Milestone Effects Aureole Fuzz MK1 Bender Style Germanium Philips 2N280 OC71 TI Texas Instruments 2G308 280 71 308 R.01 Tone MkI Tonebender

The Aureole Fuzz is a classic MK1-bender-style 3-transistor fuzz circuit with a treble cut control added at the end. This batch of the Aureole Fuzz features:

• Philips 2N280 and Texas Instruments 2G308 germanium transistors
• Allen Bradley S-level carbon composition resistors
• Philips and Sprague capacitors
• Alpha, Switchcraft, and CIC hardware
• Powder-coated and UV printed enclosure

Each pedal is hand-crafted in Portland, OR in small batches and will vary slightly in appearance. I make sure all pedals from the same batch sound and perform as close to each other as possible.

This batch uses my "R.01" recipe, powered by new old stock Philips 2N280 (OC71 equivalent) and TI 2G308 transistors, resembling the transistor setup of the original units. It's my take on the classic MK1 sound in my head, articulate, aggressive, sputtery, and full of artifacts. The tone control tames the high end without altering the core sound, which can be useful for brighter amps running relatively clean.

Power Source

Use 9V battery or isolated 9V DC power supply with negative center (standard polarity).

Do not daisy-chain with other effects. Doing so may damage the power supply and/or the pedal. Keep the input jack unplugged when connecting or disconnecting the power source.

Controls

Fuzz: Adjusts the aggressiveness of fuzz. Run it low for a gated fuzz sound, and max it out for a full-blown fuzz. Maximum sustain can be achieved somewhere in the middle.

Vol: Sets the output volume.

Tone: Cuts the high frequency when rolled down. Stock MK1 setting is fully clockwise (no treble cut).

If possible, keep the Aureole Fuzz first in the signal chain directly connected to the guitar. Placing it after a buffer may cause oscillation or negatively impact the sound. The Aureole Fuzz does not clean up well when the guitar’s volume knob is turned down. With a weaker signal from the guitar, the fuzz sound will get more gated, which can also be fun to explore. These are characteristics of the MK1 bender circuit that the Aureole Fuzz is based on.

The Aureole Fuzz is powered by three germanium transistors, which are notoriously temperature-sensitive. Use the pedal at room temperature for optimal performance. Compared to other germanium-based fuzzes, the MK1 circuit tends to be more resilient to moderate temperature swings, however the pedal may not sound good at extreme temperatures.

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