The Klon: A Short History, featuring Jeff McErlain
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- čas přidán 29. 10. 2020
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I announced this early this week and right away everyone was saying that the Klon has been all over CZcams lately. I honestly hadn't noticed that. It's been on my list since I began the series last year...it's number just came up. Because it's a good story. I truly innovative design from the early '90's that is now the basis for many, many pedals in the marketplace.
The story of it's development are interesting and it raises interesting questions about what is "new" and "standing on the shoulders of giants" and what is a straight copy. Don't look to me to sort this out. I hope I don't imply any opinions in the video. I'm just raising a question that I've seen so many times in the forums.
The project also had me spending a good amount of time with a Mythos Mjolnir, and I was very impressed. I'm talking to Zach Broyles about the chance to do a limited run of five watt world signature Mjolnirs (in white of course). So let me know in the comments if that's something you'd be interested in.
--- Correction: I just got off the phone with Humbucker Music (seen in the video) and they tell me that though the KTR shipment are "very sporadic" they do still get batches of the pedals in on occasion. So it seems I got that detail wrong.
I'd like to send a SPECIAL THANKS to all the friends of five watt. Your support is very much appreciated.
Thanks for watching. Until next time, thanks for being a part of the five watt world.
***Five watt world participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn commissions by linking to Amazon. In simpler language, this means that whenever you buy something from Amazon from a link on here, I receive a small percentage of its price. - Hudba
Klon: The most money for the least gear.
Hard to disagree.
Lol
It’s so transparent it’s like it’s not even there! TAKE MY MONEY!
I'd have to agree. Not sure why Keith thought the KLon deserved its own episode.
@@shanewalton8888 it’s prob the most iconic pedal ever made wether you like it or not. He has high value items all the time 58 Flying V for example
I owned a silver Klon in the early 2000's. I bought it directly from Bill for $279.00 and sold it a few years later for $450.00 thinking I was a genius. That thought soon evaporated.
I bought a gold Klon from him in 2001 for 279.00 and like a complete idiot in a moment of weakness sold it to a producer in LA in 2013 for 975 dollars
Thank God I was able to get my hands on the KTR. I love that thing.
wow, i would never resell a pedal from someone who builds them just in case lol. this post made me cry.
but when you sold it at the time you thought you didn't need it or you just didn't like it that much - so it's all good. ;) no worries!
Did you sell it because you didn't need or like it anymore or just thinning the gear out? How did you like what it did, if I may ask?
@@willdenham Sorry for the late response. Honestly, I just didn't care for the sound of it when the gain was cranked- too strident in the mids.
Keith's quickly becoming youtubes premier guitar historian in documentary form.
He's the Ken Burns of guitar videos.
With chin whiskers that would make Shelby Foote proud! 🤣
The Ian McCollum of guitar world
He's one of the very few people who knows what he's talking about, and knows it well.
@@angusorvid8840 And one of the even fewer who will admit they don't know it all, and ask his audience for information, input, and opinions. Keith rocks! Jeff McErlain is awesome, too!
The Bob Ross?
"People didn't want to wait for the 12-14 weeks for production" *Laughs in King of Tone*
Yes! I’ve been on the waitlist for 3.5 years for my KoT and I just got my order in yesterday.
@@MartiniLinguine Wow. I bought mine in 2014 and it took 9 months back then. Still a great pedal.
Hah! Still on the list, I can't even remember when I signed up.
As I said before listening to 5watt is like studying at Harvard for guitar history.....thank you never get tired of the knowledge
@@MattyK-USA Current waitlist is 3.5 years. I put myself on fairly recently because why not? I only have to save like $0.20 a day!
Bill cold-called me in late 2007, to assist in tweaking the Klon to achieve something that some of his customers had requested. It wasn't a weakness or any intended change in the design, just a "special order". He told me that the consulting engineer he had collaborated with in past had been tragically killed in a single-engine propeller-plane accident, and that he had seen a number of my posts and felt he could trust me. I consider it a high-water mark in my guitar gadget career.
He sent me two ungooped bare boards, and a schematic. One of the boards had *every single component* socketed so that I could play with the values and have the stock version to compare against. My operating constraints were that I could not change the design, and could not require a board redesign. (As is indicated in this video, Bill already had enough on his plate.) The schematic had a number of component values crossed out and other 1% values written in, suggesting that he was tweaking values until he hit on what he wanted. The design itself was a house of cards. If you changed one part value over here, it would have implications over there. Not a criticism; more an illustration of how the original design was not formulaic, but more a result of Bill asking "Could you get a little more of *this* ?", and signal paths being fiddled with to do that. But ultimately, I could not achieve what he was asking me to do and we parted ways amicably. The boards and schematic were sent back. BTW, the build quality was outstanding.
