DIY Distortion Effect Pedal Kit- DS-N01 1590B Style Aluminum Metal Stomp Box

It was straight forward and everything was well marked. The actual soldering took a couple hours and it actually worked first time. I did end up putting a sheet of cardstock between the circuit board and back before assembling it and the LED in the holder could do with some heat shrink tubing, but I was happy with it.

The wiring was pretty straightforward. It actually sounds REALLY good! The only issue is that the level control can make it too loud to be usable. I first plugged it in and had the level knob at 12, noon, and it was about TWICE as loud as my clean signal. But overall it's great! Goes from a light Fuzz, to full on distortion pretty well. It does seem a bit on the dark side, which I prefer, but you could change that with some different components. Will definitely buy more!

Comes with everything you need. There are no actual schematics, but the way the board is printed, you don't need any. Just follow the guide they give you as it tells you how to set up the wires, and the board has the locations telling you exactly where to solder the components. As for the sound: it's whatever you want it to be. Great advantage of the adjustment knobs. I get mean sounds out of all my bass and 6-string with it.

It worked for the 5 minutes I had it apart to test it. Once I crammed it all in to its tiny little box, it only hummed and hissed for ever more. A 9v battery will not fit in the box; at least not fit and still allow you to close the box without applying a lot of pressure. Instructions? There are none! Just read the silkscreens on the PCB and match up the parts.

I chose this as a “beginner” project to get some experience with soldering and I guess I got that, but the instructions provided are useless for actually wiring the thing. Especially for the foot switch; there is no information whatsoever as to how to wire it. Did I find the information later online? Yes. Should I have to go searching for that info when I buy a kit? NO. I’m not sure I’ll attempt another pedal in the future, but if I do it won’t be with one of these kits. Steer clear unless you already have the experience to do this without any kind of wiring diagram.

Packaging is very good. Components of good quality. Silicon insulated wires.Circuit board is poor quality. Soldering pads poor quality. Enclosure is what it is.Overall for the price you really cant beat it.I bought a KLON clone for around $50 and it sounds great but had higher quality components in it so take that for what you will.As for the instructions if you can read the chart and see the markings on the components you should have no trouble building this.

My first pedal kit. Took a couple of hours with no electronics experience! Sounds awesome! Good directions and a couple of youtube videos and your all set. I have 2 more kits coming now ( a delay and a tremolo). Hope they go as smooth. Great sound for the money!

It was fairly simple to assemble It does help if you know the different components it works good