So I am on the gear page and read your post about why channels were loosing views. I wanted to respond but just didn't. I think the loss of views is because the Tube is now over saturated with demo vids and they just come across as commercials. With shows like TPS or Wamplers & JHS, players like more informative videos and stories and dialogue, like you did in this video. Nice vid and a good step in the right direction. Kudos bro and good luck with your channel
First time i've come across anyone implying that TPS is not informative, nor coming across like a commercial. In fact, most people would agree that TPS is THE most informative and unbiased show out there!!
@@benthomas8290 You read it wrong Ben, I said verbatim "With shows like TPS or Wamplers & JHS, players like more informative videos and stories and dialogue, like you did in this video." Stating people like the more informative shows now and expect as such. Living Room understood it
I think there's a high level of validity to this point. It's certainly the case for me. I've watched tens of thousands of hours of gear demos; informative videos (like this) are a breath of fresh air. Music related podcasts are another genre which I've turned more to as I can put them on in the car and geek out Keep them coming :)
As the gain gets higher, the Nordvang sounds essentially identical. I think what sets the Klon apart is its slight (and I mean slight) increase in treble presence in the lower gain settings, giving it that "sparkle" that people claim it has. Making it a phenomenal clean boost.
Matt Flickinger I hear what you’re saying. I have a Klon Klone from Pedal Projects, and it does a great job of the character and feel of the true Klon, but lacks its subtleties. In my previous comment, I was highlighting the slight brightness in the original.
You really need to keep the cables off the floor to get the best from the Klon. I have mine running along eight three-inch oak blocks with tinfoil inserts so that the cable sheath doesn't touch the carpet. I also keep the amp facing north so that the core in the output transformer doesn't become distorted due to the earth's polar magnetism. Doing this gives me a MUCH purer midrange from my 59 Std.
I love this video. very plain-spoken and no talking down to less-skilled players about this or that. Very straightforward history and nice playing, too.
I found a RYRA Klone on eBay for like $120 shipped and it's been my go to drive pedal ever since. I've never played a real Klon before so I can't honestly say if they're truly identical, but I do know that the circuit is identical and handmade by some guy in Texas with top-end components. There's a decent bit of glowing reviews online saying it's identical, but all I can say myself is that it sounds absolutely fantastic. Low gain section is a lovely boost and the higher gain levels (past 1-2 o'clock) are super smooth if you roll off the treble knob and can be VERY snarly if you don't (does 80's metal great). I can highly recommend this pedal if you can find one for a similar price.
This was the first video of yours I've seen. Really enjoyed it and subscribed. The problem with so many of these A/B or shootout videos is that people don't take the time to set the knobs carefully, and also that they play different riffs or even styles with the different pedals....impossible to make a true direct comparison under those circumstances. But you addressed both of these factors so this video is truly valuable. Thanks!
You know I had a 59 Les Paul and a Dumble amp. Was a great set up, but the darn daughters Unicorn got off the lead and kicked the shite out of them... Very sad.
I don’t think I have seen all klon videos, but this is the best sounding one I have heard! Great job with the information and great job with the audio quality of the playing examples! You just got a new subscriber!
The Klon thing has gotten as absurd as the 1959 Les Paul fetishism. It sounds ok, but it’s literally indistinguishable from dozens of similar OD pedals or software patches in a blind listening test.
Les Pauls are some of the most visually beautiful instruments ever made. However, I never cared for the dark muddy tone they had on clean or slightly driven sounds. This guy almost convinced me otherwise. The clean tones at the beginning were pretty amazing.
I buy a Mosky Klon for $18.84 from eBay and an VERY happy with the TONE no matter what amp I plug into ! I mean $18.84 is like going to a burger night for dinner for one person so...
Living Room Gear Demos I recently got a electro harmonix soul food, and I'm not sure if I'll keep it, it sounds good but I think I prefer my ts10 tubescreamer for boost and lead stuff. Also have a Marshall jackhammer to give my box night train that Marshall sound. The riffs you're using in this video are great btw, I live about 2 hours from where Greta Van Fleet is from! Like the friends theme too!
It's not really hard to understand. Collectors are generally not great or even good musicians. If they are musicians at all. And as such are not really an authority on anything by hype and capitalising on trends. They just invest in the culture and the mythos surrounding music history. Thats literally it. They invest an already inordinate amount of money for something. Pretend like its really special to justify their investment. Other people invest at a now higher price and are forced to do the same thing this process continues ad-infinitum until we get amps that cost as much as a super overdrive or guitars as much as a 59 les paul. There is nothing really that special about these guitars when compared to modern guitars. Really nothing at all. There may be a specific characteristic about them but nothing that cant and hasn't been replicated a thousand times over for much much less money. It's just what it is. Snake oil and bolstered by people that have already made an over inflated capital investment and want to see a return on that. So tldr; No, this is not and has never been about sound. It's all about money.
I'd agree in part. Some buy vintage/rare gear for investment, which can artificially inflate the price. Many buy for the sentimental or perceived cultural value of having something old (perhaps it was around at the golden age of rock and roll etc). It's not always about money. One thing is true though, there is plenty of rubbish vintage gear/guitars around and just because something is old, or rare, doesn't make it good. The Klon, when it comes down to it, is a PCB and a handful or parts, which can be replicated. When they were build, he didn't bathe them in unicorn tears or anything. The asking price for these originals is comical given what they are.
@@nitemunky76 "I'd agree in part. Some buy vintage/rare gear for investment, which can artificially inflate the price. Many buy for the sentimental or perceived cultural value of having something old (perhaps it was around at the golden age of rock and roll etc). It's not always about money. " Anyone that spends over half a million dollars on a guitar is not doing it for sentimental reasons. If they are then they are as stupid as they are rich.
sacredgeometry I fully agree with you....I am sick to death of middle-aged fat, balding men going on and on about how great their original ARP Odyssey/Minimoog/Prophet 5 are compared to the re-issues. It is exactly these people that have helped push up the price of vintage analog synths to be out of the reach of younger musicians. Absolutely commendable with Korg and their reissue of the Odyssey and to Behringer with their upcoming analog clones. Now, I am also a middle-aged fat man but I am VERY happy that these reissues are so good AND available to the many and not just the priviliged few.
