Disappointing NPD: Rimrock Mythical

[braintheory]

I got my Rimrock Mythical today, compared it for a while side by side with my real Klon Centaur (silver no horse) and honestly I’m disappointed. It sounds like a toy in comparison. Sounds comparatively a lot more congested, more compressed, filtered/inorganic/pedal-like/almost like hearing a recording of a Klon, nowhere near the level of nuance, detail, 3D or articulation of the real thing. It’s like comparing the JP2C to a real IIC+ or premium fresh squeezed OJ to one from concentrate. Especially if you play leads with long held notes and listen to the vibratos, it’s just pathetic how it compared to the tonal complexity of the real thing when you hear the way the notes ring out and develop. It is also darker than the real deal, which I’m ok with, just had to have it’s tone up a little higher. The the only positives it has to me over the real thing is that it is a lot less noisy and it has more growl, quite a bit more actually. Klon’s are smooth sounding pedals and always wished they had more growl, so I like that, but the VFE Merman I sold recently (another Klon style pedal) did that better and was more open and less processed/pedal-like sounding. I already have mine up on reverb. I remember the Ryra and Mjolnir sounding closer to my real Klon when compared, but it has been a few years now, so possibly I’d hear it differently now, but I would recommend those instead. If you’ve never played a Klon, ktr, or VFE merman, this will probably come off still as a very good sounding pedal and like the real Klon, it can get along well with a lot of amps, but once you hear next the real thing, it’s just no contest unfortunately. I will never say the klons are at all worth their beyond insane prices (I got mine years ago now), but it really has been for my taste the best boost pedal I’ve tried and have only kept 3 others of the 140+ I’ve been through: Thorpy Heavy Water, Protone Dino Cazares for more modern, tight tones and Coppersound Broadway

 

[japetus]

 

[scottosan]

To each their own. The MO is not a 1:1 clone. There are 16 component value changes which I personal like better than the real thing.

 

[braintheory]

To each their own. The MO is not a 1:1 clone. There are 16 component value changes which I personal like better than the real thing.

I'm not too knowledgeable with tech stuff, especially pedals, so can only go with what my ears tell me. It definitely has more growl than the real thing, which I liked, but to me sounds so sterile and congested comparatively, nowhere near the same level of detail and clarity, especially for melodic type leads. I respect it and don't mind it being not a 1:1 clone, but imo the Merman sounded better than this MO. The thing I tend to dislike most in pedals is when they sound like pedals lol or filtered if that makes sense. The Klon and Thorpy Heavy Water are among the few I've had that don't to my ears and are more like an extension of the amp. Just my opinion

I found also with my '67 Tremolo in particular, any other boost pedal I've used with it makes the amp sound cheaper and takes away from its gorgeous organic tone. My Klon is the only boost pedal I've tried that actually didn't do that and compromise the quality of its tone like my other pedals. With my non-vintage amps, that sound more on the sterile side, my other pedals can still sound great with them and not cheapen the tone, but the more toneful amps I've got tend to really be picky and exposing of those qualities of the pedals

 

[Beyond Black]

Mine came yesterday and I’m really diggin it. It’s very aggressive and does have some nice growl to it. I’ve never heard a Klon in person so I cant compare.

 

[Luca79]

Buy a Decibelic, is 1:1 klone. You can have it mini or big like the original.
As pure boost i prefer the Heavy Water for the feeling, but it have some extra highs/brittle to deal with. I wish it was a bit more warm...
The MK 4.23 is another nice boost.

 

[braintheory]

Buy a Decibelic, is 1:1 klone. You can have it mini or big like the original.
As pure boost i prefer the Heavy Water for the feeling, but it have some extra highs/brittle to deal with. I wish it was a bit more warm...
The MK 4.23 is another nice boost.

I will look into the Decibelic and MK 4.23. I don’t hear at all any brittle highs with my Heavy Water and I’m pretty sensitive to that stuff. I feel it’s one of the warmest sounding boosts I’ve had, but maybe we just have different semantics for describing tone. Modern pedals like my Protone Dino Cazares can have brittle highs, but my heavy water no way

 

[braintheory]

Mine came yesterday and I’m really diggin it. It’s very aggressive and does have some nice growl to it. I’ve never heard a Klon in person so I cant compare.

Definitely has that growl unlike the real Klon and works very well with the Naylor. Don’t get me wrong, compared to most boosts I've tried it sounds very good, but my Klon honestly smokes it by a long shot, but it’s done that for many many other pedals, including some that were worth up to $700. I paid $1550 for my Klon, but it sent packing over the years way more than $1550 worth of pedals I had. I wish I bought more in retrospect given their current prices, but even $1550 at the time felt crazy to me to spend, but once I heard it next to the ktr I had and a few others clones I couldn’t resist. I knew I needed one. I consider my other pedals to also be not in the same league as the Klon, but it’s more apples vs Oranges with them since they have other cool qualities about them

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

I was looking to get a Ryra Klone.

Is it close to the real deal? Or is it a tweaked clone like the Rimrock and the Wampler Tumnus?

 

[braintheory]

I was looking to get a Ryra Klone.

Is it close to the real deal? Or is it a tweaked clone like the Rimrock and the Wampler Tumnus?

The Wampler Tumnus sounded awful to me, but I don’t like the way any of their pedals sound. I don’t know technical stuff like if it was tweaked or a true clone, but the Ryra and Mjolnir were the 2 closest to sounding like the real deal when I AB’ed them. Ryra i remember being closer, but didn’t have the Ryra and Mjolnir at the same time. They had the same overall voicing, eq curve and stuff, but just not that 3D, organic, vocal thing that makes the Klon magical and the real reason why I feel it’s so superior to other pedals. They didn’t have the “it” factor of the real deal. As I mentioned before it’s like comparing fresh squeezed to concentrate oj. Same flavor, not the same level of quality. My 2nd favorite boost pedal I’ve tried for what it’s worth was a friend’s vintage Tubescreamer that I got to borrow. Different flavor of course than a Klon, but also had that really organic, inspiring tone. Also had it’s own “it” factor for lack of a better word. I’ll look into the Decibel that was mentioned before, but after that will probably just give up on trying other Klon clones. I’ve tried so many already and they were all let downs for me

Also just to clarify, the red ktr reissue is not the real deal. Good sounding pedal sure, but sounded brittle and sterile next an actual centaur

 

[Luca79]

I will look into the Decibelic and MK 4.23. I don’t hear at all any brittle highs with my Heavy Water and I’m pretty sensitive to that stuff. I feel it’s one of the warmest sounding boosts I’ve had, but maybe we just have different semantics for describing tone. Modern pedals like my Protone Dino Cazares can have brittle highs, but my heavy water no way

Maybe have to do with the amp input impedance; i use modern amps. I set the bass know at noon or more.

 

[Shask]

Maybe have to do with the amp input impedance; i use modern amps. I set the bass know at noon or more.

I have been building a lot of clone drive pedals lately, and I think there is something major in feel and feeling flat in the pedal having input and output buffers, and being paired with other pedals and certain amps. The charge pump ics that double the voltage can have a big effect also.