Table of Contents
Advertisement
Quick Links
PROJECT NAME
THESEUS
BASED ON
Analogman King of Tone
EFFECT TYPE
Dual-channel overdrive
PROJECT SUMMARY
One of the earliest boutique "waitlist" pedals, this dual-channel drive is made up of two modified
Marshall Bluesbreaker circuits in series.
This documentation is for the kit version of the project. If you purchased the PCB by itself, please
use the
PCB-only version
are completely different due to the specialized parts and assembly methods used in the kit.
THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE
IMPORTANT NOTE
of the documentation instead. The circuit is the same, but the instructions
BUILD DIFFICULTY
Intermediate
DOCUMENT VERSION
1.0.0 (2023-02-02)
1
Advertisement
Table of Contents
Related Manuals for aion THESEUS
Summary of Contents for aion THESEUS
- Page 1 This documentation is for the kit version of the project. If you purchased the PCB by itself, please use the PCB-only version of the documentation instead. The circuit is the same, but the instructions are completely different due to the specialized parts and assembly methods used in the kit. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE...
-
Page 2: Table Of Contents
24 Enclosure Layout: Main & Footswitch PCBs 25 Enclosure Layout: Input/Output PCB 26 Enclosure Layout: Finished Diagram 27 Final Testing & Assembly 28 Schematic 29 Full Parts List 30 Troubleshooting Information 31 Support & Resale Terms 32 Legal Information & Document Revisions THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 3: Introduction
INTRODUCTION If this is your first pedal, welcome to the hobby and thank you for choosing Aion FX. You’ve just joined a community of over 40,000 people around the world with a passion for building homemade noise machines using obsolete electronics technologies, and we’re glad to have you! If you’ve done this before, it’s great to see you again and we’re confident you’ll find this build experience... - Page 4 Film Capacitors Resistors NAME NAME 100n Electrolytic Capacitors NAME 100k 100uF 220k MLCC Capacitors NAME Diodes 100pF (marked “101”) NAME 100n (marked “104”) 1N5817 1N914 BAS33 NAME JRC4580D 8-pin socket Other NAME Trimmer, 50k DIP switch, 3-pos. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE...
- Page 5 Mounting nut, I/O jack, 0.54" Outer washer, I/O jack, 0.6" Lock washer, I/O jack, 0.5" (thin) Send/return jack, Neutrik NMJ6 Insulation washer, Neutrik NMJ6 Ferrule, chrome, Neutrik NMJ6 Enclosure Enclosure screws PCB, main circuit PCB, footswitch PCB, input/output/DC THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE...
-
Page 6: Tools Needed
The tip should used to tighten the dress nut to avoid lot of pedals! be no more than 0.1” (2.5mm) wide. scratching or denting it (which can happen with metal tools). THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 7: Component Identification
Charge pumps and delay chips Some voltage regulators The number of switch also look like this. They may also look like this. positions may vary. have more than 8 legs. WIRE ASSEMBLY WIRE ASSEMBLY HEADER DC JACK LED BEZEL THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 8: Hardware Identification
LOCK WASHER (SINGLE) (DUAL) DIAMETER: 0.44” / 11.2mm DIAMETER: 0.5” / 12.7mm OUTER WASHER KNOB DIAMETER: 0.475” / 12mm FOOTSWITCH MOUNTING NUT DRESS NUT LOCK WASHER DIAMETER: 0.63” / 16mm DIAMETER: 0.77” / 19.6mm DIAMETER: 0.63” / 16mm THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 9: Overview
Generally speaking, we want to populate them in this order: 1. Resistors & diodes 2. IC sockets & DIP switches 3. MLCC capacitors 4. Film capacitors 5. Electrolytic capacitors THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 10: Resistors
Turn the board upside-down to keep the components held in place while you solder. Don’t try to do all of the resistors at once. You’ll want to stop periodically flip the board and solder everything, then cut the leads using the wire snippers to make room for more. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 11: Diodes
The BAS33 and 1N914 diodes are very similar in appearance. The names are printed on the side, but if they’re too hard to read, the easiest way of telling them apart is that the glass case of the BAS33 is a little longer. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 12: Sockets & Ics
ICs may have two different orientation marks: either a dot in the upper-left or a half-circle notch in the middle of the top side. Some ICs have both marks. This shows which way the IC should be rotated when inserting it into a socket (the socket also has a half-circle notch). THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 13: Trimmers
This can also increase the amount of noise or hiss. The default position is full counter-clockwise for both, which is equivalent to the stock Bluesbreaker. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 14: Dip Switches
Disengage both “Soft Clip” and “Hard Clip” for boost mode. It’s not a perfectly clean boost, and the op- amp itself will eventually clip at higher gain settings, but it’s much cleaner than the stock mode. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 15: Capacitors (Non-Polarized)
