In this series of workshops we will build our own effect pedal, for guitar or any other electric instrument. You will also learn how to solder, experiment with the circuit, and probably gain at least a rudimentary understanding of analogue electronics. Because of this potentially wide scope, it might take more than one workshop to finish the pedal, so be prepared to come two or even three times (the workshops take place every other week). Obviously this depends on how interested you are in learning electronics and experimenting with circuit modifications, it could be built on one occasion.

No previous knowledge is required, if you have never soldered, you will just have to learn. When it comes to electronics, if you are interested in understanding how the pedal works, prepare by googling some information on basic electronics, or start here.

I have been in contact with a pedal kit dealer called Moodysounds; we will get 20% discount when buying their brand of pedals, so I advice you to check out their kits. For beginners, I would suggest building a distortion pedal – since that is not only a cool effect, but also a rather simple circuit, making it easier to understand – or if you would rather have a modulating effect, possibly a tremolo.

All their kits come with suggestions for modifications and explanation of how the modifications work – it is good material for learning. If experimentation is your kind of creativity, I encourage you to read the documentation for these pedals, to get an idea of what kind of modifications you can do. In the workshop there will be breadboards available, for easier experimentation. A breadboard is an experimentation board where you simply plug in the components; no need for soldering, which makes it ideal for experimenting with different values and components.

The staff at Moodysounds recommended one of these for beginners, these are all simple enough to be easy to build as well as learn from:

  • Boost This is a pre-amplifier that can function as a slight overdrive. It is a simple circuit, with only one transistor. Probably the easiset kit to build.

  • Drive A distortion pedal built around one operation amplifier (an IC circuit).

  • Fuzz A fuzz is a bit more extreme kind of distortion, as used by Jimi Hendrix and many others.

  • Tremolo A tremolo periodically manipulates the signal’s volume – sounding a bit like a vibrato, but affecting the volume, not the frequency.

The first three are different kinds of distortion (check them out on YouTube to hear differences), and the suggested modifications for all these are mostly related to varying the distortion level (and/or volume) and the tonality (trebly/bassy). The suggested modifications for the tremolo include increasing amplification and changing the frequency of the modulation.

Note that many of the kits are available without box, at a lower price, if you would like to build your own enclosure. The easiest route is to order a full kit, obviously. The boxes are sturdy and delivered with graphics.

If you want to participate in these workshops, this is what you will have to do:

  1. Select a pedal kit to build. If you decide to buy one from Moodysounds, start by checking them out, decide what you want. Listen to clips on YouTube.
  2. Sign up for the event. The event itself is free, but you need to have a pedal kit to build. There is a rather limited amount of seats, and signing up is binding. Signing up, as well as ordering a kit, is done by sending me a message (on Facebook or by email), after which I will email you to confirm. The deadline for ordering kits is March 18. The remaining seats are reserved for women/non-dudes.

Note that ordering a kit is binding – I will order the kit for you, and when you get to the event you will get the kit in exchange for money, just like if you were in the store.

There will be a really limited amount of guitars and amps and cables for testing, probably just one set, so if you want, feel free to bring your own stuff. That goes for soldering stations, breadboards, et cetera, as well – please let me know if you do bring anything, it will help me plan.

The deadline for ordering kits is Sunday, March 18. You can still sign up for the event, if you can find a pedal kit yourself in time for the first event (March 28). Naturally it is OK to get a pedal kit yourself for whatever reason, or – if you are expereinced – find a schematic to build somewhere on the net, and get the components.

If this goes well, the plan is to continue with similar workshops in the future, but nothing is definite yet (and I am sure those plans will be influenced by what happens in this group).