Beginner Pedal Kit

The most affordable and beginner-friendly DIY guitar pedal kit.

"Everything was awesome 🤘"

EASY & FUN

No complex wiring. Comprehensive illustrated guides, videos, and great support. We'll even teach you to solder!
[Learn more]

AFFORDABLE

Only $59, and designed for minimal tools. You won't find a better value even close to this price.
[Learn more]

EASY & FUN

No complex wiring. Comprehensive illustrated guides, videos, and great support. We'll even teach you to solder!
[Learn more]

AFFORDABLE

Only $59, and designed for minimal tools. You won't find a better value even close to this price.
[Learn more]

EASY AND FUN

We eliminated most of the common reasons people fail on their first pedal. Avoid that heartache and get an early win for the most satisfying entry into the DIY pedal building hobby.

Already a veteran builder? Get ready for your most relaxing and enjoyable build yet!

Presorted Components

Avoid misplaced and mixed up parts. Instead of handing you a bag of random parts like most kits, we pre-sort the components so you don’t have to measure them or read complex color bands and unintuitive codes.

Simplified Connections

No tangled or confusing wires. Off-board wiring - i.e. wiring the foot switch and jacks - is another common point of failure with other kits. We provide additional circuit boards and ribbon cables to make it quick, fun, and foolproof.

First Class Guidance

This kit assumes NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE or experience. Our comprehensive, full color, illustrated booklet (included free) and step-by-step video will walk you through EVERYTHING. Questions or problems? We're here for you.

Learn Soldering

The number one cause of failed DIY pedals is bad solder joints. To ensure your success we’ve designed a Soldering Practice Kit (included free), along with a How to Solder guide that will take you from absolute beginner to soldering expert in about an hour.

Presorted Components

Avoid misplaced and mixed up parts. Instead of handing you a bag of random parts like most kits, we pre-sort the components so you don’t have to measure them or read complex color bands and unintuitive codes.

Simplified Connections

No tangled or confusing wires. Off-board wiring - i.e. wiring the foot switch and jacks - is another common point of failure with other kits. We provide additional circuit boards and ribbon cables to make it quick, fun, and foolproof.

First Class Guidance

This kit assumes NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE or experience. Our comprehensive, full color, illustrated booklet (included free) and step-by-step video will walk you through EVERYTHING. Questions or problems? We're here for you.

Learn Soldering

The number one cause of failed DIY pedals is bad solder joints. To ensure your success we’ve designed a Soldering Practice Kit (included free), along with a How to Solder guide that will take you from absolute beginner to soldering expert in about an hour.

AFFORDABLE

Getting started building pedals shouldn't break the bank. Not only is this kit's purchase price extremely affordable, but it requires minimal tooling and investment to get started (~$15).

Minimal Tooling

We looked for every opportunity to eliminate the need for many of the tools you'd need to build other kits. For example: Push-on knobs don't require tiny screwdrivers or allen keys; Pre-cut, pre-stripped ribbon cables eliminate the need for wire cutters and strippers; A wrench tool is included with 3 sizes to secure all the hardware onto the enclosure;

Low Price and HUGE value

$59 is practically unheard of for a pedal kit, especially one with pre-sorted components, and as much documentation, videos, guidance, and various extras as we provide.

How?

This isn't a cheap "here's a bag of junky parts, good luck with that" kit like you find on Amazon. How is this so affordable?

The answer is FOCUS. Do one thing and do it well.

While we plan to continue making kits, e.g. our upcoming digital pedal kit, we won't be offering multiple versions of this Beginner kit. The level of attention and guidance we put into this kit isn't possible to spread over dozens of different circuits. We chose ONE problem to solve: Make the most inexpensive, beginner-friendly kit possible, and kept laser-focused on that goal.

WHAT'S INCLUDED?

All the Parts Needed

ALL THE PARTS needed to build your own fuzz pedal

Guidance and Support

Practice kit, videos, illustrations, and booklets to guide you, as well as quick and personal support

Useful and Fun Extras

Wrench tool, merit badge, fun swag, and more

Unboxing

Tools You Need (also available as $15 add-on)

Soldering Iron
with stand, solder, and a sponge (kitchen cellulose type) to clean your tip
Flush Cutters
AKA side cutters, or diagonal cutters, or wire cutters

Since you may already have your own tools, or you might have preferences on which tools you purchase, we don't include them by default:

  • Soldering iron & stand, and solder
  • Sponge to clean your iron's tip (kitchen cellulose type)
  • Flush cutters (aka side cutters, or diagonal cutters, or wire cutters)

We sell these in a $15 add-on bundle , just check the box when you buy your Beginner Pedal Kit.

What About Other Tools?

Usually when you build DIY pedals people advise a lot more tools: wire strippers, helping hands or PCB holders, solder sucking pump, desoldering braid, needle nose pliers, crimpers, etc. However, we've designed our kit and instructional materials to allow you to build this pedal with minimal tools.

