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PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 10:48 am 
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Joined: Mon Aug 14, 2006 2:40 pm
Posts: 371
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Congratulations on your purchase of a BYOC pedal kit. You are now the proud owner of one of
the finest effect pedals on the planet. Prepare to have new vistas of sonic
wonder open before you as...

...Oh, what's that? Your pedal doesn't work?


Here's what you do:


1) Relax. Chances are if you're posting here, you've been staring at your pedal for several
hours and scratching your head. Stand up. Stretch. Grab a snack. Play with your
dog/girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband/butler...whatever. Maybe even park it for the evening
and come back with fresh eyes in the morning. As hokey as that sounds, you wouldn't believe
how many times it proves to be true. The likelihood of you having a faulty part in your kit is probably less than 1%. The likelihood that you need a break is significantly higher.

2) You've chosen to disregard #1 and post a cry for help. Before you do, use the search
function to see if your question may already have an answer. At the time of this writing, the
Shredder has just been introduced, so there aren't a lot of threads available. But that will
soon change, so take the time to search so we don't end up with lots of duplicate questions. When you do post, make sure to be specific in your thread title...not just "HELP!!!".

3) Just as your mechanic can't fix your car over the phone, we can't fix your pedal over the
internet. At the very least, we're going to need some good photos and and an explanation of
the problem. When you post photos, they need to be clear...this is very important. Front & back of the pcb. Pot & Switch wiring. Jack wiring too. Some tips:

a) activate the macro mode (flower icon) on your camera. This automatically makes your pictures
prettier. You know, like a flower. No silly, it's for close-ups.

b) Take your pictures in strong light. You're soldering at 3 in the morning and it's
totally dark except for the light on your desk. These are not ideal conditions for
photography. Good light will help your camera focus better.

c) Maybe you have one of those cool desk lamps with the magnifying glass in it? Take
your pictures through the glass...it'll make your pictures even more detailed!

d) Host your photos somewhere free, like Photobucket. Photobucket automatically
generates the various HTML codes you need. Use the one that starts with [IMG].
Don't make us follow links...we're far too lazy for that. And don't use sketchy
hosting sites that redirect us to porn sites. Unless they're really good porn sites. There's a pretty good tutorial post HERE.


4) Somebody's going to say it, so i'll just say it now. REFLOW ALL YOUR SOLDER JOINTS. Most
of the problems that come up are related to poor soldering. So go slowly and meticulously
over each soldering joint. Don't do it quickly...that's what got you here in the first place!

5) Here's some preliminary mistakes to double check for: Are your IC's in backwards? Are your
transistors in backwards? Are your diodes in backwards? Are your pots wired backwards? Are
your resistor and capacitor values in all the right places? Are you wire connections solid? This is the stuff you don't
see when you're tired, so refer to #1.

6) Bear in mind that blurry pictures and a bad attitude are strongly discouraged. This is a
friendly site with lots of great people willing to help. You will get out of it what you bring into it.


Now let's see if we can get you some help! Post Away!


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