#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.
This week, what was meant to be a very quick look at a recent klone purchase somewhat spiralled out of control … and turned into a (very brief!) catchup on all the klones that I’ve picked up in the last couple of years.
I’ve got a few more than I realised, especially considering that I (supposedly) stopped collecting them back in April 2020 when I got my Ceriatone Centura!
Table of Contents
- Recent Coffee
- What Am I Looking At Today?
- My Rig Today
- The Pedal I Am Boosting Today – Umbrella Company Hitchhike Drive
- My Methodology Today
- Ceriatone Centura
- Demonfx 83 Drive (Klone side)
- NUX Horseman
- Way Huge Conspiracy Theory
- Tone City Bad Horse
- JHS Notaklön
- EHX Soul Food
- Warm Audio Centavo
- Notable Comparisons
- Final Thoughts
Recent Coffee
Kristi and I have been having a little staycation holiday. To help us feel more like we’re on holiday (and to make sure we get out of the house every day) we’ve been making a point of going out for coffee instead of making it at home.
One of our local cafes serves coffee from Clifton Coffee Roasters, and it’s been a real treat for us.
I’m not entirely sure which of their coffee beans and/or blends the cafe serves (and they don’t say). The coffee does vary from time to time, from a rich, dark, bitter-tasting coffee to a milder (but still distinctive) coffee, so I’m fairly confident that the cafe isn’t just serving the exact same roast all the time.
I’ve been tempted to get some to try at home, but (as with most coffee roasters in the UK) the issue here is price. Their coffee beans are 2x – 4x the price of what we can get from the supermarket (with shipping on top of that). That’s a difficult price gap to cross emotionally.
For now, we’re just going to keep it as a treat when we go out.
(Starting in #CoffeeAndKlon 42, I’ll be back to writing these posts as-I-go with a cup of coffee in hand!)
What Am I Looking At Today?
Originally, this was going to be a quick demo of the Demonfx 83 Drive’s Klone side … and then I realised that I haven’t recorded audio demos for most of the Klon klones that I’ve picked up in the last two years:
- Demonfx 83 Drive (Klone side) – both modes
- NUX Horseman – both modes
- Tone City Bad Horse
- Way Huge Conspiracy Theory
- JHS Notaklön
- EHX Soul Food
- Warm Audio Centavo – both modes
My curiosity got the better of me. Seeing as I was setup for it – and I haven’t got audio demos of most of these pedals on the blog yet – I thought why not? Let’s capture them too while I’m at it.
For good measure, I’ve also thrown in both my Ceriatone Centura and my Klon KTR. Originally, I was going to use the Centura as the comparison … but towards the end, I got cold feet on that idea.
Although I’ve been saying for years that my Centura sounds identical to my Klon KTR, that’s from my experience with a previous rig. I’ve never actually a thorough side-by-side comparison of the Centura and Klon KTR through my current rig.
Expect that in a future #CoffeeAndKlon!
My Rig Today
Today, I am playing:
- My PRS McCarty 594 (aka Deadnote)
- into the Axe-FX 3 (just for the tuner)
- out to my pedalboard
- back into the Axe-FX 3 (for amp, cab, delay and reverb)
- out to my audio interface
- and into my DAW
I’m playing Deadnote (my beloved PRS McCarty 594) in the middle position. The bridge humbucker’s volume and tone are on 10. The neck pickup is split, with the volume at 4 and the tone on 10.
Why Deadnote? Those 58/15 LT pickups are probably the most laid back, lowest output humbuckers that I’ve got access to atm. This guitar really benefits from being paired with some kind of boost pedal. I’m hoping we’ll really hear that difference come through in the audio demos, and that – in turn – it will make it more obvious what each klone pedal is doing.
On the pedalboard I have my Klon KTR, a whole bunch of Klon klones, and the Hitchhike Drive from Umbrella Company. They’re in separate loops of my Gigrig G2. Not that it matters for once: I don’t have enough G2 loops wired up for this roundup. Instead, every time I swap which Klon or Klone klone I’m using, I’m physically swapping the pedal on my board.