Bill's business practice was generally to engage in a lengthy conversation with prospective customers who called and find out more about their rig and playing style, to determine whether the Klon would suit them and add value. I don't know that he ever flat-out refused anyone, but if he felt it wasn't going to do anything useful, he would recommend against purchase. The time taken up by these conversations with customers ate into his build time, and was partly responsible for the backlog. Both the boards and enclosures were made, in BIll's words, "in small batches". I don't know how small "small" is, but needless to say, it wasn't in the thousands.
We had a number of conversations about his production methods. I would suggest alternative approaches to streamline things, including switching to the enclosure that the KTR eventually came in, and a more universal 2.1mm power jack, but at least at that point he wasn't going for any of it. I'm glad to see he came around.
Though I would hope most people understand by now, it still bears repeating that the only money Bill saw out of those stupidly high E-Bay resale prices was the $229-$349 he sold the pedals for. Sadly, there was so much legend surrounding the pedal that when someone paid a thousand or more for one, on E-bay, without "the conversation with Bill", and found it didn't make them a guitar god, they were resentful over the money they had spent. They would turn around and flip the pedal; often to someone who would be just a disappointed, and flip it again.
Since it was absorbed into the consciousness of better players everywhere, in the mid-to-late '90s, there have been a number of pedals - many of which you show - that have aimed for the same terrain; that of pre-shaping the signal to get the best overdrive tone from the amp. I find that is one of the biggest misconceptions about the Klon. People think it is an "overdrive" pedal. It's not a pedal designed to produce a pleasing overdrive tone *on its own* , no matter what amp you feed it into. Indeed, if you crank it and send it to any plain vanilla solid-state amp with the amp gain turned down, you'd be hard-pressed to want to pay $50 for it, let alone thousands. It is intended to make *the amp itself* behave in a more pleasing way. As all those other pedals show, there are many ways to arrive at that same objective. Heck, I even came up with one: www.ramzmusic.com/misc/pedals/crank-project.pdf Bill's genius was that he was more or less the originator of that strategy, and deserves all the respect and acclaim for doing so.
This video is about as thorough and informative a video on the Klon that I have seen. Thanks. Much appreciated.
Fascinating - thanks for posting! :)
And the PDF linked includes an old URL that doesn't seem to work as expected, so try this one:
hammer.ampage.org/?sort=new&page=2
and scroll down for "The Crank - a not so clean booster | 1/9/2005 2:29 AM" or go straight to:
hammer.ampage.org/files/The_Crank.gif
Thanks for sharing this. Having owned and used a Klon since the '90s (after having that phone conversation with Bill), I've watched the craziness that's ensued with dismay. Mr. Finnegan designed a unique amp boost pedal, built to the highest standards: end of story. Why anyone wants to blame him for all the contentious Klon-related nonsense subsequently generated in gear forums and youtube commentary is beyond me.
@@stringworks1861 Thanks for the confirmation vote. I think it's a little like public attitudes towards government, whether at the municipal, state/provincial, or federal level, or "management". When you don't know much about the actual operational side of things and how they *really* work, it's easy to dream up outrageous and suspicion-based explanations. And that's pretty much 99% of the folks who never had any direct dealings with Bill.
@@markhammer643 "When you don't know much about the actual operational side of things and how they really work, it's easy to dream up outrageous and suspicion-based explanations."
Sad, but true. As we're seeing so clearly at this particular time.
Could you imagine if he had decided to start building them again. It would’ve made Analogman’s King of Tone wait time seem like 15 minutes.
If you accidentally plug the Klon into a 18v power supply the charge pump circuit will release the magic smoke. 💨. 😀
Ha!
I heard about that!!!! True story!
Wampler did a video on this:
czcams.com/video/GZHoYM1JKpk/video.html
So that's what $3000 smells like.
That’s hardly exclusive to the Klon...
For those that are new here, allow me to maximize your Five Watt World experience:
- See that new video is posted
- Get a fresh cup of coffee
- Put phone on silent
- Let Keith soothe your ear holes for the next 20 minutes
We are truly in the golden age of guitar learning. You, Keith, and so many more are giving free education to the masses that is world class.
just finished a binge on your channel, October seemed to be Klon month this year
Roast his rig!
This is LITERALLY exactly what I did when i saw that this video was posted!
We need Keith to make an ASMR channel
The Klon thing was never my cup of tea but this video sure made me appreciate them more.
