Stock

[mr-nad]

Hi guys,
Firstly thanks again to all of you that helped me with the green giant and the muff fuzz over the past few weeks. Its that sort of help that is making me want to keep going with these projects and gain experience and ambition for bigger and more complex circuits.

What I'm here to ask about tonight is what you would say is best to keep a large stock of at all times component wise?

My artillery is slowly increasing everytime i think about a new project.

I know resistors and diodes are always good to keep well stocked up on. I currently have a large assortment of resistors that i bought just before xmas that will certainly keep me going over the next few months and ive plenty of 1N914 and 1N4148s in stock with some 1N4001 en-route as i type this.

I also have a selection of different IC's and sockets stowed and a small selection of elec capacitors and a paltry amount of ceramics.

What would you say would be a staple amount of bits and pieces to keep to hand at all times?

Any input would be largely accepted

Dan

[motterpaul]

I started here about a year ago, and I have built about 20 circuits and only boxed about 7 of them. So, you will not use them up as fast as you might think. It also depends on what you want to build the most. Personally, I like amp emulators so I have a lot of FET projects. BUt you may decide you want to leans towards fuzz.

Beavis just updated his recommended list (I believe): http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/BuyingParts/

Personally, I think it is best to buy a few select diodes instead of a large assortment. The types these pedals used are somewhat limited. 5817, 1N914, 1n4148 - Bat41

Load up on...

DC adaptors, guitar jacks, 3P3T switches, trimpots, 2P2T switches on/on and on/off/on.

Pick one size of LED and get matching mounting brackets (I use 3mm - small, cheap).

Buy as many pots as you can: from 1k (lin and log) up to 1M (lin and log).
Trimpots - you will mostly use 25, 50 and 100k.

Definitely resistors & caps of all sizes. Some film capacitors in the pF range are a good idea. Try to find smaller electrolytic caps that will fit on your boards, especially 47uF and 100uF. I bought two different "bulk" assortments of polyester caps that offered different selections between 1nF and 100nF , so it balanced out. Same with resistors; two different assortment packs - that "odd number" will show up more often than you think.

The only transistors I would buy in "bulk" are J201s, 2n5457 (but that's me). There are others that are good to have but you will not use them as often as you think. 3094, 5088, - honestly, I would wait until I see a project I want to do and order parts of everything up to ten units or so. But 50 is probably more than you will ever use of a lot of trannys or ICs

Buy 24-gauge wire. Try to get many colors: red, green, blue, black, white, yellow. Most people prefer stranded (just remember to tip it with solder right after stripping).

Sockets for ICs and transistors are a very good idea. When I need to fix a circuit, I want to be able to take those components out before I hit the board with a soldering gun. It is also handy for experimenting.

[rocket88]

I can't disagree more. I've been building for about 3yrs, have well over 60 builds, all of them boxed and used, and now keep a fairly large stock, for two reasons. One is I like to build whatever I want whenever I feel like it, and two I've been building for people and started a small company so I need to have what I need to build for sale. First and foremost you have to ask yourself how much building do you intend on doing, is it for you and some friends or do you want to sell them, and it all depends on what you're into building. If you want to build a lot of Ge transistor stuff, stock up, but don't pay too much, and be prepared to sort everything to figure out what you can use them for and risk some that won't be very useable. If you want to do a lot of circuits that will use 18v or need a power inverter stock up on ICL7660s chips.

Now once you figure that out there's a list mark posted in a thread asking about stocking up, here, that gives you a good idea of some stuff worth stocking up one. You will also find that some values of caps and resistors that pop up all the time, so those you'll want to keep more of.

Wire is a personal preference. I use hookup wire from smallbear, I believe it's 24awg wire, the same as Geiri (pedalprojects). Some of the guys like beaker use 26awg. You can use anything really from 22awg and up. 22awg will give you a little more rigidity, while compromising size, and the smaller will allow you to sneak into tighter spaces, but loose some rigidity. I've used both 22 and 24, and as long as it's stranded you're good. You don't need to have multiple colors. I like it cause I can check my wiring easier and immediately know what's what, but a lot of guys use just one or two colors. Again preference.

Depending on where you are, I would not stock up on all pots unless you plan on doing a lot of experimenting, but 100k log and linear show up all the time and are worth having a lot around. Otherwise you end up with a lot of useless dead stock.

The way I started stocking up was a little at a time. Every time I order from tayda I put a little extra of some things in and it all adds up. You only want to stock up on what you're going to use, not just have around for the sake of having a large stock.

[mr-nad]

Thanks for the reply rocket88, I really need to do some more trawling through the pages on this forum.

The intention is for this hobby to grow into something more than just a hobby. Ive just bookmarked the link that you have kindly added in your reply.

