#CoffeeAndKlon is my (irregular!) Sunday morning magazine series, where I talk about whatever’s on my mind right now. There’s always coffee, and there’s normally chat about the Klon and its many competitors.
Always the bridesmaid, but never the bride … until now. It’s time that I finally take a deep dive into (perhaps) the most unusual Klon klone that’s out there.
Today, I’m discussing the JRAD Archer Clean.
Table of Contents
- Coffee’s On Hold Right Now
- A Bit Of History
- What Is The JRAD Archer Clean?
- My Rig Today
- Starting With My Base Tone
- Adding Some Grit With The Archer Clean
- Can The Archer Ikon Deliver These Tones Too?
- Exploring The Classic Clean Boost On Clean Guitar
- Final Thoughts
Coffee’s On Hold Right Now
I’m writing this while recuperating from a (very!) minor bit of emergency surgery.
To help with the recovery, I’ve really cut back on the coffee. I’m feeling pretty tired and run down, and the last thing I want is to be kept awake and crawling up the walls when all I want to do is sleep.
A damn shame too, as Kristi’s just opened the latest bag of Columbian Quinchia from the local supermarket. It’s become one of favourite roasts. I’m a little frustrated that I can’t enjoy it more this time around.
[Update – by the time you read this, I’ll be pretty much back to normal]
A Bit Of History
What Is The JRAD Archer Family of Pedals?
J. Rockett Audio Designs (JRAD for short) have released a whole family of Klon klone pedals over the years:
- JRAD Archer – their first Klon klone, comes in a silver enclosure with red knobs
- JRAD Archer Ikon – a tweaked klone, comes in a gold enclosure
- JRAD Archer Clean (today’s pedal) – a twist on the Klon, comes in a white enclosure
- JRAD Archer Rockaway – an Archer Ikon klone with a 6-band EQ
- JRAD Archer Jeff Beck – tweaked for Jeff Beck’s preferences, comes in a silver enclosure with black knobs
- JRAD Archer Select – selectable choice of 7 different clipping diodes
Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments below.
How Did The First JRAD Archer Come About?
Bill Finnegan used to make the legendary Klon Centaurs by hand, from late 1994 to 2008. It’s reported that he decided that this wasn’t sustainable, and brought production to an end.
But that wasn’t the end of the Klon.
In 2011, Bill worked with JRAD to build a new factory-built version of the Klon, which we know as the Klon KTR. JRAD made around 1500 of them for Bill, before Bill switched manufacturers. In Bill’s own words, the relationship did not end amicably (to put it mildly).
The original run of Klon KTRs shipped in November 2012. As far as I can tell, production then started up again in 2014 (that’s when mine was made). Production seems to have been in batches ever since. I’ve been unable to find out where Bill currently sells these.
JRAD’s involvement with Klon-style pedals didn’t finish when Bill stopped using them as a contract manufacturer. They took what they learned, and spun it out into their own line of Klon klone pedals.
JRAD announced the original silver Archer pedal in September 2014. The Archer Ikon followed in June 2015 and the Archer Clean (today’s pedal) in April 2018.
Why So Many JRAD Archer Pedals?
Both the original silver Archer and the Archer Ikon are marketed as an “exact tribute” to the Klon Centaur – but they’re two different pedals that sound different and feel different to play though.
So what gives there? How can we have two Klon klones that are both an exact clone but end up being quite different? (This question also applies to “exact” klones from other manufacturers too …)
All the parts in the original Klon … they have all the same part codes, but there’ll be slight differences in their electrical properties. When you’re dealing with analogue parts, you’re also dealing with tolerance ranges for their key values and properties. There may be a few percentage difference between two parts that have the same part code.
So it could be that the two main Archer pedals are based on two different examples of the Klon Centaur, where the part tolerances added up to make a noticeable difference.
The Archer Clean, though, isn’t trying to be an exact Klon klone …
What Is The JRAD Archer Clean?
A Klon Klone With A Twist
The Archer Clean is a Klon klone pedal from J. Rockett Audio Designs (JRAD for short) with a twist: it’s not an overdrive pedal … but it does contain the Archer Ikon’s drive circuit.
(For years, I thought it didn’t have the drive circuit. I was wrong about that!)
If I’ve understood this correctly, the idea behind the Archer Clean is to colour our guitar tone in the same way that a cranked Archer Ikon can, just without adding extra dirt to the signal.