The Axe-FX 3 is running a Deluxe Reverb model and the “happy accident” DynaCab impulse response that I dialled in during my First Impressions for the Hitchhiker Drive.
All the delay and reverb that you’re hearing is from the Axe-FX 3. I’ve done no post-processing at all in my DAW. All the demos have been level-matched before publishing.
The Pedal I Am Boosting Today – Umbrella Company Hitchhike Drive
Quick Introduction
I’ve just finished finding out if the Hitchhike Drive takes my Ceriatone Centura well or not for its First Impressions blog post. (Spoiler alert – it does.)
I think the Hitchhike Drive is an interesting drive pedal to use for this roundup.
In the room, I can hear clear differences when I try it with different guitars. To my ears, it has quite a wide frequency response – the top-end and low-end both extend pretty far. I’ve left the Saturation switch off to get the most extended range that I can from it.
That should allow the individual tone of each Klon or klone pedal reach the audio demos.
I hope!
How It Sounds On Its Own
For reference, here is my starting point: the Hitchhike Drive on its own. Here are the settings:
- Tweed Deluxe mode,
- saturation switch off,
- Drive control is just below 12 noon,
- Bass is at around 10 o’clock
- Treble is at around 2 o’clock
- Volume is just above 1 o’clock
Here’s how it sounds:
In the room, it sounded quite mushy and congested. I don’t mean nasally or honky; more that it lacked great note separation and clarity.
Listing back, though, it sounds better than that to me. I’m loving the thick mid-range, but would like a bit more note clarity for sure.
My Methodology Today
Setup As A Clean Boost
I setup every pedal in the classic Klon clean-boost configuration:
- Gain around 8 o’clock
- Treble up around 1 o’clock
- Volume set at or a little above unity volume
That was my starting point, and then I tweaked the controls on each pedal until I felt like I’d found the sweet spot.
When I was dialling in each pedal, I wasn’t doing any A/B comparisons with my Klon KTR at the time. I’m not trying to make each pedal sound like the real thing (with the notable exception of my Ceriatone Centura!). I’m far more interested in hearing what they have to offer in and of themselves, because I love having options.
Klon KTR Demo Done Last
I only made the Klon KTR’s audio demo once all the other audio demos were done. This way, the sound of the Klon KTR isn’t directly biasing the tone that I’m dialling in from the other pedals.
That said, I’ve been using the Klon KTR for a decade now. It’s a sound and a vibe that I am very used to, so I definitely will have been dialling in the other pedals to try and chase that comfort zone.
Tiny Changes To Controls Produce Big Differences
I did listen back to each audio demo immediate after recording it. Some of the demos lacked a certain something, so I went back and tweaked the pedal’s controls and tried again.
One thing that I learned from this is that it only takes tiny changes to a klone’s Gain and Volume controls to produce big differences in the final recorded sound.
- The Gain control both increases overdrive (which is quite mid-rangey) and reduces the amount of clean signal blended in. Some of the klones blend out the clean signal pretty quickly!
- The Hitchhike Drive was quite sensitive to the volume level it was receiving. A little too low, and the Hitchhike Drive cleaned up very quickly. A little too much, and it started to clip in an ugly way.
Speed Dating and a Cooling Off Period
With 12 (I think it’s 12?) pedals to demo, I didn’t have very long to spend on each one: maybe about 10 minutes to dial in the sound and record the demo. So this is very much a Klon klone speed-dating session!
Or, if you prefer, think of it as the equivalent of tweaking a pedalboard during a very quick sound check right before a live gig. No time for finesse and preciseness; find a tone that seems to work and go for it.
After recording and level-matching all the audio, I went to bed, and came back the next day with completely fresh ears to write up this blog post.
This cooling off period is very important. On the day of recording the demos, I’ve spent all day with the Hitchhike Drive (both for this blog post, and its own First Impressions post), and I’ve found it quite fatiguing on the ears. [The Saturation switch on the Hitchhike Drive is the key to avoiding this – Ed]
By the time I was exporting the audio from LUNA, all the tracks sounded identical to me. I really couldn’t hear any differences between them at all. I had to stop and check that I really had exported all the tracks correctly, and hadn’t somehow managed to export the same recording under multiple names.
