PROJECT NAME

RIFT
BASED ON BUILD DIFFICULTY
Univox® Superfuzz Intermediate
EFFECT TYPE DOCUMENT VERSION
Octave Fuzz 1.0.2 (2021-07-07)
PROJECT SUMMARY
A classic untamed fuzz from the 1970s that adds an octave-up overtone, famous for its use by Pete
Townshend of The Who.

9V

TONE
BALANCE EXPANDER

OCTAVE FUZZ

IMPORTANT NOTE
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.

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Project Overview
2 Table of Contents
3 Introduction
4 Packing List
5 Packing List (Cont.)
6 Tools Needed
7 Component Identification
8 Hardware Identification
9 PCB Assembly Overview
10 Resistors
11 Diodes
12 Trimmer
13 Transistors
14 Capacitors (Non-Polarized)
15 Wire Headers
16 Capacitors (Polarized)
17 Footswitch PCB
18 Input/Output PCB
19 Enclosure Layout: Panel Mounts
20 Enclosure Layout: Main & Footswitch PCBs
21 Enclosure Layout: Input/Output PCB
22 Final Testing & Assembly
23 Schematic
24 Full Parts List
25 Troubleshooting Information
26 Support & Resale Terms
27 Legal Information & Document Revisions

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 2

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
an enjoyable one.

Aion FX kits are designed to empower anyone to build a high-quality pedal, no matter the skill level.
The pedalbuilding hobby has traditionally had a steep learning curve, but don’t be overwhelmed—we’ve
done all the hard work for you. All you need to do is follow these instructions and you’ll be on your way
to transforming your tone.

There are a few things to go over before you get started.

• You’re going to have to get your hands dirty—there’s no way around it. Nothing here comes
preassembled, and you’ll have to learn the skills to put it all together. This document will walk you
through everything you need, but be prepared to learn a few things along the way.

• This will take time. Plan on about two hours start to finish. It may take even longer if it’s your first
time building. Don’t rush it. If you find yourself getting frustrated or overwhelmed, take a break and
come back in a couple of hours or the next day.

• No direct technical support is offered. There are several DIY forums and Facebook groups with
thousands of members who enjoy troubleshooting and teaching. But please be sensitive to the fact
that the staff at Aion FX is minimal, and every minute spent helping individuals in private is time
that can’t be spent on new project development.

• There is no implied guarantee of a final product. Aion FX provides the ingredients and the recipe,
but you are responsible for putting everything together to make it work. We’ve tried to make the
process as clear and accessible as possible, but it must be expressly stated that purchasing the kit is
not a guarantee that you will end up with a working pedal.

It’s recommended to read through all of the instructions before you start, particularly if you’ve never
built a pedal before. If you familiarize yourself with the entire process ahead of time and you know what
the goal looks like, each step will make more sense.

Now, on to the fun stuff!

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 3

PACKING LIST
This is a list of all the parts that are included with the kit, grouped by value. For a list of all the parts
based on their PCB part numbers, please see page 24.

If you find that any parts are missing or damaged, please fill out the Missing Parts form.

Film Capacitors Resistors

NAME QTY NAME QTY
1n 1 470R 2

2n2 1 1k 1

100n 2 1k8 2

3k3 1

Electrolytic Capacitors 4k7 1

10k 7
NAME QTY
15k 1
10uF 11
22k 4
100uF 1
47k 3

100k 6
MLCC Capacitors
150k 1
NAME QTY
220k 1
100n (marked “104”) 1
470k 1

2M2 1
Diodes
NAME QTY
Transistors
1N5817 1
NAME QTY
2N3904 3
Germanium (glass case, no marking) 2
2N3903 (matched) 2

2N3903 (unmatched) 1

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 4

PACKING LIST (CONT.)

