# Where do you get pedal building supplies?



## Ronbeast (Nov 11, 2008)

I’m sure this question has been asked before, but I couldn’t find anything.

I’d like to stay with just online, as the local selection is awful; I have the source, might be able to get leds and vera board there, but I’m not holding my breath.

I’d like to be able to get everything from a single source: enclosures, switches, caps, pots, etc. For a reasonable price.

My new job kind of affords me the luxury of pedal building, because I work around electronics all day and have a lot of the components I need to build the pedals I want, but it would probably be ideal to buy my own supplies and build mostly from home.

TL;DR what’s the best online source in Canada for buying pedal supplies?


----------



## Guest (Dec 14, 2017)

Next Gen Guitars has stuff.
Canada's #1 Parts Source For DIY Musicians - Next Gen Guitars


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Small Bear Electronics

I'm fairly sure that @mhammer will be along soon with other suggestions.


----------



## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

You can purchase from both Mouser and Digikey in Canadian dollars, you'll pay HST and the Fedex/UPS shipping includes all fees. Free over something like $200 but otherwise I think Mouser is $8 shipping and Digikey $20. Something like that, and you'll have it within a couple of days. They aren't pedal specific but they are a couple of the largest electronic component suppliers.


----------



## Ronbeast (Nov 11, 2008)

Great suggestions guys. Keep them coming.


----------



## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

greco said:


> Small Bear Electronics
> 
> I'm fairly sure that @mhammer will be along soon with other suggestions.


^ this for things that need to be quality/rare/matched reliably (old transistors mostly) and some handy tools that others don't supply. They have everything else, so if I 'm ordering there anyway, i'll get the other stuff too.

Bitches Love My Switches for enclosures, knobs and switches (also have a good deal on wallwort 9V supplies and daisy chains; 6" patch cables). Best NA prices on these things. ... oh they now also have pots, but only solder lug split/knurled shaft (I often want 90 deg PCB mount and now favor solid shafts). Often have sales where some things are even stupid cheaper.

Tayda electronics for everything (as long as cheap does not matter; I don't buy resistors there, but their caps are fine). Absolute cheapest. Usually get my pots here, also sockets and knobs (I get nicer knobs at BLMS). Delivery from Asia takes a while.

Mouser /Digikey / NextGen / local places for resistors/caps (I'll buy the 200 qty bags of name brand resistors in common values)


----------



## keto (May 23, 2006)

^ LOVE MY SWITCHES Guitar Pedal Parts and More!

I bought a lot of caps and resistors on ebay I got a ton of NOS transistors and other stuff from an old electronics place that was closing out, they let me wander the stockroom and had some amazing stuff.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

keto said:


> ....other stuff from an old electronics place that was closing out, they let me wander the stockroom and had some amazing stuff.


We had a place like that here a few years back. The owner would say "Go have a look out in the back." I went there often and spent hours roaming among the shelves. 
The owner was trying to focus on computer and accessory sales, repairs, etc.

The last time I went in, he said "I took all that stuff (i.e., electronics) to the dump". Logically, as it was costing a fortune (i.e., square footage rental costs) to store it.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Small Bear is not always the cheapest, but is the most comprehensive, and tailors explicitly to pedal- builders, carrying stuff you will not find anywhere else. Steve gets some stuff custom-made specifically for him. I had the pleasure of both hosting and staying with him and his wife Judy, as well as visiting the business. (NextGen has more space, but SB has stuff piled right up to the ceiling). Although he has a commendable commitment to hobbyist folks, he has a lot of commercial clients whose large orders keep the business thriving (I think there are 8 employees now). Many of the boutique places you are likely familiar with get a lot of their stuff from him. He's good about finding ways to get stuff to you quickly and cheaply; i.e., no $30 "brokerage" surprises. The $4.50 powder-coated 1590BB "seconds" enclosures are an absolute bargain. Again, you may be able to find a better price somewhere on certain things, but you'll be hard-pressed to find it all in one place.

While lacking the obscure stuff, Tayda also has very good selection of things pedal-builders need, like reverse-audio taper pots in a variety of values, small pots for small boxes, and lotsa transistors/ICs. Tayda has a Facebook page ( Tayda Electronics ) and puts up 15% discount coupons every few weeks (most recent one expired Dec.8). Hold off your order until they post a coupon and it will pretty much cover your shipping costs. I find their shipping slow. It can take up to a month, sometimes, so I wouldn't order from them if you were in a hurry. But generally good to deal with, speed aside.

DIPMicro ( Electronic components - dipmicro electronics ) in Niagara Falls does not have anywhere near the selection that either Small Bear or Tayda have, but they are in Canada, dirt cheap, and fast. If you're intent on, say, stocking up on common resistor, capacitor, transistor, and diode values/numbers, it would be hard to do better in Canada. I still don't know how anyone makes a profit selling 10 resistors in a labelled bag for 10 cents or less, dual-ganged pots for 42 cents, and PT2399 digital delay chips for 32 cents....Canadian.

Jon at NextGen has respectable prices on Hammond enclosures, but they are the unfinished type. My preference when the cold weather sets in is to buy powder-coated ones from Tayda or Small Bear, simply because I can't leave the garage door open to let the paint fumes escape.


----------



## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

also re common values, this is handy if you're stocking up:

http://diy-fever.com/misc/value-statistics/


----------



## Ronbeast (Nov 11, 2008)

Great stuff. I’ll be checking out a few of those vendors tonight.


----------



## dtsaudio (Apr 15, 2009)

Amazing what you can find in China. They'll clone anything
1:1 Diecast Aluminum For guitar klon centaur Silver overdrive pedal Project Enclosed Case S2-in Guitar Parts & Accessories from Sports & Entertainment on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

If you're into building a wah pedal
Buy Products Online from China Wholesalers at Aliexpress.com



gtrguy said:


> Free over something like $200 but otherwise I think Mouser is $8 shipping and Digikey $20.


Close. Digikey is $8.00, Mouser is $20.00 via Fed Ex Express, but Mouser will also use USPS for $8.00. Free express shipping on orders over $100.00


----------



## CathodeRay (Jan 12, 2018)

dtsaudio said:


> Amazing what you can find in China. They'll clone anything
> 1:1 Diecast Aluminum For guitar klon centaur Silver overdrive pedal Project Enclosed Case S2-in Guitar Parts & Accessories from Sports & Entertainment on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group


Just fyi, that seller is LANDTONE & goes by a couple other aliases - 'LJC Dragon' & another one I can't recall off the top of my head. 
Does have a pretty decent array of quality parts & kits at very decent prices - kits are all based on clones un-named as far as I've seen. 
Shipping is usually under a month.
From experience - don't email the owner Jakin with any questions (requests for schematics, part specifics, etc.)... you'll get gibberish with a capital G & spend your time with clarification followups that lead to more of the same. 
*#*(
If you figure it out yourself it'll be 100x faster & you will retain more hair.


----------

