Five Knob Compressor (BYOC)

[Neal]

I thought that it would be hard to improve the tone on a JVM, but last night I tried out the above mentioned compressor, and the results were astounding. Clear clean biteing tone that you hear from others, but never achieve.

 

[otaypanky]

Was it easy to build?

 

[Neal]

It was not very hard to do. But to be honest I have had extensive experience, in the design of computer aided machinery, and had very good soldering skills. They have some kits like the confidence booster that kinda get the skill juces flowing.

 

[duhvoodooman]

I would not recommend starting with the 5-knob compressor if you've never built a DIY pedal before. It's an intermediate difficulty build, with a high component count (meaning a lot of soldering and greater opportunity for errors). I'd recommend starting with a simpler kit, such as the BYOC British Blues or ESV Fuzz kits. Get your feet wet before jumping in the deeper part of the pool....

 

[Neal]

The Voodoo man is well known, even down here in the south. There's a couple of guys that live in the NC Boon Docks, that swear by his pedals. If I wasn't retired didn't have plenty of time, I would not hesitate to go to him for my pedals.

 

[otaypanky]

I usually figure out pretty quickly which is the hot end of the iron ~ lol
I haven't done much but have no problem rewiring a guitar. I did a mod kit on a wah and swapped out some components on the pcb, and I have swapped out caps in a 5E3. All with good directions though ~
I have no understanding of the how or why, but I'm good with my hands and can follow good directions
I have poked around the stuff on the BYOC site a few times and always get curious to try one ~

 

[duhvoodooman]

I have no understanding of the how or why, but I'm good with my hands and can follow good directions
I have poked around the stuff on the BYOC site a few times and always get curious to try one ~

That's exactly where I was about 3 years ago. While I still don't understand much of the "how" & "why" part of the circuit designs, I have progressed greatly--I no longer pick up the solder iron by the hot end.

Seriously, if you're reasonably handy, have at least some basic soldering skills, and can follow directions, you can build a BYOC kit. Start with one of the easier ones, like the two I mentioned above. It's a lot of fun, especially when you plug into the pedal and play through it the first time, thinking, "Damn--I made that!"