A Few Words Of Caution And Disclaimers
Plus The DIY Rating System

  Undertaking a DIY (do-it-yourself) project can range from the extremely easy, needing minimal soldering talents and the use of basic hand tools, to the extremely complicated. While the very intricate projects will require the knowledge of reading and understanding schematics, detailed soldering, and perhaps constructing some form of casing or cabinets, generally the projects here will focus on those most people can put together with little trouble. Please keep in mind that some DIY projects may open the proverbial 'can of worms' where once you begin digging in, you may find yourself wanting to tweak further, and this is encouraged! Though please keep in mind that our writers have day jobs and while we encourage you to e-mail questions, asking for endless advice about Part A versus Part B, as compared to Part C, can get tedious. So please respect their general wishes that you simply follow along with their project, yet feel free to make your own changes as you see fit.

A Word Of Caution!
Above all else please remember, many DIY projects deal with electricity and if done incorrectly could do damage to your audio system or cause you personal harm, burn down your house, etc. When in doubt, don't, and ask a qualified electronic technician to assist you. Enjoy the Music.com accepts zero responsibility for any damage occurring to you, within your home, your neighborhood, your home state or the country you may reside within should something go drastically wrong. Whilst Enjoy the Music.com has taken precautions in compiling this site, neither it nor any contributors to the site can be held responsible for any action (or the lack thereof) taken by any person or organization wherever they shall be based, as a result, direct or otherwise, on information contained in or accessed through this Internet site. The opinions expressed by contributors within this Web site are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Enjoy the Music.com.

Furthermore, we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of each article, yet typos and errors may happen and we fully wash our hands of any problems that may arise from said situations without any limitations. You hereby acknowledge and take full and complete responsibility for any action(s) you may take arising from reading any article within the Enjoy the Music.com website. Enjoy the Music.com reserves the right to change or modify this disclaimer or any article within this website at any time. For more information, please see our entire disclaimers and terms/conditions of use by clicking here. 

Our Rating System
With the above disclaimer out of the way, most DIY projects are fairly straightforward and simple to follow. In fact some projects will be so easy that you will begin to wonder why you have not tried your hand at DIY sooner! Naturally some DIY projects are easier than others and so a proper rating system is being offered. As DIY may include soldering, using hand tools, plus perhaps constructing cabinetry and what-have-you, we provide two distinct ratings. The Hand Tool rating covers both cabinetry and the amount of talent needed when using tools. The Soldering Gun rating is for how much and/or how detailed a soldering job may be required to complete the project. While we do our best to give accurate ratings, please thoroughly read an article before deciding for yourself if this is something you feel competent enough to complete. Perhaps you can build part of the project and hire a friend or electronic technician to complete the remainder. The choice is ultimately yours of course. Our Hand Tool and Solder Gun Ratings are from one (1) to five (5), with five being the most difficult and perhaps reserved for experts.

Hand Tools Rating

Very Easy: My mother could do this!

Easy: Only need to drink one coffee to get 'er done.

Medium Difficulty: Perhaps a few nights to complete and have some 'specialized' knowledge and/or tools.

Difficult: Are you sure you really are up to this? May take some time to fabricate up various parts to build what is necessary. Remember, measure twice and cut once.

Extremely Hard: Perhaps you'll need a table saw, a drill press, digital calipers... and bring along that close friend you know with a PHD in mechanical/industrial engineering.

Soldering Gun Rating

Very Easy: My mother could do this, as she knows which end of the soldering gun is hot!

Easy: Only need to solder a few pieces here and there to get 'er done.

Medium Difficulty: Perhaps a few nights to complete and have some 'specialized' knowledge and/or tools.

Difficult: Are you really sure you are really up to this? Can you read a schematic and follow those small straight and squiggly lines from Point A to Point B? Maybe you should go to the copy shop and have them print out a copy of the schematic that is five times larger than the one we offer?

Extremely Hard: Forget one soldering gun, maybe have two going at the same time so that one is set for high heat for those really thick wires and the other for low heat for chips and whatnot. Did you graduate MIT or some other technical college that specializes in electronics? If not, and you still want to try this, hey, it is your choice but do not say you were not warned! Wow, you really think you can do this? Most impressive!

Please Remember
Again, i can not stress enough that our writing staff are very busy chasing butterflies with nets and collecting empty tin cans. Perhaps one of them is right now dumpster diving, hoping to find that illusive and rare all-tube double-trace oscilloscope. Not to use, but to gut out for the parts, especially the rare Telefunken tubes that it may hold. The advice and parts choice and whatnot are theirs alone, and if you have preferences or a better sounding part to your ears that is fine. While the writers are happy to help, please do not ask them too many questions as they are wearing white lab coats, are carrying nets and have to catch five more 'butterflies' before the end of today... and are in dire need of that Hammond output transformer they heard was located in a dumpster on 12th Avenue between 7th and 8th Street.