Ear fatigue is real, and it’s quite wild to experience it so strongly this time around.
Not A Comprehensive Test
Finally, I just want to add a brief disclaimer. Please don’t treat this as any sort of comprehensive test.
There’s a lot more to the Klon and the army of klones than just the clean boost role that I use it for:
- I’m not checking to see if each pedal includes the Klon’s buffer (an integral part of its signature tone imho);
- I haven’t looked at each pedal as a boost for a clean guitar part;
- I haven’t looked at each pedal as a boost for a dirty amp;
- and I haven’t tried each pedal as the primary overdrive pedal.
This is just me trying to make a tweed-tone pedal sound even better – and trying to do so very quickly.
Ceriatone Centura
Quick Introduction
My hunt for a Klon klone ended when I got my Ceriatone Centura back in April 2020.
Out of all the Klon klones that I’ve tried to date, the Centura was the first one that sounded identical to my real Klon KTR. Finally, I had a backup for my Klon KTR, should anything happen to it.
Impressions In The Room
This pedal is home to me, possibly even more than the Klon KTR, seeing as I use it whenever I want to boost something with a Klon.
It’s been many many years (and several different guitar rigs!) since I last did an A/B comparison between the Centura and my Klon KTR. I’m very curious – and a little nervous – to hear whether or not they sound identical in this roundup.
How Does It Sound?
Here’s how I got on with using the Centura to boost the Hitchhike Drive.
First off, the Centura has passed the most important test with flying colours. The differences between the Centura and the Klon KTR are so small, I felt the need to double check and make sure I hadn’t accidentally used the same record for both audio demos.
That’s not what today’s blog post is about (and I don’t want to hijack it!), so I’m going to leave that topic for another #CoffeeAndKlon.
I really like what the Centura has done to the tone of the Hitchhike Drive. It’s added all the note clarity that I sought, and I think that the extra energy in the upper mids is a big improvement over the tone of the Hitchhike Drive on its own.
Demonfx 83 Drive (Klone side)
Quick Introduction
Demonfx’s 83 Drive is based on (a knock-off of?) the Nordvang 83 Drive. It’s a dual-drive pedal, with a Marshall Bluesbreaker clone on the left side, and a Klon klone on the right side. Both sides can be used together or separately.
The Klon klone side is interesting to me because I can switch between two different sets of clipping diodes: germanium and silicon diodes (Ge mode and Si mode for short).
Because of the way the Klon circuit works, we shouldn’t really be able to hear much of a difference in the clean boost config. The Gain control is also a blend control, mixing in a clean signal as well as the overdrive circuit. With the Gain control so low, we should mostly be hearing that clean signal.
I tested the Klon klone side in both modes, using the exact same settings on the pedal.
Impressions In The Room
I recorded the Ge mode demo (that’s when the clipping switch is in the down position) immediately after recording the Centura’s demo. I was surprised at how close it got, given the price difference between them.
I felt the 83 Drive’s Ge mode was more mid-focused than the Centura – slightly less top-end, and slightly less low-end. It was something like 90-95% of what the Centura did. I enjoyed playing through it, and would happily use it again in the future.
The Si mode demo (that’s when the clipping switch is in the up position) was one of the last demos that I made. By then, my ears were a little fatigued and I was pretty tired. It didn’t make much impression either way.
Germanium Mode
First up, here’s how the Ge mode sounds (the clipping toggle switch in the Down position):
To my ears, the overall overdrive characteristic is very similar to the results I got from boosting with my Klon KTR. Both boost pedals have a similar (not identical!) softness to the overdrive.
I do hear some tonal differences, which are more pronounced when I’m playing lower notes. The Demonfx pedal has a little less low-end and a little more definition in the top-end.
The low-end matches what I experienced when recording the demo. It was enough to be noticeable, but I don’t think it’s a problem at all. Quite the opposite: it might suit humbuckers a little better than my Klon KTR does.