Potentiometers Switches
NAME QTY NAME QTY
10k trimmer potentiometer 1 Stomp switch, 3PDT 1
50kB 3 Mounting nut, stomp switch, 0.6" 2
Dust cover 3 Lock washer, stomp switch, 0.6" 1
Knob 3 Dress nut, stomp switch, 0.77" 1
Mounting nut, potentiometer, 0.44" 3

Lock washer, potentiometer, 0.5" 3

Wiring
Outer washer, potentiometer, 0.475" 3
NAME QTY
3-strand wire assembly, 70mm 2
Other
4-strand wire assembly, 108mm 1
NAME QTY 3-pin wire assembly header 2
LED bezel 1 4-pin wire assembly header 1
LED, blue 1

9V battery snap 1

DC jack 1

Input/output jack 2

Mounting nut, jack, 0.54" 4

Outer washer, jack, 0.6" 2

Lock washer, jack, 0.5" (thin) 2

Enclosure 1

Enclosure screws 4

PCB, main circuit 1

PCB, footswitch 1

PCB, input/output/DC 1

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 5

TOOLS NEEDED

SOLDERING IRON SOLDER DIGITAL MULTIMETER (DMM)

Temperature-adjustable is Preferably 63/37 or 60/40 leaded Most cheap ones in the $10-30 range
recommended. The optimum solder. Lead-free is more difficult to are fine for what we’re doing. Make
soldering temperature is 700-725º use, so if that’s the only type you can sure it has audible continuity testing
F (371-385º C) for leaded solder, or get, it’s best to watch tutorials that (i.e. it beeps at the lowest resistance)
750º F (400º C) for lead-free. are specific to lead-free solder. and transistor hFE measurement.

WIRE SNIPPERS FLAT-NOSE PLIERS NEEDLE-NOSE PLIERS

Also called nippers or wire cutters. Many general-purpose uses, but par- These are used for bending leads on
The Hakko CHP-170 is the best you ticularly tightening the nuts of pots, components and other general uses.
can get for less than $10. switches and jacks. Quicker than Use the smaller type with a tip that’s
changing out sockets on a ratchet. approximately 0.05” (1.25mm) wide.

SCREWDRIVER (PHILLIPS) FLAT SCREWDRIVER (SMALL) RUBBER BAND

Used for the enclosure screws. Get a This is used for tightening the set Yes, a plain old rubber band. This is
powered driver if you’ll be building a screws on the knobs. 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).

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 6

COMPONENT IDENTIFICATION
If you’ve never built a pedal before, you’ll need to know what all the components are. These are shown
actual size. (Not all of these types of components may be part of this kit.)

RESISTOR TRIMMER POTENTIOMETER LED SILICON DIODE

GERMANIUM DIODE RECTIFIER DIODE SCHOTTKY DIODE ZENER DIODE

These are very fragile, so be Some Schottky diodes

careful when handling them. also look like this.

FILM CAPACITOR ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITOR MLCC TANTALUM CAPACITOR

Not polarized. Color may Polarized. The negative side Not polarized. MLCC stands for Polarized. The positive side
vary by brand and type. is marked. “multi-layer ceramic capacitor.” is marked.

OP-AMP / IC IC SOCKET TRANSISTOR OR JFET SNAP-APART SOCKET

Charge pumps and delay chips Some voltage regulators It’s recommended to use a
also look like this. They may also look like this. razor blade to separate
have more than 8 legs. these cleanly.

WIRE ASSEMBLY WIRE ASSEMBLY HEADER DC JACK

LED BEZEL

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 7

HARDWARE IDENTIFICATION
The hardware comes unassembled, so you’ll need to sort & identify each of the pieces. The diagrams
below are actual size, so you can set them against the printed page to identify them if needed.