What’s The Point Of A Klon Klone That Doesn’t Overdrive?
It’s reported that Bill Finnegan created the original Klon to get that cranked amp sound at venues where he was forced to play at lower volumes. i.e. the Klon started out as a pedal for boosting & overdriving an amp, rather than being a standalone overdrive pedal.
As Bill himself says in this interview from Summer NAMM 2016, people (like me!) love using Klons as a clean boost. We don’t need a pedal that adds more dirt; we use the Klon as a boost to cause more dirt in the overdrive pedal (or amp) that we’re already using, by slamming the front-end of the pedal or amp that comes next in the signal chain.
As far as I know, Bill never did release his official Klon clean boost pedal 🙁
My Rig Today
Today, I’m playing:
- my PRS Paul’s Guitar (aka The Earl) and my PRS Silver Sky
- into my Axe-FX 3 (just for the tuner – no EQ tricks needed today!)
- back out to my pedalboard
- back into the Axe-FX 3 (for amp, cab, delay and reverb)
- into my audio interface
- and into my DAW.
I’ve gone with my Paul’s Guitar today because you haven’t heard it yet with the Dutch ’24, and I really want you to. The Dutch ’24 might just be my favourite drive pedal ever to pair with the Paul’s Guitar. Oh, and unless I say otherwise, I’m playing with the pickup selector in the middle position, with neck humbucker and single-coil bridge selected.
When I’m not playing my Paul’s Guitar, I’m playing my Silver Sky. I’ve gone with it for the totally-clean demos (where I’m on the neck pickup), and one overdriven demo (where I’m on the middle pickup).
On the pedalboard, I have the JRAD Archer Clean, JRAD Archer Ikon, Klon KTR and Dutch ’24 in separate loops of my trusty Gigrig G2. It is essential to isolate Klon klones for demos. Many of them are buffered bypass (just like the original), and the buffers do colour the tone, even when the pedal is bypassed.
I’ve also got my PRS Mary Cries in a separate A/B switcher on the floor. The only reason it isn’t in a loop on my Gigrig G2 is that I don’t have space for it on my very small pedalboard.
The Axe-FX 3 is running my 65 Clean pedal platform patch, with the IRs that I settled on at the end of my last Dutch ’24 blog post.
There’s no post-processing in the DAW. All the effects you are hearing are coming from the Axe-FX 3. I have level-matched the demos before uploading.
Starting With My Base Tone
My Usual Demo Piece
Here’s how The Earl sounds just with the Dutch ’24.
In the room, that’s a really nice tone to play through – and I think it sounds just as good when I listen back to the recording. The notes have both low-end weight and top-end snap without sounding too thin. There’s a nice bit of grit to the notes, without losing dynamics or note definition.
That allows me to play more featured parts too.
Throwing In A Second Demo Piece
With the exact same settings as before, here’s a different demo that features a bit more melody:
I don’t know how these demos sound through anything else, but through my rig? These are exactly the kind of tones that I bought this guitar for.
I’m extremely happy with what I’m getting from the Dutch ’24 here. That said, I’d like to be able to add a bit more grit or drive to the tone – or at least have the option to.
That’s where the Archer Clean comes in.
Adding Some Grit With The Archer Clean
Why Not Just Turn Up The Gain On The Dutch ’24?
I’m loving the tone that I’m getting from the Dutch ’24 here.
If I start adjusting the knobs on the pedal – for example, by turning up the gain – that will change the overall tone. That’s not a criticism or complaint, btw. That’s just how analogue dirt works.
So, I’d prefer to stomp on another pedal to give me what I’m looking for. That way, I can just switch it off again to go back to the setting that I already love so much. All I have to do is find the right pedal to put in front of the Dutch ’24.
Stacking overdrives is an awesome creative tool, as long as they play nicely together 🙂
Maximum Color!
Your typical Klon or klone comes with three controls:
- Gain or Drive,
- Treble, and
- Level or Volume
The Archer Clean doesn’t have a Gain or Drive control; it has a Color control instead.
I’ve seen people on forums say that the Color control is just a renamed Drive control. I can see why: it does seem to blend in the Archer Clean’s drive circuit.