They aren't for everyone, but if all gear was being a musician would be boring 🤣
(I really tried to love them, but I only love them when other people use them 🤷🏻♂️)
I was never a Klon fan back in the day, not enough crunch. Now that I'm older (58), kinda diggin on the "Clip Push" that Bill's pedals put to a tube amp. I kinda came up with a hot JCM with a TS808 or TS9 in front, I think I know where you are coming from. It's all a matter of taste...
Thanks Robert. I was talking to Shawn Tubbs the other day and he said really nice things about you man.
@Bruce Dickinson Who are you referring to? Voices/written word, from the bellows of your phycosis?
ditto, good vid but Klon is just not for me. interesting though.
People get wrapped up in the fact that 'It's not worth thousands of dollars ect ect'.
The guy invented and built them all himself and sold them for $400. Surely it's worth that. The rest is our fault
Amen
Nailed it.
Hence why the klon klones are so popular now.
True.
And, we have a winner!
I actually spoke with Bill Finnegan in early 2000's. Just one sweet guy to talk shop with you. He suggested that I look around Texas's Music stores and look for a Fender Deluxe with Green Trim throughout the grill cloth, only the green thread through the grill cloth. He told me this amp works really good with this pedal. Onward did I go and holy smokes the guitar center on Westhiemer in Houston had one!! i jumped on it, sent it to Gerald Weber of Kendrick and he performed a much needed replacement of parts and cleaning. I replaced the speaker with an alnico 12 inch FANE. I hit an open Mike night here in southeast Texas and blew people away with it. The Klon and a crybaby and this Deluxe kicked ass with my Strat. People could not believe the TONE I possessed that night. It's my go to rig since, Thank You Bill!!!!! and GOD Bless you sir!!!!!! Thank you to Gerald Weber too!!!
Wow cool discovery !
_K-L-O-N Los Angeles, KLON RADIO, we play the songs that sound more like everyone else, than anyone else_
I need a saga!
What's the saga!? ;)
It's songs for the Deaf, you can even hear it.🎶 Dumdum tsa. Dumdum tsa. 🎶
Awesome stuff!
I bought my first Klon around 1995. I ordered it out of the back of Guitar Player magazine IIRC. A few weeks later, when it arrived, I plugged it in and went to town playing. It didn't sound like anything special and I thought I should have just bought a Digitech multi-effects unit instead. Then I bought my first vintage Fender amp. A 1958 Deluxe. I plugged in the Klon as I was practicing one day and WOW! It made the amp just open up and sound just...better. The natural overdrive had these little harmonics that I never had before, the bottom end was rounded just right. A week later I bought another one because now it was part of 'my sound' and what if my first one broke? It wasn't like you could walk in to a music store and get a new one. I my second one arrived a couple of months later. I played those things for more than 15 years. Then the resale prices started creeping up. And up. And up. These pedals that I paid ~$250 for were selling for close to a grand. I wasn't using mine anymore. I was playing metal a lot by then. I sold both of my Klons for ~$1,200 each. I still got the itch for that tone every so often so I purchased a JHS Klone at first. It was a 'faithful reproduction' but didn't have the same feel as the originals did. When you really dug in to notes it just didn't have the same 'bloom' as the Klon. I sold that too and went without for quite a while. Then, a couple of years ago, Ceriatone started building the Centura, a part for part recreation of the original Klon. The price was incredibly low, comparatively, so I bought one. It is, hands down, a dead ringer for the Klon. I couldn't believe, when I dialed up my old settings on my old tweeds, how this thing was a perfect recreation of looks & tones of the Centaur. Needless to say, I have 2 Centuras now and, at my age, I'll probably hang on to them for life.
Good to know the video mentions the Miolnir Mythos as the exact replication?
You really can't beat the $50-60 pricetag (mostly used prices) for an Ehx Soul food. It's a great pedal that does Klon well.
As I run screaming from all things political, I find this interesting and calming post from 5 Watt World. Just what the doctor ordered.
I bought Klon 3913 from Bill in 2008 for a total of $344. I still have the box & paperwork. It’s been on my pedalboard ever since & a crucial part of my sound. It has a richness & hifi quality that I haven’t been able to get out of any other pedal, even the klones I’ve tried. Those who haven’t tried one may scoff, but those of us that know, know.
I'm with ya bro'. I bought mine in 2000 for $289 shipped. It is the one piece of gear that I have owned the longest! I sensed that it was special when I first plugged it in.....I knew...don't ever sell this, it will be valuable one day. I was right damn it! There were many periods of my life early on in my business as a fledgling house painter where I was really struggling....poor ....food stamps.....but I wouldn't sell it cause I knew I would regret it. Thank god I did not sell it!!