Most of the caps i have are from old amplifiers and stereo systems and ive been using the wiring from inside for my builds so far.
I havent even considered Ge builds yet. but it is in mind for the coming months.

Im guessing its a case of little and often with the ordering of stuff.

[Travis]

It's best to order everything at once when you can. Ordering little and often will waste a lot of money paying for shipping

Also, no need to stock up on 1N914 and 1N4148 separately because they are the same diode


To answer the question "what do I need to stock up on?" - EVERYTHING!

[rocket88]

glad to help out man.

btw, travis does have a point about saving on shipping. just don't start ordering everything you can think of. you need to remember, you don't want to waste money on stuff you won't use. what i did at the beginning was make a list of everything i needed for 5-10 builds and order all i needed for those, plus a few extras in case i had an issue. but, i tried not to get crazy.

as time went on i began to collect more and more. shit, travis knows how bad i am, not to mention most of the guys on here that have been around for awhile now.

i'll warn you about Ge, it's really, really, really addictive. i think i started out with ordering like 100-200 of a wide variety, and now i have a few thousand total between ones i like and have at least 200 of them, to those that i want to try that i'll have at least 100 so i can sort, test, and see what kind of spread i get. i'm honestly i'm so bad with certain ones that i love that are hard to find, that when they show up on the bay, i'll grab them no questions asked. it could be just 2 or 5 of them, but i want to make sure i have plenty.

you need boxes? i have 30 or so 125b, 15 or so 1590bb's, and 3 1590a's which i hate building in cause they're so tiny, but i want to use them for small circuits. mind you these are unfinished. i have 15 painted to be built for customers, and about 10 painted different colors for myself.

you need resisters? i've got about 200 or so of each value you could need from 1ohm up to 10M. pots? i've got at least 30 of each common value. caps? what kind? i've got probably 300 of each value panasonic reds, a few hundred greenies, a bunch of box caps, about 100 of each value electrolyic you could need in a stompbox, even SMD ones that i remove from the plastic base to get the leads for super small builds. ceramics? i've got normal and multilayers in all sizes. how about diodes? you need Ge or Si. i've got about 100 min of each commonly used. transistors? NOS or modern? jacks? mono or stereo? shit i even keep stomp switches in stock, about 50 now, going to be ordering another 100 soon. the list goes on and on.

do you need as much as me? probably not. have i gone a little overboard? probably. do i need everything i have? ehhh, that's iffy. but, i've accumulated over 3 years, and did things in pieces. so for instance, when i was building an Si FuzzFace i needed 2 transtors, but i noticed i bunch of pedals used bc108's so i ordered 20-50 instead of 2. or i noticed a lot of builds use 2N5088 or 2N5089's so i have about 300 of each since they're common. unlike, the some of the IC's needed for the smallstone and CE-2. if you plan on doing a lot of fet builds, grab a bunch of the common ones, like J201, 2N5457, and 2N5458. these have been listed as obsolete and prices are starting to rise on them. btw, grab J201's from smallbear. they cost a little more, but in my experience have been more reliable then tayda or ebay.

one piece of advice is to take full advantage of the tayda's 20% off coupons. when you figure out your order it will cover your shipping and then some. also, if you want to stock up on some pots, when you put an order in with tayda throw in a few extras of the ones you usually use. ever order i would add about $20 or so dollars in pots just cause i'll be saving money in the end. and, if you're going to order from one of the smaller companies like smallbear, make it worthwhile, because they basically have one shipping price, so whether you're ordering 2 transistors or a bunch of shit you'll pay the same. so, it's stupid to spend $5 on partsn and $6 on shipping, ya know what i mean?

also, i have enough parts to sustain me if i get snowed in

[Muadzin]

I used to be obsessed with the idea of hoarding as much components as I can, based on the idea that I would like to build whatever I want, whenever I want. But then I ran into a few problems. First, you're always limited by those parts that are hardest to obtain or the most expensive. Caps, diodes, resistors, common trannies and IC's, they cost next to nothing. They're easy to buy in large numbers. The problem however is that builds need expensive parts as well, like, rare trannies/IC's, knobs, pots, switches, jacks and enclosures. And getting enough of those will set you back quite a lot.  Especially here in the EU where ordering from in bulk from Tayda, or basically anything from Mouser, will cost you an arm and a leg in shipping and customs duties. I have enough passives and common semi's to build a hundred pedals if I want too. I have a decent stock of pots that I could substitute or replace one if I misordered if need too. I NEVER have enough knobs, jacks, switches and enclosures to build what I want when I want. The biggest limitation that stops me from building whatever I want whenever I want are jacks, 3PDT switches and enclosures. Especially the latter. And that's still excluding rare unobtainium parts like out of production trannies and IC's.

