Talk me out of buying a Klone, please!

[Jaguar018]

Late to the party.

I too had a silver Klon, and currently have a KTR on my board. Since its main use is to juice amps a bit and add some dirt to taste, it's relatively impossible to sound "generic" with it. I mean... it just makes YOUR amp and guitar sound better; unless you already sound generic it shouldn't be a problem.

I could not tell much of a difference between the KTR and the Klon. The price on the Klons started to freak me out a little and I got off that train.

[øøøøøøø]

Just to address the issue of confirmation bias:

Yes, its absolutely a real thing. It's important to remember, too, that it works both directions.

Someone who has an original Klon has a vested interest in believing it's actually better (and therefore worth all that money)

Someone who has a copy of a Klon likewise has a vested interest in believing that it's "basically the same thing" and that "nobody could tell any difference in a live situation" (therefore they're not missing out on anything by saving money).

There's really no such thing as an unbiased opinion, because there are very few scenarios when someone both has enough firsthand experience/knowledge about the subject matter at hand and simultaneously doesn't have any preference about the outcome whatsoever. Best we can do is just try to be aware of the potential for bias and check in with ourselves in a critical way.

[fuzzjunkie]

I will talk you out of a Klon and talk you into buying a different expensive pedal instead!

I used to use a zVex Super Duper pedal for a consistent edge of breakup tone. I could add Boost when I needed it and it added a bit of dynamics and chime. Then I got a Rat, an older big box one, and really liked it as an edge of breakup overdrive. Not so much as a distortion, but I digress. I got a zVex SHO for that chimey boost and ditched the Super Duper. Yep, more real estate and another battery. I was going backwards while moving forwards.

Now a Klon sounds like a great solution to my problem, but I had tried them. Friends had Gold horsies and Silver boxies and I even tried an Archer on for size. They all sounded fine, although the buffer did give me problems with some/one of my vintage fuzz. I wanted something with that “massage my tone” quality but more versatile.

I ended up with a Throbak Overdrive:Boost. I like this pedal so much that I rebuilt my whole board around it. It does everything I wanted a Klon to do and more. The “and more” part is why I didn’t settle on a Klon or a klone. There are some comparisons of it to the Klon if you want to search, but after experiencing both I am happy with my choice. I can use it as a foundation tone and switch on a boost to that. The tone controls are very interactive and give me more tone shaping possibilities, and I can turn it into a late 60s-early 70s fuzztone if I want to push it. It’s very dynamic, as it’s basically a fuzz face with a dual tone section hacked into the middle.

It’s a clone of the old Colorsound Powerboost with some tweaks and modernizing, but the most important is the master volume. The originals didn’t have that and were difficult to control and some of the other clones/copies that do don’t have the other tweaks that make this pedal what it is. It’s a $300 pedal, so KTR and Centauri territory for sure, but like I said, it does more, if you need that.

[apreswho]

oh, i want to bring up another problem with most klones ive tried. as mentioned on here a lot. i lean towards the neck pickup more than the bridge. for some reason, most dont sound as good if you use bassier guitars.

This is exactly my only issue with the klone circuit as i've experienced it. I love the character of the breakup but the circuit has this sort of lower-mid range bump that is a bit boxy and honky if you've got a more bassy instrument or are on the neck pickup, which is what I prefer.

Conversely, i find that particular EQ quick to be nicely balancing if you tend to play on the bridge pickup.

Seems like there are tons of great klones on the market these days, but i cant say enough good things about Aaron at ARC effects. Everything is great build quality as well as sound quality, and if you've got any questions or anything things you're specifically looking for in a pedal, Aaron can likely make it happen or explain why it cannot. basically hes a circuit wizard.

[øøøøøøø]

Interestingly counter to the above consensus:

I use my Centaur (and KTR) on neck pickups often, including humbuckers and P90s, including on hollow and semi-hollow guitars, in all manner of professional ensemble contexts.

It's an incredibly flexible pedal, to me. And this is without cranking the treble knob clockwise (which also works great). That treble knob... after ten years of ownership I'm just really beginning to tap its potential.

Again, YMMV, but it's a great pedal. I don't perceive the limitations that others seem to. It really just underscores that you gotta try shit out for yourself to know whether it will work for you

[JVG]

...today I scored a pretty good deal on a Marshall Origin.

Hell yes! Which one did you get? How do you like it?

I picked up an OR20 a few months back and I LOVE it. Perfect for just that little bit of Marshall sound that I crave. And by "little bit", I mean, lower wattage and not having to store a half stack

I actually haven't received it yet - literally purchased yesterday. Got the 20W (combo). Glad to hear you like yours - I'm pretty pumped! I've always wanted another Marshall...I've still got a '75 Super Lead stored away, but never have the reason to use such a stupidly loud amp these days (unfortunately!)

I will talk you out of a Klon and talk you into buying a different expensive pedal instead!

Funny you should say that. Many is the time I've eyed-off the Throbak overdrive Boost you speak of. It seems to be one of those slightly enigmatic pedals that doesn't quite fit any category....based on a Colorsound, yet much more. Maybe it's time for another look

J.

[popvulture]

I have an original silver Klon (non Horsey) that I bought from Bill Finnegan way back in the day at "normal" price, when even back then was a bit nuts. I've also owned a KTR but sold it... I didn't particularly think it sounded that great. It wasn't bad, just wasn't as good as the original, and I there were just other things I wanted to put the money towards instead.

