Aria Series 10 Pedals

Somewhat perversely, there are only nine different designs in this new line, which, like so many others these days, emanate from China. All examples are presented in quite plain packaging and Aria expand this somewhat minimalist approach to encompass product titles, with a simple description of each pedal’s sonic duty sufficing, instead of any imaginative or fancy model names.

Equally straightforward appearances are adopted for these Series 10 effects. They come in a variety of glossy and garishly coloured textured finishes, but a no-nonsense image is engendered by a rectangular and hard-edged metal casing that makes few concessions to style. This sturdy shell is very similar to that employed on early pedals from US makers such as MXR, or likewise the off-the-shelf ‘hobby box’ employed these days by numerous boutique effects builders.

Dimensions are about the same as those of two standard size compact effects and this means that each of these new Arias occupies a bit more room. However, the input and output jacks are sited along the rear, rather than on the sides, thus saving some centimetres, which could prove useful in the cramped confines of a closely packed pedalboard.

The chosen connectors exert a comfortingly firm grip on inserted plugs and between both is the usual centre negative input for the required 9V mains power supply. The latter is always a better bet than a battery, and even more so here because access to the latter is suitably old school requiring removal of the four screws that secure the baseplate. This sports an all-over grippy pad that certainly stops any movement on carpet, but the pedals still slide about a bit on smooth surfaces because, although quite sturdy and chunky, they are comparatively light.

The control layout is another consistent factor for all the effects, with the flat top accommodating pots arranged in a slight arc and sited just about far enough away to avoid a size 10 descending on the accompanying metal on/off switch. A small LED indicates operating status and knobs are downsized chicken-head types executed in a cream plastic that contrasts their colourful surroundings.

Internal construction is quite neat and tidy, with the main circuit board partnered by a number of small examples, including one attached to the footswitch. It provides support for the battery, which is squeezed between this and the side wall of the casing with a small rubber pad helping to keep things secure. Expense has obviously been spared for this far-from-elegant mounting method and care needs to be taken not to flex or damage the circuitry.

A similarly inexpensive image is engendered by the accompanying ‘operating manual’, which is a basic and somewhat poorly printed two-page leaflet that’s laid out in a slightly odd, back to front fashion. It details all functions and facilities in pretty perfunctory manner but, because these are quite straightforward stompers, simply listening will soon determine what’s going on.

Level governs the amount of output, while Attack determines the delay before compression takes place, ranging from extremes of fast and slow. Sustain describes the effect induced, as this adjusts the degree of dynamic range limiting, with correspondingly varying degrees of sustain.

A significant degree of gain boost quickly comes in at just past minimum settings on the Level control and progressively increases to a very muscular maximum. The accompanying Attack and Sustain controls can be balanced to increase clean sustain without incurring too much of the usual accompanying transient-induced ‘click’. Engaging the effect adds an overall brighter tonality, but there’s a commendably low amount of background noise build-up as the signal swells when Sustain is set to maximum.

The first is effectively a tone control, making the sound darker or brighter, although apparently it boasts greater phase properties than a simple bass/treble equivalent. Volume adjusts output level, while Distortion regulates the amount of gain-related dirt.

With Distortion at zero, Volume needs to be advanced to almost maximum to match the bypassed signal level and, even when full on, it offers only a slight increase in output. This means all the extra gain is delivered by the Distortion pot and this comes in pretty fiercely virtually from the start, so subtle break-up isn’t easily achieved.

However, the degree of dirt isn’t too dense to begin with and does lend itself to bluesy noodling. Things soon become a bit mushy for maintaining well-defined chords, but an inherent chewy texture proves effective on more extreme lead work.

With the Filter pot positioned fully clockwise, tonal content is pretty much consistent with bypass mode. Alterations progressively increase brightness and upper mid-range emphasis, enhancing attack and cut-through qualities, but the end results can quickly become too brash and hard.

The quartet comprises Gain, Clean, Tone and Level. Gain sets the level of the overdriven signal, while Clean blends between this, completely free from dirt. Tone governs the overdrive side only and Level sets overall output.

This pedal proves to be one of the aces in the Series 10 deck, offering substantially more than the average overdrive, addressing the criticisms levelled at the Distortion model and doing so for the same money, which makes it something of a bargain.

