Is The Klon Really Worth $5,000?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ต.ค. 2024
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Today we're taking a look at one of the most legendary and sought after guitar pedals, the Klon Centaur. Does it live up to it's $5000 price tag, or do the clones get close enough to the real thing?
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Did someone say Klon?
BTW, the answer to the video title is 'ABSOLUTELY NOT'
It's really worth about $7,500-8,000 :D
So true. I’d save money and build the StewMac one.
@@tfriesen3866 "whooosh"
But but tonewoods bro.
Warm Audio Centavo...$179...exact hand built recreation using highest quality materials available 🤘😜🎶🎸
You're trying to bump up the price of the one you're selling? 😂
I would much rather have five $1,000 guitars than one pedal.
Seriously. You could purchase a Fender American Professional guitar and a Marshall Plexi for around the same $.
YEEESSSSSSS!!! ♥️🙌🙌🙌🙌
No you wouldn’t. Maybe 2 $2,500 guitar that would be understandable..
I'd go buy a dream amp and call it a day. A Two Rock, perhaps? Hard to say because I've never played one lol
I'd rather spend 2k on pedals and save the other 3k for things that'll keep me alive. i.e. more pedals
For that money I’ll go buy a dream guitar and a $200 clone pedal to go with it.
I'd go for quality budget axe, nice amp, and a hella good attenuator - with money to spare in the end.
why not a $200 pedal and $200 guitar ?
@@what1864 because $200 guitars are cheap shit?
@@mysterymeat1216 they are cheap , there is a guy by the name of jack pearson who play's a squir strat bullet live regularly , he played with the allman brothers and the greg allman band , he's also played with joe bonamaasa , why would he play a shitt guitar ? i think rhett even did a video on em ..
@@what1864 he probably played then because they sounded cheap. Same reason Kurt Cobain used cheap Fenders and Fender knock-offs. If he wanted to get a better tone, he'd use more expensive guitars
I owned #26 for 20 years and used it in front of a ‘71 Super Lead. Bill actually brought it to my apt in Brookline to demo and I bought it. He sold them himself at the time.
I sold it about 5 years ago for $1500 before they went crazy crazy. It was a great pedal and untouched by much else for a long time but there are a number of great boost/OD pedals now that sound just as good or better. It’s ridiculous that they sell for so much now.
Oh well. You're in a big club.
I lived on a Fuller Street Coolidge Corner. I faxed, talked with him, but in the end the $295 or so was too much for me back then. Suke Cerilo from Schliegh ho had one. They played Boston all the time.
Some guitar aficionados are nuts. Much better ways to spend the money. Donate it to charity to give food to homeless for instance.
@@johnsmith-ug5tp Social Media and hyped up you tube videos have also done a hell of a job screwing up the market for things like this. It’s exposed everything, there are no more secrets or special things… there’s always just the newest hyped up “thing”. This phenomenon wouldn’t be possible without social media. It’s actually ruined the fun in a couple of my passions/interests/hobbies. I just can’t afford to outbid the guys with money that will pay anything to buy their little trophy items. You spend 20 years developing knowledge and collecting, then idiots come along and take it away and act like they discovered it!!
Any overdrives you would recommend?
Rhett! You are killing it in the production department. These videos look incredible and are so professionally done.
I built the StewMac clone kit (Ghost Drive) and it is an almost exact replica of the pedal and sound. It was $100 and about 10 hours of my time, but it is fantastic.
I have the same kit but haven't started it yet. Ten hours total is doable for this project, based on your experience?
@@offbeatbassgear Yes... if you have decent soldering skills and the right tools. I highly suggest magnifier glasses as the board and components are very small. There is some prep work - like verifying all the component values with a multimeter - that I highly recommend that will add time. You also must have a holder device for the board for the soldering.
@@DanielBobke Great, I have a holder and I just purchased a light up magnifying lens to mount on the workbench. I also thought I'd measure the readings on the components, tape them to a paper and remove them as needed. As for the soldering skills, I have a high pain threshold and some finger skin I have no use for...
@@DanielBobke I have the same kit, but haven’t started it yet. In verifying the components did you have to replace any because their value was too far out of spec?
@@Delzonaif you do, its not hard to find parts
All these guest appearances equal to so much knowledge in history & tone! Thanks, Rhett!
