Aion Malacandra (RC Booster with mods)

[Aleph Null]

Built on an Aion FX Malacandra PCB. This was my first attempt at a hydro dip. On the whole, I'm pleased with it. I tried placing a water slide decal over the hydro dip to label the controls, but the surface is too uneven for good adhesion. If the unlabeled controls start to bother me, I may use letter stamps.



This is build to RC Booster spec except, the diodes are in a 2x3 arrangement instead of the standard 3x3 for a slightly warmer sound and a little more break up. I upped the value of C7 from 4.7uF to 6.9uF so that the boost portion of the treble control grabs some extra upper midsl. This makes it a little more aggressive and allows me to use it to saturate the mids when pushing other pedals down the chain.



The color scheme was selected by my seven-year-old daughter.

[nzCdog]

That's real purdy... Great to get your daughter involved too! 

[zombie_rock123]

That's a killer finish! I'd be stoked with that for my 20th go let alone first.

[G.G.]

Looks like a block of some amazing swirl ice cream, I love the color selection. Sounds like a pretty interesting build, I might need to look into this circuit a bit more. Great job!

[Aleph Null]

Thanks guys!

Looks like a block of some amazing swirl ice cream, I love the color selection. Sounds like a pretty interesting build, I might need to look into this circuit a bit more. Great job!

It's a pretty ugly proof circuit stock; none of the settings get extreme and there's less boost available than a lot of other circuits. I find myself using it in conjunction with other overdrives to fine tune the sound,  or to jump up or down a gain level. It works well as an "underdrive" (I wish there were a better word for it) to clean up a gainy amp too. Not very glamorous, but a good utility pedal.

[Leevibe]

That looks amazing. I need to give that a try

[Aleph Null]

That looks amazing. I need to give that a try

A lot of the tutorials I found recommend model paint or a special kind of acrylic. They'll also suggest warm water with borax added. None of that worked for me. I only had success with spray paint. Also, it takes way less paint than you would think. Too much and you get bubbles that will pop and leave empty divots.