@@iansnyder274 When I bought mine they were already going for $500-$600 because of the constant 3 month waitlist. I’m a patient man, so I paid my money & got on Bill’s list. I really enjoyed my conversations with Bill & his genuine interest in what I wanted out of the pedal & what gear I was using with it. I told him I was a Jazzmaster guy & stuck to small wattage amps of the Fender & Vox style (still am, there is no more beautiful of a tone than a JM neck pickup into a Deluxe Reverb) & loved the tones Nels was getting with his Klon. 3 months later the first copper colored Klon I had ever seen arrived at my office. Up to that point all of the cases I’d seen were gold or silver; mine is in a distinctly copper colored enclosure. I had asked Bill if I could have a gold one as the silver were what were in current production & he said “let me see what I can do.” Just one more thing that makes #3913 mine & something I won’t ever part with either.
“🎵What would you dooo-ooo-ooo...for...a Klon Centaur!🎵”
Sorry.
Nothing?
I would dooo-ooo-ooo...the funky Gibbon for a Klon Centaur!
@@hekakain4108 OOH OOH OOH!
Would you....would you...kill a guy?
*screen cuts to black*
@@manifestgtr ARE you mad?
I love the "I'd like to thank" references at the end of these vids. It's a real mark of professionalism.
Thanks Stevie
I just know this is going to be good and I'm 15 seconds in.
Definitely another great video.
Yeah. I hit like even before the ads finished. I knew it would be safe and was not disappointed.
That's what she said!
Two suggestions for future reviews/History from Canada....Traynor/Yorkville and GBX amps. GBX were the first "powered" cabs I ever saw. They had a small solid state "driver" which sat on top of the 4X12 cab. Multiple cabs could be joined together. There is an early picture of Rush's Alex Lifeson using GBX in the early days.
Oh man I loved this. I bought my Ceriatone Centura just over a year ago having had an Archer previously. While it is a shameless copy, down to the enclosure, it is such a fantastic pedal, and if close to the original inspiration (which I sadly will likely never find out) you have to just sit back and appreciate what genius it was to create something original and magical in a world dominated by tubescreamers.
The Centura is the closest to my ear to the original I had.
Closer than either of the Archers, Bill's own KTR etc etc...
I can confirm it. Centura is amazing.
The Archer is great...but the Centura had that little something special. Plus Nik is a great guy. Actually, J Rockett are also awesome dudes...can't go wrong either way!
Tubescreamers are crap ; they take over the original sound of your guitar in amp .
A pedal must add something but must'n take over your original sound
I just purchased that mjolnir/wildwood combo yesterday! Appreciate the validation haha
Surprised Kenny Wayne Shepherd didn’t get a mention. Kenny was the first high profile player using one. For my money, the Klon pushes a Strat and Fender amp to the best Blues Rock bell tone I’ve ever heard. I see all these demos with Humbuckers, but single coil bell tone is really where the Klon shines.
That has to be Mercury Blues that McElaine is playing in the outro. I love it.
It’s such a riot that he’s talking about magical diodes. The way most guys setup their klons, those diodes aren’t even clipping!
Yes I learned this via JHS, all that light gain /boost stuff, it’s doing nothing.
@@fawkesandhound not to mention that topology of the blend knob of the clean signal along with the dirty signal has the property of making the signal cleaner, even if the diodes were clipping!
I had a Klon for a pretty long time and I must admit I just don't get the gain all the way off idea. I don't think there is anything special about that circuit as a totally clean boost.
To me the beauty of that pedal came with the gain @ around about 9 or 10 o'clock where it was adding a bit of saturation, fatness and presence but before things started to get too nasally as they tended to with the gain higher.
@@Grant_Ferstat I don’t think those diodes are doing anything even with the gain set around 9-10 o’clock, you’re still below the forward voltage at that point. Maybe the nature of germanium is providing a hint of compression, perhaps, before all out clipping. But yeah with that dual ganged pot especially, I don’t think anything is going on until at least 11 o’clock
@@voxpathfinder15r I can't say for sure how much impact if any the diodes are having but there is definitely some compression a little saturation and definitely the EQ shift that I think is what the real strength of that pedal.
This short history series is amazing! This is the kind of stuff I loved learning about from customers and the older guys at the shop back when I used to work in a music store years ago. Now I don't have to wait and wonder if that guy who knows everything about cool gear is going to come in this week. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us Keith. Keep it up!
Thanks Eric!