I/O JACK MOUNTING NUT OUTER WASHER LOCK WASHER

DIAMETER: 0.54” / 13.7mm DIAMETER: 0.6” / 15.2mm DIAMETER: 0.5” / 12.7mm

POTENTIOMETER POTENTIOMETER MOUNTING NUT LOCK WASHER

(SINGLE) (DUAL)

DIAMETER: 0.44” / 11.2mm DIAMETER: 0.5” / 12.7mm

OUTER WASHER KNOB

DIAMETER: 0.475” / 12mm

TOGGLE SWITCH MOUNTING NUT DRESS NUT LOCK WASHER

DIAMETER: 0.36” / 9.1mm DIAMETER: 0.375” / 9.5mm DIAMETER: 0.4” / 10.1mm

FOOTSWITCH MOUNTING NUT DRESS NUT LOCK WASHER

DIAMETER: 0.6” / 15.2mm DIAMETER: 0.77” / 19.6mm DIAMETER: 0.6” / 15.2mm

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 8

PCB ASSEMBLY OVERVIEW
Now it’s time to start building!

The first thing you need to do is snap apart the PCBs

into 3 separate boards (if needed) and break off the
tabs from each using needle-nose or flat-head pliers.
You should be left with the PCBs shown to the right.

The general principle for PCB population is that you

want to work in layers from shortest components
(i.e. lowest-profile) to tallest so that when the PCB is
upside-down, everything is making contact with the
work surface and is held in place.

Generally speaking, you should populate the

components in this order:

1. Resistors
2. Diodes
3. IC sockets
4. MLCC capacitors
5. Film capacitors
6. Transistors
7. Electrolytic capacitors

Not all of these component types are included in each

kit, so skip them if they aren’t applicable. Some types
of film capacitors are taller than electrolytics, so those
can be done last.

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 9

RESISTORS

PART VALUE PART VALUE PART VALUE PART VALUE

R1 22k R9 3k3 R17 22k R25 10k

R2 100k R10 220k R18 10k R26 100k

R3 100k R11 150k R19 1k8 R27 15k

R4 1k8 R12 10k R20 22k R28 10k

R5 47k R13 10k R21 100k R29 1k

R6 470k R14 470R R22 47k R30 100k

R7 10k R15 470R R23 10k RPD 2M2

R8 47k R16 100k R24 22k LEDR 4k7

Using the parts list above, populate the resistors by pushing them through the holes and bending the
leads outward at an angle to hold them in place. Resistors are not polarized, so they will work in any
direction. Turn the board upside-down to keep the components held in place while you solder.

You’ll use this same technique for most of the other components as well.

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. Generally you don’t want
to do more than 10 or 15 resistors at a time or the bottom of the board will get too crowded.

If this is your first time soldering, watch tutorial videos on YouTube and make sure you get it down
before you begin. You don’t want to practice or experiment on this board!

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 10

DIODES

PART VALUE
D1 1N5817

D3 Germanium

D4 Germanium

Next, you’ll populate the diodes. Diodes are polarized, so make sure to identify the polarity band (which
indicates the “cathode”, or negative side) and match the band to the footprint on the PCB.

Germanium diodes will sometimes have more than one band. In these cases, the larger or wider band is
the one that indicates the cathode side.

Precautions with germanium diodes

Germanium diodes are fragile and require more care than the other components. Make sure to observe
the following precautions when working with them.

• To prevent stress on the glass body of the diode, when bending the leads,
use needle-nose pliers or tweezers to clamp the lead as close to the body as
possible while you bend it down. The bend should be about 0.05–0.08” from
the body of the diode, so make sure to use pliers that are narrow enough.
• Old-stock diodes can sometimes develop corrosion on the leads, making them
difficult to solder. It’s recommended to use sandpaper or a small file to gently rough up the leads
where they will make contact with the solder. This will make adhesion much easier.
• Be quick when soldering. Germanium diodes can easily be damaged by overheating. Contact with
the soldering iron should be limited to 1-2 seconds maximum. If you don’t have a good solder joint,
wait a minute or two for it to cool before trying again.

The germanium diodes included with this kit have been individually tested and verified as working.
Unless they arrive damaged, free replacements will not be offered, so please be careful!

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 11

TRIMMER

PART VALUE
OCTAVE 10k trimmer

Next up is the trimmer potentiometer. As with other types of components, after installing it on the PCB,
the three legs should be bent outwards to hold it in place while soldering.

