# Canadian Klones



## nicmat42 (Dec 31, 2008)

I’ve been looking around at Klones lately and obviously there’s a ton of options. I’m wondering if there are any Canadian offerings though? Let me know if you know of any and what your thoughts are on them. Thanks!


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## Scott25 (Jan 4, 2021)

I came across "TL pedals" i had a klone from them it was a great sounding pedal. Here is a link to their reverb page. I don't know much more about them, but was a great pedal at a great price.










The 2022 Silver Pony Klone 'pro drive' by TL Pedals Canada | Reverb Canada


Silver Pony modified Clone style circuit 'professional overdrive' pedal. This version has the following changes over the original gold Clone Centaur edition.-more gain available-more volume and treble in the dry mix-better wet/dry ratio-improved range of treble/tone control sweep-increase in over...




reverb.com


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## Smylight (Jun 28, 2016)

+1 for Tim's Klone. He's a great guy to deal with and hails from NB.


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## Amps & Ehfects (Sep 10, 2020)

As mentioned, TL Pedals has: Pony
GUP Tech has this one: https://gup-tech.myshopify.com/collections/pedals-od-distorsion/products/klon-centaur-clone 
And it doesn't look like they have any right now but Minimal Pedal builds them fairly often : Login • Instagram


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Why do you think you *need* a Klon-type pedal? It is not a general-purpose overdrive. If a person tried to buy an original from Bill Finnegan twenty years ago, he would have kept you on the phone to inquire about your rig and playing style. And if he felt a Klon would not add value to your tone, he would discourage purchase.

So, what's your rig?


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## SmoggyTwinkles (May 31, 2021)

nicmat42 said:


> I’ve been looking around at Klones lately and obviously there’s a ton of options. I’m wondering if there are any Canadian offerings though? Let me know if you know of any and what your thoughts are on them. Thanks!


Some interesting Canadian builders posted so far that I didn't know about. Good thread.


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

@mhammer 
Mark I do not know the difference between a good OD and a Klone, please enlighten me? Keep in mind I am a simple man!


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## SmoggyTwinkles (May 31, 2021)

MarkM said:


> @mhammer
> Mark I do not know the difference between a good OD and a Klone, please enlighten me? Keep in mind I am a simple man!


I've never tried a Klon type pedal or a Timmy for that matter. They're just pedals and different flavours of drive. I say give a "Klone" a shot and respect to you that you want to support a Canadian builder. 

Let us know how it goes?


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

@SmoggyTwinkles Damn I feel a bit dirty typing that!

I have a Radial Bassbone , Hot British OD, Goudie fx TS and Empress trem, I also have been using a Traynor amp. I even have a Rexx 602 preamp, I am Canadian!


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## SmoggyTwinkles (May 31, 2021)

Nice! 

I have a Retrosonic Analog Delay and a Garnet stencil amp. 

My go to OD has been a Crowther Hotcake for decades, but that's New Zealand. 

I'd like to try a Klon and Timmy someday, had an Analogman KoT V1 way back when and wasn't really impressed, so I've just never really veered from the Hotcake because it's always been what I like. 

But I really should try some of these famous circuits someday, so I'd love to hear what you end up with for a "Klone" and what you think of it.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

MarkM said:


> @mhammer
> Mark I do not know the difference between a good OD and a Klone, please enlighten me? Keep in mind I am a simple man!


Bill sent me two ungooped boards in 2007, to assist him in trying something out that some unnamed customers had asked for. One of the boards had every single component socketed, so that I could easily pull the part and change the component value. (Naturally, this came with a schematic so that I could "reset" the board to original component values.) I assembled a chassis for doing A/B direct comparisons between the tweaked and original. I have to say that it did not impress me as an overdrive pedal. Why do I say "as an overdrive pedal"? An overdrive pedal is intended to deliver up the saturation, and sustain that mimics an amp pushed to the hilt. AND, it will do so no matter what you play it through, and no matter the gain or volume setting of the amp. I expect pretty well any of us would be able to say "Hmmm, sounds like a Tube Screamer", or a DS-1, or HM-2 Heavy Metal, whether the person playing it was using an ES-175 into a 10W solid-state accordion amp, or a Les Paul into a JTM45. It has a signature sound that it is designed to provide, irrespective of everything else. It is designed to be what it is and sound how it sounds. THAT is what I consider to be an overdrive pedal. It's a distinction that doesn't immediately strike a chord with everyone, but so be it.