Thing is, though, when I turn up the Color control, I’m not turning up the amount of overdrive from the pedal. The Archer Clean’s drive circuit reportedly runs at a fixed drive level, designed to get the diodes to add their EQ signature to the tone (literally colouring the tone) without adding obvious overdrive. (I have an example of that towards the end of the blog post.)
I find it useful to think of the Color control as just blending in more of that Klon-esque mid-range. A mid-boost control, if you like, only it’s not an EQ circuit in the usual sense.
To demonstrate, here’s those same two demo pieces, only this time I’ve got the Archer Clean on in front of the Dutch ’24 – and the Archer Clean’s Color control is on max.
To my ears, that’s really thickened up (and emphasised!) the mid-range. Some of the low-end has gone; I can’t tell if it’s been actively cut or it’s just harder to hear because of the mid-range boost. Some of the top-end has gone too, because I’ve turned the Treble on the Archer Clean down a little to stop everything sounding harsh.
I never use my Archer Clean like this with my humbucker guitars. It’s just a bit too much for me. I miss the note articulation that I’ve lost from the note attack, and I find it’s too narrow of a sound for noodling around at home.
I think it’s more suited to single-coil guitars like a Strat, which can sometimes sound a bit thin without help. Here’s my Silver Sky on the middle pickup, with the volume control rolled back a little to smooth out the top-end. All the other settings are the same as before.
Isn’t that a lovely thick tone? It doesn’t quite have the weight of a humbucker, but in a mix, I imagine it wouldn’t matter?
Spoiler alert: I can’t get this sound from a traditional Klon klone. If you like what you’ve just heard, then the Archer Clean is the only pedal I’ve tried that can deliver that.
Mid Color
What happens if I roll the Color control back on the Archer Clean to 12 noon?
I’m back on the Paul’s Guitar. Everything else is the same as before, and here’s how this setting sounds. For reference, I’ve also thrown in the original demo without the Archer Clean.
I think this does a great job of demonstrating what the Archer Clean can do … how it can thicken up a guitar tone and cause more dirt without substantially changing the overall tone. With the Archer Clean, it still sounds like my original tone. It’s just got a lot more grit than without.
In my opinion, this translates well over to today’s second demo piece. And, once again, for reference I’ve included the original demo without the Archer Clean.
The melodic lines that I’m playing there really benefit from how the Archer Clean is pushing the Dutch ’24. To my ears, the guitar’s filling more of the mid-range, and ends up sounding bigger than before.
Is the Color at 12 o’clock sometimes too much though? Here’s a different rhythm demo, where I’m going for a mix of rhythm and melody at the same time.
For my tastes, I don’t think I’m getting enough note separation as I switch between playing rhythm on one string and melody on the other. It might be overstating it to call the notes smeared. Perhaps blurry is the better description?
Whatever language I use to describe it, while it definitely has its uses, mid-Color isn’t always for me.
Closer To Min Color Is My Goldilocks Zone
With the Archer Clean, I think the magic is to be found much closer to the minimum possible Color setting. This works best for my tastes, where I’m looking for a very lively tone with clear note separation when I’m playing double-stops or switching between playing rhythm and melody.
Here’s how my signal chain sounds if I roll the Color control to around 8 o’clock. (Interestingly, this is about where I set the Gain control on my Klon KTR!) And, for reference, I’ve also thrown in the original demo without the Archer Clean:
To my ears, the tone’s a bit got more grit, while also still having room to breathe. And it still sounds like my original tone that I was getting from the Dutch ’24 (bonus!)
Even this close to the minimum Color setting, the Archer Clean is still adding plenty of thickness to the tone. It’s a lot easier to hear what it’s adding on this next demo (again, with the original sans-Archer Clean demo as a reference):
When I dig in, I’m getting just that little bit of extra dirt out of the signal chain. I find it very satisfying to play.
Finally, let’s go back to that more ambitious (for me!) rhythm piece, and here how that sounds with the Archer’s Color down around 8 o’clock.
I think that suits the piece better than the Archer with the Color up at 12 noon. Here’s that demo again, for reference:
Listening to them back to back, I think the lower Color setting really helps to stop the piece sounding congested. I strongly prefer the extra note separation when the Color is at 8 o’clock.
For me, this might just be the goldilocks setting when I’m boosting a dirt pedal. I also enjoy knowing that the Archer Clean has other sounds in it too should I ever need them.