Adjusting the octave trimmer

The octave trimmer should be set to the 12:00 position to start with. It controls the balance between
Q4 and Q5, the two transistors that produce the octave effect, and was originally implemented in the
Superfuzz to compensate for the transistors being mismatched.

Since the Q4 and Q5 transistors are closely matched in this kit already, the trimmer likely will not need
further adjusting from the 12:00 position, but it’s there so you can make tweaks if needed. You may find
you prefer the octave to be slightly less pronounced.

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 12

TRANSISTORS

PART VALUE
Q1 2N3904

Q2 2N3904

Q3 2N3904

Q4 2N3903**

Q5 2N3903**

Q6 2N3903

** matched pair

Now we’ll do the six transistors:

• The three 2N3904s should be used for Q1-3.

• Two of the 2N3903 transistors should be paired inside a small inner bag. These are the matched set
for Q4 and Q5. It’s recommended to install these two first so they aren’t inadvertently mixed with
the other 2N3903 that is unmatched.
• The remaining 2N3903 is used for Q6.

If the legs are not already bent into 0.1” spacing, use your needle-nose pliers to bend the outer two legs
as shown.

Bend the outer leads to hold it in place on the board. Then, solder them and clip the leads.

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 13

CAPACITORS (NON-POLARIZED)

PART VALUE PART VALUE

C2 2n2 C13 100n (0.1)

C4 100n (0.1) C17 100n MLCC

C12 1n

After the sockets come the box film and MLCC capacitors. These are all several different heights, but
there aren’t as many, so just do them all at once. Bend the leads at an angle to hold them in place.

C2 and C12 are blue and the value is printed on the top. C4 and C13 are red and the value is printed on
the side.

MLCCs and box capacitors are not polarized and will work in any direction. To keep things neat, though,
it’s best to put them all facing the same way.

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 14

WIRE HEADERS

Install the two 3-pin headers (wire connectors) as shown above. These have a polarity pin, so as long
as they are pressed all the way down, there’s only one possible way to install them. They do fit pretty
tightly in the holes, though, so press firmly.

There’s also a 4-pin header on the I/O board that we will do in a later step.

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 15

CAPACITORS (POLARIZED)

PART VALUE PART VALUE

C1 10uF electro C9 10uF electro

C3 10uF electro C10 10uF electro

C5 10uF electro C11 10uF electro

C6 10uF electro C14 10uF electro

C7 10uF electro C15 10uF electro

C8 10uF electro C16 100uF electro

Populate the electrolytic capacitors. These are the tallest components so we save them for last. They are
polarized (in other words, they will only work in one direction), so note the vertical mark that indicates
the negative side. The longer leg is positive and fits in the square pad.

These are the last of the on-board components.

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 16

FOOTSWITCH PCB

PARTS
3-strand wire assembly (2)

4-strand wire assembly

Next, it’s time to finish up the footswitch board. You should have done most of the on-board components
on this board in a previous step, but if not, go back and do those.

There will be one longer assembly with 4 wires and two shorter ones with 3 wires. The longer one goes
in the middle and the shorter ones go on the left and right sides. The wire assemblies should then be
soldered to the footswitch board as shown.

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3

First, thread the wire through the Next, bend the wires back upward Then, solder the wires from the top.
strain-relief slots, with the blue and fit the ends of the wires into the This is the trickiest part of the whole
side facing outward and the PCB’s solder pads. build. You want to solder the pads
previously-installed components without touching the iron to the
facing up. On the top side of the PCB, bend the wires themselves and risking burning
exposed wires backward so it holds through the insulation. It helps to
For now, pull it through as far as it the wire in place. Pull the header use a sharp or narrow tip on the
can go. back up through the slot partway. soldering iron.

BLUE
MARKING

Once all three wire assemblies are soldered, set the footswitch PCB aside. We’ll solder the actual
footswitch and LED in a later step.

