aion Lab Series Manual

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Manual (20 pages)

Manual (20 pages)

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PROJECT NAME

L5 PREAMP DRIVE CHANNEL

BASED ON

Lab Series

L5 (Channel 2)

EFFECT TYPE

Preamp & overdrive

PROJECT SUMMARY

A pedal adaptation of the second channel of the Lab Series® L5 amplifier from the late 1970s, often

considered to be the best solid-state amp ever designed.

Actual size is 3.44" x 2.42" (main board) and 3.44" x 0.97" (bypass board).

L5 PREAMP DRIVE CHANNEL

BUILD DIFFICULTY

Advanced

DOCUMENT VERSION

1.0.0 (2022-11-25)

Table of Contents

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Summary of Contents for aion Lab Series

Page 1 1.0.0 (2022-11-25) PROJECT SUMMARY A pedal adaptation of the second channel of the Lab Series® L5 amplifier from the late 1970s, often considered to be the best solid-state amp ever designed. Actual size is 3.44” x 2.42” (main board) and 3.44” x 0.97” (bypass board).
Page 2: Table Of Contents
1976 and discontinued in 1981. The Lab Series L5 amp was designed to compete with the Fender Twin Reverb, and the first channel was specifically designed to be Fender-inspired. However, the second channel was completely original from the ground up, with active tone controls, a parametric midrange, and a unique (and patented) multi-pole fixed EQ called the “Multifilter”.
Page 3 When developing the original Lab Series L5 Preamp, we adapted a supply scheme from Alesis rack units in the early 1990s that involved a 9VAC adapter and an AC voltage tripler. This was then rectified to bipolar +/-19V DC and regulated down to 15V on each rail.
Page 4: Parts List
PARTS LIST This parts list is also available in a spreadsheet format which can be imported directly into Mouser for easy parts ordering. Mouser doesn’t carry all the parts (most notably potentiometers) so the second tab lists all the non-Mouser parts as well as sources for each. →...
Page 5 PARTS LIST, CONT. PART VALUE TYPE NOTES 470k Metal film resistor, 1/4W Metal film resistor, 1/4W Metal film resistor, 1/4W Metal film resistor, 1/4W 330R Metal film resistor, 1/4W 100k Metal film resistor, 1/4W Metal film resistor, 1/4W Metal film resistor, 1/4W Metal film resistor, 1/4W 220R Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm...
Page 6 PARTS LIST, CONT. PART VALUE TYPE NOTES Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm 2.2uF Film capacitor, 7.2 x 5mm Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm 220pF MLCC capacitor, NP0/C0G 330n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm 2.2uF Film capacitor, 7.2 x 5mm 10uF Electrolytic capacitor, 5mm 100pF...
Page 7 PARTS LIST, CONT. PART VALUE TYPE NOTES LF356N Operational amplifier, DIP8 IC1-S DIP-8 socket IC socket, DIP-8 RC4558P Operational amplifier, DIP8 IC2-S DIP-8 socket IC socket, DIP-8 RC4558P Operational amplifier, DIP8 IC3-S DIP-8 socket IC socket, DIP-8 RC4558P Operational amplifier, DIP8 IC4-S DIP-8 socket IC socket, DIP-8...
Page 8: Build Notes
BUILD NOTES DC converter selection There are several brands and models available, all with the same pinout and similar specifications. Here are the DC converters we’ve found that will work in this circuit. BRAND PART # MOUSER # SUPPLY NOTES Traco TEC 2-0923 495-TEC2-0923...
Page 9 BUILD NOTES, CONT. Calibration The L5 Preamp has two different calibration trimmers. To set these, all you will need is a multimeter and a signal generator (which can be a computer or smartphone). Note that all voltages are taken in AC, not DC, since we are dealing with audio signal levels. The voltages are also all RMS rather than p-p, so confirm that your multimeter measures RMS if you’re not sure.
Page 10 BUILD NOTES, CONT. LM13700 vs. CA3080 The original L5 Preamp used CA3080s as in the original amp. These have been discontinued for a long time, and while they have been reissued and are not terribly hard to find, they are expensive. The LM13700 is essentially a dual version of the CA3080/CA3094 and is still readily available.
Page 11: Schematic
SCHEMATIC IC5_BUF1 LM13700N 10uH 10uF +VIN +VOUT 10uH -VIN -VOUT 100uF 47uF DC/DC CONVERTER IC5_BUF2 10uF LM13700N DC_GND DC_GND DC_GND DC_GND 10uH BRIGHT TREBLE 25kB LF356N IC2A RC4558P BASS 25kB IC2B 22uF RC4558P 25kB IC4A RC4558P IC3A RC4558P FREQUENCY A 100kC 100kC FREQUENCY B...
Page 12: Drill Template
DRILL TEMPLATE Cut out this drill template, fold the edges and tape it to the enclosure. Before drilling, it’s recommended to first use a center punch for each of the holes to help guide the drill bit. Ensure that this template is printed at 100% or “Actual Size”. You can double-check this by measuring the scale on the printed page.
Page 13: Enclosure Layout
ENCLOSURE LAYOUT Enclosure is shown without jacks. See next page for jack layout and wiring. 1590BBS L5 PREAMP DRIVE CHANNEL...
Page 14: Wiring Diagram
WIRING DIAGRAM NC OUT GND -V JACK GND JACK +V GND PCB L5 PREAMP DRIVE CHANNEL...
Page 15: Document Revisions
LICENSE & USAGE No direct support is offered for these projects beyond the provided documentation. It’s assumed that you have at least some experience building pedals before starting one of these. Replacements and refunds cannot be offered unless it can be shown that the circuit or documentation are in error. All of these circuits have been tested in good faith in their base configurations.

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Lab l5