Aion FX Raises its Fuzz Pedal Game with 7 smart takes on several of those legendary circuits
I’ve featured Aion FX a few times on this site - they can best be described as a circuit replicator - where they mostly trace and produce PCB’s and Pedal Kits for a vast variety of classic circuits. The operation is largely geared towards DIY / Kit pedal builders - but you can very occasionally a fully-assembled pedal too. Some of the takes here are straight-up sort of part-by-part replications - but many take a more unique / innovative approach with additional features and controls added versus those original inspirations.
Of the 7 pictured - only 6 are deemed to be brand new varieties / editions / updates - as the current Rift edition was released a few months back. A number of those circuits have been out before - where this is really just the latest update / edition release - where these have each been updated in a variety of ways.
I’m of course mostly well covered for all these fuzz types - with multiples of each already in the collection - but there are still a few here that intrigue - including the Flare, Penumbra and Solaris. The assembled versions that I go for usually have at least and additional $50 equivalent for assembly duties - while the prices can range as high as double the Kit values. The Deimos here is the priciest - with a Kit price of $94, meaning likely assembled price would be somewhere between $150 and $188. A lot of those are not far off the price of those source / inspiration circuits - while if you’re patient you can often pick one up at an attractive price.
I would imagine 1 or 2, or 3 of these could enter the collection at some stage. An important point to note is that the Transistors - and in particular Germanium Transistors are typically not included in the Kits - and have to be procured separately with a few other additional components. So if you buy an assembled version - it’s probably significant for you to know which Transistors are onboard. For something like a Fuzz Face - the Transistor choice is incredibly important in such a simple circuit of relatively few parts. In those instance the right choice of Transistor can make a big difference. For the 3, 4 and 6 transistor varieties, the choice of Transistor in not as sensitive.
Here follow the usual individual details :
Deimos Germanium Fuzz (TB MKII) - $94 Kit
Controls - Level, Fuzz, Mode : II / I.5 .
This is almost like a stripped down Ramble FX Twin Bender or Drunk Beaver Taras Bulba - which both have MKII / MK I.V voicing selectors like this one does - while the Deimos here has only 3 controls, the Twin Bender has 6, and the Taras Bulba has 8. I own both the more formidable varieties with at least a dozen more MKII's in the collection. So this one doesn't particularly appeal to me or my circumstances.
Flare Fuzz Machine (Fuzz Factory 8K) - $86 Kit
Controls - Volume, Gate, Drive, Stability, Compression, Body, Tone, Softness.
This is supposedly derived from Zvex's Fuzz Factory - while that only has 5 controls - and where the circa first 5 controls match - Volume, Gate, Compression, Drive, Stability. This means that the Flare has 3 further controls - Body (bass blend before the fuzz), Tone (treble cut after the fuzz), and Softness (gain reduction of the input boost stage). I already own both the Vertical Zvex Fuzz Factory, and the Chase Bliss Audio Bliss Factory variant, as well as the Mini NFYFX Germanium Fuzz. I don't really need another - but I am intrigued by the extra controls here - so this is definitely a maybe for me! Of course the Fuzz Factory 7 has more controls - but still less than this one!
Penumbra Bass Fuzz (Wooly Mammoth / Mastotron) - $84 Kit
Controls - Volume, Low : II / I / III, Fuzz, Tone, Pickup Simulator : Off / On, Pinch (Pulse Width).
This is described as combining the best elements of the Wooly Mammoth Fuzz along with the Mastotron - so beloved of St Vincent. So the origin pedigree is intriguing here and the only seeming oddity is the 'Pinch' control - which really just adjusts the Pulse Width or waveform. I'm a fan of extended range fuzzes and I'm also a fan of those original Zvex inspiration circuits - so this is another that really appeals and which I don't have lots of representatives for in the collection.
Phobos Germanium Fuzz (TB MKIII) - $92 Kit
Controls - Level, Tone, Fuzz.
Again, I own several MKIII varieties - including the exceptional PigDog JuJu - so I don't really need another. Moreover this is a very straight up replica with the same original 3 controls - there's no shortage of alternatives to this. It's a matter really if you can get this one with the right Transistors onboard and at the right price.
Radian Germanium Boost (Treble Booster) - $74 Kit
Controls - Boost, Range : Full / Treble / Mid.
There's been quite a run on Germanium / Treble Booster pedals over the last few years and my good friend Sof at Expresso FX makes an excellent version - which yes I have too. These are relatively simple circuits - so like with the Fuzz Face types - the Transistor choice is very significant. I have at least a few with that classic original RangeMaster Mullard OC44 Mojo Transistor - while I really like the sound of the OC141 too, and OC42 is none to shabby either!
Rift Octave Fuzz (Superfuzz) - $84 Kit
Controls - Balance, Tone, Expander.
The previous edition of the Rift had an additional clipping switch, but it was decided that this did not really add much to the circuit, and so a simpler version was derived with just the 3 typical controls - which equate to Level, EQ and Gain. I own several Superfuzz types - including the exceptional Fenris by Ford Fuzz - and of course Aisha Loe's equally fabulous Superfuzz and of course my friend Andy Sitek's Pandora Fuzz. Meaning that the Rift is somewhat surplus to my requirements.
Solaris Germanium Fuzz (5K Fuzz Face) - $86 Kit
Controls - Volume, Body, Fuzz, Contour, Pickup Simulator : On / Off, Input Level.
It's funny that the Flare Fuzz Machine (Fuzz Factory) and Solaris Germanium Fuzz are really both slightly different versions of extended range Fuzz Face. Both share Volume, Body and Fuzz / Drive - while the Solaris mixes things up with a Contour EQ control (Mids), Pickup Simulator, and Input Level / Gain control. Both varieties are kind of interesting to me - where I may have a slight preferences for the Flare - but I would not put is past me to end up with both eventually.
Final Thoughts
There's lots of different levels of appeal hear - where the simpler varieties may well appeal if you're going to DIY-it. Keeping things simple for assembly is no bad thing!
In terms of fully assembled varieties it's still the 3 which originally attracted me to this selection - the Flare, Penumbra and Solaris - all of those are worthy a punt I feel. The other 4 are sort of a much of muchness - and if you're not building those yourself I feel there are better versions and varieties out there as indicated.
I know this is an uncomfortable subject area for many - the PCB cloning route - and while I'm not particularly in favour of straight-up replicas. I do like it when we get evolved or innovated versions in some way - either in a different / smaller format, or with additional smart controls.
Are you guys tempted by any of these - no doubt many of you already have alternative varieties to most of these. I've seen a few Aion FX pedals along the way that I quite like the look off - but I've not pressed the trigger on any yet - while that is depending on what else comes down the road - maybe never will. Possibly the Mammoth / Mastotron is the most unique one here and therefore the one that appeals to me the most. The factor that I have so many Fuzz Faces and Fuzz Factories really - I almost forgot about Alex 'Zander' Millar's Siclone Silicon Chaos initiator - which is another fantastic kind of evolution of the fuzz factory. I had been waiting a long time for Zvex to do a vertical edition of their Mastotron - in the absence of that I will probably give the Penumbra a go!