The top-end difference though … that did surprise me. When I was recording the demo, I felt the opposite, that the Demonfx pedal in Ge mode lacked something there. I suspect that I cranked the Treble control up a little higher than on the KTR to compensate, and this is what I captured in the audio demo.
Either way, I’m very happy with what the Demonfx 83 Drive is doing here. I think that this is becoming the budget Klon klone pedal to beat.
Silicon Mode
Here’s how the Demonfx pedal sounds in the Silicon mode (the clipping toggle switch in the Up position).
Maybe it’s just me expecting to hear a difference, but I think there’s a bigger difference here than when I compared the Ge mode to my Klon KTR.
To confirm, let’s listen to those two modes next to each other:
Hrm. I’m not sure that I could tell those apart in a blind test, to be honest. I think there’s a little more crispness to the note attack in the Si mode (listen to the palm-muting at around 35 seconds), but that could just be my imagination.
NUX Horseman
Quick Introduction
The Horseman is NUX’s budget-friendly Klon klone pedal, and it’s packed full of features.
The pedal can operate either as true bypass or buffered bypass – something many of the boutique klones don’t offer. I’m a great believe that the Klon’s buffer is an important part of its tone, so I keep mine in buffered bypass mode. (In true bypass mode, the Horseman’s buffer is completely out of the circuit, even when the pedal is active.)
Perhaps more interestingly, it offers two modes: gold and silver. Gold mode is intended to be an accurate clone, with the Silver mode a more souped-up sound offering more gain. In the clean boost config, I’m not expecting to hear much difference between the modes.
Even more interestingly, NUX’s own website talks about using the Horseman in the classic clean-boost role. That gives me high hopes: it’s something they’ve given consideration to.
Impressions In The Room
While I was making the audio demos, the Silver mode sounded far crisper and clearer than the Gold mode did.
Interestingly, though, I then spend quite a bit of time just noodling through the Gold mode. It felt really nice to play, and I found the smoother tone to be quite inspiring.
Silver Mode
I’m starting off in the Silver mode:
The Horseman’s Silver mode sounds a little more strident than my Klon KTR to me.
I think it’s producing a little more push in the mids; perhaps that can be adjusted simply by dropping either the Gain or Volume down a touch.
I’m also hearing a little difference in the overdrive characteristic. I’m not sure what words make sense to describe it. My KTR just sounds a little more complex, perhaps?
Overall, I think the Horseman’s Silver mode has done well here. If you want a cheap klone to take out to gigs, it’ll clearly do the clean boost role.
Gold Mode
So what about the Horseman’s other mode, its Gold mode? This mode is supposed to be closer to the real thing than the Silver mode.
Well, here’s how it sounds:
This is why I’ve included the unboosted Hitchhike Drive in each of these comparisons.
With the Gold mode, it seems that I’ve dialled it in to have a far more subtle effect. If anything, I’m using it to slightly under-drive the Hitchhike Drive!
I think what happened is that I switched from Silver to Gold mode, and didn’t adjust the Horseman’s controls much (or at all) to compensate for the different output between the two modes.
And yet … this was one of the signal chains that I enjoyed the most. I really loved the feel of it, and had an absolute blast just noodling through it after I’d recorded the demo.
I have no trouble recommending the Horseman’s Gold mode if you’re looking for something affordable to boost a drive pedal.
Way Huge Conspiracy Theory
Quick Introduction
Way Huge are one of MXR’s pedal brands, known for making pedals that are (shall we say) less conservative than what MXR traditionally produces. And the Conspiracy Theory is their entry into the Klon klone market.
It’s proven popular too. Trawling through the usual forums for research, it’s hard to find a bad word about the Conspiracy Theory (especially if I discount folks who just don’t like Klon-style pedals at all).
That’s why it was a bucket-list pedal for me to get. However …
Impressions In The Room
This is one of the pedals that I did multiple takes with – and still couldn’t find a tone that really did anything for me.
Every time I’ve tried the Conspiracy Theory, I’ve always found it quite dead-sounding. It’s not dull or muffled. There’s just no life in the tones that I get out of mine. It’s just lacking something for me.
