Aion L5 LabSeries

[Marshall Arts]

Awesome, my BOTY 2020 price - thanks, Kevin!

I like it better as a preamp than as a pedal. First shot is my preset in stompbox mode, second one in preamp mode (less compression required, higher master volume).





Some comments:
- Mouser ran out of the recommended Nichicon power caps - Try the Panasonic FP series for an equivalent ripple!
- Substitutions: OPA134 for LF356N, NJM2068 for RC4558P
- First time I orderded at Mouser: Shame on you, Mouser, what a waste of bags (giant plastic bags, often with second bags inside for a single resistor). Other suppliers use less than the half plastic waste.

[tcpoint]

Nice build.  Maybe that will be my next build.

[dawson]

Wow- the attention to detail with your aesthetics here is superb- the controls are all clearly labeled, the LED scheme looks great, but what I'm really impressed by is your nameplate with the 2 different colored screws to match the graphic- now that's classy.

I'll bet the circuit sounds great too!

[Marshall Arts]

I Take No credits for the design. That's Kevin! The Screws, the enclosure, the Name Plate ... I just Chose the knobs and the leds :-)

[Timko]

Fantastic work.  And a fantastic sounding pedal to boot.

[TGP39]

Beautiful job!
I agree with you regarding Mouser's unnecessary waste.
Even Arrow Electronics has gotten better. 
~Steve

[Thewintersoldier]

Very clean and impressive build. Must sound really nice!

[skyled]

Have you had this laying around for a while or is there a new run of the enclosures?

Can you explain what the multifilter sounds like?

[Drew Hallenbeck]

Very nice! You got that done pretty quick if it was your BOTY prize!
Did you have any issues with setup/biasing etc.? I've seen a few threads in various places where folks were running into trouble.
I have two of these on my bench right now that are both very nearly completed. I bought the boards shortly after the project was first released. Definitely been slacking on getting them done......
The enclosures are great and I was lucky enough to be paying attention at the right time to snag a couple.
Would be nice if he were to offer another batch for sale. I'd likely grab a couple more.

[gordo]

I have a pair and of them and they're a lot of work. Nicely done!  I think Aion's been fiddling with doing a +9/-9vdc conversion which would be very nice to drive it with normal power. I don't want to speak for him though. My biggest issue was finding an AC power supply that didn't give it fits.

[Drew Hallenbeck]

I have a pair and of them and they're a lot of work. Nicely done!  I think Aion's been fiddling with doing a +9/-9vdc conversion which would be very nice to drive it with normal power. I don't want to speak for him though. My biggest issue was finding an AC power supply that didn't give it fits.

What supply did you end up using? I've got a couple of the Line 6 supplies that I think he said would work.....

[cooder]

Top notch!

[Marshall Arts]

Have you had this laying around for a while or is there a new run of the enclosures?
Can you explain what the multifilter sounds like?

I got this early 2020 - I thought that the price was "only" the PCB and was very surprised, that Kevin obviously meant to give away the enclosure as well. What a treat!
For the multifilter, I would say that it sounds like a presence control, but more effective (less effective and less artificial than an exciter, though). It adds narrow peaks at 1kHz, 1.37kHz, 1.9kHz, 2.63kHz, 3.63kHz and 5kHz, if I read the schematic and the patent correctly.
Interesting reading: https://patents.google.com/patent/US4117413A/en

Very nice! You got that done pretty quick if it was your BOTY prize!

Thanks. Corona crisis gets me back to the soldering iron.

Did you have any issues with setup/biasing etc.? I've seen a few threads in various places where folks were running into trouble.

Not at all - I did it with the iOS app "signal generator", as recommended by Kevin. My DMM does not measure AC mV, so I had to take a very old analog device for that. Don't know about the precision of my setup, but it surely sounds nice to me. For the compression, I ended up maxing the trim pot (fully CW). It's in series with the limit pot on the front panel, which you will keep below 12:00 'o' clock anyway.

My biggest issue was finding an AC power supply that didn't give it fits.

What supply did you end up using? I've got a couple of the Line 6 supplies that I think he said would work.....

I used an old 9.5 V AC adapter rated for 400 mA I had lying around. The regulators get hot, but not too hot to touch them.