I didn't like mine. It had a nasally, midrange hump that just wouldn't go away.

Price tag is what has kept me away..is it really that special....why hasnt someone Kloned it....???

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Originally posted by Spencer:
I didn't like mine. It had a nasally, midrange hump that just wouldn't go away.

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Yup, as an OD, IMO, it sucked. As a clean boost? Big deal. Overrated and overpriced.
Did Jimi, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Beck need a Klon?
Point me to a "Klon-tone" that's as trademark as any of those guy's tones.

Sorry, folks! The Klon is one excellent pedal, but it's not an overdrive. I don't care what anyone says, the sound is lousy. But for the clean boost thing, I love it. I keep the gain ALL the way down, all the time. It's just not a usable control. Using the output and tone knobs makes this pedal a winner (and it has been for what, 5 years?), but its OD capabilities are nil. Boss pedals sound better for overdrive than this thing. It's a love-hate relationship; I know I could sell it and get something else that's cool, but the quality of the boost is *just* enough for me to want to keep it.

The Klon is an overdrive... It's just very picky as to what amp you're using, and how your eq is set. I've had a love and hate relationship with mine for years. I got one a year or so before all the hype started, and sold my first one for more then I bought it for. Crazy huh??? Anyways, I sold it because I had mistakenly tried to use it as my main overdrive, and could not get past the mid-range hump. I remember arguing with people on the net about whether or not I was hearing things etc... So yes if your after a straight flat od, then there are many better boxes out there. Funny enough though... ,recently a film company was selling some sound fx gear, and they had a klon for $100. So I bought it, thinking I could sell it and make a quick $100. I thought I should first try it out for old times sake however... Well... now I'm into it again. I really like using it in front of tube od's as a second gain stage for leads. I had originally used my first one for that as well, but wasn't happy with the way it sounded with the amp I was using at the time. The Klon has a subtle compression that I wouldn't like if it was my main od, but for leads, it's great. It's also great for slight break-up tones as well. I can't believe though that here it is... 6 years or so since the pedal came out, and people are still arguing about it.

Alex

sorry for being so persnickity, but isn't the pedal actually called the "Centaur" and the company is Klon? "Centaur" is a cool name for a pedal. "Klon" is a strange word that I don't know how to pronounce.

How is "Klon" pronounced? "clone" or "clonn" as in Niko singing "vuht a clonn...cuz everybody knows..."

i sincerely believe that most people that post about Klon's don't have them, and others think distortion and overdrive are the same thing! grab a TS9 and dial in your favorite tone. then grab your klon. you can dial in any tone that the TS9 has with a Klon, and then use the tone knob for a whole bunch of tones and bottom end that you can't get from a TS9. the Klon's overdrive has a midrange hump, but if you put the gain on 0, tone at 10:00 and volume at 10:00 you will notice ZERO affect in your tone. If you raise the tone knob above 10:00 (or turn up the gain) you start getting more midrange (obviously) and get the hump. I think maybe some people think that the knobs on the Klon are unity when at 12:00 like other pedals, but the "manual" even says to set those knobs to 10:00 for unity.

Do any of those guys mentioned above have a Klon tone - NO, because as an overdrive it's a TS9 clone, and as a clean boost it doesn't affect your tone (assuming you set the tone knob correctly!). But does Warren Haynes have an amazing overdrive tone? Yes. What overdrive is he using? Klon. Did those other guys use it....no, but it wasn't around yet. it's pretty unfair to say something is no good and unused because it hasn't been around long enough for your any of your childhood icons to have used it in their rigs.

Why hasn't someone cloned it - Banzai tried by having the Klon's double-pot tone knob design, but it just didn't work right. The Klon also has some crazy goop all over the board that make it hard to clone.

although not my favorite overdrive by a long shot, it's definately the most versatile overdrive i've ever owned, and i've tried all of the booteek overdrives.

one more addition - disregard anything negative about the Klon you've ever read by someone playing through a solid state amp. the thing pushes tubes to create amp overdrive, it's not going to do it by itself in your bedroom through a solid state amp.