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 17

INPUT/OUTPUT PCB

PARTS
Input & output jacks

DC jack

Wire header

9V battery snap

Almost done! Get the two input/output jacks, the DC jack and the wire header and snap them in place.
The PCB is designed for them to fit securely, so you can do them all at once before flipping and soldering.

After you’ve soldered everything, make sure to snip the leads on the I/O jacks as close as possible to
the PCB. 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.

Next, we’ll hook up the 9V battery connector. This is optional. Not everyone uses batteries. But, if you
do, this pedal should last a long time on a single 9V so you won’t need to change it very often.

STEP 1 STEP 2
Thread the battery snap leads through the strain- Bend the exposed wires back down and solder them
relief hole twice so it forms a single loop. into the pads. Red is positive (+), black is negative (-).
After soldering, pull it tight.

For even more strain relief, you can thread the snap
through the loop to form a knot. (not shown)

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 18

ENCLOSURE LAYOUT: PANEL MOUNTS
Attach the hardware to the enclosure as shown. (The I/O board is done in a later step.)

50kB 50kB FOOTSWITCH

50kB

MOUNTING NUT
LOCK WASHER
BEZEL
& LED
MOUNTING NUT

DRESS NUT
FOOTSWITCH

The dress nut fits over the top of the mounting nut and is for aesthetic
purposes only. Wrap a rubber band around it to use as a grip when tightening.
Do not use metal tools on it or you run the risk of scratching or denting it.
125B

POTENTIOMETERS BEZEL & LED

Expander: 50kB The LED will just
DUST CAP sit loosely inside
Balance: 50kB the bezel for now.

Tone: 50kB

MOUNTING NUT
LOCK RING

LOCK WASHER

OUTER WASHER You’ll need to hold the bezel in place when

tightening the nut. The top of the bezel is fairly
MOUNTING NUT
sharp, so try using a rubber band for grip instead
of pressing your finger against the bottom.

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 19

ENCLOSURE LAYOUT: MAIN & FOOTSWITCH PCBS

After all the components are affixed to the enclosure as

shown on the previous page, place the main PCB on top of the
potentiometers as shown in the diagram to the left. You may
need to adjust the position of the potentiometers slightly if they
are not aligned straight.

Note that the toggle switch is not used in the kit and will be
left empty on the PCB. It is replaced by the Tone control that
pans between the two switch settings of the original Superfuzz
for better control over the tone.

Once all of the pins are through their holes and the PCB is laying
flat, solder each of the pins from the top. Be careful not to touch
any of the surrounding components with the soldering iron.

After you’ve finished soldering the pots, clip the leads as close
as you can to the main PCB. This is more important with the
two uppermost pots because the input/output PCB overlaps
them and you need to avoid any of the components shorting.

Next, move to the footswitch board and solder the 3PDT switch.

The LED is last. Before soldering the LED, double-check to make

sure the flat side of the LED is facing to the right, as shown in
125B the diagram, and that the short leg is coming through the pad on
the right. It won’t work if it’s turned the other way. Then, clip the
leads of the LED.

Why solder everything inside the enclosure before testing it?

“Rock it before you box it” is conventional wisdom in pedalbuilding, and you’ll often hear it
recommended that builders should test the circuit before putting everything inside the enclosure.
However, Aion FX projects are designed to be extremely easy to remove from the enclosure for
troubleshooting, with no desoldering required—so with these kits, it’s actually much easier to “box it
before you rock it”.

If you’ve read the documentation carefully and followed all the instructions, there’s a good chance you
will get it right the first time!

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 20

ENCLOSURE LAYOUT: INPUT/OUTPUT PCB
Affix the input/output PCB to the north-facing panel of the enclosure as shown.

Note the use of two mounting nuts on each of the jacks, one inside and one outside. The inner nut acts as
a spacer to set the DC jack flush with the outside of the enclosure. The inner nuts should be threaded as
far down as they can go.

MOUNTING NUT

OUTER WASHER

LOCK WASHER

MOUNTING NUT

125B

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 21

FINAL TESTING & ASSEMBLY
After everything is in place, just plug the 3 wire assemblies into their respective headers and make sure
they’re secure. That’s it! Here is a cross-section of the inside of the completed pedal.