TL;DR: Amps and pedals are the only "vintage gear" that have objective significance or quality over their modern counterparts. Don't complain about collectors; they invest in people and companies that make and distribute musical equipment. When it comes to amps and pedals, it's not that it can't be replicated or improved upon or anything like that. Even though digital emulation is extremely effective and 99.9 percent of people won't tell the difference, sometimes the analog stuff just sounds better to some people. More to that point, the advent of digital circuitry over analog is going to make all these old circuits obsolete to a certain degree, to the point where they will become very valuable someday. Kinda like musical fossils. Especially when it comes to bass amps; they really did it a lot better back in the day. In my experience, it is extremely difficult to find a decent tube bass head that doesn't cost a TON of money. That being said, some of the older gear is actually very affordable and sounds awesome. I kind of hear your point when it comes to guitars though. Like pickups and tone wood are not really all that complicated or unique, it is very much a subjective determination of value. In either case, why do you care if collectors spend a lot of money on rare gear though? As far as I care, it's just investing money for people and companies that deal with music equipment and I'm personally all for that.
Yeah, exactly. It's not like there are not modern alternatives, but they all typically have pretty large price tags. What about digital pedals? I love all the new advances being made with digital octavers like the HOG from ehx and digital delays all the way to shit like the future impact from panda audio (and essentially everything on knobs' channel, check him out if you don't know him). However, do you think that there is any loss of quality when we simply re-create analog pedals in a digital format? I'm not at all against people using digital effects, in fact I'm currently using digital amp sims and shit all the time on my computer and when record in a studio (I'm a bass player). It's just that I feel like it's disingenuous to say that "there is no difference between digital and analog formats."
i dont know if its my ears or nostalgia but i find a difference in tone between nordvang and centaur which is more roundish and smoother i dont know its just me but the best part was you playing friends theme on these now that i would have never expected LOL good fun and nice review quite honest
It cracks me up to see that barely 2 weeks up, this video has 360 comments. Bill Finnegan's monster will never die. Hat's off to the Living Room Gear Demo dude - he did a great job with this one. And I'm impressed by the Nordvang pedal. I have a gold horsie Klon I bought many years ago, after the obligatory interview with Mr. Finnegan (which I appreciated). It's an outstanding pedal, used as intended. I could sell mine for a pile of cash but I'd miss it, even 'tho nowadays I just as often use other ODs. Depends on what achieves a particular sound and feel. I'll never understand why people get so worked up over the love it/hate it Klon controversy. Half the people who hold a rabid opinion on this topic probably have never even played one.
Short answer is yes, you can replicate them. There are plenty of good examples kicking around, J Rockett, RYRA, etc I've A-Bed a real silver Klon again a Wampler Tumnus and my own hand-made klone and could barely tell the difference, certainly no difference that mattered.
Klon has a bit of a scoop in the low-mid and seems to add more upper harmonics, Nordvang sounds a bit more compressed and has more of a midrange growl to it, but it could easily just be part tolerances (especially in the tone control pot). Pretty close close, and both sound great which is more important than sounding identical. I'd say the Nordwang combines the best aspects of the Klon and a Tube Screamer in this demo, ironically. I'd say switching between the Klon and the Nordwang is a bit like switching between the bridge and neck pickups on a Tele.
In the playing example, there were moments I thought I heard a tiny volume or presence increase when using the klon. But through good headphones it only happened during the very first swap, and maybe because I saw you change to it. They then sounded identical to me. The parts that make up the circuit don’t have more magic in them once you are using quality parts. Thanks again I enjoyed it!
Great video and there's no doubt that the Klon Centaur a great sounding pedal, but in the end all of these gear comparison reviews and the extremely irritating tone debate are simply subjective. Most guitarist in a blind test wouldn't know what they are listening to, and the vast majority of people in a venue certainly wouldn't have a clue, and quite frankly, don't give a damn in my experience. I used to use a valve amps and multi-FXs units but I sold them years ago and bought the rack version of the Kemper Profiling Amp, and I have no regrets whatsoever. I wouldn't go back to my old setup these days, the KPA does every thing I want, and it just gets better and better with every free OS release. I also have profiles that use the Klon Centaur and a Timmy overdrive pedal, but they're not my favourites. There are plenty of other classic overdrives, distortions, fuzz, boost and shaper effects that I prefer, and there are so many ways to alter and shape the tone on a KPA. The amp section is very powerful, then there's the EQ and Cab sections, and that's all without even touching the effects section! That means I can replicate a Klon Centaur pedal tone, even without a specific Klon Centaur profile. Pedals sound great through a clean amp with plenty of headroom, one of my favourites is a profile of one of Dave Gilmour's Hiwatt Custom 100 head from The Wall tour. Classic VOX and Fenders are ideal and always sound great. Matchless, Two Rock, Ceriatone, Chandler, Cornell, Friedman, Fuchs, Evil Robot and Divided by 13 amps sound good, as well. I've even got profiles of a Dumble Overdrive Special - an amp I could only previously dream about! There's a reason why Bill Finnegan screen printed the words "kindly remember that the ridiculous hype that offends so many is not of my making", on the front of the KTR. Use your ears and ignore what people say, if you like something then go for it, it doesn't have to be mega expensive to sound good.
At th beginning, to me its feels the nordwang got a different mid, dont know i think the centaur was more scooped, but still close enough. Then i could not tell them apart, just amaizingly close to each other.
Yeah, I'm wondering if it's a slight difference in how the treble knobs line up. Or the a/b switch, or the amps, or what's being played. I felt like there was a little more room with the original, but it's so hard to tell. Regardless, it's negligible. Obviously more fun to have the original, but sound wise I think it's the same.
Thank you for this. I have older “rock n roll” ears and with nice headphones there were many times I couldn’t tell the difference, especially with eyes closed. That being said, I’d love to have a Klon if only for its historical significance and impact it has left on the guitar playing community. Keep up the good work!
I thought he said that the edge of breakup is where you want the amp when using the Klon to reach the full on sweet spot of the amp. The very edge of breakup not being the final exact sweet spot. I have a wish clone coming because it sounds 95% the same to me. Close enough for Rick and roll. I do like this circuit but not as the only overdrive. I think it stacks well from what I've listened to so far. And I think it does nice mojo when using the trebble boost in particular.
Great Video. They do sound the same and with some knob twiddling they will sound identical. I had a Klon and didn't like it so I sold it, for a profit. I can get the same tone from my B.Y.O.C. Crown Jewel. I use it for a Zen Drive or Dual Recto tone.
