2nd chance at romance PPCB, AionFx, Aleph Null builds

Diynot

Well-known member
So a lot of these are replacements to pedals I have reluctantly sold, have had a request for, or I’ve built other iterations of the same circuit. There are 2 net new builds in the bunch. Let’s start with those. Truth be told, I like mostly useless noise makers. I wish I could use them in music but I’m just not that creative. First up is a PPCB Captain Bit. Having built almost every PLL board I could get my hands on I sort of knew what I was getting and this doesn’t disappoint. The +1 octave isn’t terribly strong (at least on mine) and I’m ok with that. I tend to favor the low end anyways IMG_5869.jpeg
IMG_5870.jpeg
Has a decent fuzz on tap and the octave downs just make it mean. Blue hammer from tayda is great with the silver knobs but damn the overspray! Pretty sure even with the toothed jacks they aren’t even close to making contact with the box.
Second is a PPCB 3-channel splitter that I intend to use for stereo setup but would also like to build the mixer so that I can do parallel dirt/clean/modulation lines. Easy build especially with Robert’s faceplates
IMG_5866.jpeg
IMG_5865.jpeg
Next up are my rebuilds. Let a friend try out Aleph’s troglodyte reverb and he requested one with a more Marshall styled aesthetic so here we are. I later added a red toggle switch cover for even more Marshallness.
IMG_5872.jpeg
IMG_5871.jpeg
This is such a great circuit that will do just about anything you could ask a reverb to do.
The next 2 are ones that I sold or gave away and decided I needed one to keep. A PPCB Ocelot in appropriately colored rattle can poo brown or metallic copper. Whatever.
IMG_5880.jpeg
IMG_5875.jpeg
I was happy to discover that I still had 2 2sk30 transistors from my last build. Includes an intelligent relay bypass so I can do monetary octave drops sort of like the 3leaf Octavbre if I so wish. Classic must have for all you subtractive synth bass fans out there. Next is the only compressor that I actually get along with a PPCB General Tso. It does what it does well without a shit ton of twiddling knobs and I can get behind that. You more observant readers may recognize the enclosure and knob combo and that’s because I pulled the misbehaving poison apple circuit out and gave the enclosure to a more deserving circuit
IMG_5892.jpeg
IMG_5893.jpeg
Last is a circuit that I have multiple versions of but love every one, from the VFE MiniMu to the AionFx Spectron and now the AionFx Lumitron. Man I love a Mutron III for bass or guitar. Was pleasantly surprised that the white hammered enclosure actually has gold under it. Went especially well with the luminous aesthetic
IMG_5874.jpeg
IMG_5873.jpeg
Again, heavy on the overspray but too lazy to go sanding/scraping. Thanks for looking
 
Last is a circuit that I have multiple versions of but love every one, from the VFE MiniMu to the AionFx Spectron and now the AionFx Lumitron. Man I love a Mutron III for bass or guitar.

Word. I've only built the Lumitron, but it's more fun than a barrel of monkeys. If a person is partial to knob twisting, Mutron III's never get old. The way the controls interact, not only with each other, but with nearly every other knob in the signal chain, provides endless entertainment.

If you haven't run a vibe into a Mutron, you're in for a treat. If you're not scoring a '60s sci-fi movie, there's not a lot there that I'd consider musically useful, but, man, you can get some cool sounds.
 
Word. I've only built the Lumitron, but it's more fun than a barrel of monkeys. If a person is partial to knob twisting, Mutron III's never get old. The way the controls interact, not only with each other, but with nearly every other knob in the signal chain, provides endless entertainment.

If you haven't run a vibe into a Mutron, you're in for a treat. If you're not scoring a '60s sci-fi movie, there's not a lot there that I'd consider musically useful, but, man, you can get some cool sounds.
That’s a cool feature of the Spectron (Lovetone Meatball) it has an effects loop that you can drop whatever into to get that bloom effect w/o having to adjust the sensitivity to a different input level. I will def have to give your suggestion a try
 
I see he has it listed as a bass circuit. How is it with guitar? I favor bright/chime-y frequency responses, and it keeps me from digging a lot of otherwise cool circuits.
It's great with guitar, though I've only played my tele through it a little. You can definitely dial some thin chimey quack. I have both a minimu and a junk trunk on my bass pedal board. Combining the junk trunk with it's companion dirt, the gas tank is where the magic is.
 