Came for the Klon, stayed for the Pink Floyd "The Final Cut" shirt! I need one of those!
I was just thinking while seeing that shirt, I've been around a while ... The Final Cut is the ONLY album I've ever bought the day it came out.
@@TranscendentBen Fuck all that we've gotta get on with these
Fuck all that. (Perfect guitar rake) Fuck all that.
Gotta compete with the wiley Japanese!
@@kwyatt261 gotta compete with the wily Japanese
Josh kills me with his collection. Unbelievably awesome that he has all those. Beyond beyond!
He never misses a chance to say he has the first one ever sold. lmao
And sometimes he has the box!
Quite the humble brag. Lol
He's a revolutionary kind of guy. I'm not really a fan of his TH-cam channel, but he definitely knows his pedals.
@@castleanthrax1833 He knows how to make money off other people's circuits, that's for sure.
There's no way that I could justify buying a real one, but I've been thinking of buying the StewMac kit version for a weekend project.
Years ago I bought the Soul Food and instantly loved it! After so many years of using it, it finally failed, after doing some research I tested the Tumnus, MXR Sugar and Way Huge Conspiracy Theory, I ended up choosing the CT, I love it and it only cost $125.
The Sugar Drive is a really great sounding mini pedal, though! Can't go wrong with that or the Tumnus Mini if space is a issue.
@@hibernative Agree completely, I have a Sugar Drive and love it. Sounds great, very affordable, and barely takes up any space on the board!
The CT is a really great one!
Do you like the CT better than the soul food? I had one too that sort of failed. Stopped working plugged in. Battery only.
@@kevincoleman9855 I love it! You can't go wrong with the CT.
I love the Wampler Tumnus deluxe. For me it’s as good as a pedal needs to get.
Tumnus mini,... done and done
it's probably better than the original and you saved enough money to buy several second hand BMW's
I can't see myself ever spending that kind of money for a pedal. But the Klon sound is a marvelous thing.
I've been using the Wampler Tumnus for years and it is awesome!
I thought Rhett's comment about a Boss DS-1 getting into Klon territory was very interesting, since the Klon uses back-to-back shunt diodes to ground the way the DS-1 does. What makes the Klon interesting is the way it mixes its different audio paths.
...he did clarify the other pedals mentioned can only get close to limited settings of the Klon
Yeah, I didn't know about the 3 signal paths until just now.
@@DavidHBurkart Oh, yeah, wasn't doubting that. I may not have been clear.
I bought the stew mac ghost drive. Haven't built it yet but the demos nail it. Good content here and great playing
I've the RYRA Clone and it sounds as good as any I've heard. $200 and you've got four color options to choose from as well. The Wampler Tumnus Deluxe is also great if you want more bass and gain tweaking ability. Hope this helps someone make a decision! Enjoy!
For those of us who might be more limited on $$$ we need videos like this! The help is much appreciated!!!
Just got the warm audio centavo and it's unbelievable right down to the build quality and enclosure...part for part recreation and hand built...under $200
Yes as close as it can get with this pedal, sounds amazingly good. They hit the ballpark with this clone. It is almost sold out in every store in the Netherlands! Have to wait several weeks for having one.
That is good news! This is the klone I have my eye on!
My friend built me one. It's stellar. He used the original circuit schematic. I LOVE the Minotaur in Helix. It was a driver for me selling my FM3 and buying another Helix Floor.
@@adambartlow5489 it's really good man.. visually dead on.. sonically just amazing response to dynamics of your playing
@@IamtheFerryMan it is cool to see someone that actually understands how good the Helix / hx stomp is . Some people don’t get it yet…they all love that Hype train . 😵🤣
Great video Rhett! I bought one a year and a half ago because it's a collectors item and a real special piece of guitar pedal history, however anyone who says you can't replicate it is just wrong. Lots of pedals out there can get the sound and do it really well, besides the Soul Food, but it's just a cool piece of gear to have.
People have taken "transparent overdrive" to mean something like "preserves your amp tone," or "doesn't interfere with" something. The term was actually coined to refer to pedals like the Klon which incorporate a parallel, unaffected clean signal, with the overdrive sitting on top, or superimposed, in the manner of a transparency sheet on an overhead projector.