The Overdrive delivers bags of beefy output, along with the ability to offer anything from a gentle hint of smooth overdrive up to singing sustain, but it stops well short of hooligan extremes and instead stays usefully musical. A wide range of highly dynamic textures can be obtained by balancing the Gain, Clean and Level controls, which all interact very effectively. Tone further increases versatility, progressively dialling in metallic upper mid-range attack.

The line-up is certainly simple enough and pretty much self-explanatory. Volume governs output, Tone increasingly emphasises high frequency content and Fuzz controls the amount of this effect.

In keeping with its title and control line-up, this pedal behaves in a more predictable manner. Although Aria claims the effect is suitably retro-orientated, the Fuzz is actually more refined than the examples available 30-odd years ago; designs and sounds were a lot cheaper and nastier back then!

Even when set to extremes, Series 10 never descends into the spitting snarl and waspish buzz typical of so many fuzz boxes from that time. Instead, the effect is smoother and somehow sweeter, although an inherent square-wave hardness ensures the appropriate artificiality that differentiates it from distortion or overdrive-producing alternatives. Sustain has been improved too, because it’s more consistent and doesn’t tail off into the oscillation or stuttering break-up that frequently afflicted oldie examples. The tone pot proves to be quite subtle in operation, adding a raspy edge for increased definition, rather than radically altering tonal content.

To achieve this bold claim the Ultra Metal employs a four-band EQ system that forms the front row of controls. This comprises Hi, Mid, Mid Freq and Low, with the first and last affecting the appropriate ends of the distorted signal, while Mid does the same for the frequencies selected by the variable sweep of its partner pot. Pushing the footswitch to one side, the adjacent Distortion and Volume controls respectively adjust dirt content and overall output.

Aria’s description proves pretty accurate, as this pedal is the sonic psychotic of the Series 10 family. Distortion starts pretty much where that of its dirty companions leaves off, with a pretty copious quantity of dense-textured dirt delivered right from the first turn of the relevant knob. Volume is pretty much on a par with its partner and between them the pair provide more than ample output. This is further boosted by the accompanying EQ section, which is the main weapon in the Ultra Metal’s aural armoury, as each of the four controls concerned exerts significant influence on the sound. Hi ranges from subdued to an attacking snarl, while bass goes from subtle emphasis to severe levels of low end. In between, the two controls covering the mid-range interact to deliver everything from shallow, hard and honky to intense, deep and scooped. This quartet combines forces with the Distortion and Volume controls to ensure the Ultra Metal lives up to its name.

This particular pedal springs no sonic surprises, supplying a suitably transparent, clear-toned chorus effect, although sound suffers slightly in bypass mode. All three controls function as expected, each offering a fair range of aural amendment, but finding an ideal balance between the three is harder to achieve than the simple format might suggest. The end results are adequate rather than exciting and, overall, this is one of the less impressive Series 10 examples. It’s certainly not bad, but it’s not particularly inspiring either, especially when compared to some of the chorus pedals competing at this price level.

Immediately apparent on plugging into this pedal is the adverse effect it has on sound in bypass mode. This is far worse than on the Chorus model, with a marked reduction in volume and similar tonal emasculation when the pedal is inserted in the signal chain. After this unpromising start, the actual effect produced is like the Chorus in terms of quality, ie. OK, but not outstanding. Again, the controls match their job description and offer a fair amount of range, but the ideal combination of all three seems equally tricky to find. However, regardless of effect abilities, the aural nasties incurred in bypass mode make this the least appealing Series 10 pedal.

There’s little discernible difference with the pedal in line and this consistency comes as very welcome after experiencing the Phaser-induced problems. All controls apparently function according to plan and obtaining acceptable results is certainly made easier. However, the Rate control is quite limited in terms of slower speeds, while Feedback is somewhat all or nothing in operation. This means that long, spacey swells are simply not on the menu and the best effects seem more akin to chorus than flanging.

This pedal is commendably free from extraneous background noise, with hiss apparent only at maximum level settings. All echoes are suitably crisp and the self-explanatory control layout makes delay decisions very easy. It governs a choice that ranges from ultra-short single slapback to a reasonable-length multi-repeat. The latter isn’t really long enough to effectively overlay lead lines but should meet most players’ more straightforward needs. This is a good workhorse-type delay pedal that lives up to its title while keeping things simple and quite effective in a nice, no-nonsense manner.

The Series 10 stable is up against very stiff competition in this particular price sector of the single effects market. Only time will tell if these Arias can appeal and survive long enough to truly become an ongoing series.  0