My Thoughts
Regular readers will be aware of just how much I love having options, and here, the Archer Clean is giving me a great option.
I can have the Dutch ’24 dialled in for a gritty tone that still keeps all its dynamics and nuance, and then step on the Archer Clean whenever I want to thicken the sound – all without radically changing the overall tone.
And I’ve still got the option of turning up the Color knob if it suits a particular guitar and a particular piece of music.
The question is, though: does it give me something that I don’t already have? Let’s find out.
Can The Archer Ikon Deliver These Tones Too?
According to JRAD, the Archer Clean is a modified Archer Ikon pedal. Can I dial in the Archer Ikon to get the exact same tones? I’ve dug out my old Archer Ikon to find out.
Trying To Match The Drive Level With The Archer Clean
I now have the Archer Ikon in front of the Dutch ’24, instead of the Archer Clean. Output and Treble are about the same as I had on the Archer Clean, and the Gain on the Archer Ikon is set at around 8 o’clock (which is where I would set it when dialling it a classic clean boost tone).
Here’s my regular demo piece, first with the Archer Clean and then with the Archer Ikon:
Listening back to the recordings, they sound really close to each other. With fresh ears, I think the Archer Ikon demo has a little bit more gain. I doubt that I could tell which is which in a blind A/B test at all.
Here’s the second demo piece that I’ve been performing today, first with the Archer Clean and then with the Archer Ikon:
Once again, it’s very close between these two guitar tones.
On repeated listenings, I do hear a slight different in the mid-range. Slight! The demo using the Archer Clean is emphasising a higher mid-range frequency than the Archer Ikon. Or, perhaps the Archer Clean isn’t boosting the mid-range quite as much as the Archer Ikon, and so it sounds a little brighter?
If so:
- does it matter / is it important? and
- can the difference be dialled out with more time spent tweaking?
What matters more to me is the extra gain that I’m getting when I use my Archer Ikon. I think it’s easier to hear on that demo, and I think I prefer the higher dynamics of the Archer Clean.
Finally, here’s the third demo piece, first with the Archer Clean and then with the Archer Ikon:
I think the difference between these two Archer pedals (with my settings) is more obvious there. But again, does it matter? Would anyone hear the difference in a full mix? I don’t know.
Even if they’ll sound the same in a mix, they definitely didn’t feel the same to play through.
The Archer Ikon didn’t feel as lively, as dynamic, as responsive as the Archer Clean did. It wasn’t horrible to play through. Quite the opposite. I just felt that it wasn’t giving me as much room to express myself.
All other things being equal, I’d choose to play through the Archer Clean over the Archer Ikon every single time.
Can’t Get The Archer Clean’s Mid-Color Tone
If I nudge the Archer Ikon’s Gain control up to 9 o’clock, then (to my ears at least) I’m getting about the same amount of mid-range colour that I got from the Archer Clean at 12 o’clock.
Thing is, I’m also getting quite a bit more drive. That’s not what I want from this particular signal chain. In this context, I want to use a pedal to cause the Dutch ’24 to add more dirt. I don’t really need a second pedal to add its own dirt to the overall signal.
I don’t think it’s worth recording and comparing the other two demo pieces. The two pedals have clearly diverged at this point. That gives me options, which regular readers may recall I’m a huge fan of.
My Thoughts
To answer my question from earlier:
- When the Archer Clean’s Color is around 8 o’clock, then yes, I can use an Archer Ikon to get very similar tones.
- When the Archer Clean’s Color control is higher? Not so much.
Do they sound the same? No (I’ll explore that in more detail shortly). But the Ikon gets close enough. Isolated, I bet I couldn’t reliably guess which was which. In a mix? Not a chance. (And I’ll explore that too in more detail shortly.)
Does it feel the same to play through both? No. I strongly prefer playing through the Archer Clean.
The real question, though, is this: if you’re using Klon klones as a clean boost, should anyone get an Archer Clean when they could get an Archer Ikon instead?
I can’t answer that until I’ve heard both pedals on a truly clean guitar.
Exploring The Classic Clean Boost On Clean Guitar
What Am I Doing Here?
I want to kill two birds with one stone.
- I want to hear how the Archer Clean does as a clean boost, and
- I want to see if I can capture how the Archer Clean and Archer Ikon sound different.