I am surprised that some guitarist don’t know to just buy a looper or a blender , a boost and EQ . You can replicate a lot of sounds with just three pedals.
They love that HYPE Train 🚂 it goes round and it don’t stop … lol
Another great video! Whenever I go to buy one of those classic "staple" pedals (Klon, TS, Rat, ODR-1, etc), I usually go hunting for someone who's done a version of that circuit with more features and options. As such, I've got a ton of Wamplers and a couple JHSs on my board. The Tumnus Deluxe is probably my favorite pedal, at a fraction of the price of a Klon.
100%
I love my Jrad Archer IKON, and I really enjoy the way the dual gain pot works. I think the Klon style circuit is an interesting and unique overdrive, whether or not one "needs" a real one, I'll leave that up to the people who feel like they need the "real" one.
I've watched most of your videos, but this was probably the most informative from a practicality standpoint
Part of me misses "and remember there is no plan B" but another part of me is glad that Rhett has finally thought of a backup scheme. ^_^
I never liked that line. There always has to be a "plan B".
It's like the line "If you ain't first, you're last" from Talladega Nights 😂
@@fleshrevolt or do or do not there is no try
Best template for an OD, says I. Can't make it sound bad. You sound fantastic as always.
I just got a Crazy Tube Circuits Unobtanium. Klon and 2 Dumbles in one pedal. Best sounding overdrive pedal I've ever had my hands on and cost 250GBP.
I ordered the same pedal on thomann and I’m looking forward to have it, glad to hear that sounds good since I basically made a blind purchase lol
@@Filippo-vj9oy I don't think you'll be disappointed
Mad Professor Royal blue is my favorite transparent overdrive. People from Finland will know it.
It’s a weird thing… when one ‘product’ does something so different & so well, that it becomes it’s own ‘thing’. And the Klon Centaur definitely did just that. It’s almost a unicorn to me. I’ve seen it used in live performances a lot, and I’ve seen & played a lot of clones personally, but I’ve never even SEEN a Centaur before in person. To a lot of folks, myself included, I think it sort of became this mythical ‘idea’ of a sound almost. Hence the price tag I guess. From what I understand, he still occasionally makes them by direct order. Or at least he did. One day I’d like to have one… but that bubble will most definitely have to have popped by that time.
Josh really summed it up nicely with his comments. I remember being 13 years old and finding the early boutique pedal websites and thinking that I was a part of something special for knowing about stuff that wasn't Boss, MXR, or DOD. The pedal market has lots of stuff now that is built on hype, some of it very well justified, but there is a lot of builders that are killing it right now and are not being hyped. I bought a fuzz on Reverb for like $100 recently, and it is just a killer big muff style pedal, so there is something for everyone. I think a good takeaway from Dan's comments is that a lot of the magic here is from the blend of clean and dirty signal, and having an appreciation for the level of saturation juxtaposed with how much headroom you have to work with is important in shaping your tone.
I use the Mythos Wildwood Mjolnir and I love it! ❤
I'd really love too see someone take apart an original Klon and one of the clones and find what the actual differences in the circuit are, if any, and focus on those. I think the ganged pot may have been a custom order, but it's not like Bill Finnegan was building his own capacitors or anything. If you build the same circuit with the same parts it will sound the same, within the tolerances of those parts. Apparently Finnegan claimed he had a special batch of 1N34A diodes, but I would be suspicious about that really being anything special.
One thing no one seems to mention is how HUGE the original circuit is. I would have to give up 3 or 4 other pedals just to make space for the original size Klon
I mean that seems to be a thing in pedals until recently: the original Big Muff is in a huge case, but the circuit board is hilariously tiny.
Yes! Rhett! You did a really wonderful important thing that most people don't do with their comparison videos which is to actually dial in the clone instead of trying to set the knobs at exactly the same physical position. Most people don't realize that parts, in particular pots, have tolerances. An 10:00 setting on two 100K pots is not going to read the same between the two pots. Nobody manufacturing pedals is trying to bin their parts to a tighter tolerance than what a particular line of parts naturally offers. So, as you note, if you put two original Klons side by side, they will be slightly different, and to try to get them to sound the same you'd have to dial them in the same way. I suspect the biggest source of variation in Klons and Klon clones may be the weird ganged pot.