I actually built myself a Klon Centaur once, to be honest there was nothing really special about it other than a tone with a prominent midrange to it not unlike a TS-9 Tube Screamer, both the Klon Centaur and the TS-9 pretty much do the exact same thing, the Klon Centaur just has a hotter output, I've got a TS-9 and it works for me.
Both pedals sounded great. The Klon sounds slightly fuller, not as scooped. To my ears, anyway. But again, they both would cut a gig/ recording, no problem.
I could hear a difference with the 2. but there were segments at the start of the changes to another setting. Other segments where both were also virtually indiscernible. Where the differences were more discernible, more at the front end of the changes to any settings, where the Nordvang sounded richer than the original Klon. Both were excellent for their tones. I see where the original Klon's settings are more minutely different from the Nordvang's. To me that's an indicator that the 2 aren't exactly alike, but there has to be some attempts to match them by ear. For the most part that matching was pretty much spot on. For lack of knowing the exact differences, the Nordavng sounded a bit fuller when the differences were more discernible to me. I'd say all in all, they're dead ringers for one another, how much you have to pay for the Nordvang to get the original Klon, is there a Mosky out there or even the EHX Soul Food. Wow, the Nordvang Custom #1 is $ 394.29 on Reverb. Compare that to a Mosky for < $ 30 delivered or even the sub $ 90 EHX Soul Food. And the extra switches and whatever the Nordvang has is just a distraction from the simplicity. Anyone playing isn't going to piddle around with that many extra switches. I can see why they charge as much for it though with that much additional manual adjustment designed into the package. I think even the midpoint of this would be a Wampler Tumnus for $ 150. The more I think about the direction my post is going, bang for the buck, I'd never actually use a $ 3-4K original Klon and I wouldn't ever go $ 395 for a Nordvang. To actually use every day, the Mosky sub $ 30 pedal, Golden or Silver Horse is the best option, the Soul Food a close 2nd and the most I think anyone would go is the Wampler Tumnus for an always on pedal. With the Mosky, you can buy a starter & backup Horse/Centaur for less than the EHX Soul Food MSRP's at.
Sounds kinda like the mystique behind the harmonic percolator from interfax. Its supposed to be a huge secret what the innards actually are cause they were intentionally covered too. There have been "recreations", and i really like the Karma Suture from Catlinbread. A very very mellow fuzz. i dont know if the original as special as rumored but Steve Albini (guy who recorded In Utero, he probably would hate thats what i explain him as cause he has been in many bands and produced many albums but thats all i know and im sorry albini. im just an unsophisticated 90s kid) swears by it, and he says every "recreation" doesnt sound right. But the difference could be his percolator specifically from the other originals but no one really knows. JHS has teased theyre looking into their take on it and may have something for it soon. Other than that, most people use the Land Devices remake, and the guy from JHS even says its better than the original to him.
Ive heard on in person through a very nice and powerfull marshall, it was nice but didnt hold up as well in higher volumes. I then heard the guy play 3 other boutique pedals that completely left it for dead! I didnt think it was special at all
To be honest, in the Clon you can found 4 op amps, no 2 as you posted in the description. The cule is that the Clon has two TL072 and the TL072 is a chip which has two opamps inside, so 2x2 is 4, so Clon has 4 opamps in the circuit.
It's interesting that you played the Friends theme. The lower gain settings on these pedals always reminds me of 90's rock like Gin Blossoms who all had a kind of vague low-gain distortion on jangly guitars.
Nice video. I've tried a gold centaur worth strabillion$. yes, it was a great overdrive no question, but nothing that I can replicate with a good overdrive and an eq saving the 90% of the price tag. I think that the rarities of the models, the history and the mythology around the pedal are the real factors that make this pedal so expensive. on the other hand, if a good rare historic and mythological overdrive inspires you and let you feel and play better is worth all the money of the world.
Do all of the Klon pedals contain the circuit? No matter what the outside looks like? (Silver, gold, as well as horsie or nonhorsie?) just curious, incredible story
I was gonna say that I heard more bass less treble on the Nordvang, and liked it, but then you changed settings and I could hear 0 difference, and looking, I think your Tone knob was barely barely barely off on some of the settings. So I'd say this is definitely on my to-clone list!
The whole reason he built it was so he could hear the sound of his amp breaking up at lower volume. Sounds like you can get the Klon sound by cranking your amp.
This test has a big flaw. Which is you playing live while switching between A and B. What would really make it show the difference would be having an already pre-recorded session, that again will be recorded by each pedal. After that you can compare them up against eachother. Heck do everytving from putting one on left side and other on right to 1 at a time, if not both at the same time, 50% volume from each. To then see if the sound changes anything if they were to play together. If they are more or less 100% identical.. ypu will have shut down the claims that comes with the pedal. Why is a live A and B comparison flawed you may ask? Cause the strings are played differently every time. One time he can hit slightly harder on some strings and oposite. The guitar basically breathes when playing
No.1 seems like it has a little bit of low mids/mid push, and is a hair brighter. This Centaur is just a smidge more aggressive around 2.5 kHz -ish. But damn close considering the price difference!
Rich people uy klons. Regular working musicians know there are many afordable options out there. In my opinion the Wampler Tumnus is the best Klon clone.
I’m not an expert on the technical end of pedals and guitars, um but I do agree that it has to be possible to copy the sound of the klon centaur. I think you literally were off by like one inch, um something in the klon seems to reduce like high pitch fuzz that can be unpleasant to the ear at minute 9.19 you switch between the two and that’s when I heard that difference. It’s such a small thing but I think it’s a big one when trying to copy the klon. I think it’s definitely possible to copy the sound, it’s unique but it is untouchable I don’t think any sound that just comes from a amp or guitar or pedal is untouchable.
bought a Klon before they got overhyped (thanks to neal casal) and i love that pedal and will never sell it, but i have clones (Klones) that work perfect in bars. Truly this circuit original or not is unreal and perfect.