Keith, I think that the idea of a 5-Watt World signature pedal is a GREAT one. Definitely something I'd personally be interested in. Thanks so much, as always, for your hard work and impeccable production values.
Thanks Matty! I'll keep you posted on the signature pedal.
Nice!!! I was pumped to see this one Keith! Great job once again!!
Always so glad to see your work. Thank you
Wonderful! Can't wait to watch. Big love and regards to you and yours from the UK.
Hopefully guitar shopping today...
Good luck...take your time,
Was given an old ODR-1; my intro to a good OD tool. 20+ yrs and many watts ago. Now at 5 watts I'm wondering about building an even better little klone, just for fun. Love history, great show, thanks. At least Mr. Williams' History class doesn't have finals like; Explain Music (footnotes, cites, use both sides if necessary)
More great stuff. Thanks Keith
Another great video! Thanks as always for the great work
The crazy thing is the actual clipping looks closer related to a MXR Distortion + than anything else. But you combine that with the dual gang clean blend and the high headroom from the power supply circuit it became its own thing. The heart of it is a hard clipper.
Man I see your point, but the massaging And the four amplification design, and germanium diodes...It’s not a fair statement at all, I’m a big klon(e) fan, and the distortion + that I have played with kind of eww. That being said we all are entitled to our opinions
#EndCyberBullying
I was thinking the same thing. My script logo Dist + makes wonderfully usable OD with the distortion turned all the way down and the output maxed.
I’ve got a script Dist+ also, and I agree: it is a very under-rated effect. Andy Summers used one, so it can’t be too bad.
@@StandbyCymbalist both of my late 70's D+ 's would be way under unity volume if I did that. One of the reasons I reluctantly sold and moved on.
With output maxed (hissssss!), gain needed to be over half way - around 2pm was good.
Wow, I didn't realize the KTR is out of production also. I'm glad I was able to pick one up a couple years ago. It is a great pedal!
It's not actually out of production though. The Guitar Sanctuary had some in September (they sold out in less than a three minutes though). And Chicago Music Exchange's KTR page says they're expecting more in December. Probably had significantly slowed production due to COVID-19.
Thank you as always. Great work!
Thanks Keith, amazing video as always!!
I have never geeked out on guitar stuff, despite playing for the better part of 30 years. Five Watt World has changed that and given me so much of an education that I'm beginning to question my own commitment to the gear I've used. Excellent video. (Stop making me spend money.)
Love this channel. I do believe it’s the player, not the pedal. 99% of the people listening to rock, including myself, couldn’t tell a Klon from a Tumnis deluxe or Archer. Both reasonably priced pedals.
also if you could tell the diffrence, whos to say the origonal is the better of the two?
Great job on the video! As always I appreciate your perspective and really enjoyed the history lesson and break down of the inner workings.
Keep up the great work
Awesome work! Thanks!
So many great ideas are the result of a collaboration between a techy person and a creative person.
In my experience, trying to do both on any project is difficult. When you can separate that work between two different brains, there is a lot of potential for magic.
Keith, a few years ago I received an email from Cream City Music stating that they had just acquired a “very limited quantity” of Klon KTR’s that were available at a very reasonable price. Without hesitating (or mentioning it to my wife) I purchased one and received confirmation that the transaction was made. I checked Cream City’s website 2 hours later and they were sold out. My KTR is my first and only experience with a Klon. I can’t discern how close it sounds to the Gold or Silver versions by comparing it to online videos. But, it is very different (in a good way) from every other pedal in my collection. If I had to choose an “always on” pedal, or give up multiple pedals to keep one, the KTR would be the keeper.
Really looking forward to watching this one!🤘
Keith, this is another of your videos that I'll have to watch at least 3 times to absorb all of the information. Thank you!
Awesome as always!
How about an episode on the history of EHX?
In my opinion very interesting company, big poineers in their days, and today a company offering a huge amount of effects for usually comfortable prices, varying from original designs to absolute copies of other hits.
I absolutely love my electoral harmonix soul food! Is the cornerstone of my drives.
I bought one about a month ago and couldn't be happier with it.
I've been waiting for this for too long. Thank You Keith. Very Cool
Another great video Keith.. thanks so much
The dislikes make no sense... this was (as per usual) a beautifully and carefully put together
Video with Keith's delightfully clinical delivery... what's not to like already??
Another extremely authentic clone is the Decibelics Golden Horse, hand built in Barcelona Spain. Great video!
Agreed. I have one and it’s stellar
Thank you, Keith. Excellent content again. I always learn quite a lot from your channel. Cheers! 🍻
Yet again, another great video, Keith! This is the kind of content I love. Thank you for your hard work & great work! Also...looking for klones now....