Because they got the pedal itch? I bought a copy for $68 from a friend who makes killer pedals. If anyone is interested.
Yes, please!
what's his site?
It’s 100% worth the money. As with anything that’s the real deal, it just sounds a little better, more air, more vibe. It’s subtle, but to those who want that sound, it’s priceless.
When they first came out, they were $300 at a local music store. Most other dirt boxes were about $100. In hindsight maybe I should have spent three times as much...
5:08 - The OG Premier Guitar video theme song
Because they have too much money, or they’re too picky and nothing will ever do.
People spend money on their passions. Look at the cost of real U47. If you have used one you will know why. Clones are pretty good now days but certain pieces of gear have a magic that can’t be reproduced. El8 distressors are another magic sound.
@@CodyMWI Of course, but most of the magic is how it feels to the player or person using it, not necessarily how it sounds. If these things were only about how things sounded, people wouldn't pay $4,900 more than they needed to for that littlest of sonic differences, which are mostly imperceptible to the average listener.
@@kwyatt261 I’m pretty sure sounds and feel are interchangeable as a player. But …you caught me I’m an audio engineer. Musicians aren’t concerned with what the average listener hears it’s what they hear. Most people listen to compressed garbage in earbuds. As an engineer I do care how it sounds out of the studio monitors. As a composer I do care how it sounds in ideal listening conditions. But sonic quality does not equate to the magic I’m talking about. Technically it’s harmonic distortion that excites specific overtones and creates a unique quality. Regardless you are correct in a way vintage gear is for gear heads.
Nice Shirt. The Final Cut is so crazy underrated
Yup!
The Klon…a 5k pedal most use as a glorified tone shifter rather then a gain pedal 😂 these always make me laugh
Finnegan agrees!He can’t believe that anyone pays Elephant Bux for the “magical diodes” and then doesn’t use them!
@@willcraig6421 isn’t it just the silliest thing? I won’t argue the tone is typically nice, but can also be achieved for a less then $200 pedal.
@@banditsbikeco3439 there are clones that are the exact circuit for 200 dollar the only thing missing are the "magical diodes" which are the entire selling point of the klon even though they are normal germanium
Rhett there so many choices !! The Archer , Wampler Tumness ! All sound just as good ! Just like there is no magic powers in vintage guitars, amps and pedals ! So many choices that sound exactly like the Klon.
Archer is 99.4 percent same archer Jeff beck mod 100 percent same
I’m pretty happy with my $100 klone
For $5000 you could get a rig that sounds good enough without pedals
Bill designed the Klon ( with help from two MIT guys) to produce the sound of his guitar and amp in large venues that he could replicate in small venues.
When Rhett turned up the gain control, I shouted out "Rock and Roll baby! Woooo!"
Sounds killer. But maybe not $5,000.
I get it if someone have a lot of money but no sane person who doesn't do NOT need this.
I'd pay that if you were guaranteed you couldn't "lose" money, if you had to sell. Let's face it, most people have a few grand that's not earning any interest in the bank.
I’m really sorry to have to say this but is everyone mad lol. Totally in a friendly way not trying to be mean. It’s pure snake oil. There are boutique pedals for less than £600 that do the exact same thing. Not different slightly, exactly the same thing.
I am not going to name them as honestly it’s boils my blood that people buy them up and then hoard them for sale at a huge markup which is precisely what happened with the centaur.
I have mine, my friends have theirs and my uncle has a centaur. We’ve played together many times. We did compare the pedals and it was hilarious how much there was no difference. It was almost a byproduct of just jamming how we discovered it.
Seriously friends. Save your money and move on. If it makes you feel better you can search online for the exact components and just make your own.
A friend of mine traded away his Klon sometimes in the late 90'es. In retrospect, maybe the worst deal ever. He got a Boss Metal Zone in exchange... ;)
Bruh
Why would he do that? The Klon was a much more expensive pedal when he was released.
Your friend is an idiot. Why trade a $225 new Klon, for a Metal Zone that could’ve been found for less than $100?