At this point, you have completed the full circuit as far as the electrons are concerned. Plug in a 9-volt
supply and test it out with a guitar and an amplifier.

Test the bypass switch a few times, then start turning the knobs and see if everything sounds OK. If it
works, great! If not, don’t be discouraged. See page 25 for troubleshooting info.

Finishing touches
Now, just a couple of things for the final assembly. Turn the shafts all fully counter-clockwise, then put
on the knob and rotate until the indicator line is aligned with the dot on the enclosure that shows the
zero point. Affix the knobs to each of the potentiometer shafts as shown in the diagram below.

Using a small flat-head screwdriver (no more than 0.1” / 2.5mm in diameter), tighten the set screw until
it presses against the shaft of the potentiometer and holds the knob in place.

Don’t over-tighten or you could damage the set screw. But on the other hand, if it’s not tight enough
then the knob will be prone to falling off or losing its alignment with the markings on the enclosure.

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!

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 22

 IN
+9V
RPD

D1

GND
1N5817
2M2

R1

22k
GND
C17

100n
10uF

VA

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ

C1

GND
R2
SCHEMATIC

C16
100uF
100k
R3

GND
100k
R4 R5

VA

GND
Q1
1k8 47k

2N3904
R6

VA

GND
C4
C2
470k

2n2

100n
R7

R8
VA

47k
GND
Q2
10k

2N3904

C3
C5

10uF
EXPANDER
50kB 10uF
R9

GND
3k3 1 3
2

10uF

R11 C6 R10
VA

GND
150k 220k
Q3 2N3904
R13 R12
VA

GND
10k 10k
C8 C7
10uF 10uF
R14

470R
R15

470R

R17 R16
VA

22k 100k
R19

1
GND

1k8 R18
2
VA

10k

GND
Q4 Q5
2N3903

10k
OCTAVE

3
GND
C9
10uF

R20 R21
VA

22k 100k

C10
10uF

D3 Ge
GND

D4 Ge

C11
10uF
R23 R22
GND

10k 47k

R24

22k
C13
100n

C12
GND

1n
R25

10k
1
3
2
TONE

BALANCE
50kB
GND

1 3
2

10uF

R27 C14 R26

VA

GND

15k 100k

R29 R28
VA

GND
Q6

1k 10k
2N3903

C15
10uF
R30
GND

100k
OUT

23
FULL PARTS LIST
In this document, the parts list is spread out across several pages by step. For more experienced
builders, though, it may be easier to have everything in one place.

Resistors
PART VALUE PART VALUE PART VALUE PART VALUE
R1 22k R9 3k3 R17 22k R25 10k

R2 100k R10 220k R18 10k R26 100k

R3 100k R11 150k R19 1k8 R27 15k

R4 1k8 R12 10k R20 22k R28 10k

R5 47k R13 10k R21 100k R29 1k

R6 470k R14 470R R22 47k R30 100k

R7 10k R15 470R R23 10k RPD 2M2

R8 47k R16 100k R24 22k LEDR 4k7

Capacitors Diodes
PART VALUE PART VALUE PART VALUE
C1 10uF electro C10 10uF electro D1 1N5817

C2 2n2 C11 10uF electro D3 Germanium

C3 10uF electro C12 1n D4 Germanium

C4 100n C13 100n

C5 10uF electro C14 10uF electro

C6 10uF electro C15 10uF electro

C7 10uF electro C16 100uF electro

C8 10uF electro C17 100n MLCC

C9 10uF electro

Potentiometers Switches Transistors

PART VALUE PART PART VALUE
Expander 50kB 3PDT stomp Q1 2N3904

Balance 50kB Q2 2N3904

Tone 50kB Q3 2N3904

Octave 10k trim Q4 2N3903* Q4 and Q5 are supplied as a matched set.

