MichaelW
Well-known member
- Build Rating
Second demo and build report for the day......
This is another classic OD pedal that as I understand it, chronologically sits between the MXR Distortion + and the Boss OD-1.
The OD880 evolved the Dist+ by adding the input and output buffers and also evolved the volume control as a flat op-amp boost as opposed to adding bass like the Dist+/OD250. Kinda taking it one step closer to the TS808 which would come a few years later.
According the Aion docs, the Boss OD-1 is essentially a Maxon OD880 with feedback clipping as opposed to clipping to ground. The feedback clipping was also an innovation that would make it's way into the TS808 eventually.
In many ways it sounds a lot like the OD-1. It's got a cool, snarky lo-fi kind of gain that's really very focused and would cut through a mix well.
The Quark board is one of the AionFX "legacy" board, which for me means.....1590B w/top jacks.....
.
I'm glad he still makes these available as I greatly prefer the smaller single boards.
The layout is very similar to the Aion Corona (Boss OD-1) as well in that he's got some built in mods in place should you decide to use them.
I installed both the "bass response" mod as well as the "alternative clipping" mod.
The clipping mod is supposed to be an on-off-on toggle with the middle position being a "diode lift" taking the clippers out of the loop and just opamp clipping.
There's something not quite right with the way mine is working as I am not getting the diode lift setting. Either that or the op amp clipping sounds extremely close to the alternate clippers I have in there.
For the stock setting, I used a pair 1N914's. For the alternate clippers I used 3 BA282's arranged asymmetrically. I wanted something that was a little more open sounding than the stock clippers. I think it sounds pretty good!
For the bass response mod, I used the recommended 3k3r and a 220n cap. But like the OD-1, it tends to sound muddy to me unless the gain is turned way down.
The other issue with this pedal is the very low output. It's similar to the Distortion+ in that sense. This is where the Cleaver boost comes into play.
In my demo I'm running the Quark into a clean amp but boosting it after the drive to give me a bit more output.
Very cool pedal and a little piece of history!
In the demo below, I'm doing some knob tweaking but also comparing it to the Boss OD-1. You can see the similarities and the heritage of the evolution.
And as mentioned, boosting it after the gain pedals with the Cleaver V2 (Keeley Katana).
This is another classic OD pedal that as I understand it, chronologically sits between the MXR Distortion + and the Boss OD-1.
The OD880 evolved the Dist+ by adding the input and output buffers and also evolved the volume control as a flat op-amp boost as opposed to adding bass like the Dist+/OD250. Kinda taking it one step closer to the TS808 which would come a few years later.
According the Aion docs, the Boss OD-1 is essentially a Maxon OD880 with feedback clipping as opposed to clipping to ground. The feedback clipping was also an innovation that would make it's way into the TS808 eventually.
In many ways it sounds a lot like the OD-1. It's got a cool, snarky lo-fi kind of gain that's really very focused and would cut through a mix well.
The Quark board is one of the AionFX "legacy" board, which for me means.....1590B w/top jacks.....
.I'm glad he still makes these available as I greatly prefer the smaller single boards.
The layout is very similar to the Aion Corona (Boss OD-1) as well in that he's got some built in mods in place should you decide to use them.
I installed both the "bass response" mod as well as the "alternative clipping" mod.
The clipping mod is supposed to be an on-off-on toggle with the middle position being a "diode lift" taking the clippers out of the loop and just opamp clipping.
There's something not quite right with the way mine is working as I am not getting the diode lift setting. Either that or the op amp clipping sounds extremely close to the alternate clippers I have in there.
For the stock setting, I used a pair 1N914's. For the alternate clippers I used 3 BA282's arranged asymmetrically. I wanted something that was a little more open sounding than the stock clippers. I think it sounds pretty good!
For the bass response mod, I used the recommended 3k3r and a 220n cap. But like the OD-1, it tends to sound muddy to me unless the gain is turned way down.
The other issue with this pedal is the very low output. It's similar to the Distortion+ in that sense. This is where the Cleaver boost comes into play.
In my demo I'm running the Quark into a clean amp but boosting it after the drive to give me a bit more output.
Very cool pedal and a little piece of history!
In the demo below, I'm doing some knob tweaking but also comparing it to the Boss OD-1. You can see the similarities and the heritage of the evolution.
And as mentioned, boosting it after the gain pedals with the Cleaver V2 (Keeley Katana).