Geez 🙄
🤦♂️🤬😢
Now you can sell that Klon and buy ten whole pedalboards of “Metal” pedals! 😂
I’ve had two, I don’t have them anymore. but I’ve become more interested in building my studio than my guitar stuff… don’t regret letting em go
An absurd price for what's about $150 in electronic components, like so many other trends with gear.
I built one.. from scratch not a kit. it isn't even 150 in parts.. the box is the most expensive part in that you can put it together for less than 30 bucks.. easy.
@@TedSchoenling Do you plans for it? Would also built me one, but don't have any experience with building pedals.
@@drmaster1258 Get the StewMac kit... it's really well done and fun to build. Many comparisons on TH-cam with a real Klon and it is exact.
@@TedSchoenling I have the Ghost Drive Klon Klone kit from Stew Mac as a project. It looks do-able over a five hour afternoon, but I've not started it yet. I'm looking forward to it, and even if you buy the full kit you can do the whole thing for about $150 in solder and the kit and four or five lengths of wire. I'm hoping it goes okay....
@@DanielBobke im german, so stewmac is not an option for me. the delivery is way too expensive.
Rhett has the output pretty high on the klon. Unity volume tends to be somewhere in the vicinity of 3 o'clock on the output knob. So a lot of the gain he is getting is actually from the way the Klon pushes the amp.
If you stick it in front of a clean, high-headroom amp, with. your output set to unity level, then it doesn't have much gain at all - particularly on a quiet single coil guitar.
But one hack I've done is putting a boost before the klon to lower it's headroom and that works pretty well when you want to be able to turn it off and get a crystal clean tone.
However it's not as good as when you boost that output knob and use the Klon to push your amp. The problem is just that if you click it off, you lose a lot of volume.
I mean, I can buy a high end amp and a high end guitar for that, so nah…not even remotely worth it. It’s been cloned so many times that it would be foolish to take this pedal out to a gig. It’s basically just a trophy piece for collectors. Total waste of money if you aren’t a rich collector.
Rhett, I am building my own Klon clone, the circuit is out there in schematic form. Parts are available, I have even seen Stew Mac has a kit. Many China knock offs as well. I like to craft my own petals, cuz I can. I liked your video, you demo the real thing and explained why the Klon is prized. The original Klon models had black epoxy on the parts to prevent copying the design, but someone was able to recreate the circuit and released the specifics on the internet. I like your lessons!
Most over hyped gear ever. My friend has a Klon, we placed it next to my MXR Fat Sugar, and there was no discernible difference. Except the $4,925.
I really like that jrockett Ikon thing. It’s pretty good. I put it in front of my Timmy and it works perfect together with a LP, 335, and my strat.
Nice!
thank you too rhett for your time plus im waiting for the rain an storm to arrive soon.
I know people hate Rhett a lot but I like him because he brings attention to very lesser known pedals like Klon
Edit: how many times are you gonna make this video?
For under $200 I'm very happy with my Warm Audio Centavo. I also really dig the mod switch, it basically beefs it up a bit. I like calling it The Klon Centavo.
No, it’s not worth $5k!
love the intro jam, you should get guests to come on for a little jam. Live sound is best fr
no get a clone. you can copy a circuit and there is no magic there. if you think you are gonna sound better with a real one than a clone I have better ways to separate you from your money
He covers parts in black tar So if it breaks that’s it
Great Video, as always!
But I guess Dan did not change his last name to Steinert? ;)
most overrated piece of gear in existence
Like a burst or a Dumble is overrated....
Is there any love for the Klon KTR? I love mine and use it as a gritty boost at the end of my fuzzes and overdrives. The KTR makes everything better. Keep up the great work Rhett! 🤘😊👍
"Why Are People Paying $5,000 (or more) For The Klon?"
Because a majority of our community is stupid.
Surprised not much talk about the KTR. Same thing and they can be had for $300 if you're willing to wait years...or probably around $700 if you want one now. I was able to pick one up many years ago and I love it
KTRs just don’t get the love.I’m a firm believer.Back in ‘16(I think)my logic was “buy a Real Klon and watch it become an investment”,and it has.Spent $269 at Humbucker Music.
I tried to use a Klone,but they’re not the same.
did you know the English word "clone" actually comes from the name Klon as boutique builders scrambled for a word to describe replicating this masterpiece without breaking copyright?
