Let's have your feedback, shall we?

[FiveThumbs]

Just to say really impressed with the quality of the boards and the service.

I've just received my second order just over a week after ordering it and most of that time was the delivery to the UK.

The one suggestion would be to add remove the link on the front page to "pedals".  The first time I came across the site I looked under there and finding nothing, I assumed that there wasn't anything on the site I was looking for

[B_of_H]

Keep up the good work!


I can't think of anything to gripe about except maybe what 'back to back diodes' actually means.  What is that?  (aqua boy oscillation control mod)

[madbean]

Anti-parallel.

---->----
----<----

[B_of_H]

Anti-parallel.

---->----
----<----

i'm still confused.

so which one if any are correct here:

[madbean]

#2

That's the typical configuration for clipping diodes. Not that the other ones might not be interesting, too.

[stevewire]

Brian,
Awesome site and I'd like to say i like it when there are mojo parts options.

[EndlessOcean]

well I've been lurking this site for about 3 days so maybe my perspective can offer a different view point as I'm new to everything here. I'm also a total noob when it comes to building. The most building I've done is removing the input buffer from a crybaby:) Currently I'm trying to source the products for a snack shack and having a bit of trouble. I'll address this later.

So, I like the schematics. I like the prices.

It would be really nice to have something like a checklist for what you need to actually make it a working pedal, something that will say "you will also need these items besides the things for the circuit board: enclosure, LED, LED bezel, battery clip, mono jack, stereo jack (if required), footswitch, pots, knobs" etc etc.

There's more to building an effects pedal than just the PCB and if someone makes an order from Small Bear and forgets something small like the battery clip or something, it's an annoyance. Having a checklist of parts to source would mitigate this and would take 5 minutes on your part. It wouldn't need links but something so people looking to build an entire pedal can see what they need and check them off so there's no surprises. I know a lot of people here are experienced enough to know what they need, but the fact is that some people aren't.

Make the 'projects' tab either first or bigger. The 'pedals' one is redundant right now.

Builds should be called 'Gallery' or similar as builds and projects aren't far enough apart in my opinion.

I was having a bit of trouble sourcing the correct capacitors. small bear carry about 8 different types (low volt, hi-volt, ceramic, sprague etc etc) and I didn't know which ones to look for. I made a forum post about it and was answered but this doesn't seem necessary. An inclusion in the parts list itself or better - a color coded schematic where axial is blue, axial electrolytic is green for example might also work so one can look at the diagram and think "hmmm... ok, c2 is a green one so I need to look for an axial electrolytic". I'm a noob. I admit that and it's probably my myopia in matters electronica that means I don't know what I'm looking at, but I can't be the only one and I think this would nip it in the bud as it were. I know a lot of people here are experienced enough to know what they need, but the fact is that some people aren't.

At the very least I think a line describing what capacitors to buy is crucial. I got a reply to my forum post saying "For the snack shack i wouldn't go with the topmay, I'd go with panasonics or some axial caps"... ok, great, but couldn't this be included easily enough on the actual parts list with an addendum saying "you know, this isn't the be all and end all, but this is what I recommend to get the stock pedal"? I know a lot of people here are experienced enough to know what they need, but the fact is that some people aren't.

The navigation here is great. The forum is great. You really really need a link back to the main site body from the forums though.

There's a lot of requests for finished PCBs on the foums. This would be a neat inclusiontoo so people have something to aim for, an end point to work towards, and can be user-sourced so people from the forum can photograph finished boards and submit them. This would alleviate traffic/bloat from the forums of people asking the same thing.

One more thing, isn't a Big Muff a fuzz pedal? The DAM Meathead a fuzz pedal too?

That's it for now. These were the most obvious things I saw when I first came to this site and that I still think are issues. But again, I'm a noob, both to this field and to this site so maybe my suggestions are off kilter but at the same time, if everything I listed was in effect I'd have everything I need for a pedal right now.

[madbean]

Thanks for the insightful post, EndlessOcean. I can understand your frustration with feeling a bit in the dark in terms of what kinds of parts to order, etc. The lack of comprehensive info in some of the documentation has a lot to do with how madbeanpedals started. It was more of a project palace for folks who already had some experience in building and buying parts, so I did not really put forth the effort to make these things clear.

But now, a couple of years on, there are many new builders that are coming here first, rather than migrating from other places like BYOC, diystompboxes, etc. So, there is a definite gap to be crossed for absolute beginners to those with a few builds under their belts.

Anyway, I am trying to address this more clearly with the documentation I've been doing for releases over the last 3 - 4 months, and I think it has helped. But, there is still a lot of older documentation that needs to be brought up to the current standard. And some projects, like the Snack Shack, will be re-tooled to allow different lead spacings of the myriad of caps you can get. This isn't practical for all of the projects, but ones with low part counts that have a certain "mojo" vibe about them are pretty easy to do this way.

Anyway, I don't have much hope for doing color coded schematics, but this could still be addressed by marking what cap type is appropriate in the BOM. It would be great if I could do fully linked bills of materials, but that is a real time sucker on my end and would come at the expense of other more critical responsibilities. But, a happy medium can be found, I think, and your post is helpful in directing my efforts.