The Klon Centaur is a booster that shapes the guitar signal so as to deliver the best saturated/"overdrive" sound *from* a tube amp. It is designed to anticipate how the amp will react. Yes, it adds some clipped signal, blending it in with clean. I realize there are plenty of overdrive pedals that can make your amp sound pleasant, over and above whatever they sound like into a flawlessly clean amp at low volume. However, the Klon is _deliberately_ engineered to make a great amp sound amazing by pushing it a certain way. It was never designed to have a recognizable sound of its own. Bill rarely advertised, but the best ad he ever ran was a testimonial from a very satisfied customer that wrote "It sounds like my amp...only bigger".

None of this is to say a Klon would NOT make your own amp sound "bigger" and delicious. But that was the purpose of Bill's typical 20-30 minute chat with prospective customers: to find out whether their amp and his pedal were a good and productive match.

Does that make at least a little sense? It's nuanced, I'll admit, but I think it's a valid distinction.

The ridiculous aftermarket resale prices on E-bay or Reverb never included Bill's 20-minute "screening" conversation. It resulted in a lot of folks who were disappointed with what their money got them in the UPS box, but their disappointment waned when they realized they could flip it for even more. The ultimate sky-high prices convinced many manufacturers that there was a dollar to be made by cloning it in a lesser quality (but MUCH cheaper) form than the original. Very good quality product from Bill, but I personally have no need for one, since I rarely, if ever, play that loud anymore. Of course, a "real overdrive" I can build, mod, repair, and test at conversation volumes.


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## nicmat42 (Dec 31, 2008)

mhammer said:


> Why do you think you *need* a Klon-type pedal? It is not a general-purpose overdrive. If a person tried to buy an original from Bill Finnegan twenty years ago, he would have kept you on the phone to inquire about your rig and playing style. And if he felt a Klon would not add value to your tone, he would discourage purchase.
> 
> So, what's your rig?


I don’t need a Klon type pedal just like I don’t need any pedal to play guitar. I built myself a BYOC Silver Pony a few years ago, it was the first and only pedal I’ve built. The pedal works and I love what it does in front of a dirty tone (JCM800) but I’m not a soldering expert and the pedal cuts out sometimes. I also have an SD-1 which is killer at essentially doing the same thing but the Klon is kinda cool no?


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## Nork (Mar 27, 2010)

SmoggyTwinkles said:


> I'd like to try a Klon and Timmy someday, had an Analogman KoT V1 way back when and wasn't really impressed, so I've just never really veered from the Hotcake because it's always been what I like.
> 
> But I really should try some of these famous circuits someday, so I'd love to hear what you end up with for a "Klone" and what you think of it.


I have a v2 Timmy that you'd be more than welcome to try. My amp is currently out of commish so it's just sitting on my board. If it helps, it's also had @mhammer's hands on it before - he and I played with different opamps a while back and settled on something it probably wasn't intended for. Was a really good evening between strangers.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Nork said:


> I have a v2 Timmy that you'd be more than welcome to try. My amp is currently out of commish so it's just sitting on my board. If it helps, it's also had @mhammer's hands on it before - he and I played with different opamps a while back and settled on something it probably wasn't intended for. Was a really good evening between strangers.


So good to touch base again! I had forgotten your handle, and wasn't sure if we'd cross paths again. It was a productive evening for me too. I think, and I learned, there's something to commend those "cheap" op-amps sometimes.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

nicmat42 said:


> I don’t need a Klon type pedal just like I don’t need any pedal to play guitar. I built myself a BYOC Silver Pony a few years ago, it was the first and only pedal I’ve built. The pedal works and I love what it does in front of a dirty tone (JCM800) but I’m not a soldering expert and the pedal cuts out sometimes. I also have an SD-1 which is killer at essentially doing the same thing but the Klon is kinda cool no?


The design does what it does, well, and I suspect a JCM800 is a good match, especially at higher volumes.
As for your build cutting out, I recommend the following Youtube. It might provide a path back to a reliably-functioning Silver Pony.


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## Nork (Mar 27, 2010)

mhammer said:


> So good to touch base again! I had forgotten your handle, and wasn't sure if we'd cross paths again. It was a productive evening for me too. I think, and I learned, there's something to commend those "cheap" op-amps sometimes.


ha yea i've been off for a bit on this thing. mostly check it while at work. She's still on my board, that Timmy. Plays well with my VHT S6 and despite it's resale prices, I really can't justify selling it.


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## Jeff MacKillican (Jan 23, 2021)

After much research I bought a pricey Klone and ... was disappointed. I agree with above posts, they’re not for everyone or every rig. Sold it and looked elsewhere.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

That's just it. Bill liked to make sure that every customer would be a satisfied one, rather than a frustrated one who flipped the pedal, which is why he essentially "screened" them.


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