I have a suspicion (that I haven’t been able to confirm!) that it lacks the Klon-style buffer. I’m a big believer that the Klon’s buffer is an important part of its sound, and that my rig benefits from that.
How Does It Sound?
Here’s how the Conspiracy Theory did:
Here, I have another surprise: the Conspiracy Theory recorded far better than I thought it had.
To my ears, it’s producing a result that I would describe as more raw than the Klon KTR’s audio demo. Perhaps raunchier is a better term to use? It’s got quite the rock-and-roll vibe about it.
It’s also brighter. Either it’s pushing the upper-mids more than my Klon KTR does, or it’s just filtering out more of the lower-mids and/or low-end. (I suspect the later, but I don’t know for sure.)
I can hear why it’s so popular. I’m just not sure it’s for me. Out of all the pedals in this catchup / roundup, it’s one of the pedals that I enjoyed playing through the least.
Tone City Bad Horse
Quick Introduction
Tone City are another budget brand, made popular here in the UK because they’ve been heavily promoted by Andertons on YouTube. I’ve had a few of their pedals over the years, and really enjoyed them.
The Bad Horse is Tone City’s entry into the Klon klone market, although it has to be said that Tone City’s own website doesn’t claim that it’s a klone. (Andertons are still marketing this pedal as “the legendary Klon tone without the huge price tag”.) (Yes, I mentioned this when I first looked at this pedal.)
Impressions In The Room
Honestly, this one didn’t leave a strong impression either way when I was recording the demo.
How Does It Sound?
Here’s what I got from the Bad Horse this time around:
On first listening, it sounds perfectly fine to me, and very usable. It doesn’t sound quite as lush as my Klon KTR does, but honestly – would anyone really notice or care?
With repeated listening, I think I’ve worked out why. Listen to both demos again, and focus your attention on what the reverb is doing. Or, in the case of the Bad Horse, what the reverb isn’t doing.
I used the exact same reverb settings for both audio demos, but to my ears, there’s a lot less noticeable reverb on the Bad Horse audio demo. I think that’s why the Klon KTR sounds more lush to me.
I don’t know for sure why the reverb sounds so different between the two demos. For reference, here’s how I have the reverb setup in my preset:
I suspect that the Klon KTR is simply producing more higher-frequency output than the Bad Horse does. Another case of the missing buffer playing its part, perhaps?
And does it actually matter? In this particular use case, would anyone really notice, or care?
JHS Notaklön
Quick Introduction
The JHS Notaklön is JHS’s self-assembly Klon klone pedal.
It’s not a DIY kit pedal, where you’re given a box of parts and expected to solder everything onto the board yourself. Think of it more like IKEA self-assembly furniture, where you’re just fastening pre-prepared sections together. (JHS marketed it as being simple enough for a child to assemble.)
JHS also marketed it as sounding damn close to one of Josh Scott’s own original Klon pedals.
As a result, it’s been a huge hit for JHS, and was back-ordered until very recently. As of late September 2024, it looks like there’s no longer a waiting list for it.
Impressions In The Room
When I first got this pedal, I wrote that I heard nothing to inspire me to put more into it. I felt that it lacked the tonal complexity that I’m used to from my Klon KTR. And, again, it’s another klone that takes away lots of low-end even from the original clean signal.
My opinion did change a bit while recording the demo. Boosting the Hitchhike Drive, I thought it produced a stronger, crisper note attack than the other pedals. If that’s audible in the final recording, that gives me another option when selecting signal chains in the future.
How Does It Sound?
Here’s how the JHS Notaklön did, boosting my Hitchhike Drive pedal:
First of all – yes, I can clearly hear the crisper note attack in the audio demo. So that’s good: it definitely gives me a reason to look at the Notaklön again in the future. I do like having options!
It’s still shelving off a lot of the low-end though, which I’m not a fan of. Those low-mids are an important part of my enjoyment of tweed tones, and the Notaklön just kills the joy for me there.
All of this begs the question: if the Notaklön really does sound like a real Klon Centaur (and JHS aren’t the only people to make that claim), then why does it sound so different to my real Klon KTR?
