Klon Klone!

[duhvoodooman]

EDIT 9/21/11: SOLD!!

This is not my pedal, but is being sold by the same fellow I mentioned in THIS THREAD. The guy (his name is Rob) is a fellow moderator at the BYOC forums and does stellar quality work. He has this pedal up for sale over there, but PM me here if you're interested and I'll put you in touch with him.

If you're into pedals, you've probably heard of the Klon Centaur, which enjoys a reputation as one of the premier boutique overdrives of recent years. A new PCB called the MKC1 Mini-Klon has recently been introduced by GuitarPCB.com, and Rob worked closely with Barry, the site owner, to develop & debug the circuit. They made a couple of nice simplifications to the original circuit that reduce the build complexity and component cost while making no discernible tonal impact. I built one a couple of weeks ago, and it's a really nice sounding overdrive--very warm, smooth tone. The originals go for $350 and up (w-a-a-y-y up, mostly), but Rob is selling this pedal for $80. This is the very same pedal used for the demo clips posted on Barry's main webpage (near the bottom), linked above.

Here are photos, linked over from the BYOC F/S thread. Some beautiful workmanship here:

If you want to read Rob's posting at the BYOC forum, it's here: http://www.buildyourownclone.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=32613

SPECIAL OFFER: As you can see, the pedal is not labeled in any way. Buy it and I will decal & clearcoat it for you at NO CHARGE. We can agree on a design together, but I can put together a variant of the design I used very easily. Here's what mine looks like (it has an extra gain control, which turned out to do not so much):

 

[piebaldpython]

Just curious.......but how does the Klon Centaur compare/contrast with some of your overdrive pedals.......like OD2.....British Blues OD.....ZYS???

Does the KC do anything the others don't?

 

[duhvoodooman]

The circuit is quite a bit different from the either the Tube Screamer type used in the OD2/ZYS or the Marshall Bluesbreaker design used in the BBOD. It's an interesting double dual-opamp design (i.e. 4 total IC gain stages) with a pair of germanium diodes clipping signal to ground between the second and third stages. It has a warmer and smoother tone than those pedals, at least until the gain is turned way up. But where many OD's that are described as "warm" tend to be dark sounding and lack treble, this one still manages to have a good, balanced top-end. I would never drop $350+ on an OD pedal, but after hearing this circuit, I can at least understand what the Klon hype was all about, because it does have a pretty unique character. Here's a chance to check it out for a tiny fraction of the cost of the original.

 

[Eric]

Dude, the inside of that pedal is amazingly tidy! I seriously seriously considered this, but I really have no idea what I'd do with it.

 

[duhvoodooman]

I seriously seriously considered this, but I really have no idea what I'd do with it.

Ummm, you plug your guitar into one side and your amp into the other, attach a battery or 9V AC adapter, and then play your *** off through it. oke

 

[Eric]

Ummm, you plug your guitar into one side and your amp into the other, attach a battery or 9V AC adapter, and then play your *** off through it. oke

Hardy har. What I meant is that already have more dirt pedals than can fit on my board (4) and of the 3 on my board, most recently I alternated between 2 of them while playing. I suppose I could kick the Bad Monkey off my board if I bought it, but right now I like the Bad Monkey. I'll still consider it until someone else buys it, which is what I typically do. So there.

 

[Ch0jin]

H'mm, I've got a KoT build underway right now (just waiting for the fancy diodes) but I've always been curious to hear one of these too. Pity about the side mounted jacks though. That's an absolute deal breaker for me, especially when it could have been made with top mounted jacks looking at that gut shot. I just don't understand this "trend" of side mounting when you don't have too (like this) or side mounting because you used a case that's too small for the job (anything in a 1290NS).

Give me top mounted and maximum board real estate any day.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Interesting you should mention that, because I gave the same feedback to Mammoth Electronics about the pre-drilled case I purchased from them for that "Klone of my own" that's pictured above. I would much rather have the I/O and power jacks all at the top--saves a ton of space and is much more "pedalboard-friendly". Keith Vonderhulls at BYOC has pretty much gone to that jack configuration now for all his new pedals, unless there's some unusual layout factor that prevents its use, and GGG has used the top-mounted jacks in their kits for years. I don't know why the side-mounted jacks persist some places....

 

[Robert]

Looks like this Klon-e is Gon-e ...

I'd be interested if a new one pops up.

 

[jumpbluesdude]

Just an FYI for all those DIYers. I had an origional Klon that I sold cuz I needed the money. I decided to try one of the buildyourowntone.com Klon Klones. WHen it came in I put it together. I know what the origionals sound like and this wasnt even close. I went to paypal and made a claim for my $25. Here i s the exchange so you know what kind of guy you would be dealing with. He wouldnt honor his promise, so Im honoring mine by posting this.