There are sooooooo many great sounding pedals out there, retail or DIY kits. I don't get all the hype around certain tones. It comes down to so many parameters...The guitar, the pickups, your playing style, the amp, the cab/speakers (maybe more than anything), the mic(s), the room, hell even a long cable makes quite a difference. I build DIY clones sometimes, and so often I stumble upon another clone of the same pedal which claims to be extra special, extra flexible, this and that added feature blah blah blah. But I've got to remind myself about what I said above: In my opinion, a certain flavour of pedal, take for example (oh infamous example, sorry..just comes to my mind because it's on my desk for a knob repair right now) a Boss HM-2 Clone. Doesn't matter too much if you have clone A, clone B, cheap retail clone, the original... As long as it is a good clone and it hasn't got any malfunction, all of them will knock you into the ballpark of 90s Stockholm Death Metal. There might be slight differences but you've got slight differences anyways. Imitating the sound of a certain artist on a certain recordis very difficult, especially in a live situation where you have no control about the final mix. So I don't really care about that. A similar tone is all you will get in most situations, but it is more than enough. GOOD tone matters, but here are a billion ways to get good tone.
Like anything I think you need to listen and go with the Overdrive pedal that suits you and what you are trying to play. Even if you can get one and have the money the answer may not be a Klon.
Maybe I have to try one. I've never seen a demo where it sounded like anything other than I turned a knob on my amp. It must be a feel thing because I hear no sound improvement or even change...just louder or more gain. To me, a boost or gain pedal has always been to fix something my amp has wrong. This would need a reason, which I don't have, I guess? PS: great video!
Correct, pretty much. The Klon's main purpose is really to act as a switch the get the effect of gaining it up on your amp (mild to moderate breakup) while being as 'transparent' as possible (sounding like your amp if you walked over and turned it up). Really just useful for live applications, or when you must just dramatically change your guitar's sound for a solo or whatever. Really not a pedal you should always have on ( I think that about all drive pedals).
to me the Klon sounded clearer in the A/B test. A little difference that would make THE difference for me. The Klon is great, the other is a bit muddy. Could you match the sound pushing the treble a little?
I really like watching your ears go up and down... Nice lecture too! Oh, I forgot... You WAIL! I could listen to you play for days! How do I hear more?
While it probably doesn't sound EXACTLY like a Klon, my Wampler Tumnus adds as much to my overall tone, I think. Plus it doesn't take up nearly as much pedalboard real estate. More importantly, I didn't have t go into debt to get one!
As you say, a myth.I used to build this stuff in the 1960's...................Couldnt compete with modern assembly methods and all the integrated circuit stuff..mine was hand built for me..............Good video to listen to , excellent, much succss in life...H6 UKVET
It is very close and during the first part of your plane I can't tell the difference but then you change pickup settings or something and when you make the change I don't know if the clowns sounds more open or is a slightly brighter sounding but there's a slight difference
I would put the orignal Klon on my pedalboard connected to nothing, and have the other pedal hidden but actually plugged, making all the tone. And wait and hear people complimenting about the tone and saying how a clone wouldn't sound so good.
![Not A Notaklön [Dan's DIY Approach To The Klon Centaur]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kSMwVYOJqKg/mqdefault.jpg)
So I am on the gear page and read your post about why channels were loosing views. I wanted to respond but just didn't. I think the loss of views is because the Tube is now over saturated with demo vids and they just come across as commercials. With shows like TPS or Wamplers & JHS, players like more informative videos and stories and dialogue, like you did in this video. Nice vid and a good step in the right direction. Kudos bro and good luck with your channel
Thanks a lot dude, seriously means a lot with feedback like that!
this is kind of true. On the flip side, there's other people who hate talking and just want the demo (as seen in the "...(no talking)" videos)
First time i've come across anyone implying that TPS is not informative, nor coming across like a commercial. In fact, most people would agree that TPS is THE most informative and unbiased show out there!!
@@benthomas8290 You read it wrong Ben, I said verbatim "With shows like TPS or Wamplers & JHS, players like more informative videos and stories and dialogue, like you did in this video." Stating people like the more informative shows now and expect as such. Living Room understood it
I think there's a high level of validity to this point. It's certainly the case for me. I've watched tens of thousands of hours of gear demos; informative videos (like this) are a breath of fresh air. Music related podcasts are another genre which I've turned more to as I can put them on in the car and geek out
Keep them coming :)
As the gain gets higher, the Nordvang sounds essentially identical. I think what sets the Klon apart is its slight (and I mean slight) increase in treble presence in the lower gain settings, giving it that "sparkle" that people claim it has. Making it a phenomenal clean boost.
At lower gain levels the Klon also exhibits slightly more fullness in the low-mids and less harshness in the upper-mids
I actually think my tumnus takes a little sparkle away
Matt Flickinger I hear what you’re saying. I have a Klon Klone from Pedal Projects, and it does a great job of the character and feel of the true Klon, but lacks its subtleties. In my previous comment, I was highlighting the slight brightness in the original.
(Pretty much) This ^^^^
Exactly
You really need to keep the cables off the floor to get the best from the Klon. I have mine running along eight three-inch oak blocks with tinfoil inserts so that the cable sheath doesn't touch the carpet.
I also keep the amp facing north so that the core in the output transformer doesn't become distorted due to the earth's polar magnetism.
Doing this gives me a MUCH purer midrange from my 59 Std.
This has to be a joke, it has to be
Usually it works better on a full moon.
No drunk in the bar will tell the difference. lol
True
I hate those comments, not everybody wants to play for the stupid drunk forever...
Unless a TGP member sees it.
@@guitareMTL well most people need to realize there songs suck and that's why there stuck playing bars.
@@tysonrinker5958 well nowadays it is just the opposite, good musicians stay in bars while the shit is on the radio and the big stadiums...
Always been a fan of your A/B videos, and this is a great one.
Thanks!
I love this video. very plain-spoken and no talking down to less-skilled players about this or that. Very straightforward history and nice playing, too.
Top notch production value
thanks!
I found a RYRA Klone on eBay for like $120 shipped and it's been my go to drive pedal ever since. I've never played a real Klon before so I can't honestly say if they're truly identical, but I do know that the circuit is identical and handmade by some guy in Texas with top-end components. There's a decent bit of glowing reviews online saying it's identical, but all I can say myself is that it sounds absolutely fantastic. Low gain section is a lovely boost and the higher gain levels (past 1-2 o'clock) are super smooth if you roll off the treble knob and can be VERY snarly if you don't (does 80's metal great). I can highly recommend this pedal if you can find one for a similar price.