So since I will never have enough of the crucial parts that I need and I'm still restricted to ordering on a project basis, why bother creating huge stocks? All they're good for is to have something in case I forgot to add it to my order, or in case of ordering a wrong part. Hell, even the small enough orders (as to avoid customs duty charges) from Tayda still net me enough spare caps/diodes/IC's and pots to allow me to do just that.

[Dennis Fox]

I want to start out by saying hello to everyone. I am new to the group and have been building for a year.  Once I got the bug, I really started stocking up for the same reason.  I have found out that by stocking up on the resistors, caps, IC's and diodes maybe 10 of each pot it works for me.  When I order I usually will order 200 resistors instead of 50 because it is a lot cheaper and maybe a few pots.  If you do that a few times, then you don't need to order as much because most of the projects use a lot of the same components. I guess there has to be a happy medium because there is nothing more frustrating than 2 in the morning and missing 1 resistor or cap to complete the build.  

[Beaker]

Dan, a lot will depend on where you are in the world when it comes to placing large orders for parts. If you are in the UK or the rest of the EU, then import duty and tax makes placing high value orders from anywhere outside the EU problematic. Everyone on here from EU countries can tell you horror stories about getting stung for duty and tax on even modestly sized orders from overseas. If you are outside the EU, then it is not so much of  problem.

It is also about "Economy of scale" - buy one common (e.g. 2N3904) transistor from the UK and it might cost one Pound. You could buy ten for five Pounds, but a bag of one hundred from China could only cost eight Pounds. This is the reason why I tend to buy all my common transistors in bulk, and where I disagree completely with Motterpaul - not worth buying 2N3904, 2N5088, 2N2222 etc. by the hundred? Well I can assure you it is worth it. The rate my stash of some of these is diminishing proves it. However I agree with his point on buying LEDs, switches, knobs, power sockets, jacks (especially jacks) etc. in bulk, as you can blow through them suprisingly quickly.

Rocket has the right idea though - draw up a hit list of circuits you want to build in the next few months and order approprately, if funds allow. This is a crucial point as everyone's financial circumstances are different. If you don't have the cash, you can't spend it all in one go, so it's not ideal suggesting to anyone to "Buy Everything", (although Travis is right on this one 'cos eventually you  do need everything).

However, a good rule of thumb is to always buy a few spares - you will use them sooner or later, so if you need five, try to order ten (or a hundred if the law of economy of scale allows).

As to what to order, then ebay Chinese "Assortment Packs" are ideal to get a level up, especially of MMC capacitors (both axial and Radial) which are an absolute Godsend for building pedals. You can get a huge pack for a few quid like these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10pf-10uf-600pcs-30value-Multilayer-Monolithic-Ceramic-Capacitor-Assorted-Set-/121075015531?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c30a21f6b

When it comes to wire, I would urge a little caution. My suggestion is to a buy a fairly small amount of different gauges, and types (solid and braided), and try them to see what you like using, and what you don't before you comit to buying loads of it.

 I started on solid core as I found that easier to work with as a beginner. Then I went braided core, as I gained experience. Now I use a mixture of single strand braided wire,  28 gauge braided ribbon wire, which is awesome for pots and switches and shielded two core plus ground for input/output use. It's just the way I do it, and it works for me.

You need to try and find what works best for you. Unfortunately, I now have literally miles of expensive wire kicking around that I'm unlikely to use in a hurry.

[mr-nad]

I've got resistors coming out of my ears!!! When i first decided i was going to build pedals latter part of 2014 i bought 5 assortment boxes from ebay as they were very cheap, so i have around 300-400 of each value. In hindsight, there are probably gonna be a few values kicking around when i finish because they dont look like they are too common in pedals.

Enclosure wise, my mum quit smoking over xmas and she gave me all of her tobacco tins.


That one is my first build, which was the green giant from this site.

Once i have the muff that ive been working on properly, ive got another tin that is gonna slot that in.

I quite like the look of these tins for small builds, and no screws necessary to get into them if theres a problem

I've been keeping my eye on the tayda promos, i'm trying to hold out until another one is around but im getting itchy to start another project.

I'm based down in Cornwall UK, not very many electronics shops down here, so i am very reliant on the internet for my supplies

[mr-nad]

Alright beaker, yeah im in cornwall nd most of the orders have been ebay shops from china so far.

I've given myself a modest order allowance from my salary, so i was thinking about getting the bits for 2 maybe 3 builds plus a bit on the side. Then save up for a few months and work it that way. I've over ordered on 3906's which ive put down to a noobish learning curve.

[rocket88]

Fair warning, what sucks is tayda coupons don't work on enclosures anymore. They caught on. Lol

[Frank_NH]

When it comes to wire, I would urge a little caution. My suggestion is to a buy a fairly small amount of different gauges, and types (solid and braided), and try them to see what you like using, and what you don't before you comit to buying loads of it.

