# For the Love of the Klon



## Jeff Flowerday (Jan 23, 2006)

I have yet to find a pedal that allows you to cut through the mix like the Klon. It's advertised as being neutral but in reality it adds the perfect mids.

It works well after a primary gain pedal, before a primary gain pedal or just pushing an amp over the edge.

Great pedal!!!


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## SCREEM (Feb 2, 2006)

what amps have you liked it on?


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## Jeff Flowerday (Jan 23, 2006)

SCREEM said:


> what amps have you liked it on?


It works on them all. 18 Watt, 5E3, BF Deluxe etc.


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## SCREEM (Feb 2, 2006)

nice. I must check one out, if i can find one in the stores around here...dang you have some really nice stuff  $300+ ...maybe there is a doo-it-yourself clone/kit


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## Rob Eadgbe (Feb 5, 2006)

I'd really like to try a Klon. I've heard they have an amazing buffer as well as working very well as a slightly dirty boost. I'm pretty happy with the Timmy and both the Xotic pedals though. The AC Booster stacks really well with my Barber Burn Unit, as does the Timmy. The RC works very well as a true clean boost.


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## Jeff Flowerday (Jan 23, 2006)

Rob Eadgbe said:


> I'd really like to try a Klon. I've heard they have an amazing buffer as well as working very well as a slightly dirty boost. I'm pretty happy with the Timmy and both the Xotic pedals though. The AC Booster stacks really well with my Barber Burn Unit, as does the Timmy. The RC works very well as a true clean boost.


From everything I've the heard the Timmy is awesome. I was thinking I needed one but don't want to mess around with the waiting list. If Teleplucker would sell me his, it would make my life easy. He's been on an acoustic thing lately anyway.


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## pstratman (Jan 26, 2012)

I use a Timmy with my Marshall 1974x it works even better than my Klon. My other amp is a Morris Grinder which has scooped mids, the Klon is the best pedal for that amp for sure.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

How are you guys finding these threads, lol? This one is nine years old.

I have never had a real silver or gold Klon, but I have a KTR and its a great pedal. With the gain knob all the way down its pretty neutral, maybe has a bit of a limiter effect/compression so not totally transparent, as you turn up the gain it adds a upper mid and treble and grind. It cuts through a mix and stacks well with lower gain pedals.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I actually joined here because of the Klon. Klon-maker Bill Finnegan cold-called me back in 06 or 07, and was considering implementing a small change to the Klon and asked me to do a little R&D for him. I knew of it, but had no experience with it, and didn't play very loud at home, so I was looking for local folks that might be able to provide an opinion. That led me here. Turned out, I couldn't accomplish what he needed, and we amicably went our separate ways. But for a little while, he sent me two separate boards for A/B-ing; one stock, and the other with _every single component socketed_, so I could sub parts and play around. Exceptionally well-built, I have to say.

I won't say it is the magic recipe for every conceivable rig, but if a Klon works for you, he deserves your business.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

zdogma said:


> How are you guys finding these threads, lol? This one is nine years old.
> 
> I have never had a real silver or gold Klon, but I have a KTR and its a great pedal. With the gain knob all the way down its pretty neutral, maybe has a bit of a limiter effect/compression so not totally transparent, as you turn up the gain it adds a upper mid and treble and grind. It cuts through a mix and stacks well with lower gain pedals.


Wooo! Zombie threads!!!

I love my KTR. I use it as a boost pedal and I love that the sweetening of the mids allows me to cut through without adding too much volume, which, in turn, keeps bar owners happy because I don't have to be too overbearing when I'm ripping through Zeppelin solos.

