Ceriatone Centura vs. Klon Centaur vs. Klon KTR: TEST UPLOADED P2

[BTL]

That was fun! All sound good to me and because I like more chime in my guitar tone, I think I'd probably pick the stock Ceriatone.

[windmill]

Excellent video

Thanks for posting it.

[rumfoord]

Really nicely done. Wonderfully set up—thank you!

I watched it through once but didn't skip around. I watched it before I read your interpretation, and agree completely. I was also only listening on a laptop, but I agree that the ITT-Centura was closest (possibly still different, but within variance of cognitive-bias) and that it sounded much closer than the KTR. I didn't skip the video to try to listen closely back-to-back between the KTR and the stock Centura, but my impression was that the stock Centura was closer to the KTR than to the Silver Centaur.

[øøøøøøø]

My impression in real time was that the Centura in stock trim was darker and less-distorted, and the KTR was brighter and more-distorted… the two ends of a spectrum

The difference between KTR and original Centaur could have been down to pot tolerances…. or it’s hard not to wonder whether the SMT TL072 clips a bit differently than the larger through-hole part

With such a small sample size it’s hard to conclude that the KTRs as a population sound different from the population of original Klons. It could just be variations in tolerance

[gishuk]

I cant hear any noticeable difference between the Klon and the modded Centura at all.

Don't think I'll mod mine as I like it how it is, but thats really nailed the Klon tone with those ITT diodes, which is kind of remarkable.

[Jaguar018]

I cant hear any noticeable difference between the Klon and the modded Centura at all.

Don't think I'll mod mine as I like it how it is, but thats really nailed the Klon tone with those ITT diodes, which is kind of remarkable.

Considering the number of Klon clones out there I am not sure I’d call it remarkable. I think it’s quite cool that a parts swap at those settings made that particular noticeable difference.

When I first got a silver Klon it was the first time I was genuinely excited by an overdrive pedal sound.

If I was in some blind test I would struggle to identify the ‘Klon’ overdrive sound vs. tubescreamers vs. DODs vs. Boss. I’d be even worse with Klon vs clones.

[øøøøøøø]

Maybe remarkably lucky that the NOS diodes I randomly bought were a closer match for my original Klon than the (NOS-seeming?) diodes that Ceriatone (presumably) selected carefully and with intent.

[DrQuasar]

The differences were pretty subtle to me and I almost have no idea how to describe the nuances. I would say the KTR and ITT are closer to the Klon than the stock Ceriatone but it's so close and because the KTR looks different my instinct was to expect it to sound different. I had to look at the labels then close my eyes.

I'm not sure I could hear that much of a difference between the KTR and the Klon except for maybe the KTR seemed more distorted or gainy/crunchy or I don't know how to describe it. I think it has something to do with compression but I don't know whether it's more or less.

The stock Ceriatone sounded darker, I think. At least it seemed like the bottom end was slightly fatter. I actually really liked it on its own, maybe better than the other 3.

In a band context, I'm wondering if having that slightly more bottom end would make a difference in how the guitar was cutting through in the mix? Without the immediate comparison, I doubt I'd be able to tell any difference between these 4. I couldn't really tell a difference between any of them on the higher notes.

[JVG]

Agree with the consensus regarding the closest to the Klon here. My favourite sound (admittedly listening through PC speakers) was actually the stock Ceriatone.

A well thought-out and presented experiment.

[marqueemoon]

I agree. For that particular sound The ITT diode Centura gets *very* close.

[øøøøøøø]

Used ITT-equipped Centura “in the field” last night/over the last few days (on a gig where I’d been using the Klon every time since 2019)

A rehearsal day in a Nashville studio I’ve worked in countless times, a soundcheck, and a 75 minute set (in a new venue).

Verdict from me is that it felt pretty much like using the real Klon. I wouldn’t have noticed had it been swapped in blind. It did what I needed it to do.

It’s velcroed onto the board now and I’m probably not going back