Q5 2N3903*

Q6 2N3903

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 24

TROUBLESHOOTING INFORMATION
What happens if you finish building the kit and find that it doesn’t work right? Here are a few common
problems people have with this pedal and how to solve them.

The LED doesn’t light up.

First, does the pedal sound right? If you aren’t getting any sound, you probably have a power issue with
the whole circuit that is not specific to the LED, so you’ll want to look elsewhere for the problem.

If it does pass a signal, it’s probably just the LED itself. Is the flat side facing to the right (looking in the
enclosure from the back)? If it’s reversed, it won’t work. You’ll have to re-solder it the right way.

All other issues

For any other problems, the first course of action is to measure the voltages on each pin of
the transistors using a digital multimeter. Set the multimeter to DC mode with a range of 20V or higher.
To start, touch the black lead to a ground point for the circuit. The easiest spot is inside a tapped screw
hole in one of the corners of the enclosure. This way the probe stays in place without needing to use
alligator clips. The circuit must be fully installed in the enclosure for this to work.

Then, touch the red probe to the first leg of Q1 (marked “E” for emitter) and read the voltage. Compare
it to the table below and note if it’s more than around 0.5V higher or lower. Continue through the
remaining pins of each of the transistors.

These baseline voltages are taken using a 9.7V supply. Your measured voltages won’t be exactly the
same due to variance in power supplies and component tolerances. However, if you see anything that’s
significantly different than these listed voltages, it’s a good indicator of an issue, and the test voltages
can help you or someone else narrow it down.

Q1 Q2 Q3
PIN VOLTAGE PIN VOLTAGE PIN VOLTAGE
E 0.13V E 5.21V E 3.02V

B 0.73V B 5.86V B 3.64V

C 5.86V C 9.48V C 6.48V

Q4 Q5 Q6
PIN VOLTAGE PIN VOLTAGE PIN VOLTAGE
E 1.33V E 1.33V E 0.54V

B 1.98V B 1.96V B 1.18V

C 2.00V C 2.00V C 4.10V

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 25

SUPPORT
Aion FX does not offer direct support for these projects beyond the provided documentation.
Replacements and refunds cannot be offered unless it can be shown that the circuit or documentation
are in error or that the included components are non-functional.

Where to get help

The two best places to ask for help are the DIY Stompboxes forum and the DIY Stompboxes
Facebook group. Both communities have thousands upon thousands of members and they are very
accommodating to new builders.

When posting a troubleshooting request, always include the following:

1. A thorough description of the problem you are experiencing

2. A photo of the inside of the pedal

3. A list of all the measured voltages of each of the pins, described on the previous page

While we cannot offer direct, private support, you may send a link to your public troubleshooting thread
to Aion FX using the contact form on the website. There is no guarantee that we will be able to join the
discussion and help solve your problem, but this improves the chances.

It benefits the whole community if the troubleshooting process is public because then people who have
the same issue in the future may come across it when searching. And if you do get help, remember to
pay it forward! The best way to learn new skills is to help others. Even if you’ve only built one pedal, you
have more experience than someone who is brand new, so you have something to offer.

RESALE TERMS
These kits may be used for commercial endeavors in any quantity unless otherwise noted. It’s okay to
sell individual builds locally or online, or even to offer a service to build pedals based on these kits.
No direct attribution is necessary, though a link back is always greatly appreciated. The only usage
restriction is that you cannot “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. The guitar effects industry needs more transparency, not less!

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 26

LEGAL INFORMATION
All trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Any use of trademarks is for comparative advertising purposes only under fair use. It is not an
endorsement of this product by the trademark holders.

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.

All content and graphics in this document are original works and are copyrighted by Aion FX and may
not be used without permission.

DOCUMENT REVISIONS
1.0.2 (2021-07-07)
Added octave trimmer to packing list on pg. 5.

1.0.1 (2021-06-26)
Corrected resistor values on p. 10 (the p. 24 values and schematic were correct).

1.0.0 (2021-06-13)
Initial release.

RIFT OCTAVE FUZZ 27