The Klon is an exceptional overdrive, but so much of it is hype. I've held onto mine just for nostalgia's sake, and for the fact that if I sold it I'd likely never own another one again. That said, it lives in my closet—I use any number of "open," "transparent," or however people like to describe drives that are more broad vs mid-focused like a Tube Screamer.

My current fave, which has been for some time, is a Smallsound/Bigsound Mini. HUGE range of sounds with the bias knob, absolutely fantastic eq, sounds great on all gain settings from low to high. I'd also highly, highly recommend the new ProAnalog Manticore V2. I almost bought one because it sounds so damn good but ultimately just decided to slap back the GAS and stick with the Mini. It was a hard decision, though!

Each of those has more tweakability than the Klon, and FWIW I believe the Manticore started as a Klon clone but has since evolved into more of its own thing.

[Shadoweclipse13]

I didn't particularly think it sounded that great.

I don't know if anyone else has that issue, but I sometimes find myself having a negative confirmation bias if something is expensive. Like, comparing the Catalinbread Echorec (which I loved) to the Dawner Prince Boonar (which sounded good, but was more expensive): I remember feeling that the Boonar didn't sound worth that price. I've done that with a few pedals; I want to like them, but they never sound as good as the high price makes you think they should.

[Shadoweclipse13]

I actually haven't received it yet - literally purchased yesterday. Got the 20W (combo). Glad to hear you like yours - I'm pretty pumped! I've always wanted another Marshall...I've still got a '75 Super Lead stored away, but never have the reason to use such a stupidly loud amp these days (unfortunately!)

I hope you'll like it. I can't imagine it'll be able to beat a mid '70's head I've also never owned a Marshall before, and I wanted that sound, but I think the 20W combo (10" speaker I think) is just killer. My favorite feature, and honestly what sold it for me, is the tilt control. It's very handy, and used with the EQ, you can get a ton of tones out of it. If the Marshall-only was my sound, I'd go grab a second one.

Also kinda related... The day I bought the OR20, I also picked up an EQD Westwood. It's labelled as a "transparent overdrive" and sounded killer through the Marshall.

[tele_pathic]

I won’t talk you out of it!!! BUT try/listen to the demos of the Idiotbox Han Solo. It’s pretty fantastic! And a great Klon clone!

[Shadoweclipse13]

I won’t talk you out of it!!! BUT try/listen to the demos of the Idiotbox Han Solo. It’s pretty fantastic! And a great Klon clone!

The Han-Taun! He makes the coolest effect names and graphics

[kgbAttack]

I watched the video in which Bill Finnegan compares the 3 Klons, they sound all pretty similar to me, but that might be just my ear. KTR seems a great choice. The new price for the Ryra clone is about 25% less than the KTR, at that point it might be worth going for the original brand, unless you want the pedal to do more.

[øøøøøøø]

I only REALLY know how useful/suitable a new piece of equipment is after I've used it for awhile. It's very easy to be seduced by things you'd imagine will work well... or to overlook seemingly-insignificant traits that turn out to matter a lot.
er.

[Sid Nitzerglobin]

If you play any kind of quasi-tasteful "lead" guitar or at least need tasteful toanz I highly recommend. Also good if you have a sterile sounding amp. It's one of those pieces of gear that adds an air of legitimacy to the sound.

I like to use it to just give a touch of technicolor to a basically-clean sound, and/or to blow up the front of a good tube amp. I use less and less of the pedal's own distortion... the spot on the gain knob where "it doesn't go above this point" is creeping lower and lower for me as time goes by! (some exceptions apply)

These pretty much describe my feelings about the "boutique" Klones I've had (ARC Effects v2, Tumnus, Archer Ikon and Rockaway Archer). The Rockaway Archer and the Ikon were the best sounding dirtier to me but even then they are more enhancing the guitar's dimension and bite and goosing the amps rather than really adding much clipping inside the pedal. They all seem to serve as a great boost for the Marshall-y/Vox-y/Orange amps to my ears and seem to add dimension and sparkle when pulling back on the picking/volume and an enhanced crunch when digging in and/or diming the guitar.

Alternative characters w/ the same kind of approach to overdrive that I've come to really love for much the same purpose come from the Barbershop/Modele B from Fairfield Circuitry and the Atomic/Mystery Brain from Nocturne.

[JVG]

i wouldn't make any decision about gear (positive or negative) from demonstration/shootout videos on the internet.

In truth, I don't even think it's smart to make decisions based on in-person shootouts, if you can help it. It just doesn't tell you very much; it's an extremely unnatural context

I only REALLY know how useful/suitable a new piece of equipment is after I've used it for awhile. It's very easy to be seduced by things you'd imagine will work well... or to overlook seemingly-insignificant traits that turn out to matter a lot.

After a TON of experience, your predictive ability gets better, but the only way I REALLY know (to this day) is after I've done a tour with something. Until then, it's all academic/hypothetical. You can tell whether a piece of equipment is "high quality" just as sure as you can tell whether an ingredient from the market is "high quality." But whether that high quality ingredient works within the context of what you're cooking is an entirely different matter.

Solid advice! Like many of you, I've learnt the hard way about trusting YouTube videos and reviews. They can be helpful, for sure, but these days I never base a purchasing decision on them. If I don't have access to actually trying an item, I do read reviews, but apply some basic statistical analysis by disregarding the extreme ones (whether they be gushing praise or cursing the crapness of the item), and think about where the peak of the bell curve lies. Still, that doesn't always lead to a good result, since individual tastes are....individual.

By the way, you sound waaaay too sensible to be a musician

J.