Klon clones....

Barnezy

lasermonkey said:

All you need to do is find out which clones are identical component-wise clones to the Centaur and then base your decision on price and whether you like the enclosure or not. They'll be as identical to the original as any two random Centaurs, with any differences down to component tolerances. That's all there is to it.

Otherwise, you may prefer the sound of any modifications to the original circuit that some clones have.

It might be marketing BS, but Bill claims the clipping diodes he uses are not produced any longer and he has all the last of the globally stock of them. Look on inside a KTR and it has the words “these are critical” next to them. It is said, the reason the KTR is discontinuing is because the stock of these diodes is very low now. 

As as I said, it may all be BS but if it’s true, you can never get a circuit that is exactly the same, unless it’s from Klon. 

Wazmeister

In fairness, Id imagine the reason why the KTR is no longer being made, is that Bill is now making ‘real’ Klons again...

menamestom

The clipping diodes thing is marketing.  Most people use the Klon as a boost anyway with little or no clipping.  But even overdriven, other diodes have been tried and found to have been pretty much indistinguishable. It’s BS to protect the brand.

Sassafras

Ah, the old unobtainable diodes ploy.
The old tricks are the best tricks.

John_P

ThorpyFX said:

ceriatone centura

+1. Imo it’s the best of the clones.     

If if you want something cheaper then I’d also the Fredric looks a very good buy.  

Wazmeister said:

In fairness, Id imagine the reason why the KTR is no longer being made, is that Bill is now making ‘real’ Klons again...

I’m not sure that’s quite true, he has always made one every so often for charity and iirc that will carry on.  I’m not aware of any plan to regularly produce them.  

Barnezy

menamestom said:

The clipping diodes thing is marketing.  Most people use the Klon as a boost anyway with little or no clipping.  But even overdriven, other diodes have been tried and found to have been pretty much indistinguishable. It’s BS to protect the brand.

He’s not making them in any great numbers. Just a few a year to help a friend out is the rumour. If you’ve got £2k and you’re bullet fast on eBay, it’s a great option. 

If the diode thing is BS, I wonder why they are stopping the KTR?

Sassafras

At £2000 a pop, he doesn't have to make too many of them a year.

scovell001

Interesting blog post from a while back here http://rockbeareguitars.com/guestspassing-through/ ;

would just be be interesting to get some real thoughts on what it’s actually doing to the signal compared with say a peacekeeper or a Dane, or fat general for that matter 

Wazmeister

Sassafras said:

At £2000 a pop, he doesn't have to make too many of them a year.

Bingo

springhead

I built the Fuzz Dog clone and like it a lot. Sounds better than the Soul Food I borrowed from a friend.  

Hootsmon

the centura klon........zat a regular boss type 9v or is there somethin' else going on?

John_P

hootsmon said:

the centura klon........zat a regular boss type 9v or is there somethin' else going on?

Yes although they have a mini jack socket. They come with an adapter to connect a regular center -ve supply. 

MattBanshee

Just to add;

My band's guitarist uses a Fredric King of Klones (2 Klones in one box, independently switched) as his only gain stage pedal. He has previously owned an original Klon Centaur purchased brand new and direct, and a KTR.

He was using the Centaur as his main "perfect sound" until it just became so valuable that he didn't like the risk of taking it out, and he wanted to free up the funds. Before selling it, he bought a KTR and a few other Klone options including the Fredric, and A/B'd them against the Centaur. He kept the Fredric over all the others and sold the Centaur (and KTR) as he said it sounded absolutely identical, and was also the best value for money out of all the Klones without compromising on the sound.

Also, both he and I have had work done on our Fredrics by Tim (I have a Harmonic Percolator that he modded for me) and his service is exemplary, as is the quality of his builds. Not only will you be supporting a local, UK based builder, but his stuff is genuinely the best you can get.

crunchman

Barnezy said:

menamestom said:

The clipping diodes thing is marketing.  Most people use the Klon as a boost anyway with little or no clipping.  But even overdriven, other diodes have been tried and found to have been pretty much indistinguishable. It’s BS to protect the brand.

He’s not making them in any great numbers. Just a few a year to help a friend out is the rumour. If you’ve got £2k and you’re bullet fast on eBay, it’s a great option. 

If the diode thing is BS, I wonder why they are stopping the KTR?

He's making a few more now.  Still strictly limited quantities but not just to help his friend.

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/150014/bill-is-selling-the-klon-centaur-again-and-not-the-ktr/p1

He'll probably make as much money from 1 of these as 15 KTRs.

The diodes won't make much difference.  I experimented a little bit with different diodes in a pedal I built.  Even the difference between symmetrical and assymetrical clipping wasn't huge - it was noticeable but it still sounded like the same pedal.  I'm certain that any Ge diodes with a similar forward voltage would be indistinguishable in a blind test.  As @menamestom said, if you are using it as a boost, then the diodes won't make a difference anyway.