EHX Soul Food
Quick Introduction
Electro-Harmonix’s Soul Food (in my opinion) is probably the most historically-important Klon klone ever made. It wasn’t the first klone, nor the most accurate (to say the least), but it was the first mass-market klone.
When I got mine, I found it to be more usable than I’d expected. I ended up preferring it as a standalone overdrive though. It had a nice vintage character without being overtly tweedy.
That was two years and one month ago, almost to the day. Then I put it in a box and haven’t touched it since. I think that my audio demos have improved since then, so let’s take another listen to it.
Impressions In The Room
Honestly, I threw this one into the roundup fully expecting to capture an example of how it isn’t really a klone – but in the room, it made the Hitchhike Drive sound glorious.
Was it the best tone of the entire recording session? I’m not sure. It certainly made one of the strongest impressions. I will be using this as a boost pedal a lot more from now on.
How Does It Sound?
Here’s how the Soul Food did as a Klon-style clean boost:
Hmm. On the one hand, I don’t think the audio demo has successfully captured just how great that signal chain sounded in the room. I’m not immediately hit by any sort of ‘wow’ factor when I listen back to the demo.
But perhaps that’s missing the point. To my ears, that audio demo “just” sounds like a Tweed Deluxe amp that’s nicely cooking. And I think that’s the greatest compliment that I can give to any of the signal chains in this catchup / roundup blog post.
If I was being really critical – and consistent! – I’d have to lament the loss of low-end. The rest of the tone sounds so right to me that it’s just not bothering me like it has with the other pedals. I hope that I can get that back by tweaking the Hitchhike Drive’s Bass control, the amp’s bass control, and/or the DynaCab IRs that I’m using.
I might have to come back and try that at some point.
Warm Audio Centavo
Quick Introduction
When it released in 2022, Warm Audio’s Centavo was an overnight sensation. There’s a richness and a complexity to the Centavo’s sound that makes it stand out against other Klon klones.
I’ve had mine (almost) a couple of years now, but it’s barely been featured on the blog. Mostly for the sake of consistency, I’ve stuck with the Ceriatone Centura and Klon KTR for my audio demos.
But make no mistake: my Centavo gets a lot of use when I’m not working on blog posts. I think it’s the best-sounding Klon klone that I have, and I think it sounds better than my Klon KTR too.
Will I still feel the same after recording these demos?
Impressions In The Room
By this point, I’d recorded so many back-to-back demos that my ears were shot. I’m just hoping this isn’t reflected in the way that I’ve dialled in the Centavo.
Standard Mode
I’m starting off in the Centavo’s ‘standard’ mode, which should most closely mimic the sound of a real Klon.
Could I tell them apart in a blind test? I doubt it. Whatever differences there are between them … they’ve quickly disappeared as I go back and forth between them.
This is both good and bad. Good, because I can confidently use my Centavo instead of my Klon KTR. Bad, because I really was expecting the Centavo to sound better than my Klon KTR in some way.
As bad things go, there are far worse things to complain about!
Modded Mode
The Centavo also comes with a ‘mod’ mode, which lets more low-end through from the guitar.
Is it actually doing anything here? Let’s listen to the Centavo’s two modes back-to-back:
In this signal chain, I really can’t hear a difference between these two audio demos. Whatever extra low-end the Centavo’s mod mode is letting through is getting lost before it reaches my DAW.
Notable Comparisons
Comparing The Klones Against Each Other
So far, I’ve focused on looking at what the klones do, and comparing that against what my Klon KTR does.
Some of those audio demos have left me curious. I want to hear how some of these klones compare to each other.
The Silicon Klones
First up, I want to listen to the two klones that openly use silicon diodes in their gain circuit. (Some of the other klones probably do too!) The Klon’s famous (infamous?) diodes are germanium not silicon.
- Demonfx’s 83 Drive’s klone side, in Si mode;
- the JHS Notaklön
Here’s how they sound:
To my ears, there’s a bit of a difference between these two klones.
- The Demonfx pedal sounds a little softer (the note attack is more rounded) to me.
- The JHS Notaklön sounds colder and more aggressive to me.
