Giving the Klon thing another go!

djspecialist

If you turn the gain to zero to run it as a clean(ish) boost, does the Klon(e) have a mid bump?

Wazmeister

RYRA is the best Ive tried, but @BintyTwanger77 is totally right...

The CB Brothers delivers awesome Klon tones 

slacker

djspecialist said:

If you turn the gain to zero to run it as a clean(ish) boost, does the Klon(e) have a mid bump?

I don't think so miss are added as the gain is increased. I've lost the manual but I think there was a neutral setting in it.

BintyTwanger77

rico said:

BintyTwanger77 said:

The CB Brothers does the Klon thing so so well.

I just looked at their website. Their demo is possibly the shittiest thing I have heard.

£350 is far too much for a pedal too, in my opinion of course.

The demo is no reflection of how it sounds in the room, it sounds fantastic. Also, you essentially get six pedals in one (JFet Boost/Drive/Fuzz and IC Boost/Drive/Fuzz) and the can be used on their own, stacked in either direction or used in parallel...

Yes, £350 is a LOT of ££ for a pedal, but it has huge versatility.

Cirrus

djspecialist said:

If you turn the gain to zero to run it as a clean(ish) boost, does the Klon(e) have a mid bump?

I've only tried clones, but IMO yes when set clean, slight low mid boost. But the bigger effect is the bass tightens up and that might be perceived as a mid boost, meanwhile the treble will do whatever you tell the treble knob to do.

juansolo

In eq terms the Klon cuts some lower frequencies (that's the tightness) and is mid-focused. Like a Tube Screamer. Though probably not quite to the same extent. Plots: http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=16207.60 (third post down).

fretfinder

crunchman said: Interesting what you say about TS pedals.  They do need that mid hump.  Something like the FD2 in flat mids mode does tend to lack character and disappear.

Each to their own of course but I love the FD2 in fm mode, and think it cuts through really well. In my experience if any OD pedal is disappearing in the mix it's normally because the gain is too high.

Adam_MD

PhilKing said:

I have an original Klon, which a friend used to fine tune some clones (@juansolo), ;

Ah that would be the gold klon he matched his Klones against.  That cap value change sounds epic in a klon I've built a few now and they always sound better with that cap changed for 8n2.  

rico

I have been playing with my new Mythical Overdrive from @4114Effects and I have to say I absolutely get it. It definitely confirms my thoughts that the RYRA Klone I had was broken. 

I have the gain at 2 o'clock, level at 10 o'clock and the treble just after 12 o'clock and it sounds excellent on its own as a low gain drive. Stacked into an OCD or bluesbreaker it sounds great - very different but great. It tightens and focusses the OCD and I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I do. Fed with a Koko boost it is a huge sound.

It is a keeper for sure. The attack and mid focus is very enjoyable.

djspecialist

@rico which guitar + amp do you use with that signal chain?

PolarityMan

Klons are such amazing value for money

rico

djspecialist said:

@rico which guitar + amp do you use with that signal chain?

That was with my Tele into a JMP 2204 

Dan_Halen

slacker said:

crunchman said:

rico said:

Interesting comments, thanks. What would say the limitations are @crunchman @slacker ?

That tone bakery pedal looks awesome and incredible value if the prices on Reverb are to be trusted! @ChuckManual ;;;

It's great for low gain stuff.  I did find the mid hump could be a bit overpowering some of the time.  At the time I preferred the Lazy J Cruiser, which was a bit more transparent and had flatter mids.  I evenutally ended up selling the Cruiser as well as it had no tone control, and had slightly too much high end for my liking.  I've currently got a Thorpy Peacekeeper, which is also really good, but I'm actually wondering if I didn't prefer the Klon.

I need to play with the Peacekeeper a bit more though.  It seems to work better with one of my amps than it does with the other.  I think pedal/amp combinations are important.  Some pedals definitely seem to work better with some amps than others.

Watching the That Pedal Show episode on Klones, I was very impressed by the Wampler Tumnus.  It seemed to have a bit more low end than the others.  I am tempted by that.

The Klon has two circuits. With the gain on minimum it's a clean boost with a relatively flat eq. As the gain is increased the overdrive circuit adds mids as well as gain. This causes the great low gain/overpowering mids issue that crunchman mentions. 

So the common criticism of the Klone/Klone is a ok/great clean boost and a poor overdrive. IMHO this when it's used solo with a clean amp ie bedroom scenario. 

If you use the pedal with an amp working fairly hard in a band mix (either recording a low power amp or live with a real one) the Klon works with the amp and enhances the mids to cut through a mix. It does it unlike no other overdrive. The TS pedals have a different eq. The flatter ones can 'mush' out with a band. 

If you want a pedal that sounds great solo/bedroom IMHO get the Friedman. If you want to cut through a live band get the Klon(e). 

All IMHO

THIS!! This absolutely hits the nail on the head. Klon works best into an amp that's already cooking and then it sounds wonderful - or at least to my ears. If I'm at rehearsal or gig volume (which is loud with my 10 piece band), my amp, even if still fairly clean, is running open and loud and the power section is really working. When the Klon hits it something great happens. I got a KTR to see what all the fuss was about and love it.

Is it the most versatile? Doesn't really bother me because I'll always have live 3/4 drives or boosts to use or stack rather than tweak on the fly. If I want a different sound then I'll use a different pedal. Is it my favourite? It's one of them. Have I got other pedals that I like just as much for other sounds? Absolutely. However, the Klon has it's own vibe that I really like.

FastEddie

I've got a sliver Klon and have never liked it. It is good for one thing, clean boost with a really light sprinkling of hair. Much prefer My Red Box. I've had the email telling me I can order my KOT. Looking forward to that. 

Interestingly, people tell me the klon and Les Paul sound great but to my ears they are not right...

Jimbro66

stickyfiddle said:

Rockett Archer for me at the moment. I put it in front of all my other drives, set just a hair beyond clean and used whenever I want to push the front end of another pedal, or just the amp itself....

That's exactly how I use my Tumnus. That works well with single coils and Filtertrons where the Tumnus also fattens out the lower frequencies quite nicely for a full tone. However, I find that's just too much with the ES-335 so for that I use a J Rocket Blue Note instead of the Tumnus. Both always only used at low gain settings. For higher gain I use a MP Simble and Hermida Unimos.

paulphoenix

Jimbro66 said:

stickyfiddle said:

Rockett Archer for me at the moment. I put it in front of all my other drives, set just a hair beyond clean and used whenever I want to push the front end of another pedal, or just the amp itself....

That's exactly how I use my Tumnus. That works well with single coils and Filtertrons where the Tumnus also fattens out the lower frequencies quite nicely for a full tone. However, I find that's just too much with the ES-335 so for that I use a J Rocket Blue Note instead of the Tumnus. Both always only used at low gain settings. For higher gain I use a MP Simble and Hermida Unimos.

Tumnus will be my next purchase to replace a tone city bad horse (great micro klone btw) which I use the same as described above with great results. It worked well at the end of my dirt section too but I prefer the klone pre dirt and a Timmy after od and distortions 

I recently parted ways with my unimos in favour of a more British flavoured gain - I bought first a MK1 guv’nor then a V2 angry Charlie and I’m now very happy with my high gain sound.