PPCB Two Tone Fuzz and Aion FX Solaris

[Zanshin]

Build Rating

5.00 star(s)

I’ve really fallen for these two

I built the Two Tone Fuzz (RambleFX Twin Bender) first and loved the sound of the GT402s so much I knew I wanted to build a Fuzzface with some too. I chose the Aion FX Solaris pcb after having such a good experience with the AMZ pickup simulator used in the Penumbra.

 

[joelorigo]

Looks great inside and out!

What was the hfe on the transistors for both?

And you don't happen to have a Tayda drill template for the Two Tone do you?

 

[Zanshin]

Looks great inside and out!

What was the hfe on the transistors for both?

And you don't happen to have a Tayda drill template for the Two Tone do you?

Thank you!

I ordered the GT402s from StompBoxParts pre-binned. For the Twin Bender I went with a 60-70, 90-100, and a 110-120. For the Solaris I used a 70-80, and a 120-130.

I do the drilling by hand, using (film free) decals for my marks.

 

[harmaes]

I just finished a Solaris build with the GT402B which @DeadAirMD acquired and send them to me!
I’m waiting for the 42TL019 to arrive from Retroamplis. I’ve build the Epsilon with BC183C and I really like how the transformer behaves. It also works great in the Tactical fuzz.
Love the chunky and big sound the GT402B have and how well they clean up.
@Zanshin did you bias to 0,7 and 4,5 volt? The GT402B have similar HFE to yours, Q1 around 90-95 and Q2 130.

 

[Zanshin]

Looks great!

I’m pretty sure I biased to whatever is in the build doc and then didn’t bother to tweak by ear because I was very happy with how it sounded as is.

 

[harmaes]

Looks great!

I’m pretty sure I biased to whatever is in the build doc and then didn’t bother to tweak by ear because I was very happy with how it sounded as is.

I increased the Q2 bias but it wasn’t an improvement IMO. So I also have the bias set to the build doc voltages.
Do you prefer the transformer switched in? In the Epsilon it fattens the sound and improves the clean trim IMO. I expect this will also work like that in the Solaris and that the clean trim will be less quick to brighten up the sound?

 

[Zanshin]

I leave the transformer switched on for the most part, mostly because the board it’s on is sometimes used as a high frequency (buffered) loop from my bass board. But yeah, that’s been my experience too (also with the Aion Penumbra).

 

[kristopher]

I haven’t seen a battery in a pedal in years! Haha. All three of these builds look great. And I like the look of the blue knobs on the blue box, surprisingly.

 

[harmaes]

I haven’t seen a battery in a pedal in years! Haha. All three of these builds look great. And I like the look of the blue knobs on the blue box, surprisingly.

I normally drill the 3pdt lower but already made the markers on the enclosure from the layout from AION. Then I thought it would be nice to add a battery option. Fuzz pedals do sound great with old style batteries. I haven’t connected these builds to my Cioks or Zumas yet so it might work great as well.

 

[harmaes]

I leave the transformer switched on for the most part, mostly because the board it’s on is sometimes used as a high frequency (buffered) loop from my bass board. But yeah, that’s been my experience too (also with the Aion Penumbra).

How do you like the Penumbra? You use it mainly on bass?

 

[Zanshin]

How do you like the Penumbra? You use it mainly on bass?

It's a velcro type fuzz, it sounds good on guitar too (used by the Muse guitarist). For bass a good example would be Air's Don't Be Light where Justin Meldal-Johnsen absolutely destroys with it. The Penumbra gives you the extra control from the Mastotron version plus the pick up simulator.

 

[Feral Feline]

I just finished a Solaris build with the GT402B which @DeadAirMD acquired and send them to me!
I’m waiting for the 42TL019 to arrive from Retroamplis. I’ve build the Epsilon with BC183C and I really like how the transformer behaves. It also works great in the Tactical fuzz.
Love the chunky and big sound the GT402B have and how well they clean up.
@Zanshin did you bias to 0,7 and 4,5 volt? The GT402B have similar HFE to yours, Q1 around 90-95 and Q2 130.

View attachment 73016View attachment 73017

That looks really good.

One of those rare occasions that the knob-colour matches the enclosure-colour really well.

Be sure to post your own build report when the transformer comes in.