That white hammered enclosure is sick!
So a lot of these are replacements to pedals I have reluctantly sold, have had a request for, or I’ve built other iterations of the same circuit. There are 2 net new builds in the bunch. Let’s start with those. Truth be told, I like mostly useless noise makers. I wish I could use them in music but I’m just not that creative. First up is a PPCB Captain Bit. Having built almost every PLL board I could get my hands on I sort of knew what I was getting and this doesn’t disappoint. The +1 octave isn’t terribly strong (at least on mine) and I’m ok with that. I tend to favor the low end anywaysView attachment 115404
View attachment 115405
Has a decent fuzz on tap and the octave downs just make it mean. Blue hammer from tayda is great with the silver knobs but damn the overspray! Pretty sure even with the toothed jacks they aren’t even close to making contact with the box.
Second is a PPCB 3-channel splitter that I intend to use for stereo setup but would also like to build the mixer so that I can do parallel dirt/clean/modulation lines. Easy build especially with Robert’s faceplates
View attachment 115406
View attachment 115407
Next up are my rebuilds. Let a friend try out Aleph’s troglodyte reverb and he requested one with a more Marshall styled aesthetic so here we are. I later added a red toggle switch cover for even more Marshallness.
View attachment 115408
View attachment 115409
This is such a great circuit that will do just about anything you could ask a reverb to do.
The next 2 are ones that I sold or gave away and decided I needed one to keep. A PPCB Ocelot in appropriately colored rattle can poo brown or metallic copper. Whatever.
View attachment 115410
View attachment 115411
I was happy to discover that I still had 2 2sk30 transistors from my last build. Includes an intelligent relay bypass so I can do monetary octave drops sort of like the 3leaf Octavbre if I so wish. Classic must have for all you subtractive synth bass fans out there. Next is the only compressor that I actually get along with a PPCB General Tso. It does what it does well without a shit ton of twiddling knobs and I can get behind that. You more observant readers may recognize the enclosure and knob combo and that’s because I pulled the misbehaving poison apple circuit out and gave the enclosure to a more deserving circuit
View attachment 115412
View attachment 115413
Last is a circuit that I have multiple versions of but love every one, from the VFE MiniMu to the AionFx Spectron and now the AionFx Lumitron. Man I love a Mutron III for bass or guitar. Was pleasantly surprised that the white hammered enclosure actually has gold under it. Went especially well with the luminous aesthetic
View attachment 115414
View attachment 115415
Again, heavy on the overspray but too lazy to go sanding/scraping. Thanks for looking
Thanks for sharing, nice builds, looks like i am running out of excuses to posptone trying an Aion build esp. lumitron which has been at the top of the list!
 
I see he has it listed as a bass circuit. How is it with guitar? I favor bright/chime-y frequency responses, and it keeps me from digging a lot of otherwise cool circuits.
To be fair, the Mutron was developed for keyboard…. The Junk Trunk does play well with guitar. It may not be the spiky quack you lean towards, but as I mentioned it does synthy better than the Mutron.
 
Thanks for sharing, nice builds, looks like i am running out of excuses to posptone trying an Aion build esp. lumitron which has been at the top of the list!
They are a new learning experience for sure, but just about every purveyor of PCBs has their oddities but if you want to build them all it’s just something you work around. The Lumitron is probably the most straightforward build wise as compared to the other Mutron offerings out there. If you want a real challenge you can try the VFE MiniMu from Madbean
 
I've built 3 or 4 of the Lumitrons because everyone that played it had to have it. I also respect the fact that you went to about the same amount of effort to remove flux as I did. Love the white boards but...

That white hammered enclosure looks crazy nice with the gold knobs.
 
It's great with guitar . . .

I appreciate the wisdom.

I do not appreciate not being able to cross it off my ever-expanding build list... but then, that's neither your fault nor problem. On the list it stays.

The Junk Trunk does play well with guitar. It may not be the spiky quack you lean towards...

I prefer to think of it as chime. With the pedals I tend to keep on my board, I can definitely dial up some "spiky", but I tend to use that word when I find the highs to be unpleasantly high. As long as the pedal isn't irredeemably dark, it should be usable for me.

I've built 3 or 4 of the Lumitrons because everyone that played it had to have it.

It really is a great circuit.

I also respect the fact that you went to about the same amount of effort to remove flux as I did.

Ha! I spend at least an hour removing flux every, single build. OCD is time-consuming.
 
Back
Top