Guitar Pedal Build Guides
Plain-English guides for DIY pedal builders — breadboarding, clipping diodes, op-amps, biasing, tone stacks, SPICE simulation and more. Every guide pairs with the Pedal Bench editor and simulator so you can try the ideas immediately.
How to Breadboard a Guitar Pedal
Step-by-step guide to breadboarding a guitar pedal: tools, layout, power, audio I/O, debugging, and how to move the working circuit into a simulator before you solder.
Anatomy of a Stompbox
How a guitar pedal is wired end-to-end: signal path, 9 V power, virtual ground, true bypass with a 3PDT, and ground discipline that keeps it quiet.
Clipping Diodes 101
How clipping diodes shape distortion: silicon vs germanium vs LED vs MOSFET, hard vs soft clipping, and how to pick the right Vf for the sound you want.
Op-Amps Without Tears
Op-amps explained for pedal builders: the two golden rules, common chips (4558, TL072, NE5532), and how single-supply biasing with Vref actually works.
Reading Components
Decode resistor color bands, 3-digit ceramic-cap codes, and electrolytic markings — the cheat sheet every guitar-pedal builder needs at the bench.
Biasing Transistors
Why pedal transistors need bias, how voltage-divider bias sets the operating point, and the Fuzz Face quirks that make germanium Q1/Q2 hFE matter.
Tone Stacks Demystified
Passive vs active tone stacks in guitar pedals: how the Big Muff scoop works, where the midrange goes, and when a gyrator-based active EQ makes sense.
Your First Build — A Plan
A realistic plan for your first DIY guitar pedal: which low-parts-count circuit to pick, the tools that actually matter, and the build order that prevents headaches.
Using an Audio Probe
Build and use an audio probe in 60 seconds: the simplest tool for tracing signal through a guitar pedal and finding the exact stage where it dies.
What is a SPICE Netlist?
What a SPICE netlist actually is, how to read a line like 'R1 IN VREF 10k', and why exporting your guitar pedal schematic to SPICE lets you simulate before you solder.
How to Turn a Pedal Schematic Into a BOM
Walk a guitar-pedal schematic and produce a clean Bill of Materials: how to group parts, note tolerance/voltage, and export a supplier-ready CSV from Pedal Bench.
How to Simulate Guitar Pedal Circuits
Simulate a guitar pedal circuit before you build: how to set up the input source, which analyses to run (DC, AC, transient), and what each one tells you.
LTspice Export Guide
Export any Pedal Bench schematic to an LTspice .cir netlist, open it cleanly, and bring in custom germanium / J-FET SPICE models for accurate pedal simulation.
Pedal Bench Documentation
What Pedal Bench is and how the tools fit together: schematic editor, SPICE simulator, PCB view, BOM/supplier export, pedal library, calculators, and the AI Pedal Expert.