Lets face it, most guitar pedals start with similar circuitry -- you need the input and output jacks, the bypass switch (hopefully with a status LED), and a barrel jack for power input. In some circuits, there may be as much wiring involved in the jacks and switch as there is in the effect itself.
In another puzzling but long-standing FX pedal convention, viewed this way, the input jack is on the right and the output is on the left. One plausible explanation for this is that the cable usually comes out of the guitar towards the right, so it doesn't have to cross back to the left to get plugged in.
Finally, as we mentioned in the introduction, guitar pedals use a barrel jack polarity that's backwards from other disciplines. Just in case the wrong DC adapter finds its way into the picture, the power connections are protected using a P-channel MOSFET that will only conduct when forward biased. A reverse-polarity adapter (or fumbling a 9V battery against the snap) won't cause any damage - it simply won't work.
To hook up your pedal effect circuit to the microphone jack of your PC, you can use the 2.7 V supply on the headphone jack. The high input impedance of the soft-clipping circuit allows for a direct interface between your electric guitar and your PC. The circuit is small enough to fit into a jack that plugs into your guitar3 .
Jack Orman is a guitarist who built his first effects pedal circuit in 1976; a Craig Anderton fuzz from Guitar Player magazine using a pc board made with a Sharpie pen and some Radio Shack copperclad. It worked the first time it was fired up and he was hooked on do-it-yourself effects! Over the next 10+ years Jack used a variety of homemade effects projects in rock bands that he played with.
In 1995 he launched a web site and posted some effects schematics that he had collected or designed (including the first Mini-booster). Jack added dozens of articles on electronics and guitar effects. AMZ has been online continuously for more than 22 years, and its web pages viewed millions of times!
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