of like 'how's your relationship w/ your new lady going?'. There's that wonderful initial excitement of something new and great, and then slowly it transitions over either to a more mature/balanced relationship or it ends and you make a break towards something else. It's another one of life's progressions.

I'm 2+ years and 60+ pedals in, and am slowing down. But I'm probably in it for the longer haul (much like @jimilee ), just at a slower pace with some ups and downs. I just love making and tinkering w/ things. I'm definitely not going to sell my electronics gear or my electronics stash. But nearer term I've got to spend more time playing with all the pedals I've made. Fortunately I've got more free time than you younger working guys, but unfortunately I have less musical talent...

Note added: I do want to add that it's been a fun journey, I've learned a lot about various pedal types, their circuitry, and how they impact the sound. Overall, my rig's sound has gotten significantly better, which makes it more fun to play and practice. And also, when I listen to music, I now recognize much better what effects were used in the studio. So the journey has also trained my ears.
 
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I tend to go through phases where I'll binge on a specific hobby or task (e.g., tube amps and pedals, digital modelers/plug-ins, guitar buying/selling and setup tweaks, guitar mods or pickups, and then a rare video game that peaks my interest) and not do more than one of those at a time. That led to me not building any pedals after completing about 25 during 2022/2023. I also had to drop everything with my primary job role and help with a ransomware event in 2024 for a customer (wasn't our fault, we were involved in the recovery process). That completely messed with my schedule for about 8 months.

I got bored with gain pedals for a bit and started searching for amp gain instead which led me to not care about building boards I already had parts in stock to complete. I've been on the fence with the modulation pedals I've attempted. I don't know - there is something just a bit off w/ them and I wonder if it is just the quality of the BBDs or not being precise with biasing. I got a wild hair earlier this year and have made an effort to start knocking down some of my to-do items both around the house and with hobbies - started a batch of ~12 pedals during Memorial Day weekend.

I enjoy the gear tweaking part of guitar too much and reflect back on how much time and money I've "consumed" with that instead of focusing on playing, learning complete songs, practicing, joining bands, and all of that. I've got a feeling that keeps coming up to sell off some gear and guitars to try and simplify that area of life and put the instrument in my hands more often. Maybe I can set that path this year and act on it!

I do think I would enjoy building amps and really like the work that @Guardians of the analog has posted. I bet that is rewarding when firing up the amp and pushing through that first open A power chord.

I expect that I'll finish out the boards I've got and slow down after those.
 
Guardians of the analog said:
I noticed that I see lots of boards and components in the mailbox thread but a real slowdown of build reports. It got me wondering if people are building less, sharing less, or both. Maybe some interesting new modulation and delay pedals or some clean build reports would help me get motivated again.
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I've finally been able to sell off most of my EQ pedal backlog and intend to get back into time based EFX building, using the Cabintech digital BBD emulator chip that I did some beta testing on. You guys would have a heart attack if you saw the first build, it's all off board wiring and there are several of my self designed modules wrapped in Nomex and/or tape. But it sounds fantastic on the delay side, and once I get my own LFO design plumbed in it should be great for modulation too.

And now that I'm playing electric guitar again for the first time in a about a decade, maybe I'll jump into some PPCB drive options, of which I've only built one so far. I'm not big on clones but I do enjoy this place and would like to contribute a little more to keeping @Robert in hookers 'n blow, at least.

But first off, time to put together my first pedalboard ever. Of course it won't live on the floor and everything will probably have side jacks and be dead clean, because I can. :poop:
 
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started building things years back on Vero in the freestompboxes days... then switched to bass-amp for years... then multifx units straight to PA, then a HX stomp for years... then sold that and started building a pedal board ... but the DIY tendencies popped up and started making things, mostly PedalPCB and Aion kits from musikding...

then a pedal that I learned to do PCB layout for, next a tiny pedal I started playing with PCB assembly...

Except I have a small board and a self imposed limit on what can fit on it, and I don't like having things sat on shelves... so I need a clear out and sell some projects.
And finish the valve preamp and see if I can rescue the broken pumpernickel ...

Then there's a few things on my list I want to do, but it's very much to solve problems or things I want to try rather than "oooh that looks cool" from Robert's workbench thread (Doom2 excepted)...

Input buffer
Warwick hellborg preamp clone
Big muff of some kind
Finish the populated boards I've got on one of the projects I made to sell...
 
6 to 8 a year. I have ordered parts for a Texel, and ordered a Viceroy kit. I am about to make a faceplate with a laser.
I just got a bag full of pedals from a friend as gift. Thorpy veteran, DOD rubberneck(my second). I like them but want to build my own pedals.
I started repairing.
 
I'm also in the "built a lot of stuff, slowing down, only really understand the basics from schematics and electronics". I think I started maybe back in 2022? Although I built one pedal even earlier.

For me a big part is that I'm also looking for a big "tone library", and I'm curious about how things sound (although I don't want to build close enough clones nor do I care about vintage versions if I have a modern, tweaked design already available). I might just buy pedals instead, but it costs a lot more money (stop laughing), which is why the DIY side drew me in.

But that also means that I want to learn at least some of the ins and outs of a pedal, which means I have to play with each one a certain amount, and if the pedal and/or tone inspires me, I come up with interesting (to me) riffs, which leads to slapping them together to get songs.

And then I would like to finish and put those songs out, too, but it's a fucking hassle and a half finishing everything when you have limited energy and high standards. Buuut I'm close to getting one EP out, and I'm making good progress on another one. I'll build more stuff when I get around to it, I'm not in a rush.
 
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