Smash Drive by Aron Nelson

Smash Drive is a DIY classic built around the LM386. This is a great sounding project that is easy to build with just a few easy to find parts.

PCB

Order boards through the PCBWay shared projects page. PCBWay.com provides excellent quality boards at very competitive prices.

Parts List

Part NumberValue
R11M (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
R2470K (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
R31r (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
R422K (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
R5100r (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
RLED 11K-10K (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
C1100µ (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
C222µ (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
C347µ (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
C447µ (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
C510n (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
C64n7 (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
C7100n (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
VOLUMEB500K 9mm (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
GAIN 2B500r 9mm (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
IC1 3LM386 (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
D1LED (Tayda, Stompboxparts)
Enclosure 41590B (Tayda, Stompboxparts, LoveMySwitches)
Smash Drive Parts list
  • [1] Any value from 1 – 10k works here. This is a current limiting resistor for the LED. smaller values make the LED brighter.
  • [2] If you can’t find a 500r pot you can use a 1k instead.
  • [3] Get a socket for this. Always a good idea in case something goes wrong and you need to replace this.
  • [4] This will fit in almost any enclosure, I planned the PCB to fit a 1590B, but you could use anything you have on hand.

I used 9mm pots when I designed the board. After ordering the boards I realized I couldn’t source a 500r pot from Tayda. If you have problems sourcing this value you can use 1K pot and bridge legs 1 and 3 with a 1K resistor. This worked for me. See the images below.


Drill your enclosure

Use this drill guide. Be sure to print the drill guide at 100%.

Wire it up

Follow the wiring guide.