I really doubt. haha
I went to Sweetwater and looked for a Clon Clone. I ran into another guy looking for one, so we teamed up to compare them together. Of course they didn't have a real Clon for comparison but both of us heard plenty of videos of them, and I'm old and had used a borrowed one many times decades ago, and at least thought I remembered it well enough.
We tried all 5 they had, him with a Les Paul (he smoked), and me with a telly since I play one I built from scratch that although looks nothing like a telly (not a copy of anything) does have Telly pickups because I like the sound. We played all kinds of styles and licks tweaking knobs..., and we both had to agree on the TC electronics "Zeus Drive". We also had a blast talking about bands and songs, and even "Stupid Musicans"🤤 after Glenn Fricker was mentioned.
All the others had at least one knob that had little room between not enough and too much, making them too hard to tweak, one where the tone didn't do much at all.😠 Two never really got close to the Clon sound. We kept going back and forth between them eliminating one after the other, the last two both had the right sound, but one at $200+ was still not easy to tweak, but the Zeus had room to move within the sweet spot. 😎 I in addition the Zeus has a little extra switch for "Fat", and man as soon as you flip it, it adds creamy fat to the gristle in only a good way😋. We were like 😮🤯!
It was ~$80 among 4 others, only one just a tad lower and the rest all above $120, and the worse one was 2nd most expensive! It was a no brainer🤕. We both got the Zeus because it just stood a few steps above the rest. It's also small and compact with the jacks in the back and out of the way, and all tough metal construction.👍 It doesn't come with a power supply though😕, but any good pedal board should have one, and any 9V wall wart will do, which are dirt cheep to begin with.
It's nice when the affordable stuff ticks the boxes for ya. My klone is one of my cheapest pedals, but it is my most used one.
@@castleanthrax1833 Yeah, as soon as I set it up at home, it became a nearly "always on" pedal, because it can fatten the sound without changing too much in any one way, and when I need more, I have other pedals for more extreme changes. I still use a volume pedal to either cut or push the signal the rest of the pedals get to begin with, which is great for overall control between mild and wild of everything following it, but put the Zeus ahead of it as the starting point, so I don't get into the tiny lifeless sound territory anymore at lower volumes. The volume pedal in many ways is often a better choice than switching pickups between rhythm and lead.
It may have been true between the 1800's up to the 60's where you almost always got better for paying more, but now with hype marketing, gimmickry, word salad and rhetorical dogma, put way above giving real specs and usable info, even worse seemingly more people that fall for it, they can much easier sell shit for shinola, and use the placebo effect to get your money. I could care less how they cloned the Clon that well, how many years it took, who had anything to do with it, and especially not how all that often ridiculous unscientific nonsense AKA "Magic" so many spout came together! The device itself in hand has to speak for itself, end of story.
Rhett ! In my opinion your channel is the most understable, enjoyable and beautiful content on the internet for anyone who likes guitar and beautiful stuffs about it !
Such incredible tone out of the Klon! Too rich for my blood though, and my audience (houseplants and the family dog) don't care enough about my tone to justify the investment. However, I use a Wampler Tumnus Deluxe and absolutely love it. Thanks for the backing track! Sounds killer!
I am supprised nobody mentioned the biggest difference between a Klon and the Klones here yet.
".....the clones max out at "10" while a real Klon can go to "11".....it gives it that extra push that special something when you need it." - Nigel Tufnel.....Guitar World magazine interview November 11, 2011
A circle divided into 361 degrees is still just a circle!😂
Dear Rhett. If I could get 5000$ for the pedal,I would sell it immediately, buy an J Rocket Archer (or maybee an Mosky Golden Horse,if I had an old Marshall)
,take my wife on a little holliday and save the rest for a rainy day. I had till yesterday, only a Boss SD1 overdrive and a Riot ME-100( if you haven't tried it, I think it's underestimated) But had for a long, long time, been looking for an W-Twin 1 Messa Boogie and I was lucky to get a well kept one for only 220$. Now I'm good and only buy a new one,if one of them can't be fixed.
I own the J. Rockett Archer it's excellent Klon Clone. I too was hesitant until I pick one up and notice the difference it made when I stacked it in front of my drives and fuzzes. it made everything come to live.
