BJFE / BearFoot fx Guitar Effects Community

Hi everyone, I just wanted to point out that these boards will accept board mounted pots.

You can find them here: http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=692

This takes 9 extra wires and 9 extra solder connections out of your build. Also you won't have to worry about securing the boards.

NOC3effects wrote:Hi everyone, I just wanted to point out that these boards will accept board mounted pots.

You can find them here: http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=692

This takes 9 extra wires and 9 extra solder connections out of your build. Also you won't have to worry about securing the boards.

Those would really speed up these builds but theyre pretty easy in general. I think BYOC uses these all the time now dont they. I haven't built one of their kits in ages so Im not sure.

I'm in the process of switching over to board mounted pots and jacks as well as a 3PDT tag board that will accept ribbon cable. Cleaner, faster builds and my fingertips won't look like raw hambuger after a build run of 60 pieces.

Nice. I always figured that any design I did should involve a minimum number of flying leads. Board mounted pots would just save a ton of time.

Hey Scott,

Have you had any trouble with the board mounted jacks? I have been doing some designs with board mounted pots but I'm not sure I am ready to mount the audio and dc jacks yet. Also what are you using for your 3PDT ribbon if you don't mind my asking?

jfromel wrote:Hey Scott,

Have you had any trouble with the board mounted jacks? I have been doing some designs with board mounted pots but I'm not sure I am ready to mount the audio and dc jacks yet. Also what are you using for your 3PDT ribbon if you don't mind my asking?

PM'd.

Ive wondered about the recent wave of boutique builders going back to board mounting everything...

It is easier and cheaper.....

but isnt that also one of the main things that started the boutique/handbuilt revolution in the 90s?

The stress on board mounted solder joints causes them to crack and malfunction over time ~ should we just mod and true bypass our Ibanez and Arions and save even more money and time

Donner wrote:Ive wondered about the recent wave of boutique builders going back to board mounting everything. It is easier...

Assembly is easier but if you didn't start off this way then your boards have to be designed, your enclosures retooled and your silkscreens readjusted. Everytime I make a change there's usually another "setup fee" associated with it.

Donner wrote:and cheaper.....

Not necessarily. The pots and jacks are about the same price (plus or minus a few cents).

Donner wrote:but isnt that also one of the main things that started the boutique/handbuilt revolution in the 90s?

I always thought it was the ability to create sounds you couldn't get commerically...and true bypass of course.

Donner wrote:The stress on board mounted solder joints causes them to crack and malfunction over time.

Even the Mona Lisa is fading. If the PCB is mounted in the enclosure properly...all the holes in the enclosure were laid out in the right places and the parts aren't pushed or twisted into place, then the stress should be no more than average. I've seen open frame jacks and solder tab pots fail. I stand behind what I build and will continue to do so after the changeover. People have their preconceived notions and I expect some backlash, but I know I'm not cutting any corners with this change. If something should go wrong through normal wear and tear, I'm pretty easy to get a hold of.

Scott

Hehe yes the mono lisa is fading, but its not cracking because of a too tight frame

I dont mean this against anyone personally, I just went thru making these decisions for the Full Moon pedal boards so its still a bit fresh/raw for me ...

it can save quite a bit of time (labor=money) but are there drawbacks..... Ive repaired a number of those old pedals with board jacks etc... and maybe only having to reflow the solder connections every 10 -20 years is worth the time savings - it probably is ...


the first few waves of booteeki were more reliable versions of the popular standards that were going up in price (TS808/FuzzFace/Univibe etc..) or hard to find working version of rare pedals (Foxx/Colorsound etc..) like Way Huge/Fulltone/Prescription are all hopped up clones as we would say today ---but todays 'market' has morphed into the 'tweeks and options' tho thats really a whole other debate



anyway I was just curious if some others thought about that end of it...... discussion is good.

Donner wrote:It can save quite a bit of time (labor=money).

I promise you, where I'm at in the game there's no money. I'm either insane or love doing this. It will absolutely save time but the money's still a little out of my reach.

Donner wrote:...and maybe only having to reflow the solder connections every 10 -20 years is worth the time savings - it probably is...

If my stuff is still surfacing and being used in 10 to 20 years, I'll be more than happy to reflow a joint or repair/replace as needed.

I wrestled with this decision for a long time. I watched the forums as other builders did it to see what people's reactions would be. Yes, if you use cheap parts the result will be a cheap product that breaks. There are PCB jacks I could use that would save me bigger amounts of money if I went with them instead but they look cheap and I won't cut corners. Bad news travels fast and on the Internet it reaches lightning speeds. I used to think open frame and solder lug was the only way to go but I'm giving up my seat at the Flat Earth Society Meeting House and seeing what's around the bend. If it fails miserably I still have the design files for my old PCB's.