Could I tell them apart in a blind test? Probably not. Would the differences matter in a mix? Again, probably not.
Do I have a preference? Yes – to the Demonfx pedal in Ge mode, or to use one of the other Klon klones.
I’m sorry, I’m just not in love with the Notaklön at all.
Budget-Conscious Klones
Three of the klones in this catchup / roundup are sold as being the Klon sound on a budget:
- Demonfx 83 Drive’s Klone side;
- NUX Horseman; and
- Tone City Bad Horse
Here’s how they compare to each other in this particular signal chain:
I’m glad that I put these together to compare. Listen to them, I’ve definitely got some opinions that I didn’t have from the earlier comparisons:
- The Demonfx pedal and NUX Horseman Silver mode offer a similar sound.
- I really did screw up the settings for the NUX Horseman Gold mode, didn’t I? And yet, this was one of my favourite Klon klones to play through while putting this together …
- The Tone City Bad Horse stands out as offering the simpler, more focused tone of this bunch.
They may be budget pedals, but I certainly think that both the Demonfx pedal and the NUX Horseman punch well above their price point – at least for this application.
Mid-Priced Klones
There’s a bunch of klones in this catchup / roundup that are firmly aimed at the kind of price point you’d expect a Boss pedal to be at. If you’re willing to pay retail price for a Boss pedal, these klones would also be within your budget.
- JHS Notaklön;
- Way Huge Conspiracy Theory; and
- EHX Soul Food
The problem is that I wouldn’t pick any of these to stand in for my Klon KTR.
- I’d be happier with the Demonfx pedal or the NUX Horseman, over the Notaklön or Conspiracy Theory. I prefer the end result in both cases. And they’re both far better value for money too.
- I’d use the Soul Food as an alternative to a Klon klone, for when I want a different result.
Heavyweight Clones
Finally, I want to hear the high-priced clones-with-a-c: the pedals that claim to be completely accurate reproductions of the Klon Centaur, with a price tag to match.
And yes, I’m treating my Klon KTR as a clone for the purposes of this comparison, even though it’s made by Bill. It isn’t a Klon Centaur; it’s his attempt to clone his own pedal using modern parts and manufacturing techniques.
- Ceriatone Centura;
- Warm Audio Centavo; and
- the Klon KTR.
Well, that’s interesting indeed.
Going back-to-back-to-back, I think the Centura does stand apart from the other two pedals. It’s incredibly close, but every time I switch back to the Centura’s demo, it just feels like there’s a tiny, tiny loss somewhere.
This difference might simply be down to the smallest of tweaks to the Centura’s knobs (ie, it can be dialled out with time, patience and fresh ears).
All I can say is that I don’t get that feeling when switching between the Centavo and the Klon KTR – and out of the three, the Centura is the pedal that I’m most practiced with in recent times. I’d expect myself to subconsciously dial it in to get the closest sound.
Final Thoughts
I’m glad that I did this.
First off, all the pedals that I’m historically down on? They all did well. The Conspiracy Theory, Notaklön, and Bad Horse: I got usable results from all three of them. None of them are getting on my pedalboard any time soon; I don’t think they’re crap, I’ve just got better options available.
Secondly – and the reason I sat down to record any demos at all – the Demonfx pedal did not disappoint. Quite the opposite. I would happily choose it over the mid-priced klones, based on this showing. (Same goes for the NUX Horseman, which is also far more obtainable atm.)
The Centura did hold its own too, which is a bonus result. That said, I do need to come back with a far more comprehensive test for it – and for all the klones that I have access to – before I can make any strong conclusions.
And what about the Soul Food? I can’t overstate how happy I am with the results I got. I know it seems weird to be praising a pedal for basically sounding like it’s not there, but I don’t care. It gave me a tweed tone that the others can’t, and I’m all for that.
Finally, though, I’m just relieved to have some audio demos of all these pedals (at last!). Some of the pedals have been waiting two years for this. (Granted, two years ago, my audio demos weren’t very good. Just go back and listen to what I recorded for the Soul Food!)
I’m glad it’s done, and I had a lot of fun doing it.