REVIEWS

These are just a few. See them all in our shop

Truly a great project!

With the comprehensive guide and perfectly laid out instructions and components, I can't think of a better way to learn the addictive hobby of pedal building! MAS has truly outdone themselves on this one, it takes a lot of the scary out of the process and lets you learn circuitry and soldering at a very approachable level. When I learned... (more)

-- Devin R.

Great beginner kit

This was the first DIY guitar pedal I've ever out together, and it was a breeze. I do have some experience soldering, but I did look through the provided documentation on "How to Solder" and it was very helpful. I completed this kit in under 2 hours, and it worked first try. I absolutely love it's tone too.

-- Ryan H.

Fun Project

I can't believe how well together and well documented this kit is. Almost anyone should be able to build this. It is a great introduction into pedal building.

-- Msudsy

Early Adopter

I'm still very new to building pedal kits (3-5 built) and wanted to see how this one was with the absolute beginner documentation and presentation. I first warmed up with the beginner flashlight kit provided, and that worked with no issue. The documentation in this kit is top notch. Very easy to follow, and teaches you *why* some things are...(more)

-- Dan N.

HOW DOES IT SOUND?

This is a pretty gnarly fuzz pedal, based on the Bazz Fuss circuit which is a popular DIY project. It's pretty deep and brutal, with a growl. It also cleans up nicely especially if you roll back your guitar's volume.

Its best sounds rely on the guitar being plugged directly into it. Don't put it after any other pedals unless you add the optional pickup simulator sub-kit.

Have a demo you'd like to share? Send it to be added to this page! In the meantime you can hear the same circuit in our MAS Effects Tiny Fuzz pedal here.

PICKUP SIMULATOR: Optional Add-on

This fuzz circuit, like some vintage fuzzes, sounds best when it comes first in the pedal chain, with the guitar plugged directly into it

The pickup simulator is an optional sub-kit. It provides an additional PCB that sits between your foot switch PCB and the main PCB. It injects a circuit between the input and the fuzz circuit that behaves like a guitar pickup. This allows you to put the pedal anywhere in your signal chain, rather than requiring you to plug your guitar straight into it.

Learn More

MAKE IT YOUR OWN

TONS of designs to choose from

These are just a few and the selection changes over time.

Something for everyone: Simple? Quirky? Retro? Sparkly? Whimsical? Brutal? ...

Or decorate it yourself

Get the raw aluminum enclosure and faceplate to truly customize it.

  • Paint it
  • Add stickers
  • Make waterslide decals on your printer
  • Use staz-on ink and rubber stamps
  • Draw with paint pens or sharpies
  • Use a label maker
  • Engrave it

DOCUMENTATION How to build your own DIY guitar pedal

How to Solder

Booklet

Buy it now (or get it at a discounted rate when bundled with your Beginner Pedal Kit). Or...

Video

See the soldering steps in real-time, while I talk you through many tips and tricks

Pedal Kit Documentation

Booklet

A printed copy of this comes with your kit. Or you can... Or view an interactive web-based version here.

Video

Join me and let's build the kit together, step by step.

(Optional) Pickup Simulator Documentation

Pamphlet

A printed copy of this comes with your kit. Or you can... Want to build a standalone pickup simulator pedal? Get the raw details here.

Support: Get Help

Any questions or trouble along the way? Just leave a quick post in our forum and we'll get you sorted out ASAP.

Visit Forum

Photos

FAQ

Do I have to consume ALL of that documentation?

No. We simply provide a variety of resources to meet every type of learner.

If you're in a hurry, here's a tip: Just follow along with the illustrations in the booklet. You don't have to watch the videos or read the booklet. Each step is deliberately captured in a simple picture. The booklet is also carefully designed to be easy to skim. Scan the headings and dive in where you'd like.

For beginners only?

Definitely not. Advanced builders will find this kit fun and relaxing. It's truly delightful to build, and at this price point it's hard to pass up.

Advanced builders might also have fun turning our pickup simulator add-on sub-kit into a standalone pedal, too.

My favorite enclosure design is sold out, now what?

Don't hesitate to reach out and see if we are restocking your favorite enclosure design. We can also do special-orders for a reasonable fee. Of course you can also choose your second favorite, or get a bare aluminum enclosure and decorate it yourself.

How long will it take to build my pedal?

This kit can be built in about 15 minutes, or may take 8 hours or more. It's really up to you, and varies wildly depending on how deep you want to go with your learning.

I don't want a fuzz pedal. Will there be a Beginner kit with other circuits?

Not exactly. This is the one and only beginner kit we'll be making. The amount of time and energy that's required to make this a success for every newcomer to the hobby means it must all be focused on a single pedal. That said, we have lots of other DIY options and will continue to expand our offerings. We'll be releasing a DIY Digital Pedal Kit in the near future that looks very similar to this beginner kit, and will feature some of the same simplified building steps, illustrated guide, pre-sorted parts, etc. It won't, however, have the video guides, and it will have a lot more parts.