Aion Onyx Manuel utilisateur

ONYX VOLUME SWELL 1

PROJECT NAME

ONYX

BASED ON

EFFECT TYPE

PROJECT SUMMARY

DOCUMENT VERSION

BOSS® SG-1 Slow Gear

One of the rarest BOSS effects, it acts as a sort of slow noise gate by gradually fading in the signal when

it detects pick attack.

Automatic volume swell 1.0.0 (2023-09-08)

BUILD DIFFICULTY

Easy

Actual size is 2.3” x 1.86” (main board) and 1.78” x 0.86” (bypass board).

ONYX VOLUME SWELL 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1Project Overview 8Drill Template

2Introduction & Usage 9Enclosure Layout

3-5 Parts List 10 Wiring Diagram

6Build Notes 11 Licensing

7Schematic 11 Document Revisions

INTRODUCTION

The Onyx Volume Swell is an adaptation of the BOSS SG-1 Slow Gear, first released in 1979. It’s one

of the very first BOSS effects pedals and still among the rarest. It has notably been used by Adam

Granduciel (The War on Drugs) and Billy Corgan among others.

The Slow Gear can be described as an attack delay, automatic volume swell, or reverse compressor. It

mutes the signal normally, and once the signal level crosses a certain threshold it fades it in at a set rate.

The resulting effect is similar to using a volume pedal, providing a violin-like “attackless” onset of the

notes. Internally, it’s more or less a tweaked noise gate—and in fact, the BOSS NS-1 Noise Suppressor is

a nearly identical circuit, just tuned for more sensitivity and faster attack.

It’s a simple circuit, far from perfect in execution, but once you adapt your playing to its quirks, it’s a very

unique effect that can add a new type of sound to your toolbox.

The Onyx is a direct adaptation of the SG-1 with one modification: we’ve added a Release switch that

selects between two additional time constants that determine how quickly the trigger resets after it

falls below the signal threshold. This offers a little extra flexibility to help accommodate different playing

styles and speeds. It seems to impact the swell speed as well, which extends the usefulness. More on this

in the build notes if you’re curious.

USAGE

The Onyx has the following controls:

• Attack sets the speed of the volume swells. It’s highly interactive with the Release toggle.

• Sensitivity sets the signal level going into the envelope detector.

• Release (toggle switch) sets the time constant of the “hold” on the signal, which also impacts the

onset speed of the swell. The stock position is in the middle, which is the fastest setting, while the

other two positions increase the swell time.

ONYX VOLUME SWELL 3

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.

View parts list spreadsheet →

PART VALUE TYPE NOTES

R1 470k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R2 10k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R3 22k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R4 470k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R5 1M Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R6 10k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R7 1M Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R8 1M Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R9 47k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R10 470R Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R11 220k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R12 1M Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R13 390R Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R14 390k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R15 4k7 Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R16 4k7 Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R17 100k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R18 100k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R19 10k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R20 22k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R21 22k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R22 1k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R23 3k3 Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R24 1k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R25 1k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R26 100k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R27 47R Metal film resistor, 1/4W Power supply filter resistor.

RPD 2M2 Metal film resistor, 1/4W Input pulldown resistor. Can be as low as 1M.

LEDR 10k Metal film resistor, 1/4W LED current-limiting resistor. Adjust value to change LED brightness.

C1 47n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C2 1uF Film capacitor, 7.2 x 3.5mm

C3 1uF Film capacitor, 7.2 x 3.5mm

ONYX VOLUME SWELL 4

PARTS LIST, CONT.

PART VALUE TYPE NOTES

C4 1uF Film capacitor, 7.2 x 3.5mm

C5 33n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C6 680n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 4.5mm

C7 2.2uF Electrolytic capacitor, 5mm Part of the Release switch mod. Increase for more range.

C8 10uF Electrolytic capacitor, 4mm Part of the Release switch mod. Increase for more range.

C9 22n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C10 22n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C11 1uF Electrolytic capacitor, 4mm

C12 1n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C13 1uF Electrolytic capacitor, 4mm

C14 1uF Electrolytic capacitor, 4mm

C15 47n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C16 10uF Electrolytic capacitor, 5mm

C17 47uF Electrolytic capacitor, 5mm Reference voltage filter capacitor.

C18 47uF Electrolytic capacitor, 5mm Power supply filter capacitor.

C19 47uF Electrolytic capacitor, 5mm Power supply filter capacitor.

C20 100uF Electrolytic capacitor, 6.3mm Power supply filter capacitor.

C21 100n MLCC capacitor, X7R Power supply filter capacitor.

Z1 1N5232B Zener diode, 5.6V, DO-35

D1 1N5817 Schottky diode, DO-41

D2 1N914 Fast-switching diode, DO-35

D3 1N914 Fast-switching diode, DO-35

D4 1N914 Fast-switching diode, DO-35

IC1 LM741 Operational amplifier, single, DIP8

IC1-S DIP-8 socket IC socket, DIP-8

Q1 2N5088 BJT transistor, NPN, TO-92 Substitute. Original uses 2SC732TM-GR.

