First Step Into A Build......needs insight

[Ryanvegas]

hey guys, starving to get my hands dirty into the world of building audio related electronics, i am very motivated and will do whatever need be to accomplish my goals.

i do not have barley any idea of where to start but here is my first project...

http://www.hairballaudio.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=35&products_id=116

i understand i am not capable of doing this without practice, patience and dedication.

i am buying an iron soon (hakko 936 or fx 888) but i would just appreciate it so much for some good books....links......anything that will help me take off into the world of building.

if any of you have completed a build like this and know of maybe some material worth reading that's related to audio diy shoot em this way, i did already look at the sticky on the lab forum and found those books.

thanks guys!

 

[irfrench]

Welcome! 

In all honesty I would buy the Lola and keep it to one side for a while, in the meantime I would start with a couple of smaller, more simple and (honestly) cheaper projects that would not be so costly if you come across problems.

An excellent place to start (and by coincidence is where I started) is guitar pedals - you get to build a few pedals that you wish had been brought along to your sessions - they are really cheap component-wise and in terms of boxing up - but also the power reqs. within each circuit are so low you wont do any serious damage if anything is wrong.  But when something goes wrong (and it always will!) you can bail out and only lose a few quid/dollars/euro instead of the hundreds in a more complicated build.  Whilst I mention a problematic circuit, don't think of it as a failure - think of it as a learning opportunity.  I've definitely learnt more fixing problems than through 'nice clean builds'!

I digress - you may just build one and think "to heck with this I'll get on to the Lola" or you may build 5 and think "I could probably do with building a couple more"  In any case you'd end up with a working Fuzz or Booster pedal, and also gain a lot of knowledge regarding handling an iron, working with solder and pcbs.

I liked the Beavis Audio site when I first started - check out http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/How-to-solder/ - I'm sure there are other guides about but this, along with BYOC, was the first place that clicked with me and made me want to try out breadboarding/experimenting.

This is such a rewarding interest mentally and because of the amount of amazing equipment you sudden have access to that it will almost definitely suck you in, but to also have GroupDIY as such an amazing resource I'm sure you'll get on fine.  There are so many different facets to it all - from the electronics side, to the metalwork - you can really dig in and lose ALL of your spare time.  Heck, I find myself doing PCB layouts now when I get bored instead of the usual time fillers like TV. 

I think the most important thing is to take your time, enjoy it and take care.  Also expect to have no more spare time in your life, a pile of half completed projects, a few boxes of components and a quicklink and bookmark to this site.  8) 8) 8)

Have fun.
Ian

 

[PRR]

Agree-- read the *excellent* Lola manual over and over and over again. Then put it aside and build an LPB (the simplest guitar booster; also useful as a line-level booster/distorter). A dozen+ joints are plenty of fun for a first project.

OTOH, there are (or were) untrained housewives who put together HeathKit color TV sets. So dogged step by step and check check check can be a valid path.