I have to very much disagree with 1 of Roggae's stmts.. He says the Klon as an overdrive is a Tube Screamer clone.. To me that's abuot the furthest thing from the truth. My Klon as an od sounds nothing like any Tube Screamer, Fd2, Tone Pump, NObels Odr1,etc that I own or have owned.

ERIC

To be honest, I really wasn't overly impressed with the Klon when I first got it. This was early on in my re-introduction to stompboxes after several years of doing the "rack o' doom" thing ( don't miss that ). I guess I was expecting a "do it all" overdrive, which it is not. Even after I got hip to the uses of "clean boost", I didn't realize how remarkable the box was until I started carrying it out to gigs.
The term "amp-like" might be overused in describing a pedal, but I might be thinking of that phrase in a different way in reference to the Klon. For years I had been constantly making adjustments to the amp as a room changed or got weird due to filling up with people, temperature flux, volume creep, and whatnot. Now I set the amp ( usually AC30 TB w\ blues ) at the start of the night and make adjustments to the Klon as needed. This might be abstract, but I can actually "visualize" the needed changes to the knobs, make the moves, and the Klon delivers exactly the compensated sound I was looking for, without going back to the amp. I think of it as an "amp extension". As much as I love my Germ, SHO, Fatboost, etc., it's still back to the amp. The ability to so completely tailor and control my overall sound from a pedal, quickly and effectively, has made this box indispensable for me.
To the folks who wonder about the Klon in reference to TS9's, Fulldrives, etc.:
It's my opinion that this is an apples to rutabagas comparison. The Klon is not a "singing sustain" box. I set the gain between 0 and 10:00 and dial in shades with the guitar's volume knob. I seriously doubt that many people use this box for it's high gain settings. I think it is most effective in a multi- gain pedal rig, not as primary overdrive. ( I can't comment on it's effectiveness with a multi-channel amp such as a Soldano. )
I also prefer the Klon's interaction with overdrives and fuzz to that of other boosts/preamps, for precisely the reason that some people will not: It adds girth and body. I am in the minority of FDII users in that I prefer it in compressed mode, not so much for the sound, but for the way it "feels" and allows me to play. In a live setting, however, the FDII doesn't stand on it's own in compressed mode. Pushing it with the Klon adds back the balls and makes the FDII sound less like a "pedal" without losing it's "feel". I also use a '69 fuzz and sometimes stomp the Klon for leads with it as well. The FDII will probably be replaced with a Banzai Fireball and my Baby Blue OD should arrive in a few days. It should be interesting to hear how the Klon plays with those stompers.

Corleone- your 'abstract' comment makes perfect sense--- that would make it a very useful tool indeed-- usually when you have to crank your amp towards the end of the night, it changes the way the EQ and sustain would respond and can make it difficult to maintain your tone set-to-set, and since the pedal should be more stable, I can see how that would grow on you and may be the true value of a highly variable 'clean boost'.........I think a pedal or any equipment you spend a long time with that becomes part of your tone chain can get like that (more drunks- more lows)you can visualize it- literally.........or same when something is wrong-- someone stepped on my tubee screamer!!!!!!!!!!!!

Corleone...

Are you using it pre or post your fuzzes and OD's???? I've found that although it seems to love all my other gear, it kinda makes my od's sound tinny when I have it post. Basically I use it pre od's and post fuzzes. Thanks in advance for sharing any info.

Alex

Corelone is exactly right. You use the Klon as an extension of your amp. Don't expect it to be some cheesy sounding box that you just stomp on. The gain knob should not be read as "drive" or "distortion". It acts more like a tone control. If you have an ear, you can always dial in the Klon for a good sound - and I'll argue, even with the gain past 12 o'clock.

The Klon was designed on the principle that you get distortion from your amp, not from the box. However, this is not to say that you can't get tone and feel out of the box. The Klon is great at shaping tone and giving you the feel that your amp is right in the sweet spot, all the time. Simply put, the Klon makes your guitar and amp sound better by giving you broader tonal options than just your guitar and amp alone.