Q2 2SK208-GR JFET, N-channel, SOT-23 Available from Aion FX. Original uses 2SK30A-GR.

Q3 2N5088 BJT transistor, NPN, TO-92 Substitute. Original uses 2SC732TM-GR.

Q4 2N5088 BJT transistor, NPN, TO-92 Substitute. Original uses 2SC945.

Q5 2N5088 BJT transistor, NPN, TO-92 Substitute. Original uses 2SC945.

Q6 2N5088 BJT transistor, NPN, TO-92 Substitute. Original uses 2SC945.

TRIM 10k trimmer Trimmer, 10%, 1/4” Bourns 3362P or similar.

ONYX VOLUME SWELL 5

PARTS LIST, CONT.

PART VALUE TYPE NOTES

ATTACK 20kB Film capacitor, 7.2 x 3.5mm

SENS. 100kA Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

RELEASE SPDT on-off-on Film capacitor, 7.2 x 4.5mm

IN 1/4” stereo 1/4" phone jack, closed frame Switchcraft 112BX or equivalent.

OUT 1/4" mono 1/4" phone jack, closed frame Switchcraft 111X or equivalent.

DC 2.1mm DC jack, 2.1mm panel mount Mouser 163-4302-E or equivalent.

BATT Battery snap 9V battery snap Optional. Use the soft plastic type—the hard-shell type will not fit.

FSW 3PDT Stomp switch, 3PDT

ENC 125B Enclosure, die-cast aluminum Can also use a Hammond 1590N1.

ONYX VOLUME SWELL 6

BUILD NOTES

Setting the trimmer

The trimmer sets the output volume of the effect when the gate is open (i.e. no signal attentuation). This

can easily be set by ear, but here is the factory calibration procedure.

Use a signal generator to input a -20dBm 1kHz sine wave. Set Sensitivity to 12:00 and Attack to full.

Adjust the trimmer for -25dBm +/-0.1dBm at the output. This will change based on the supply voltage,

so ideally the unit should be calibrated at the normal operating voltage.

Release switch

We added a switch to select between three different capacitor values in the position that sets the speed

of release. However, in testing this, we found that this capacitor also has a significant impact on the

attack time, with larger capacitors giving a slower swell effect. This is fortunate, because at the stock

setting, even at maximum Attack it’s almost unusably fast! But it also means that the “release” label is

not quite accurate. We will probably rename this to something like “Range” in a future version of the

PCB, so you may want to follow suit on your own build.

We chose 2.2uF and 10uF for the default values, but if you want even longer, you might try 10uF and

47uF. Keep in mind you can always dial it back with the Attack knob.

ONYX VOLUME SWELL 7

SCHEMATIC

1N5817

100uF

100kA

GND

20kB

+9V

100n

47n

22k47R

22k

47uF

GND GND

470k

47uF

GND

2N5088

2SK208-GR

10k

GND

22k

1uF 1uF

1uF

10k

GND

3k3

5.6V

GND

47uF

GND

33n

47k

680n

10uF2.2uF

GND

22n

470R

GND

22n

220k

LM741N

GND

390R

1uF

GND

390k

2N5088

4k7

GND

1uF1uF

1N9141N914

100k100k

2N5088

1N914

47n

10uF

GND

10k

GND

10k

GND

C20

SENSITIVITY

ATTACK

C21

R20R27

R21

C17

R22

C18

R3 C2

R4 470k

R23

C19

C8C7

1RELEASE

R10

C10

R11

IC1

R12

R13

C11

R14

C12

R15R16

C13C14

D2D3

R17R18

C15

C16

TRIM

R19

GND

100k

OUT

R25

R26

2M2

RPD

R24

GND

ONYX VOLUME SWELL 8

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.

Top jack layout assumes the use of closed-frame jacks like the Switchcraft 111X. If you’d rather use

open-frame jacks, please refer to the Open-Frame Jack Drill Template for the top side.

LED hole drill size assumes the use of a 5mm LED bezel, available from several parts suppliers. Adjust

size accordingly if using something different, such as a 3mm bezel, a plastic bezel, or just a plain LED.

0 1 2

0 1

INCH

x: -0.65, y: +1.71 x: 0.65, y: +1.71

ø9/32” ø9/32”

x: 0, y: -1.20

ø15/32”

x: -0.775, y: -1.20

ø5/16”

CENTER (0,0)

ø3/8” ø1/2”

0.385”

0.625” 0.625”

ø3/8”

OUT DC IN

125B

ATTACK

RELEASE

SENSITIVITY

FOOTSWITCHLED

x: 0, y: +0.41

ø1/4”

ONYX VOLUME SWELL 9

ENCLOSURE LAYOUT

Enclosure is shown without jacks. See next page for jack layout and wiring.

125B

ONYX VOLUME SWELL 10

WIRING DIAGRAM

125B

IN +VGND N.C. N.C. OUT

PCB

GND +V +V JACK GND JACK

OUTIN

GND GND PCB

OUT

Shown with optional 9V battery. If battery is omitted, both jacks can be mono rather than one being stereo.

Leave the far-right lug of the DC jack unconnected.

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