Sweet, gotta love that drive tone!
For years I've used a Boss Distortion DS-1 and really come to enjoy what it can do even though it's not held in any real regard by players. There is no $3000 pedal in my future.
The DS-1 is a legend in its own right tbh
Modding the DS1 will wake it up. Just a few parts. Not saying the Klon isn't great, but my wallet bleeds when a cash outlay of that magnitude comes, hence the soldering iron is plugged in.
It’s hard to beat the DS-1 with gain turned way down and tone below noon. Even that long forgotten tone knob on a guitar can dial out a lot of harshness if needed and the volume pot turned down to dial in a mid boost. Then boost output on the DS-1. And that is tough to beat
Idk, they sold millions of them for a reason 🤷♂️
If a DS1 into a PA system was good enough for Kurt Cobain it's good enough for me.
Amazing video as always, Keith. Thanks very much. My absolute favorite guitar channel.
I just loved this. I look forward to your 'Short History' videos more than any other content on CZcams. I'm really looking forward to the Trainwreck video. Thanks for doing these!!
A true legend of gear. Being 100% honest, of course I've considered dolling out the bread for one, but have always reached a point of reason and concluded that some day when I'm playing 5000 seaters it might make sense. For now, I'll be happy with less 'mythical' overdrive tones and truth is, I am the only one at the gig who is even nitpicking my tone to such a degree.
And like Keith said...in the studio, you can just crank an amp.
Damnit Keith! I just bought an Archer because of you!
Sorry Matt!
Thanks for an outstanding overview of everything Klon - I really appreciate it
Outstanding as always, Keith. I've yet to see any of your videos where I'm not blown away by your attention to detail and always picking the subjects guitarists are clamoring to hear!
I've told this same story a few times on youtube.
Anyway, I'd heard about this pedal, but never played through one. Word on the street was that this pedal would do exactly what I wanted, give me the sound of my amp on 10, when the sound-man wanted me to be closer to 3.
Well, I'd heard that Bill would be at a guitar show about 75 miles from my home so I planned to go there and get a pedal. When I arrived at the show, I found Bill as he was packing up all his gear and preparing to leave the show. I told him I had driven nearly 2 hours in LA traffic to meet him and buy his pedal and he told me he was sold out. The only pedal he had left was the demonstration pedal they had been using to show exactly what the pedal did. I jumped at the chance to buy this last pedal he had and he offered it for full price of $225 with no discount, although it had not box or manual.
Since I bought it, I have pretty much never played without it. Whatever your sound is, this pedal just gives you a bit more goodness.
At one time a friend of mine was going to record a new album. He asked me if there was anything I could lend him to give him a bit more versatility on his record. I gave him a 1956 LesPaul Jr and the old Klon.
While setting up and the studio engineer was miking drums and amps, my friend was setting up his guitar rig. When he clicked on the Klon Centaur, the records producer said over the mic, "I don't know what that was you just turned on, but we will be using it on every guitar track on this album."
Yeah, I agree the super inflated value of these pedals is outrageous, but it all comes down to supply and demand. If you look at Joe Perry and Brad Whitfords pedalboard, they have only one thing in common. Yeah, you guessed it. Old Klon Centaurs. So why did these pedals double in value over the last year? I don't know either, but all I can figure is that ultra rich rock stars are buying back up pedals in case anything happens to their original. Is the pedal work $5,000? Not to me it isn't, but maybe to a guys like Joe Perry it is. Hahaha to him it's a tax deduction.
FINALLY, Shawn Tubbs' sanity saves the day!
Another great video. Thank you!!
Great video as always! And glad that Bill started building them again!
I always wondered what the big deal was about the Klon. I reviewed the Tumnus and I thought it was a really cool pedal. But when I got my HX Stomp and played around with all the dirt/overdrive pedals, the Minotaur (which is a Klon clone, or a Klone, if you will) quickly became my favorite - the best of the group. And now I really get it. It is pretty fantastic.
For April Fools, please do one on the Line 6 Spyder 🤣
INSANE ! 😂
Korg Miku
Great amp when ran right
@@Nitsua_Atayha I've got a 90 s spider 3 212 combo....sounds better do my ears then my old Marshall 50 watt head
Had one of those. Sold it to a kid who had to have it.
Very cool. Thanks for going into detail about the history of this pedal. Sounds awesome. Hoping to check out the less hyped options soon.
I know when I start your videos, there's no stopping until then end. Thanks for another tone history lesson, loved it.
After watching video, CZcams is showing me all sorts of Klon videos. Great hear player's impressions and their tone choices.
