Get Geared Up For About $15

My Philosophy

If you go online and ask people who are deep in the DIY pedals hobby what you need to get started in pedal building, you'll end up with a $400 shopping cart. People are more than happy to spend YOUR money for you.

Further, they'll also endlessly list things they've acquired over many years and dozens or hundreds of projects; Stuff that has marginal or niche utility. But if you're building a first - and possibly only! - pedal then their needs clearly don't match yours.

"People are more than happy to spend YOUR money for you"

You'll also hear the old adage to "buy the best tool you can afford." This makes a lot of sense if you're going to use it often, but for something you use once or twice, or even occasionally, it's terrible advice.

Instead, I say this:

• Get just enough tooling to get the job done. Avoid "nice to have" tools, or those for occasional use (e.g., desoldering).
• Purchase the cheapest tools you can find. If you don't already have them and need them for other projects, don't invest yet! Cheap ones will easily last 10+ pedal builds, which is more than enough time to assess your interest.
• If you keep going in the DIY pedal building hobby, you'll slowly upgrade and add to your tool collection as you go. You'll also only end up with things you care about, not what somebody else told you they needed.

Quick Recommendation

Go on your favorite marketplace site (e.g., Amazon, Ebay, Ali, etc) and search for "SOLDERING IRON KIT."

For approximately $15 USD you should be able to get

• Soldering iron with power adjustment
• Stand to hold the iron
• Flush cutters
• Solder

There are tons of variations on these kits, with more or fewer items in them. Look carefully at the list, and make sure it has each of the above. For a few dollars more you should be able to also find one with extra soldering iron tips (so you can try both a conical and chisel shapes) and a desoldering pump. Most of the other included items won't be as immediately useful.

You could alternatively buy the iron for about $8 and piece together the other supplies (notably side cutters and solder).

If you're happy with a kit, skip to PREPARING TO SOLDER section. If you'd rather gear up piece by piece, read on...