I knew a guy, older guy, who had a Klon, one of the last ones made or so he told me... he also had one of the earlier Zen drives the one Robben Ford has... I had the pleasure of playing through both of them through a divided by 13 15 watt head and matching 1x12 cab using one of my personal guitars and a custom shop 50s strat. It wasn't a jam I just got to play for a little bit can't say I had anything less than a great time both are very responsive. When we were done he packed everything away. He put the pedals in a safe in the floor of his office in his home. He said if I die you can have the divided by 13 rig...but the Klon I'm keeping for my kids college fund...one day they're gonna be selling for 10k or more...that was in 2009...I STILL think the tone is in your fingers, but I've driven a Ferrari and it was way more fun than my Prius fosho
I had my klon for over 10 years - sold is for over 5k about a year ago and bought the J-rockett Archer... I don't miss anything
I cashed out my Klon at $2800 and was just fine with that. Don’t miss it. Plenty of options out there today.
Love the track at the beginning! Sounds wonderful. This pedal certainly does something unique, but I don’t think it’s for everyone. Certainly not worth the money it’s going for now, and yes it’s easy to approximate the sound with other gear. In my opinion a players time is better spent finding under the radar pedals etc. that truly work with our hands and our rigs. In the long run this usually equates to less money spent on pedals, and more time spent practising and finding our own voice on the instrument. Of course just an opinion, but there are plenty of great options out there for overdrive pedals these days. Some of the alternatives mentioned in this video do a fantastic job and only cost $100 or so. :-)
I currently use the Nordvang ‘83 Drive, a BB and Klon 2-in-1. One of my favorite pedals.
Hey Rhett, I purchased the silver no-logo Klon new. When I first got it, I played it for an hour and thought "no big deal." I was going to return or sell it, but I put it in a box that eventually went to the storage locker. I pulled it out about 10 years ago and tried it again and thought it was great with my electric guitars. I changed, not the Klon, LOL! I have the original paperwork that came with it. "Three Important Notes" (typed) and Centaur Professional Overdrive (handwritten). Two individual pages of instructions on use, slightly different explanations on use and settings. I have played acoustic exclusively for the past decade and searched for an overdrive that works with an acoustic guitar. For that purpose, I purchased a Tumnus for my pedal board, which works great. I rarely see any videos on overdrive for acoustic. Perhaps you could give it a shot, with a Tumnus. Just say'n. - Dave
Great vid . Thx .
Your outro guitar work was excellent !!
Sidebar: Your t-shirt! Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut." The Floyd's most underrated album! Soooo great.
Great video. You made it sing 👍🏼👍🏼
Yep, I will either buy or build a clone someday. There's a lot more I could do with that kind of money.
To each their own though.
I’ve been fortunate enough to play an original gold Centaur. It sounded incredible and while I understand the mystery behind it and why it might go for so much, there are so many options out there at such an affordable price that can be purchased that come pretty close to the Klon. I personally wouldn’t be able to justify purchasing an original Klon at such a high price or a KTR at the prices those are going for now too.
The Sparkle Drive does the same thing with blending a clean signal mixed with a distortion circuit. It's a really nice pedal.
super entertaining and informative video - and that final track is awesome!
@RhettShull I love your videos! I don’t play guitar yet, but I always wondered what everything does, and you are skilled enough to show what you are talking about , I look forward to learning how to play some day
I appreciate the education on the Klon and Klones. That's a pretty cool and innovative circuit.
I get the hype, the Klon does the thing. For my money, currently, I have a few Klones I'm more than happy with, including the Wildwood Mjolnir.
Enjoyed the jams throughout the video, too! Interesting timestamp on the outro
I got the StewMac Ghost Drive a while back, it’s one of best sounding pedals I’ve had and was easy to build. I put up a demo of it also. There are plenty of good clones that will get you the tone and sounds you want.
The Andertons’ guys did a pretty convincing comparison of several clones, including the Wampler Tumnus, which look like a very reasonable option…
Rhett just wailin' at 4:15 AM...so jealous. One of your best videos yet.
Great video. Love Rhett's critical eye, much more helpful than other youtubers sucking up to brands. Also love the kernom ridge, and it can connect to an expression pedal for easy tweaking
Been waiting for you to dive into this!!!
I have a Pedal Monsters Klon Klone and I absolutely love it. It stays on in front of my clean channel 100% of the time.