I am just getting to my e-mail, and I have learned you have opened a dispute and a claim with Paypal, with regard to your paypal purchase of a Klon clone circuit board, NOT being as described???

I have clearly described in the text of my Klon clone circuit board advertising that the circuit board (according to the last set of Klon clone circuit boards last for sale) did NOT have the silk screen legend, and did NOT have the dual-layer, plated thru-holes as my earliest versions once did.

I am expecting a bunch of new, slightly improved layout Klon clone circuit boards with the solder masked silk screen legend, dual-layer. plated thru-hole versions by the middle to latter part of April 2012.

I am not sure if you have already built the Klon clone circuit board you have received, but if you did NOT like it, or it was not to your taste, why did you NOT contact me???

Regardless, if you would like to cancel the dispute with Paypal by no later than this coming Tuesday, than I will send you a NEW silk screen legend, dual-layer, plated thru-hole Klon clone circuit board in April 2012.

However, if you decide NOT cancel your dispute with Paypal, than I will be forced to make you the very 1st person on my "PAYPAL SCAMMER BLACKLIST."

I will use H1 web tags and I will make sure this PAYPAL SCAMMER webpage is very well promoted. This could affect your ability to secure employment, and people will find you, when they look you up in search engines such as GOOGLE, YAHOO, BING, etc.

You should have contacted me if you had any concerns, but if we can NOT resolve this matter in an amiable fashion, than welcome to my PAYPAL SCAMMER BLACKLIST! You will be the very 1st to adorn this page!

Think about your actions carefully.

Regards,
Raymond Goncalves

Raymond,
I did file that complaint and I stand by it. It is a circuit board and the circuit does work. What the circuit does not do is sound even close to a Klon Centaur. Being that I recently sold a gold version with the horse, serial #705, that I had owned since 1998, I am familiar with how they sound. You are calling it a Klon clone circuit board and it does not sound even close to a Klon, so it is not as described.

I bought this board with the expectation that it would bear some sonic similarity with my hope that it would sound like the Fancy Lad and minimum expectation it would be a decent overdrive. Even my low expectations of your product were not met. I spent three hours measuring components and assembling the board - twice the time needed with a silkscreened board. It was clear that the board would not be dual layer and plated thru, but not that it would not be silkscreened. Even so, I was OK with it until I heard the result. The loss of my time compounded my frustration with the loss of my money. Reading the forums afterward I found I was not alone in the opinion that it sounded wrong.

February 02, 2011 Update: Klon clones, Klon clone kits, and Klon clone circuit boards are back Wednesday February 2, 2011! Klon clone kits or Klon klone kits will be available in a few days depending on delivery dates for my electronic parts. It is best to order your Klon Centaur clone kit now, to avoid waiting all over again. Klon clone circuit boards are ready for immediate shipping. BuildYourOwnTone.com Build Your Own Tone Klon Centaur clone circuit boards & Boutique Pedal Kits The Klon Centaur clone circuit board on offer is the early single sided, tin plated copper trace type and they work just GREAT!

It does not say they are not silkscreened. Every picture on the circuitboard page that has a circuit board shows a silkscreened board. One picture shows two silkscreened boards with a non silkscreened board.

You do have a point that I should have contacted you when it didnt turn out, but its wrong and talking to you would not make it a more accurate, better sounding product. I am not an unreasonable person; I just want my money's worth. I would give up forebearance if I knew I would get Fancy Lad results from this new board, but it appears to be the same circuit as the one I am returning. Logic dictates Ill get the same results. Quality of the board isnt the issue; sonic quality is the issue. One can only come to the conclusion that the circuit is wrong when multiple people have built them with the same results.. I triple checked my work to be certain before I opened the case.

You gave me an ultimatum and you placed a time limit on my response before you stated you will slander me on the internet. Why? For calling you out on an inferior product. If you wanna post it, knock yourself out. Im a state employee for 17 years and it wont mean a thing. Its $25, let it go. Im not out to damage you business and I will not post anything aboutyou, your website, or products...unless provoked. Caveat emptor. Just wanted my money back. Im shipping it out at the end of this week.

Apr 6

to starbreaker


Raymond,
I re-thought and decided to accept your offer for the new board. I closed the case. It will give me an opportunity to tweak the circuit and expeiment with it. The more I thought about it, it works best for everyone this way. Please let me know when you are going to send it out.


May 4

to starbreaker


What happened to the board you said you were going to send me in April? Its now May.


May 11

to starbreaker

You have until June 1 to send the board you promised or I will post on forums the email you sent so everyone will see your tactics for dealing with dis-satified customers. If I saw the email before-hand, I would not have bought from you. Threats and bullying does not make customers willingly part with their cash. This blade cuts both ways, pal. Honor your promise.