This was the first video of yours I've seen. Really enjoyed it and subscribed. The problem with so many of these A/B or shootout videos is that people don't take the time to set the knobs carefully, and also that they play different riffs or even styles with the different pedals....impossible to make a true direct comparison under those circumstances. But you addressed both of these factors so this video is truly valuable. Thanks!
How long before the corksniffers claim that the only way to get a great tone is by running a Klon into a Dumble amp?
With a '59.
Oh, that time is already here
To be fair, that would be a great tone
But only to be used with a 59 burst of course.....
You know I had a 59 Les Paul and a Dumble amp. Was a great set up, but the darn daughters Unicorn got off the lead and kicked the shite out of them... Very sad.
I don’t think I have seen all klon videos, but this is the best sounding one I have heard! Great job with the information and great job with the audio quality of the playing examples! You just got a new subscriber!
Thanks for checking it out man, and welcome to the channel!
Thanks!
The Klon thing has gotten as absurd as the 1959 Les Paul fetishism. It sounds ok, but it’s literally indistinguishable from dozens of similar OD pedals or software patches in a blind listening test.
Dude a lot of the goodness of the tone in this video is the guitar and your excellent playing.
Christ, I'm never a Les Paul guy, but that soft orange burst is utterly gorgeous
Indeed
Les Pauls are some of the most visually beautiful instruments ever made. However, I never cared for the dark muddy tone they had on clean or slightly driven sounds. This guy almost convinced me otherwise. The clean tones at the beginning were pretty amazing.
You mean amber
This is easily the best vid I've seen on the Klon Phenomenon™. Clear-eyed, skeptical, rigorous, and with a great history lesson too. Thank you!!!
Thanks!!
Spend 80 bucks on a soul food and get the same tone and side by side them the soul food accually has more clarity..
iron life or pay someone to make a klone and spend less haha
@@gloryxkid true that😂
I buy a Mosky Klon for $18.84 from eBay and an VERY happy with the TONE no matter what amp I plug into !
I mean $18.84 is like going to a burger night for dinner for one person so...
Soul food into any Marshall without channel switching = heaven
+1 for the Soul Food.
When you have a Klon it tells other people that you’re better than them.
it does
Living Room Gear Demos I recently got a electro harmonix soul food, and I'm not sure if I'll keep it, it sounds good but I think I prefer my ts10 tubescreamer for boost and lead stuff. Also have a Marshall jackhammer to give my box night train that Marshall sound.
The riffs you're using in this video are great btw, I live about 2 hours from where Greta Van Fleet is from! Like the friends theme too!
LOL
That's what I use my Hughes and Kettner Rotosphere MK2 to do. LOL!
Alpha move to just go in to a room and put it on the table
It's not really hard to understand.
Collectors are generally not great or even good musicians. If they are musicians at all. And as such are not really an authority on anything by hype and capitalising on trends. They just invest in the culture and the mythos surrounding music history.
Thats literally it.
They invest an already inordinate amount of money for something. Pretend like its really special to justify their investment. Other people invest at a now higher price and are forced to do the same thing this process continues ad-infinitum until we get amps that cost as much as a super overdrive or guitars as much as a 59 les paul.
There is nothing really that special about these guitars when compared to modern guitars. Really nothing at all. There may be a specific characteristic about them but nothing that cant and hasn't been replicated a thousand times over for much much less money.
It's just what it is. Snake oil and bolstered by people that have already made an over inflated capital investment and want to see a return on that.
So tldr; No, this is not and has never been about sound. It's all about money.
I'd agree in part. Some buy vintage/rare gear for investment, which can artificially inflate the price. Many buy for the sentimental or perceived cultural value of having something old (perhaps it was around at the golden age of rock and roll etc). It's not always about money.
One thing is true though, there is plenty of rubbish vintage gear/guitars around and just because something is old, or rare, doesn't make it good.
The Klon, when it comes down to it, is a PCB and a handful or parts, which can be replicated. When they were build, he didn't bathe them in unicorn tears or anything. The asking price for these originals is comical given what they are.
@@nitemunky76 "I'd agree in part. Some buy vintage/rare gear for investment, which can artificially inflate the price. Many buy for the sentimental or perceived cultural value of having something old (perhaps it was around at the golden age of rock and roll etc). It's not always about money. "
Anyone that spends over half a million dollars on a guitar is not doing it for sentimental reasons. If they are then they are as stupid as they are rich.
sacredgeometry I fully agree with you....I am sick to death of middle-aged fat, balding men going on and on about how great their original ARP Odyssey/Minimoog/Prophet 5 are compared to the re-issues. It is exactly these people that have helped push up the price of vintage analog synths to be out of the reach of younger musicians. Absolutely commendable with Korg and their reissue of the Odyssey and to Behringer with their upcoming analog clones.
Now, I am also a middle-aged fat man but I am VERY happy that these reissues are so good AND available to the many and not just the priviliged few.
TL;DR: Amps and pedals are the only "vintage gear" that have objective significance or quality over their modern counterparts. Don't complain about collectors; they invest in people and companies that make and distribute musical equipment.
When it comes to amps and pedals, it's not that it can't be replicated or improved upon or anything like that. Even though digital emulation is extremely effective and 99.9 percent of people won't tell the difference, sometimes the analog stuff just sounds better to some people. More to that point, the advent of digital circuitry over analog is going to make all these old circuits obsolete to a certain degree, to the point where they will become very valuable someday. Kinda like musical fossils.
Especially when it comes to bass amps; they really did it a lot better back in the day. In my experience, it is extremely difficult to find a decent tube bass head that doesn't cost a TON of money. That being said, some of the older gear is actually very affordable and sounds awesome.
I kind of hear your point when it comes to guitars though. Like pickups and tone wood are not really all that complicated or unique, it is very much a subjective determination of value. In either case, why do you care if collectors spend a lot of money on rare gear though? As far as I care, it's just investing money for people and companies that deal with music equipment and I'm personally all for that.
Yeah, exactly. It's not like there are not modern alternatives, but they all typically have pretty large price tags.
What about digital pedals? I love all the new advances being made with digital octavers like the HOG from ehx and digital delays all the way to shit like the future impact from panda audio (and essentially everything on knobs' channel, check him out if you don't know him). However, do you think that there is any loss of quality when we simply re-create analog pedals in a digital format?