This is just going to be Guitar > Klon (or klone) > Axe-FX 3. I’m not using the Dutch ’24 for this part of the blog post.
For guitar, I’m switching over to my PRS Silver Sky. A few days have passed since I recorded the demos above, and during that time I’ve put fresh strings on the Silver Sky. This should give me a snappy, piano-like note attack that will help emphasise the effect of any compression that’s going on.
Let’s start with a new reference tone.
My Reference Tone: Klon KTR Clean Boost
I’ve dug out my original Klon KTR from 2014, and added it to the board. It’s setup in the classic Klon clean boost config: gain around 8 o’clock, treble around 1 o’clock, and volume to taste.
I’m throwing this into the mix purely as a reference tone, to help us hear if there are any obvious differences between the Archer Clean and Archer Ikon in this role. Today, I don’t care if the JRAD pedals sound different to a real Klon. That’s a whole different blog post! I just find it easier to tell two (very similar) pedals apart by comparing them to a third pedal.
Archer Clean As A Clean Boost
First up, here’s the Archer Clean, with the Color still at around 8 o’clock.
I find that this is helpful in training my ear to hear what’s going on with the mid-range on the Archer Clean. At this setting, it’s definitely not pushing the mid-range that hard.
If I turn up the Color control on the Archer Clean to 12 noon, I get this:
At this setting, I think we’re well past the point where the Archer Clean becomes a mid-boost pedal. Even though the top-end snap hasn’t gone away, that mid-range push is making the Archer Clean feel quite a dull sound overall.
And, just for completeness, here’s how it sounds when I turn the Color control on the Archer Clean up to the max:
Just to answer a point all the way back at the top of this blog post: I think this demo proves that, even on max Color, the Archer Clean isn’t an overdrive pedal.
Archer Ikon As A Clean Boost
Next up, here’s the Archer Ikon in the classic Klon clean boost config.
I’m hearing the Archer Ikon push the mids a lot more than the Klon KTR does. I think it’s a bit easier to hear on this demo, because the Silver Sky’s 635JM pickups are not as mid-scooped as some Strat pickups.
Archer Ikon vs Archer Clean As A Clean Boost
Finally, here’s the Archer Clean demo alongside the Archer Ikon demo.
Side by side, I’m hearing that all three pedals offer me options … that all three are doing different things to the mid-range.
Compression Hides Some Of The Differences
Ever wondered why you can’t hear much of a difference in many A/B klone demos on YouTube? YouTube is notorious for processing the audio of uploaded videos. And one of the things they do is add compression to the audio.
It’s not just YouTube.
Compression is an effect that’s widely used in post-recording production. It’s a staple of both mixing and mastering.
Depending on how it is used, it is not a transparent effect. It can change the tone of a guitar. Indeed, some compressors are sought after precisely because of the wonderful colour that they add to the tone.
Why am I bringing this up?
If you’re just playing at home on your own, then the differences between these three pedals (Klon KTR, Archer Ikon, Archer Clean) are more obvious. Use them in a recording, where you’ll end up adding some compression in post? That added compression is going to make all three pedals sound a lot closer to each other.
To demonstrate, I’ve added my PRS Mary Cries compressor to the signal chain. While it’s not the same as adding lots of compression in post, it’s still smoothing out some of the differences between the pedals.
Final Thoughts
I hope this deep dive into the Archer Clean is useful to you. I’ve certainly learned a lot from putting it together.
So what am I taking away from this?
First and foremost, I think the Archer Clean is a second choice boost pedal. First choice remains my Klon KTR, but the Klon’s mid-range boost doesn’t suit everything. That’s where the Archer Clean comes in, for me.
Secondly, and with that in mind, if you can only have one of an Archer Ikon or Archer Clean, then I think the Archer Ikon is the one to go with. Most of the time, the Archer Ikon will do the job, and you can use it as a traditional overdrive pedal too.
That said, I strongly prefer the feel of playing through the Archer Clean, and I can’t see me reaching for the Archer Ikon when I want to boost something. I think the Archer Ikon’s a much better overdrive pedal than it is a boost.
Finally, in the past, I’ve repeatedly said that I don’t think the Archer Clean can do the traditional Klon clean boost role. I think the audio demos today prove that it definitely can work as a clean boost, and it’s more a matter of personal taste as to which tone you prefer.
I need to come back to that subject very soon.