owlexifry
Well-known member
VH-140C hype got me.
of course I had to check it out.
could’ve (and probably should’ve) just breadboarded it, but the whole +/-15VDC thing and buying a DC-DC converter to do that properly, may as well build this well laid out PCB from AionFX.
obscure parts meant this was gonna require a mouser order and i went with the Traco DC-DC converter
It’s certainly an acquired taste.
AionFX describes this build as intended to drive a power amp, FX return etc.
- first tried it through a SLO100 clone FX return, and I wasn’t having much fun there.
I suspected perhaps that it was getting too coloured / processed from the SLO FX return - because it is kinda odd in that the FX loop in the SLO is before the tonestack and master volume (which often works with most preamps etc, and is quite handy tbh) but in this case it wasn’t getting along.
- So I tried it in the FX return of a Peavey 6534+ (where the FX return is after the master volume (and the resonance & presence controls are applicable to whatever channel is active)
with this setup, it did sound noticeably better.
but good god this was loud.
with the 120W 4xEL34 power amp I couldn’t really turn the master on the preamp past 8 o’clock before it gets crazy loud, which that peavey generally is i guess.
overall, i really wanted to like it, I did get some pretty good useable tones out of it, and it does rip, but I just didn’t really enjoy playing this distortion.
something about the decay maybe.
and the EQ. it's a bit, unique. dunno how to describe. challenging? idk.
i guess it excels at the super mid scooped 90s death metal thing, which is why it’s popular, but that sound isn’t fun for me. i was able to get an acceptable, more mid-forward tone out of it, but i guess there’s better tools/options out there for that.
definitely had more fun with the Solar Chug Lite i breadboarded recently.
but there is one thing i noticed this does very well that most solid state distortions don’t do well - pinch harmonics.
i don’t mean how easily they can be executed, but how they sound, cos i often hear a weird pixelated/grainy decay with pitch harmonics from solid state distortions, including the RG100 preamp i did not long ago (although i still really liked that one) but somehow this one does em quite well.
of course I had to check it out.
could’ve (and probably should’ve) just breadboarded it, but the whole +/-15VDC thing and buying a DC-DC converter to do that properly, may as well build this well laid out PCB from AionFX.
obscure parts meant this was gonna require a mouser order and i went with the Traco DC-DC converter
It’s certainly an acquired taste.
AionFX describes this build as intended to drive a power amp, FX return etc.
- first tried it through a SLO100 clone FX return, and I wasn’t having much fun there.
I suspected perhaps that it was getting too coloured / processed from the SLO FX return - because it is kinda odd in that the FX loop in the SLO is before the tonestack and master volume (which often works with most preamps etc, and is quite handy tbh) but in this case it wasn’t getting along.
- So I tried it in the FX return of a Peavey 6534+ (where the FX return is after the master volume (and the resonance & presence controls are applicable to whatever channel is active)
with this setup, it did sound noticeably better.
but good god this was loud.
with the 120W 4xEL34 power amp I couldn’t really turn the master on the preamp past 8 o’clock before it gets crazy loud, which that peavey generally is i guess.
overall, i really wanted to like it, I did get some pretty good useable tones out of it, and it does rip, but I just didn’t really enjoy playing this distortion.
something about the decay maybe.
and the EQ. it's a bit, unique. dunno how to describe. challenging? idk.
i guess it excels at the super mid scooped 90s death metal thing, which is why it’s popular, but that sound isn’t fun for me. i was able to get an acceptable, more mid-forward tone out of it, but i guess there’s better tools/options out there for that.
definitely had more fun with the Solar Chug Lite i breadboarded recently.
but there is one thing i noticed this does very well that most solid state distortions don’t do well - pinch harmonics.
i don’t mean how easily they can be executed, but how they sound, cos i often hear a weird pixelated/grainy decay with pitch harmonics from solid state distortions, including the RG100 preamp i did not long ago (although i still really liked that one) but somehow this one does em quite well.
