Well, there comes a time in every builder's life that decisions need to be made. From Turret to PCB and these days from THT (through hole technology) to SMT (Surface mounted technology). "These days?", I hear people think. "It has been around much much longer ('60s) brat!". Yeah, yeah, true!
However, more and more commonly used guitar pedal components are EOL and go into the NOS or VOS status and thus become insanely expensive and (as with all things) disappear into oblivion. Luckily for us some of these cherished parts are reappearing as SMD (surface mounted device).
For example the J201 is now widely available as MMBFJ201. Or the MPF4393/PN4393 is available as MMBF4393.
For this reason I am slowly moving more and more to SMD in my designs. I must confess that I needed a little push from a customer to do so. My first reaction was NO! THT is much easier to repair and solder.
That might be true for op-amps (DIL-8/DIL-14) but not necessarily for transistors and resistors. Those are quit simple to solder with some tweezers and a regular soldering iron with a small tip.
One of the first steps I am taking to make my PCBs usable in this transition is to incorporating hybrid transistor pads. I saw this idea originally on an AION design and it is just a great idea. This way you can choose to use THT or SMT depending on your stock!
Let's see how THT holds out in the coming years. I think it will slowly be replaced by SMT which will make DIY guitarpedals a lot more difficult. But remember, where there is a will, there is a way! So SMT will never sound in the end of DIY!! Never!
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