Connect point 9 to the output of your board.Connect point 8 to an LED and then to the voltage input.Connect point 7 to the top of the in jack.Connect point 6 to the tip of the out jack.Connect point 4 to the input of your board.Connect points 3 and 7 with a jumper wire.
Connect points 1 and 2 with a jumper wire.Standard 3PDT switches have 9 connectors on them and we’ll be using all of them for our pedals.įollow these simple steps to wire a 3PDT footswitch for your guitar effects pedal: However, here is a simple guide for you to follow. Wiring the footswitch of a pedal may seem really complicated and it will take you a little time to get your head around. Your board will have connectors for each of the potentiometers required for the circuit and these will be clearly labelled and numbered.Ĭonnecting these potentiometers to your board is a case of matching the numbers on the circuit to the lugs or connectors of the pot.
Potentiometers, also known as variable resistors, have three connection points.Ĭonnection point 1 is the input, connection 2 is the variable resistance selector and point 3 is the ground. Once you have all of your hardware installed into the enclosure and tightened, we can begin wiring in the PCB. This allows me to make the inside of my pedals look much neater and the improved cable management allows for much easier troubleshooting if something goes wrong along the way. Now, I add all the hardware to the enclosure first, tighten the bolts and connect the PCB last. While this did work, it looks incredibly messy. When I first started, I used to connect all of the hardware outside the case and then try to cram it all into the enclosure when I was happy with it. The colour coding isn’t necessary, but it’s a good habit to get into as it will make it much easier to debug your circuit.įor the wire, I’d suggest single-core 22 gauge wire as it’s super easy to work with and holds its shape when trying to mould it around your enclosure. In order to connect the PCB to your hardware, you’ll need a few various lengths of colour-coded wire.
PCB PEDAL HOW TO
How To Connect The PCB To The Guitar Pedal Hardware There could be a couple of Grounding points on your board and will help when putting everything together if you’re not comfortable jumping ground points together. There should only ever be one of each of these connectors except for Ground. You may also have a connector for an LED but this isn’t always the case. Once you’ve fully populated your guitar pedal PCB, there will be a few connectors left for you to work with. If you’re stuck in this same boat, I’ve created this handy little guide to walk you through how to turn your completed PCB into a fully functioning guitar effects pedal. There were no instructions for connecting it to a footswitch, input/output jacks and a power supply. However, once I’d put all the pieces in place I didn’t have a clue how to actually turn it into a pedal. The board came with a detailed component list and putting it together seemed too good to be true. One of my first failed DIY guitar pedal projects was when I purchased a PCB for a TubeScreamer.