C2 and C12 (100pF MLCCs) are always blue and typically come taped to cardboard. C23 (100n MLCC) is always yellow. They can be identified by color since these are the only two values of MLCC. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 16: Wire Headers
They do fit pretty tightly in the holes, though, so press firmly. There’s also a 6-pin header on the I/O board that we will do in a later step. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 17: Capacitors (Polarized)
The longer leg is positive and fits in the square pad. These are the last of the on-board components. Now is the time to go back to page 12 and insert the ICs into the sockets. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 18: Footswitch Pcb
BLUE MARKING Once all three wire assemblies are soldered, set the footswitch PCB aside. We’ll solder the actual footswitches and LEDs in a later step. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 19: Input/Output Pcb
& output jacks. There’s not a lot of clearance between the bottom of this board and the top of the main PCB once everything is in place, and you don’t want the pins to short against anything on accident. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 20: Enclosure Layout: Potentiometers
It can be helpful to use a second set of pliers to hold the potentiometer in place from the inside while tightening the nut from the outside. DUST CAP LOCK WASHER OUTER WASHER MOUNTING NUT THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 21: Enclosure Layout: Led Bezels
Next, attach the LED bezels to the enclosure. You’ll need to hold the bezel in place from the outside when tightening the nut. MOUNTING NUT LOCK RING Be aware that the top of the bezel is fairly sharp. Try using a rubber band for grip instead of just pressing your finger against it. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 22: Enclosure Layout: Leds
(i.e. positive) pin. In sourcing LEDs for the Theseus, we spent a long time trying to find a model of red LED that was perfectly balanced in brightness with the blue LED that we use in all our kits. After trying several different types, we finally found an exact match, but it had one strange characteristic: the manufacturer reverses the lens so the flat side marks the anode. -
Page 23: Enclosure Layout: Footswitches
Wrap a rubber band around it to use as a MOUNTING NUT grip when tightening. Do not use LOCK WASHER metal tools on it or you run the risk of scratching or denting it. MOUNTING NUT DRESS NUT THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 24: Enclosure Layout: Main & Footswitch Pcbs
Why solder everything inside the enclosure before testing it? Aion FX projects are designed to be extremely easy to remove from the enclosure for troubleshooting, with no desoldering required. As a result, it’s much easier to just build the whole thing start to finish. -
Page 25: Enclosure Layout: Input/Output Pcb
The chrome ferrule for these jacks should be tightened by hand only. Only the outer jacks are actually supporting the PCB, so the send/return jacks just need their ferrules tight enough that they don’t come loose. If the ferrule is too tight, it will strip the plastic threading on the inside of the jack. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 26: Enclosure Layout: Finished Diagram
ENCLOSURE LAYOUT: FINISHED DIAGRAM This is a complete diagram of the enclosure with all three PCBs in place. THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 27: Final Testing & Assembly
Last, just close the panel on the back using the four screws. Before that, though, grab a permanent marker and write your name and the completion date on the inside of the back panel. This is an accomplishment! THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 28: Schematic
100k BAS33 100pF 220k SW1A 100n 1N914 CH.A IN IC1A IC1B JRC4580D JRC4580D CH.A OUT SW2B DRIVE_B 100kB 100k BAS33 100pF GND2 220k SW2C 100n 1N914 CH.B IN IC2B IC2A JRC4580D JRC4580D GND2 CH.B OUT GND2 GND2 THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 29: Full Parts List
BAS33 Drive A 100kB 3PDT stomp (2) BAS33 BAS33 Tone A 25kB 3-pos. DIP switch (2) BAS33 BAS33 Volume A 100kA BAS33 BAS33 Drive B 100kB BAS33 1N914 Tone B 25kB 1N914 1N914 Volume B 100kA 1N914 THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... -
Page 30: Troubleshooting Information
+/-0.5V from the listed voltages, it’s a good indicator of an issue and the voltages can help narrow it down. VOLTAGE VOLTAGE 4.66 4.64 4.67 4.64 4.25 4.22 4.57 4.54 4.57 4.54 4.56 4.53 9.15 9.15 THESEUS DUAL OVERDRIVE... - Page 31 “goop” the PCB or otherwise obscure the source. In other words: you don’t have to go out of your way to advertise the fact that you use Aion FX kits, but please don’t go out of your way to hide it.
- Page 32 These kits are intended to be built by the customer. Aion FX is not responsible for language that may be used by the customer in the marketing or resale of the finished product.
Need help?
Do you have a question about the THESEUS and is the answer not in the manual?
Questions and answers