How are you using your Klon?

If you're using it into a slightly overdriven tube amp (the Klon loves Fenders) and are using it to push the amp over the top, it kills! The mid hump allows the tone to cut through the band without getting lost in the mix.

If you're using it as your primary overdrive into a clean amp you're probably going to be dissapointed. There the mid hump can sound kind of glaring, and it really doesn;t have a whole lot of gain on tap.

Bill Finnegan (sp?) will talk at length with you before ordering one to make sure it will work well in your situation. If you wanna make a Silver Face twin with JBLs set at 3 sing like a Boogie on 10, you'll be dissapointed. But if you want to push your Black Face Deluxe into a blues/rock heaven it could be just the ticket.

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Originally posted by Trebor Renkluaf:
How are you using your Klon?

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I use my Klon every which way and always with a Fender on the verge of breakup. The gain is usually set between 9 and 2 o'clock, tone between 10 and 2 o'clock, volume between 10 and 12 o'clock. It all depends on what guitar I'm using, what pickup, what type of song. After a while, you just get to know the Klon and you tweak it according to whatever the situation calls for. It really is like having an amp's controls at your feet.

I always use the guitar's volume control, but if I need a more drastic lead boost, I use a Super Hardon placed after the Klon. At the end of my chain I use a little compression to keep everything within the mix.

Ironically, I don't have any real overdrive or distortion pedal. I'm looking for one because I would like to have a cruncher tone at my disposal. Probably a good TS9/808 type pedal would suit me.

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Originally posted by Alex Oropeza:
Corleone...

Are you using it pre or post your fuzzes and OD's???? I've found that although it seems to love all my other gear, it kinda makes my od's sound tinny when I have it post. Basically I use it pre od's and post fuzzes. Thanks in advance for sharing any info.

Alex

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Hey Alex,

Ditto. I definitely prefer boost before OD and the Klon is no exception.

Since the Klon is buffered and not true bypass, my '69 germanium really wants to sit in front of, not after, the Klon.

Some guys prefer OD before fuzz, but this is the way the puzzle fits together for me, currently:

'69 > Klon > FDII

The Baby Blue OD should arrive any day now, and there's a seat reserved for it after the FDII, but I'd be interested to hear some opinions about placement of the BB OD in the chain.

This stuff is SO subjective, don't ya think?

Corleone, Try the Baby Blue in front of the 69, I've had great results with it in front of the London Fuzz. And with the 69 being lower in the gain dept. you could push it for added sustain and fatness which the 69 tends to lack. Good luck!

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Originally posted by Dean:
Corleone, Try the Baby Blue in front of the 69, I've had great results with it in front of the London Fuzz. And with the 69 being lower in the gain dept. you could push it for added sustain and fatness which the 69 tends to lack. Good luck!

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Ya know, Dean, I had a feelin' somebody might suggest that... Guess I'll pre-cut some George L's for that route as well and give 'er a spin. All that's missin' is the BB OD....

Much appreciated.
-C

It is very subjective

Currently, I'm using the Klon post a Fox Tone Machine, an pre a Tonebone Classic Distortion. I really like the weird feedback and distortion I get from od'ing a tube overdrive with a Klon. It does wonders with a tubester!!! Funny enough my Klon just died on me... Going to call Bill Finegan this morning and see how I can get it fixed.

PS To correct my last post, I remember now that I actually traded my first Klon for a Fuzz Factory... and realized afterwards that I could have sold it for more. I think the guy I traded my Klon to was the one who actually made a profit. So many pedal trades... hard to keep 'em straight.

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Originally posted by Alex Oropeza:
Funny enough my Klon just died on me... Going to call Bill Finegan this morning and see how I can get it fixed.

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My Klon got damaged by the airline on my way to SXSW. The pots got smashed and were completely inoperable. I still used the Klon to play my gigs without gain, tone or volume control. That's how good the Klon is...and, yes, I got lucky the pots broke on a good setting.

Anyway, Bill had my Klon fixed and back to me with in a week of sending it off to him. I was very pleased with the service.