 I started on solid core as I found that easier to work with as a beginner. Then I went braided core, as I gained experience. Now I use a mixture of single strand braided wire,  28 gauge braided ribbon wire, which is awesome for pots and switches and shielded two core plus ground for input/output use. It's just the way I do it, and it works for me.

I agree with Beaker, Rocket88, et. al. with everything.  However, for wire, I tried a lot of stuff and THE BEST wire (for me) is the Smallbear Prebond #24 wire.   Get lots of it.  And lots of colors too.  I try to color code my wires so there will be fewer mess-ups in the boxing phase.  And the prebond is a dream to use - no tinning or twisting.  Just strip and solder.

[Muadzin]

Personally what sucks harder has been the fall of the Euro. With coupons I could order three $45 orders a month for less then €100, now I can only place two such orders.

[rocket88]

Btw, frank and I use the same wire. Great minds think alike

[Chris60601]

>> When it comes to wire, I would urge a little caution. My suggestion is to
>> a buy a fairly small amount of different gauges, and types (solid and
>> braided), and try them to see what you like using, and what you don't
>> before you comit to buying loads of it.
>>
>>  I started on solid core as I found that easier to work with as a
>> beginner. Then I went braided core, as I gained experience. Now I use a
>> mixture of single strand braided wire,  28 gauge braided ribbon wire,
>> which is awesome for pots and switches and shielded two core plus ground
>> for input/output use. It's just the way I do it, and it works for me.

>I agree with Beaker, Rocket88, et. al. with everything.  However, for wire,
>I tried a lot of stuff and THE BEST wire (for me) is the Smallbear Prebond
>#24 wire.   Get lots of it.  And lots of colors too.  I try to color code my
>wires so there will be fewer mess-ups in the boxing phase.  And the prebond
>is a dream to use - no tinning or twisting.  Just strip and solder.

I agree about the pre bonded from SB. I too use 24 gauge but recently ordered the sample pack of 22 gauge.

I still have plenty of solid core as that's is what I started with also.

[motterpaul]

I just wanted to note the irony that a couple people who  "disagreed" with me later came back and said "hmmm, maybe I do have more than I need" of certain parts. The irony is THAT I DO, TOO. That was all I was saying. I think we all do it.

[rocket88]

there's a reason why we have more then we may need right now. when there's literally 100's of effects that use the same parts, having a lot of them is a good thing. if you're into experimenting then having an assortment of parts, such as transistors and ICs, allows you to see how a each one effects the tone, behavior, fuzz, etc. of the circuit you're working on.

similar does not equal the same. case in point go play an epiphone les paul and a gibson les paul, both look the same, follow the same design principles, but will sound and play completely different. you may like the gibson, i may like the epiphone. since in effects we can't go to the store and try out transistors like we can other gear, it's good to have a variety to try. btw, when you think about the numbers of transistors you use in an effect, if you buy 50 bc108's you could build only 25 fuzzfaces, so it's not as much as you think. while, with ICs you usually will use 1 in an effect, obviously that's not always the case, so if you order 50 TL072's you can build idk, 50 tubescreamers. it's all relative.

i have way more then a normal person needs, i stocked up and keep the stock i do for a reason, and have enough of what i like and use. the big idea of what's being said is stock up on what you're going to use and need. the stock i have, or that travis has, or beaker, or mark, or whoever on the forum differs based on need and use. which is the big picture everyone has been saying.

you can do it how ever you may want, but there's no irony in those of us that disagree with you.

[Beaker]

Likewise. I see no irony.

Mr Nad is on a very limited budget, as am I, and no doubt others on here are in the same boat, so bulk ordering is not an option on many parts, unless you can get them super cheap.

A couple of years ago I built a Vox Repeat Percussion that needed a 2N2646. I looked on ebay and found that they were about £3 each, but someone in California was selling bags of fifty for ten dollars. Talk about no brainer! By current  prices I am still sitting on well over  a hundred quids worth.

2N3904 is just about the most commonly used transistor on this site, and is a suitable substitute in literally dozens of other circuits. So no harm in snagging a hundred of them from China, for barely more than the price of ten from a UK seller. After all, a Superfuzz needs six of the sodding things.

To be clear - I totally disagree with your statement:

"There are others that are good to have but you will not use them as often as you think. 3094, 5088, - honestly, I would wait until I see a project I want to do and order parts of everything up to ten units or so."

But agree with you about buying jacks, 3PDT switches ten at a time if possible.

[Beaker]

The one thing I would pay top dollar for, and from a reputable supplier is mini toggle switches, as ebay is full of utter shite Chinese copies that self destruct the first time you operate them.

I've had several do this to me recently!