What if I make a clone of the klon, but i turn it into an unprofessional overdrive?
Wouldn't that be 'Professionally Unprofessional'?😁
The Nolk Amateur Overdrive - the logo is a man with a horse head
@@hpoz222 now I want one
A professional klon trooper
Only goes to 11. All the drive. Yes please
I love my Klon, but never could have afforded one until I found a cheap knockoff on sale for $33 new and ... it works great. I don't know how it compares with the real thing, but I'm enjoying it a LOT.
Really been looking forward to this one!
As usual, bloody brilliant. Thanks yet again Keith.
Thanks Peter
“...copies of that successful design are a disincentive to anyone making something truly new and original in the pedal world...” ...except that it’s true not only in the pedal world, but in every other world. Anyone who has ever created something useful and had it stolen knows the meaning of disincentive and discouragement.
Every persistent problem exists for lack of the knowledge required to solve it. Innovation is the process whereby that knowledge is created. If innovators were rewarded instead of being plundered, the world would be a very different place.
5000 dollars well spent.
As usual this was a great 20 minutes and very well spent. Thanks, Keith. Your videos are much appreciated.
Your videos are so excellent. Clean, professional, entertaining and informative; I look forward to every one.
The 5 Watt World Overdrive Special pedal?? Sounds like a winner to me....I’d like to pre order. Thx Keith
Ruudis brooooooooo
The irony of a website dedicated to helping us get thé most from thé gear we already have would then lead us to a 5WW pedal...🤔
+1 on the preorder!
The "Magic" is that gutarists believe in mojo and pay too much for it.... If the parts match the values used in the orig, guess what, the klones will sound the same.... that is basic physics... the TL072 is not a 'special' op amp, you could use an LM833, a 1458, or NE5332 or even the 'screamer' chip the 4558 and it will sound pretty much the same...
sub diodes are easily sourced.. and even the charge pump isn't 100% needed as I've built a version without the pump and.. surprise, it sounds like a klon, just not as clean...
Agreed! In 2009, or 10, I a-b'd a Fulltone Fulldrive 2 and a 2000 Klon and the difference between the two was minimal at best. In fact, a Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive will get anyone in the ballpark. This isn't a rag on the Klon, just piggybacking on your initial point.
True, but to me that's kind of why it was such a brilliant design. It uses off the shelf components and just connects them in a genuinely unique way. That's the magic, such as it is.
Yeah I agree. I believe the charge pump is not for extra headroom. Remember, this was (co)designed by EE graduates who would know that the hard clipping diodes make extra headroom redundant. The input buffer and gain stage opamp is still only at 9V. I believe the 25V power supply was to get the post-fuzz 072 closer to its very high slew rate potential. Whether or not this is audible, that's up to the individual. The 072 was probably also chosen not just for its fet input, but because the 062 is far too noisy, and a pair of 082s along with the 1044 with its boost pin high, would make the circuit too thirsty for 90's 9V batteries. (Apparently Finnegan didn't use a board, just the one pedal, so battery life would've been important). FWIW, the 1044 was also used in a fairly innovative way, with both 2(V+) and -(V+) features used at once. Whatever people think of this design, it certainly was an original approach that's for sure.
I built my own with 1N34A diodes that I got 20 years ago, and the packets I got them were yellowed and aged even then. They look identical to the pictures if the actual Klon diodes.
It’s all part of the circuit design, really.
As a long time luthier I really appreciate the work and scholarship that goes into your videos. This was a great one!
Great journalism! So very cool and demystifying.
5k $ for an overdrive lol !
I know right. My boss sd1 does just fine 🤘🏻👍🏻
Just get the Soul Food .It’s affordable and does it well .
@@techdeathhippie6319 Agreed . The Soul Food is an excellent pedal .
@@shaunw9270 I think it does what the designer said . Just helps you hit the sweet spot without any junk
@@techdeathhippie6319 I own a couple of old Marshall JTM30 combos. I prefer to just plug straight in usually . The 5881 valves make it a great clean amp but the drive channel is a bit too dark for my liking. Using the Soul Food makes it come alive , brightens it up and increases presence while maintaining the character of the guitar that's in front of it.
We used the J Rocket Archer pedal for the first time when we recorded our original song “Dragon Drop”. Prior to this experience, we had no idea what the Klon was. That being said, we quickly purchased the Archer pedal as it was explained to us that it was next best thing when compared to the original. We’ve not looked back! If you would like to hear what it sounds like let us know and we will send a link to you. Keep up making these awesome videos!
Excellent documentary. Well done Keith!
Great video. Thanks for sharing.
