What makes a Klon so different than a standard TS9?

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harddriver

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As the topic subject states. What are the characteristics of a Klon overdrive? I have heard some good Klon clips and some not so good. The good ones make me want to try a Ceriatone Centura.

So what IC chip is being used in the Klons? They looked like Texas instrument chips not the usual 4558D IC chips used in the standard TS9. The prices on original Klons are crazy, like $2000.00. I see the Klon KTR's are around $300.00 the Ceriatones are $259.00. Alot of reviews say the Ceriatone is as close as a clone can get tonewise.

I liked the Airis Savage drive that I had, it was running a HI-FI Burr Brown 4558 chip for transparency attributes I assume. I also like my standard Maxon OD808 and SRB o808 that has SD-1,TS9, no diode options.

Is the Klon really worth it to try? Anyone ran a Klon against a standard TS-9 or OD808, what were your thoughts?
 
I don't know exactly what the circuit differences are and depending on what type of music you play, you might have a different experience but I found that to boost a distorted amp (to play heavy metal) I much preferred my Maxon OD808. I had a Klon Archer Gold (has very good reviews as a Klone) and sold it promptly. I think it is best used as an overdrive on a clean amp or slight boost for mid gain stuff but for high gain metal riffing, the Maxon was way better.
 
The ARC Effects Klone is supposed to be an authentic "part for part" replica... I have never tried one. I tried the Archer and it sounded ok I guess.. no big deal for me.. I went back to my SD1. I would wait and pick one up used in case you need to off load it quickly
 
I don't think they are worth 2k.. that's insane. Lots of good clones out there, some obviously closer than the others. That's why they can differ so much in the experience player to player. You might just be better off getting a more neutral sounding TS variant if you don't like the cut in bass and pushed mids. For what it is worth, I just picked up a Mojo sacred Cow overdrive which is based on the Klon and I like what it does for my JCM800. It is flatter than the standard TS type pedal and it is juicy and crunchy as hell. It's great. I still keep my Cusak screamer (another good cruncher ) or TS-808 handy and I love my OD-1 clone for trash tones.

Bottom line, what are you looking for? More cut? Tighter? If you are looking for a flatter response and a juicy feel, I think a Klon type pedal will do it for you. If not, stay in the TS vein. Plenty tweakable ones to choose from. Remember also that not all Klon variants are the same. Some are loosely based on the original and they will push the mids or highs more.(like the EHX soul food)
 
I'm curious about the Klon more than anything.... :yes:

I thought the Airis Savage drive was very transparent and sounded good but I was wanting more of a Pantera type tone out of it but I found the only way to get it was to build an actual Dime rig. As far as overdrives go I am pretty happy with what I have. The Maxon O808 seems to have a flatter response with more low end versus a standard TS9 which i like.

I'm more of a hard rock guy, for my metal Pantera stuff I've built an actual Dime rig so I don't need that.

Psychodaves clip of the Ceriatone Klon into a 2203 sounded pretty good and kind of caught my ear...enough for me to consider it.
 
IIRC the unique thing about the Klon is that it splits the signal and clips the frequency ranges separately before recombining them. Been a while since I looked at that stuff though. The hype was never using it as a boost for high gain though. That and a lot of guys liked the buffer in the pedal.
 
Ive only played clones, and for a year or so had a soul food, that is boosted my jcm800’s with. I really liked it in front of the marshalls cause it seemed like a fatter boost than my maxons, and i would actually use some of the gain from the pedal to sweeten solos more. I had both on my pedal board, and would switch to the soul food for solos. Even with the treble up it seemed like a rounder/smoother boost to me.
 
harddriver":8g0xp456 said:
I'm curious about the Klon more than anything.... :yes:

I thought the Airis Savage drive was very transparent and sounded good but I was wanting more of a Pantera type tone out of it but I found the only way to get it was to build an actual Dime rig. As far as overdrives go I am pretty happy with what I have. The Maxon O808 seems to have a flatter response with more low end versus a standard TS9 which i like.

I'm more of a hard rock guy, for my metal Pantera stuff I've built an actual Dime rig so I don't need that.

Psychodaves clip of the Ceriatone Klon into a 2203 sounded pretty good and kind of caught my ear...enough for me to consider it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the one that caught my attention too and I remember asking him what klon he was using. It wasn't a 2k Klon, I am pretty sure that was a clone or more cost effective version of that pedal. (did he answer that it was a ceriatone?) That's why I went and found one too. Cost me under 200$. Totally reasonable for giving it a shot. Then again, psychodave playing a Cusak screamer into his Marshall convinced me to buy that and try that one too! Wasn't sold on it at first but after a few weeks I must have found a sweet spot because I love it now. It's good to have options but everyone has a tone preference and no matter what you buy, you will dial it in very similarly.
 
Dave’s is a CERIATONE Centaura, it was a kit version he built himself.
 
Only played Klones, and I've tried a bunch.
My take is that the "Klon" type pedals don't really have a built in EQ curve. No bass cut, no mid push, just a "more" boost, like a second higher gain version of what you already have dialed up on your amp.
They also tend to have a pretty good sounding distortion if you turn up the drive knob, and they mostly all have buffered bypass, as the buffer in the original Klon was considered part of the sound.
My faves so far have been the Rimrock Effects Mythical Overdrive, and if you need a smaller format, the Wampler Tumnus.
Both are killer Klones.
Howerver, I would caution that these type of pedals sound best pushing lower gain amps like a Bassman, JTM45 or Plexi, and don't provide the tight boost needed for playing Metal or Thrash into amps like a Recto or 5150 etc...
For example, the Mythical Overdrive into the rhythm channel of my Wizard MCII is a fantastic tone.
For boosting the BE100 or VH4, I prefer an SD1 or similar
 
The Tube Screamer blends the clean signal with the overdriven signal as well.
 
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