Rhett, the original trax you play on your videos rule! That tune in the outro is particularly tasty. When's a solo album dropping?
I bought a KTR brand new at the regular price, and I love it very much. Sounds great to push my amp or to stack a fuzz into. Now...where is the vid about the Space Echo? :P
I have a lot of fun stacking my Klon clone with my Fuzz Face and Blues Breaker clones.
I obtained a Chinese clone kit version off of Amazon, with my rewards points, so it was basically free. The kit retails for $44.90. I thought, "what the heck, see what the hype was about." I also didn't have a good overdrive on my pedal board. It took very little time to assemble. I selected my own 1N34A diodes from a stash I had of matched pairs to improve the clipping symmetry, which is part of the hype of the original. Fact or fiction? Myths surround them. Mine works great, but many pedals out there, as you demonstrated, work similarly. EH Holy Grail also comes to mind. The Klon clone really does justice to my 1979 SF Champ.
best klone IMO is the centura from ceriatone. i've a/b'd it with the real deal. its the only one that really *REALLY* nails it -- not just aesthetically, but the circuit, components, build quality & most importantly sound. it really does the klon thing. i've tried A LOT of klones over the years & the best ones will only get you 95% there -- not the centura. for $260 new -- i can't recco it enough. i'm actually considering a second one as its become an 'always on' low-to-no gain eq sweetener for me. would be nice to have another to stack for higher gain situations. GREAT VIDEO!
I bought an Archer from JRockettAudio. I love it, hasn't left my board since I bought it.
I think a better question would be: if one had a pedal that sounded EXACTLY like a Klon but was in a bright orange, no-name enclosure, would you spend $5000 for it? Part of the appeal is the status of owning one, having a rare pedal on your pedal board, like driving a Porsche 911. Would you spend that much to drive a bright orange, no-name car that performed exactly like a Porsche? Probably not.
We're all really good at justifying things we want, but I'd say 95% of the appeal of a Klon is the status of owning one. I've got several clones (a Fredric Effects Zombie Klone at £140, a Keeley Oxblood at US$199, and an MXR Sugar Drive at US$120) and they're all just fine at producing great sounds. I've also built two clone kits and given them to friends, and they're still on their boards. I'd much rather spend $2000 on an amazing new guitar (which I did recently, an Eastman T59/V ES-335). $5000 on a pedal is just throwing money away.
Off topic, but it's great to see your Gretsch make an appearance!
Amazing video and playing dude love it!
Great video Rhett, thank you! I recently bought a Warm Audio Centavo, and I’m really impressed with the sounds I’m getting out of it. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on one.
How does it compare?
Thanks mate
I like your playin'. I don't even know what bands you play with but you got some tasteful licks. And the channel is pretty damn educational, too.
I had two of these and a Zendrive at one point. The first one I bought from a friend, then traded for something that I can't quite remember, but it was something like a Fulldrive😕. Then I bought one new, and got it almost right away because I used to get coffee at the same place in Cambridge as Finnegan and we'd talk about guitar. Interestingly it didn't click to either of us until I after I put the order in and told him the next time I saw him about this OD that a local guy makes…
At this point the "is it worth it" has been rendered moot, at least if you're talking about it practically. Is it worth it so you have one to play? Of course not, that's absurd. There are clones that have it down 100%, and the same goes for the KoT and Zendrive.* It stopped being worth it in practical since when it got up near $1000. The question now is whether it's worth it as a financial investment, because that's what it is. The 1913 Liberty head nickel is worth $3.8 to a collector, but still just 5¢ if you were to use it at the 7-11 down the street. I honestly don't know the answer the to second but like every investment; you don't actually lose or make money from it until you sell it.
*The Zendrive was personally my favorite of the two, and if they were worth the same would be the one I wanted back. A less well known pedal was the Hermida distortion, that was awesome. I don't typically like distortion pedals at all, Id rather use an OD to push the amp or stack ODs. The Hermida was a high gain distortion, but the most transparent and open sounding one I've ever played. It had much higher gain than the Zendrive or the Mosferatu, but was actually the best of the three as a clean boost. When you turn the gain down it's more transparent than something like the Timmy, whereas the other two have a midrange hump.