I'm not at all against people using digital effects, in fact I'm currently using digital amp sims and shit all the time on my computer and when record in a studio (I'm a bass player). It's just that I feel like it's disingenuous to say that "there is no difference between digital and analog formats."
Definitely one of the closest I've heard, well done Nordvang. Also LOL at the Friends theme
Brilliant vid, bruh... fab editing and you've obviously done your research regarding the stomp and its history... BRAVO!
Thanks dude!
i dont know if its my ears or nostalgia but i find a difference in tone between nordvang and centaur which is more roundish and smoother i dont know its just me but the best part was you playing friends theme on these now that i would have never expected LOL good fun and nice review quite honest
It cracks me up to see that barely 2 weeks up, this video has 360 comments. Bill Finnegan's monster will never die. Hat's off to the Living Room Gear Demo dude - he did a great job with this one. And I'm impressed by the Nordvang pedal. I have a gold horsie Klon I bought many years ago, after the obligatory interview with Mr. Finnegan (which I appreciated). It's an outstanding pedal, used as intended. I could sell mine for a pile of cash but I'd miss it, even 'tho nowadays I just as often use other ODs. Depends on what achieves a particular sound and feel. I'll never understand why people get so worked up over the love it/hate it Klon controversy. Half the people who hold a rabid opinion on this topic probably have never even played one.
Short answer is yes, you can replicate them. There are plenty of good examples kicking around, J Rockett, RYRA, etc I've A-Bed a real silver Klon again a Wampler Tumnus and my own hand-made klone and could barely tell the difference, certainly no difference that mattered.
Great ear (and video); those 2 pedals sound close to identical. Kudos to Nordvang for creating such a great sounding pedal.
Klon has a bit of a scoop in the low-mid and seems to add more upper harmonics, Nordvang sounds a bit more compressed and has more of a midrange growl to it, but it could easily just be part tolerances (especially in the tone control pot). Pretty close close, and both sound great which is more important than sounding identical. I'd say the Nordwang combines the best aspects of the Klon and a Tube Screamer in this demo, ironically.
I'd say switching between the Klon and the Nordwang is a bit like switching between the bridge and neck pickups on a Tele.
In the playing example, there were moments I thought I heard a tiny volume or presence increase when using the klon. But through good headphones it only happened during the very first swap, and maybe because I saw you change to it. They then sounded identical to me. The parts that make up the circuit don’t have more magic in them once you are using quality parts. Thanks again I enjoyed it!
Great video and there's no doubt that the Klon Centaur a great sounding pedal, but in the end all of these gear comparison reviews and the extremely irritating tone debate are simply subjective. Most guitarist in a blind test wouldn't know what they are listening to, and the vast majority of people in a venue certainly wouldn't have a clue, and quite frankly, don't give a damn in my experience. I used to use a valve amps and multi-FXs units but I sold them years ago and bought the rack version of the Kemper Profiling Amp, and I have no regrets whatsoever. I wouldn't go back to my old setup these days, the KPA does every thing I want, and it just gets better and better with every free OS release. I also have profiles that use the Klon Centaur and a Timmy overdrive pedal, but they're not my favourites. There are plenty of other classic overdrives, distortions, fuzz, boost and shaper effects that I prefer, and there are so many ways to alter and shape the tone on a KPA. The amp section is very powerful, then there's the EQ and Cab sections, and that's all without even touching the effects section! That means I can replicate a Klon Centaur pedal tone, even without a specific Klon Centaur profile.
Pedals sound great through a clean amp with plenty of headroom, one of my favourites is a profile of one of Dave Gilmour's Hiwatt Custom 100 head from The Wall tour. Classic VOX and Fenders are ideal and always sound great. Matchless, Two Rock, Ceriatone, Chandler, Cornell, Friedman, Fuchs, Evil Robot and Divided by 13 amps sound good, as well. I've even got profiles of a Dumble Overdrive Special - an amp I could only previously dream about!
There's a reason why Bill Finnegan screen printed the words "kindly remember that the ridiculous hype that offends so many is not of my making", on the front of the KTR. Use your ears and ignore what people say, if you like something then go for it, it doesn't have to be mega expensive to sound good.
He’s lucky the Klon didn’t give up and die when he played the Friends theme through it.
And the Klon won the battle.
You are such a great guitar player and an excellent communicator. I’ve always enjoyed your videos. Thanks for this one
Thanks a lot!
Love the very special gain of the Klon and its clones. Clean boost? Got a Bad Bob for that😁
At th beginning, to me its feels the nordwang got a different mid, dont know i think the centaur was more scooped, but still close enough. Then i could not tell them apart, just amaizingly close to each other.
Yeah, I'm wondering if it's a slight difference in how the treble knobs line up. Or the a/b switch, or the amps, or what's being played. I felt like there was a little more room with the original, but it's so hard to tell. Regardless, it's negligible. Obviously more fun to have the original, but sound wise I think it's the same.
Thank you for this.
I have older “rock n roll” ears and with nice headphones there were many times I couldn’t tell the difference, especially with eyes closed.
That being said, I’d love to have a Klon if only for its historical significance and impact it has left on the guitar playing community.
Keep up the good work!
15 minutes of awesomeness. Great video! The Nordvang sounds killer!
Thanks Phil!
I've never been able to hear subtle differences in similar overdrives.
They sound exactly the same. Great vid. Thanks for putting this out.
Thanks for checking it out!
But if your song sucks who cares what pedal you use? 😂
Great video. Very well researched. 👍🏼
same thing with your amp
terrible amp tone? even with a pedal the tone will stay bad (excluding things like dist channel vs clean channel and a pedal)
...even worse, when said random YT-jockey has spent 5 figures on their rig yet still can't hear when they are out of tune.....
@@EpicStuffMan1000 hey there, just noticing the Lancia and S2k...you have fine taste in cars ('03 AP1 in sazuka blue in my garage now)
Your paying and the tone sounds great work all of the pedals.
I thought he said that the edge of breakup is where you want the amp when using the Klon to reach the full on sweet spot of the amp. The very edge of breakup not being the final exact sweet spot. I have a wish clone coming because it sounds 95% the same to me. Close enough for Rick and roll. I do like this circuit but not as the only overdrive. I think it stacks well from what I've listened to so far. And I think it does nice mojo when using the trebble boost in particular.
