aion GAIA MK. I Manual - Page 2
Browse online or download pdf Manual for Amplifier aion GAIA MK. I. aion GAIA MK. I 11 pages.
Print Page
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Project Overview
2 Introduction & Usage
INTRODUCTION
The Gaia Preamp Drive Mk. I is an adaptation of the Catalinbread CB30, their pedal emulation of a Vox®
AC30 amplifier.
The CB30 was originally released in 2011. Curiously, there were two different versions, although there's
no official record from Catalinbread of a V1 and V2.
and the PCB was dated 2011. However,
month it was released (June 2011) and the photos show a completely different PCB layout and a circuit
with only five JFETs.
You can read more about this in the tracing journal post, including theories on why there was a
redesign-but it's sufficient to say that anyone building a CB30 DIY clone in the past ten years was not
hearing the improved version.
The original CB30 used 2N5457 JFETs, which are no longer available in through-hole format. Extra pads
have been provided if you want to use surface-mount JFETs (part number MMBF5457), which perform
identically to those used in Catalinbread pedals. Aion FX also offers
adapter boards if you find surface-mount parts intimidating. See build notes for more details.
In 2012, the CB30 was incorporated into the Galileo, a dual pedal containing a Rangemaster-derived
Naga Viper treble booster in the same enclosure, emulating Brian May's treble-boosted AC30 guitar
tone. In 2014, the second version of the Galileo was released, this time a single pedal that internally
contained the Naga Viper and a redesigned CB30 using MPF4393 JFETs, but with only three knobs and
one footswitch. This is available from Aion FX as the
The Gaia Mk. I can be run at 18V for increased volume and clarity, but it is not compatible with the
Voltage Doubler / Bypass module
USAGE
The Gaia Mk. I has the following controls:
• Gain controls the amount of gain in the first amplifier stage.
• Bass and Treble form a two-band tone stack arranged the same as the original Vox amplifiers.
• Volume is the overall output level.
GAIA PREAMP DRIVE MK. I
Aion FX traced a version with eight JFETs
the Freestompboxes.org community traced one
Gaia Mk.
due to the larger format of the PCB.
11 Licensing
pre-soldered MMBF5457s
II.
in 2021,
during the first
on
18V
2