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.
What Pedal Bench is
Pedal Bench is a browser-based workbench for people who build guitar pedals. It bundles the things you'd otherwise hop between five tabs and a desktop app to do: a schematic editor, a SPICE simulator, a PCB view, a BOM/supplier exporter, a pedal library you can fork from, a stack of calculators, and an AI Pedal Expert that knows the field.
The pitch is that you can go from 'idea' to 'shopping list' in one session, without leaving the browser. Nothing to install. Everything you make is saved to your account.
The areas of the app
A quick tour of what each tab does:
- Editor — draw or modify a schematic. Drop parts, draw wires, label nets.
- Simulate — run DC operating-point, AC sweep, and transient analyses on whatever's in the editor.
- Netlist — see (and export) the SPICE text underneath the schematic.
- PCB — view an auto-generated board layout. Useful for understanding component placement; serious PCB design is still better in KiCad.
- Library — a curated collection of classic pedals. Fork any of them as a starting point for your own.
- Projects — your saved builds.
- Tools — calculators (cap codes, resistor codes, voltage dividers, filter design), reusable circuit blocks, the Learn lessons you're reading right now.
- Community — share builds, ask questions, see what other people are working on.
The Pedal Expert
The Expert tab is an AI that's been pointed at pedal-building specifically — schematics, parts, debugging, classic circuits, vintage component substitutions. Ask it 'what's a good silicon replacement for an OC44?' or 'why is my Tube Screamer biased at 7 V?' and it'll answer in plain language with the reasoning shown.
Free accounts get a daily limit; Pro removes it.
Free vs Pro
Free covers most casual building: full editor, simulator, library access, a generous BOM export quota, and a daily Expert quota. Pro removes ads, lifts the export and Expert limits, and unlocks deeper supplier integrations (live pricing, larger BOM exports, batch reorders).
Tap Upgrade to Pro in the header if you want it. If you're not sure, free is plenty to finish a first build.
Where to ask for help
Three places, depending on what you need:
- The Pedal Expert — for circuit and parts questions.
- The Community tab — for build-thread style help, photos, and other builders' eyes on a problem.
- These Learn guides — for the foundational stuff you keep meaning to look up.
If you find a bug in Pedal Bench itself, there's a feedback link in the footer.