Lab Series L5 Preamp build notes

[gordo]

I'm going to derail my own post in a bit but before I stray here's a couple of notes I jotted down while putting together my second Aion L5 build:

• This goes without saying...put a few hours into the build and walk away.  This is a project that is best done in a lot of sessions.  Trust me on this.
• Use the right parts.  Everything in the build docs will point you in the right direction.  Most importantly EVERYTHING that has anything to do with the power section.
• When it comes time to stuff the chassis, base the entire build on the Mid Freq pot.  This one sits higher up than all the rest, as it's a dual.  Once the board is leveled and soldered on that pot everything else will literally fall into place.  The rest of the pots and the switches will sit proud of the board but your spacing will be dead on.  Bonus is that you don't need to worry about insulating the back of the pots.  They'll be nowhere near the board.
• This may be overkill but I had great results trimming the socket pins on the solder side of the board.  This takes the pressure off of having a pot case touch the pins.  To be honest I don't normally worry about such things and I never use an insulator on board mounted pots.
• Another no brainer.  There's a lot of depth between the parts and the lid of the enclosure so socket all the chips and trannies.  I didn't socket the trannies on my first build and while it works great I have no flexibility to tweak.  Trust me.  Once this puppy is wired up and stable you won't be tempted to EVER take it apart again.

If you have this board I strongly encourage you to get rolling on it.  This is one of the most significant builds I've ever done and being a Lab Series freak it might allow me to retire my L5 from it's perch in the church (I'm a poet and don't know it) I play in and drive a power amp with the pedal.

Here's where my post goes off the rails.  2016 has been the year of MAJOR significant builds.  There is a ton of stuff that really needs to be singled out this year and I'm sure that this could be a long running list:

• Brian's work on some of the big boards: LazerWolf, Freekout, and Rust Bucket come to mind.  I have absolutely no idea how I'll use the last two but just having working versions of the old EHX effects is cool enough to build them.  The little stuff is insane too.  The Moar is my main overdrive these days.  The 4:1 is my main compressor.  The Tapanatorator stuff is still being worked out but the potential is huge.  I just don't know how to box them at this point.  The DigDug2 is another one of those WTF am I going to use this for, but the few people I let loose on it kept it till I literally drove to their place and kicked in the door to get it back.  Speaks volumes.
• Lectric-FX you guys are really carrying the EHX torch.  The Celeste is just stupid (boxed up right away).  The Bloodstone...
• Grind, you guys are killing it.  Your website being down just gives me a chance to get caught up.  For my normal gig (prog praise) you would think I don't need metal drives but the Aeons and Shred Dominator rip congregation faces when needed.  Superb.  And don't get me started about the STM800 project.  The first one as an 800 I'll never see again because the buddy I lent it to would give me his Les Paul before he'd give this up.  I did a second one as an Atomic 16 and don't let anybody near it.
• Juansolo the Dominatrix board is bonkers.  Right about the time I figure I need another overdrive like I need a hole in the head...I need another hole in the head.
• Electricb.  You've taken a bunch of been there...done that projects and made them goofy cool.  You need to do more of this.  Everyone should have a TripleTreble on their board.  Just sayin...you have a gift.

Hope everyone has a great Christmas and really looking forward to all the new stuff happening at Madbean.  I love this place.

[dbp512]

Thanks for the notes Gordo! I've been wanting to do this one since I got my hands on the PCB, but I haven't had the time yet. Now that the semester is almost over, I'll be able to sit down with my soldering iron once again. Although I have a few circuits I'll need to finish before I can attempt this, which is probably good to get my technique back up to snuff.

What power amp would you suggest pairing this with? I was going to get a tiny giant, but perhaps something else would work better? I figure since you made two you'd probably be able to point me in the right direction.

[gordo]

The Ty Tabor setup was a Mesa tube power but to be honest all I have at this point is the Tiny giant too :-)

[stringsthings]

Many thanks for the tips.  I haven't got around to building mine yet so these tips will certainly help.
I bought the matching enclosure and it's spectacular. 

I've got a Tiny Giant that I use as my bench amp and I really like it.  I can see getting another
and pairing it with the Lab L5 preamp.

[Coda-effects]

Very good tips!
It would be so awesome to have a video tutorial for it

[Timko]

The parts for my L5 are in the mail; I'm looking forward to starting it next week.  Thanks for the tips!

[dbp512]

Where did you guys get your caps/diodes? Normally for builds I go through tayda because I don't know if I'll like them too much, but for this one I'm going straight to mouser for everything other than resistors.

[Timko]

I ordered everything from mouser, except the parts like pots and a few IC which I got from other sources.

[dbp512]

Hey gordo (or anyone else who completed this circuit), I've got another question.

I'm placing an order with aion today, so are there any drives/boosts you'd recommend that feed into this really well? I'm thinking either a honey bee or morning glory could be nice, although I don't know if this even needs it. Still, when buying PCBs its always a bit too tempting to just add one more.

[gordo]

Yeah, too many is still not enough. I've been setting it relatively clean and then hit it with either a 4:1 for a bit of gritty sustain, a Moar for some grind, and drive either of those with a ROG Omega boost. It depends on the tunes but I've also been fiddling with Aion's Aurora and the Dist+ and Grind FX Aeons. Labs handle pedals really well and the pedal version does as well.  Both break up really nicely when you push the front end. The Lab compressor acts like more of a limiter and you can use it to flatten out drastic jumps in level.

[Timko]

Hey gordo (or anyone else who completed this circuit), I've got another question.

I'm placing an order with aion today, so are there any drives/boosts you'd recommend that feed into this really well? I'm thinking either a honey bee or morning glory could be nice, although I don't know if this even needs it. Still, when buying PCBs its always a bit too tempting to just add one more.

Ive built 3 of his Andromeda boards (the Nobels ODR-1).  It's a great drive that's pretty unique.

[aion]

I set a GE-7 up as a mid booster (cut on either end, gradually coming up to flat in the middle) and then an overall boost of ~10dB and hit the first channel for one of my favorite tones I've gotten out of it. A little bit of mids coming in the front is magical.