My main low gain drive source is a Mosky Golden Horse (a Klon Clone for a 100th of the price of an original) with the gain at max, absolutely love it
Nice vid. Enjoyed to learn the history and your playing of course.
Glad you enjoyed it
Lots of headroom , had one . Now use an SRD Rockman X-100 stereo into (2) British DSL 100's . Good Playing !
Your lighting looks incredible in this video. Great video
Thanks Michael!
Got one last year and it’s absolutely the best pedal I’ve ever had by far.
I like the mid range quality of the TS-9. It helps your guitar to cut through a mix or a live band.
they sounded the same at first, but when the gain came up you could tell the centaur still sounds way better
Great Video.
They do sound the same and with some knob twiddling they will sound identical.
I had a Klon and didn't like it so I sold it, for a profit. I can get the same tone from my B.Y.O.C. Crown Jewel. I use it for a Zen Drive or Dual Recto tone.
Thanks for checking out the video!
Yep, the Crown Jewel is all that and a bag of chips!
Great video man!
MAKE MORE A/B VIDEOS
Ok!
Silver Klon sounds great! The price sounds great too for a collectors price point. Hopefully it retains a high collectors value in the future.
Great review man love you're flame top Les Paul! But yes an iconic pedal that will only go up in value
I actually built myself a Klon Centaur once, to be honest there was nothing really special about it other than a tone with a prominent midrange to it not unlike a TS-9 Tube Screamer, both the Klon Centaur and the TS-9 pretty much do the exact same thing, the Klon Centaur just has a hotter output, I've got a TS-9 and it works for me.
For those with no money get the CKK Lunar Drive ! I have it and sounds AWESOME! This Klon stuff is just waaaaay too expensive!!
No question. One of the best pedals ever. Nice video 🙌
Thanks!
Both pedals sounded great. The Klon sounds slightly fuller, not as scooped. To my ears, anyway. But again, they both would cut a gig/ recording, no problem.
I could hear a difference with the 2. but there were segments at the start of the changes to another setting. Other segments where both were also virtually indiscernible. Where the differences were more discernible, more at the front end of the changes to any settings, where the Nordvang sounded richer than the original Klon. Both were excellent for their tones. I see where the original Klon's settings are more minutely different from the Nordvang's. To me that's an indicator that the 2 aren't exactly alike, but there has to be some attempts to match them by ear. For the most part that matching was pretty much spot on. For lack of knowing the exact differences, the Nordavng sounded a bit fuller when the differences were more discernible to me. I'd say all in all, they're dead ringers for one another, how much you have to pay for the Nordvang to get the original Klon, is there a Mosky out there or even the EHX Soul Food. Wow, the Nordvang Custom #1 is $ 394.29 on Reverb. Compare that to a Mosky for < $ 30 delivered or even the sub $ 90 EHX Soul Food. And the extra switches and whatever the Nordvang has is just a distraction from the simplicity. Anyone playing isn't going to piddle around with that many extra switches. I can see why they charge as much for it though with that much additional manual adjustment designed into the package. I think even the midpoint of this would be a Wampler Tumnus for $ 150. The more I think about the direction my post is going, bang for the buck, I'd never actually use a $ 3-4K original Klon and I wouldn't ever go $ 395 for a Nordvang. To actually use every day, the Mosky sub $ 30 pedal, Golden or Silver Horse is the best option, the Soul Food a close 2nd and the most I think anyone would go is the Wampler Tumnus for an always on pedal. With the Mosky, you can buy a starter & backup Horse/Centaur for less than the EHX Soul Food MSRP's at.
What I'm also enjoying about the Klon circuit, it's the perfect OD (boost) pedal for the amp I have when playing acoustic electric as well.
I’m going to be doing a demo of the Emerson Custom Golden Drive which is a “Klon Style” pedal. Keep an eye out for it!
Sounds kinda like the mystique behind the harmonic percolator from interfax. Its supposed to be a huge secret what the innards actually are cause they were intentionally covered too. There have been "recreations", and i really like the Karma Suture from Catlinbread. A very very mellow fuzz. i dont know if the original as special as rumored but Steve Albini (guy who recorded In Utero, he probably would hate thats what i explain him as cause he has been in many bands and produced many albums but thats all i know and im sorry albini. im just an unsophisticated 90s kid) swears by it, and he says every "recreation" doesnt sound right. But the difference could be his percolator specifically from the other originals but no one really knows. JHS has teased theyre looking into their take on it and may have something for it soon. Other than that, most people use the Land Devices remake, and the guy from JHS even says its better than the original to him.
Very enjoyable video, thank you. I use a RYYA clone which I'm very happy with. But not owning an original BF one, I can't tell how close it sounds.
I got a kit to make a clone of a Centaur. It does sound quite good. I like it very much.
Great vid! Thank you for this. I think I'll be getting the Nordvang.
Ive heard on in person through a very nice and powerfull marshall, it was nice but didnt hold up as well in higher volumes.
I then heard the guy play 3 other boutique pedals that completely left it for dead!
I didnt think it was special at all
Fantastic video man. Very objective!
thanks for checking out!
To be honest, in the Clon you can found 4 op amps, no 2 as you posted in the description.
The cule is that the Clon has two TL072 and the TL072 is a chip which has two opamps inside, so 2x2 is 4, so Clon has 4 opamps in the circuit.
The klon has less compression than the other pedal making sound slightly brighter.
It's interesting that you played the Friends theme. The lower gain settings on these pedals always reminds me of 90's rock like Gin Blossoms who all had a kind of vague low-gain distortion on jangly guitars.
The Friends theme song is what convinced me of everything you said
What pickups are you using?Fantastic sound brother !
When you added the gain, I can hear the difference. Time to sell my house
Nice video. I've tried a gold centaur worth strabillion$. yes, it was a great overdrive no question, but nothing that I can replicate with a good overdrive and an eq saving the 90% of the price tag. I think that the rarities of the models, the history and the mythology around the pedal are the real factors that make this pedal so expensive. on the other hand, if a good rare historic and mythological overdrive inspires you and let you feel and play better is worth all the money of the world.
true
Do all of the Klon pedals contain the circuit? No matter what the outside looks like? (Silver, gold, as well as horsie or nonhorsie?) just curious, incredible story
I was gonna say that I heard more bass less treble on the Nordvang, and liked it, but then you changed settings and I could hear 0 difference, and looking, I think your Tone knob was barely barely barely off on some of the settings. So I'd say this is definitely on my to-clone list!