I'd LOVE to find a good deal on an original Klon. I've seen countless videos and demos that show the KTR and original to be very, very similar, but I love my Klon so much that I'd just be super-happy to own an original. I should've jumped on one I had a line on a couple years ago, but I was afraid prices would come down. They haven't :-/



mhammer said:


> I actually joined here because of the Klon. Klon-maker Bill Finnegan cold-called me back in 06 or 07, and was considering implementing a small change to the Klon and asked me to do a little R&D for him. I knew of it, but had no experience with it, and didn't play very loud at home, so I was looking for local folks that might be able to provide an opinion. That led me here. Turned out, I couldn't accomplish what he needed, and we amicably went our separate ways. But for a little while, he sent me two separate boards for A/B-ing; one stock, and the other with _every single component socketed_, so I could sub parts and play around. Exceptionally well-built, I have to say.
> 
> I won't say it is the magic recipe for every conceivable rig, but if a Klon works for you, he deserves your business.


I certainly seems well-thought-out. I use mine with my Marshall JTM45 and Fender 59 Bassman with great success and excellent tonal rewards. I've found that the DSLs at my rehearsal space don't like it as much when the master is being used, but then again, a boost on a MV amp is always a bit iffy.

At band volumes, the only other boost I've used that has had the same sort of magic is the Z.Vex Super Hard-On.


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## ONFLOOR AUDIO (Jul 22, 2010)

Yep the Klon circuit lives up to the hype !!


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## white buffalo (Jan 31, 2016)

I got my gold (sans horsie) Klon direct from Bill in late 2007 for $350. At first I didn't 'get' it so shelved it for many years until I decided to give it another go sometime in 2014. 
This time 'round I _really _dug it-- it became my most used OD for a while--, until the lure of the crazy prices caught up and I was offered $2300 for it. I just couldn't say no to _that_. 
I'd gotten a KTR a few months before letting go of old gold one and had the chance to extensively A/B them. My finding was that the KTR simply didn't get 100% of the way 'there'. 
I really wanted the KTR to work out for me- I truly had zero bias going into the comparison; just wanted an alternative now that mine had been sold-, but it, sadly, didn't. 
I'm hoping to get an original Klon back in my life at some point this year. Incredibly tough pill to swallow, but I haven't been as satisfied with my OD's since it parted. 
My friend got one for $1600 CDN earlier this year, which seems a _steal_, so I'm hoping I could find one around that number (or less). 
I always dug the Durham Sex Drive for doing a similar thing, as well as the ZVex Super Hard On, though neither was quite as magical as the Klon into a cranked amp. 
Despite how great the Klon is, I will _*NEVER*_ understand the remarkable amount of hype and insane prices they now command. It's not a very rare pedal, with something like 8000 having been produced, not is it something entirely unique. 
End of the day it's _just _a boost/overdrive.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

white buffalo said:


> I got my gold (sans horsie) Klon direct from Bill in late 2007 for $350. At first I didn't 'get' it so shelved it for many years until I decided to give it another go sometime in 2014.
> This time 'round I _really _dug it-- it became my most used OD for a while--, until the lure of the crazy prices caught up and I was offered $2300 for it. I just couldn't say no to _that_.
> I'd gotten a KTR a few months before letting go of old gold one and had the chance to extensively A/B them. My finding was that the KTR simply didn't get 100% of the way 'there'.
> I really wanted the KTR to work out for me- I truly had zero bias going into the comparison; just wanted an alternative now that mine had been sold-, but it, sadly, didn't.
> ...


I totally understand it (the hype). It's like a hot potato where you wanna keep it moving before people realize it's average and you burn yourself. Those who have it _have_ to keep the hype alive.

I don't understand how the price got to where it is.


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

nkjanssen said:


> ...except that the mania doesn't come from people who own them. It comes from those who don't. Every single person I know who actually owns one is very level-headed about it. On the other hand, a lot of people who DON'T own them obsess about them.


Sure. The same can be said for me. Before I owned one, I HAD to have it. I NEEDED to know. Probably similar to every single person _you_ know who owns one. I don't think anyone would pay $2K for a pedal, if they weren't buying into the hype. There is *no way* the pedal is worth that.

Once I had it, I was all "meh" and it sat off my pedalboard. I had high hopes for it, but a simple Keeley BD-2 outclassed it in almost everything. 

So, when I owned it, I was "level-headed", but since it wasn't good for me, I felt it was a hot potato and I needed to move it before the value dropped. Once for sale, it was a legendary pedal again.


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