Anyone else catch the David Barber "Beano" reference? Or am I seeing something that I've invented in my own brain?
:)
Trey anastasio actually uses a klon with a trainwreck amplifier, he’s renting the amps from some amp dealer in nyc and are housed in donor/secret housings so people don’t know his tone is like hundreds of thousands of dollars lol
I knew he’d added the Klon a few years back. Had no clue about the trainwrecks! That’s hilarious! The Ross comp doesn’t hurt the tally either.... that’s a shitload of veggie burritos.
He uses Komets live. Some tweaked by Ken Fischer, as well as the new Komet Silver Cloud.
Thank you 🙏
Great video as always Keith!!!
I have a JRAD Archer Ikon that I use more or less as recommended. I like to use it at the front of my pedalboard both as a tone shaper and as a boost into overdrive/distortion further down the chain. I know some players like to use it after distortion, especially fuzz, and I've heard some great tones that way but I've tried it and don't like the way it sounds given how I play, How the Archer compares to a Klon is something I doubt I'll ever discover for myself but if I'm ever fortunate enough to come across a real Klon and play through it I'll report back with my findings. 😎
Archer Ikon is currently my favorite OD pedal. I stack it with other drive pedals in front of it, and it sounds fantastic.
Wow, Mayer uses a QTron+, as opposed to a vintage Mutron III or the more recent one also created by Mike Biegel. He didn't opt for the first run QTron, either. Color me impressed. He doesn't sound like Jerry on his own, but he does a darn good job in that band. Sorry for the non-Klon comment!
I recently added a Qtron mini and it sure is fickle!
@@markkindermannart4028 I have the QTron+ and find it to have a ton of gain, even without the boost on. It's a little bit unwieldy, when all you want is that little bit of low pass "wowmp" as a lilt.
I bought a archer overdrive recently and when I put my les paul through it down a half step into my jcm800...instant appetite for destruction....magic. keep up the top work Keith...cant wait for the jcm800 short history...👍
Keith, great video and something that I’d personally never heard of. Just goes to show how much there is still to learn. 👍🏻👍🏻
🤘🤘🤘
I think Wampler makes a killer killlller Klon Klone
> complains that the industry is discouraging people from coming up with new circuits
> sells pedals for around $3000 a piece on ebay without having to deal with the costs of the industry
I have an irrational dislike of anyone who puts goo over their circuits because it’s just so speshull.
@@chipsterb4946 he basically was forced to do that, because if a big company able of producing the pedal in a larger scale knew how to duplicate it, they would leave him out of business
@@gerardosajidgamezsanchez6962 I said I was being irrational. Has everything to do with Alexander Dumble’s nonsense. And I’ll point out that Ken Fisher never gooped up a Trainwreck amp to the best of my knowledge.
@@gerardosajidgamezsanchez6962 well, the goop served to build up the hype. you can clean the goop. And copy the circuit anyway. So now the big guys are copying the circuit. He can still sell his own homemade Klons at 3000$ each. Because it's more convenient!
@@SirWilliamTambourine the goop actually served its purpose because no one copied the circuit until someone reverse engineered it, and I agree that nowadays it's a lot better to buy a clone instead of having to compete in an auction with other people. But I think my comment what misinterpreted, I just wanted to shine some light on the fact that he was only trying to protect his biggest protect at the time, although the attitude he has when it comes to clones of his pedals is really stupid because a circuit is a circuit, if you build it the same as the original it's going to sound like the original
This was great!! Thanks
Always love when I see new vids from Five Watt. 🤘🏻
A very basic economic law is illustrated: supply and demand. I built low voltage control panels at one time in my life at what became a two-man shop only after I arrived. I suspect that a small panel shop would have been thrilled to have had the opportunity to build these pedals and would have maintained build quality. Yes, price would have gone up but clearly the market would support a higher price. I don't know Finnegan but years of folding table production facility and stressing over delivery whispers 'control freak' very audibly. And that is exactly why some creators of better mousetraps become wealthy but most do not. Which illustrates another law: entrepreneurship is a very, very different gift from technical design ability.
I don't get this:
"I can't keep up with demand."
"Clones are killing the market."
There was a market for your stuff, you just stopped making the pedals.
Yep! And he wants to blame others for copying his circuit! Guitarists are finicky as hell with gear if the original was available and at a reasonable price Centaurs would of been as common as Tubescreamers.
@@dancompton1728 Exactly. Tube Screamers sell like crazy, despite probably clones in the thousands and a pretty simply circuitry.
Here we go to other guitar journey into 5watt world! Always get excited when the notification arrives
This is so good, man. Thank you.