The whole reason he built it was so he could hear the sound of his amp breaking up at lower volume. Sounds like you can get the Klon sound by cranking your amp.
I seen a centaur in Minneapolis Minnesota back in 2013 and the only wanted $300 for it I thought it was crazy but now I should have bought it
This test has a big flaw. Which is you playing live while switching between A and B.
What would really make it show the difference would be having an already pre-recorded session, that again will be recorded by each pedal. After that you can compare them up against eachother. Heck do everytving from putting one on left side and other on right to 1 at a time, if not both at the same time, 50% volume from each. To then see if the sound changes anything if they were to play together.
If they are more or less 100% identical.. ypu will have shut down the claims that comes with the pedal.
Why is a live A and B comparison flawed you may ask? Cause the strings are played differently every time. One time he can hit slightly harder on some strings and oposite. The guitar basically breathes when playing
Using the Klon as a clean boost is the ultimate flex.
No.1 seems like it has a little bit of low mids/mid push, and is a hair brighter. This Centaur is just a smidge more aggressive around 2.5 kHz -ish. But damn close considering the price difference!
Rich people uy klons. Regular working musicians know there are many afordable options out there. In my opinion the Wampler Tumnus is the best Klon clone.
I actually haven’t tried the Tumnus. But the Nordvang is the closest of all the klones I’ve tried.
I’m not an expert on the technical end of pedals and guitars, um but I do agree that it has to be possible to copy the sound of the klon centaur. I think you literally were off by like one inch, um something in the klon seems to reduce like high pitch fuzz that can be unpleasant to the ear at minute 9.19 you switch between the two and that’s when I heard that difference. It’s such a small thing but I think it’s a big one when trying to copy the klon. I think it’s definitely possible to copy the sound, it’s unique but it is untouchable I don’t think any sound that just comes from a amp or guitar or pedal is untouchable.
After owning 20 OD pedals, including 4 Klones, I settled on Walrus Voyager.
Super close to me the Nordvand slightly has a "blanket" over it comparatively but that's the closest I have heard
bought a Klon before they got overhyped (thanks to neal casal) and i love that pedal and will never sell it, but i have clones (Klones) that work perfect in bars. Truly this circuit original or not is unreal and perfect.
I don't really play electric guitar.. mostly acoustic . But i like that sound! Great video! cheers.
I like that Led Zeppelin Riff you kept playing................ ;)
Post reported ;)
:)
Greta van fleet ?
What clips smoothly and not harsh or square
Klon... the Dumble of pedals...
@joesl8 it's all BS....I own a klon...eh' I've herd dumbles....eh'
Nice rug man 😜 great video sir
Haha thanks man!
It’s such an insane amount of money for such a subtle effect
There are sooooooo many great sounding pedals out there, retail or DIY kits. I don't get all the hype around certain tones. It comes down to so many parameters...The guitar, the pickups, your playing style, the amp, the cab/speakers (maybe more than anything), the mic(s), the room, hell even a long cable makes quite a difference. I build DIY clones sometimes, and so often I stumble upon another clone of the same pedal which claims to be extra special, extra flexible, this and that added feature blah blah blah. But I've got to remind myself about what I said above: In my opinion, a certain flavour of pedal, take for example (oh infamous example, sorry..just comes to my mind because it's on my desk for a knob repair right now) a Boss HM-2 Clone. Doesn't matter too much if you have clone A, clone B, cheap retail clone, the original... As long as it is a good clone and it hasn't got any malfunction, all of them will knock you into the ballpark of 90s Stockholm Death Metal. There might be slight differences but you've got slight differences anyways. Imitating the sound of a certain artist on a certain recordis very difficult, especially in a live situation where you have no control about the final mix. So I don't really care about that. A similar tone is all you will get in most situations, but it is more than enough. GOOD tone matters, but here are a billion ways to get good tone.
"Shut up turd we're watching Friends!"
-Shelly Marsh
Like anything I think you need to listen and go with the Overdrive pedal that suits you and what you are trying to play. Even if you can get one and have the money the answer may not be a Klon.
It sure sounds awesome👍
Great history and a/b video. To my ears the Klon sounds more transparent in the lower frequencies. Sweeter. The other pedal sounds quite good though.
Thanks!
8:03 clearly different your copy isn't as transparent there is some mid frequencies added in it
Maybe I have to try one. I've never seen a demo where it sounded like anything other than I turned a knob on my amp. It must be a feel thing because I hear no sound improvement or even change...just louder or more gain. To me, a boost or gain pedal has always been to fix something my amp has wrong. This would need a reason, which I don't have, I guess? PS: great video!
Correct, pretty much. The Klon's main purpose is really to act as a switch the get the effect of gaining it up on your amp (mild to moderate breakup) while being as 'transparent' as possible (sounding like your amp if you walked over and turned it up). Really just useful for live applications, or when you must just dramatically change your guitar's sound for a solo or whatever. Really not a pedal you should always have on ( I think that about all drive pedals).
to me the Klon sounded clearer in the A/B test. A little difference that would make THE difference for me. The Klon is great, the other is a bit muddy. Could you match the sound pushing the treble a little?
Yes, it's not easy to match them whilst filming. But definitely, pushing the treble and maybe the volume would've fixed that.
I concur
I really like watching your ears go up and down... Nice lecture too!
Oh, I forgot... You WAIL! I could listen to you play for days! How do I hear more?
While it probably doesn't sound EXACTLY like a Klon, my Wampler Tumnus adds as much to my overall tone, I think. Plus it doesn't take up nearly as much pedalboard real estate. More importantly, I didn't have t go into debt to get one!
As you say, a myth.I used to build this stuff in the 1960's...................Couldnt compete with modern assembly methods and all the integrated circuit stuff..mine was hand built for me..............Good video to listen to , excellent, much succss in life...H6 UKVET
It is very close and during the first part of your plane I can't tell the difference but then you change pickup settings or something and when you make the change I don't know if the clowns sounds more open or is a slightly brighter sounding but there's a slight difference
I would put the orignal Klon on my pedalboard connected to nothing, and have the other pedal hidden but actually plugged, making all the tone. And wait and hear people complimenting about the tone and saying how a clone wouldn't sound so good.