Thanks for the feedback, and welcome to the forum!

[EndlessOcean]

thanks for the welcome

This sounds like I should wait for the snack shack to be re-tooled. Will the actual PCB change or any of the parts with the re-tooling?

Color-coded schematics was maybe asking too much. It's a lot of work and I'm not sure it's 'proper'. You don't need to do a fully linked bill of materials. Nothing of the sort. All you need is something. If you had something that listed the type of capacitors, that's enough. The values are already there and once you get to a parts supplier it's pretty self-explanatory. Have you noticed how we're going back and forth between two forum posts about pretty much the same thing? This wouldn't happen. Right now you you have nothing to explain anything in greater detail so anything is better. Even adding something to the FAQ would suffice. Again, the recommendations could be user-sourced. The community here is large and knowledgeable so there is information to draw upon and possibly people to write it with the intent of helping cavemen like me come to terms with something unfamiliar.

But, the checklist needs to be created.

As an aside, I went to BYOC first, and tonepad etc. I felt that with BYOC you don't really learn anything apart from how to solder, and I wanted to be somewhat hands on the in the construction and pick up some knowledge of the 'why' part of the equation, not just the 'what' and 'where'. Yes is it frustrating to be a total newb and try to figure everything out from a very small lead but I'm not part of the crowd you aimed this sight at - those with experience - so maybe my insights aren't relevant.

If people tell me what to get other than the PCB and components, I'll mock something up to explain what you actually need to get (enclosure etc) to make a pedal a pedal that you can look at and (if you like) use on the site as a n00b notice.

Oh, kudos to you for the Reddit faces.

[jkokura]

I think you need to look at the new project documents. There's a lot more info there.

Also, because BYOC sells kits only, they ate designed to be a beginners guide. Mostly, Madbean projects have been meant for people who have been at this DIY thing for a while, and who haven't needed the checklist or extra help that you're asking for. For every post from someone like yourself who has some questions like yourself there are several dozen who just order and don't need to ask questions. The problem is more rare than your suggesting.

I'm not diminishing the suggestions, they good ones and they'll likely be implemented, I'm just offering perspective. Because the pcbs don't come with parts, they inherently suggest a level of knowledge about why parts to order and th extra stuff. It hasn't been until recently that pure noobs have been showing up here first rather than going to BYOC or GGG.

Jacob

[EndlessOcean]

I understand where you're coming from. I also kinda feel like I'm at Warmoth asking for a PRS.

But I don't wanna go to BYOC and spend $90 on a kit when I can assemble it myself from here and Small Bear for around half that and learn more in the process.. buying a kit from BYOC isn't going to give m any knowledge with regards to what capacitors to buy or anything else. I'm trying to learn and this seems like the best place for it with the products they sell but it can be a lot more user-friendly towards less experienced people.

Like you said, this site is geared towards people who know what they're doing and since I don't then maybe I shouldn't be here on this forum or shouldn't be considering building what I'm building, but, if the things I mentioned get addressed then maybe from a business perspective it would lead to increased sales since the market increases as more people could build, less people would ask questions and more people could learn. It's a win/win.

I think it's a good thing that "pure noobs" are showing up here as it means there's a market to be sold to and people looking to learn rather than having someone else doing all the work apart from putting the relevant components in a plastic bag, like at BYOC.

[madbean]

You are both correct. You SHOULD be here EndlessOcean (damn I might hafta call you EO) because this is a fun and informative place to be! And, you should also be one the forums for BYOC, DIYSB, FSB, and so and so on. All of these places are unique and offers things the others don't have....and the same goes here.

Things will progress towards generalizing the projects for all levels of builders. It will simply take time to bring all of the work (which now spans a couple of highly productive years for me) into one standard that is accessible and scalable, in a certain sense.

Thanks again for your input!

[EndlessOcean]

call me Tez

If I can help at all, say if you need me to write something in n00bspeak lemme know. I'm at info@tezmphoto.com

I'd be happy to help.

[aziltz]

'Bean I think you are doing a great job, and even though I'm haven't been a customer for a while, I lurk and keep learning from what you put out.  Eventually, I'd like to get ahold of some of your fab'd boards but I'm just waiting for more projects to come out to place a larger order.

Keep up the good work!

[CRBMoA]

Tez,

I read through this thread, and agree with 'Bean, and for the most part, all the others.

I especially agree that you should haunt as many of the boards as you can.

You are on the frustrating part of the learning curve, but if you stick with it, you WILL get there.

And don't be afraid to make a mistake. That's how we learn.

Trust me, there is not one single experienced builder on this board (or any other, for that matter) that hasn't forgotten to order all of the parts, inadvertently ordered the wrong parts, been 99% complete on a project and was waiting for ONE component that was mis-ordered or not ordered (or ruined my the builder himself).

A mistake is only a mistake if you fail to learn from it.

Keep coming back, and welcome to your new addiction.

Chris