Barnezy

Is he making more than a few? Looking at his eBay account, if it is genuine to start with, he’s only sold one so far. Even if he did 1 a month, which it looks unlikely, it’s only $24k a year before tax, hardly big bucks, when you consider the value of the Klon brand.  

Isn't the rumour that he’s bringing out a clean boost pedal? That would make more sense for the end of the KTR, so that the pricing of the new pedal can be maximised. 

crunchman

Barnezy said:

Is he making more than a few? Looking at his eBay account, if it is genuine to start with, he’s only sold one so far. Even if he did 1 a month, which it looks unlikely, it’s only $24k a year before tax, hardly big bucks, when you consider the value of the Klon brand.  

Isn't the rumour that he’s bringing out a clean boost pedal? That would make more sense for the end of the KTR, so that the pricing of the new pedal can be maximised. 

He is only making small numbers.  He has sold a second one now though.

I don't know what his personal situation is financially.  He might not need the cash, or he might be doing other work, and doing this the odd evening.  I think he stopped before because he was bored of making the same thing over and over.

Wazmeister

Barnezy said:

Is he making more than a few? Looking at his eBay account, if it is genuine to start with, he’s only sold one so far. Even if he did 1 a month, which it looks unlikely, it’s only $24k a year before tax, hardly big bucks, when you consider the value of the Klon brand.  

Isn't the rumour that he’s bringing out a clean boost pedal? That would make more sense for the end of the KTR, so that the pricing of the new pedal can be maximised. 

He must be struggling... only make £4000 in a month.

Good luck to him I say

57Deluxe

BobTheSalmon said:

The cheapo Mosky Golden Horse is a fantastic sounding pedal - really nails the Klon type sound and to me has a broader range than the Soul Food. Of course build quality and parts are cheaper than on a number of higher end products, but to test the use of a Klone in your rig, I would really recommend this.

If/when you decide to replace it with something "better", you can pass the Mosky on to another who wants to try the Klon thing without breaking the bank.

I find the mini pedal thing a bit annoying for live, so my next purchase will be a Frederic to replace the Mosky.

TheMarlin said:

I’ve tried a good few, but the basic Tumnus does it for me. I love that bottom end bump it gives, fantastic for fattening up single coils. 

I mostly run it low gain just for that bump, stacking it with a Timmy, Barber Half Gainer, or Prince of Tone for extra gain.  I like it so much, I also bought a Tumnus Deluxe to experiment with. I’ve got a lot of drives on my board at the moment. 

Either Tumnus is most definitely not for sale

if you don’t want to break the bank, the Mosky Golden Horse is a Tumnus clone that sounds fantastic for under £20 new.  I bought one from eBay for £13 new to test vs the Tumnus (as a backup), spot on!

Indeed - The Mosky Golden Horse is a really, really close clone of the Tumnus and is a fantastic option for £15 (I got mine for £9.50 though!). If you forget all the Klon-sense, and just see what tones it illicits, you will have a great addition to your board that gives a completely different set of sounds than your usual TS/OD suspects.

I would though, suggest stay away from the Silver Horse version with its additional Tone switching as this moves it off piste a bit.

Hootsmon

Guys...re the centura klone

I gather there is a little cable adapter with the pedal , does that just plug into the regular center negative 9v from there as per normal?

TheMarlin

57Deluxe said:

BobTheSalmon said:

The cheapo Mosky Golden Horse is a fantastic sounding pedal - really nails the Klon type sound and to me has a broader range than the Soul Food. Of course build quality and parts are cheaper than on a number of higher end products, but to test the use of a Klone in your rig, I would really recommend this.

If/when you decide to replace it with something "better", you can pass the Mosky on to another who wants to try the Klon thing without breaking the bank.

I find the mini pedal thing a bit annoying for live, so my next purchase will be a Frederic to replace the Mosky.

TheMarlin said:

I’ve tried a good few, but the basic Tumnus does it for me. I love that bottom end bump it gives, fantastic for fattening up single coils. 

I mostly run it low gain just for that bump, stacking it with a Timmy, Barber Half Gainer, or Prince of Tone for extra gain.  I like it so much, I also bought a Tumnus Deluxe to experiment with. I’ve got a lot of drives on my board at the moment. 

Either Tumnus is most definitely not for sale

if you don’t want to break the bank, the Mosky Golden Horse is a Tumnus clone that sounds fantastic for under £20 new.  I bought one from eBay for £13 new to test vs the Tumnus (as a backup), spot on!

Indeed - The Mosky Golden Horse is a really, really close clone of the Tumnus and is a fantastic option for £15 (I got mine for £9.50 though!). If you forget all the Klon-sense, and just see what tones it illicits, you will have a great addition to your board that gives a completely different set of sounds than your usual TS/OD suspects.

I would though, suggest stay away from the Silver Horse version with its additional Tone switching as this moves it off piste a bit.

In think i’ll keep an eye on eBay for a Mosky Silver Horse then. I like the Golden Horse an awful lot!

ive got five drives on my board at the moment, somwhat over doing it.... but is fun