New Non-BOSS Pedals

[zentropa]

Sounds like what I'm after. I don't have a legit Klone of any sort. This will be my intro to this type pedal.
It's funny, I almost never use pedals for my grit tones, but I do have a LOT of drives/distortions/fuzz... and often have one in the chain to push my crunchy amp a little crunchier. I'm also a bridge single coil guy, so the Han-Taun seems great for this application!

Cool. I tried a bunch of different Klones when I was deciding on which one to have on my giant board (that board I wanted the "most accurate representation").

A few things about the circuit in general... (sorry if you already know this)

The originals were buffered and it is a very good buffer. The later KTR was SMD and had a buffered vs. true bypass switch labeled "almost always better" (buffered) and "almost always worse" (true bypass). Most Klones will be one or the other, but a couple of them will have a switch between the two (sometimes internal). I find the biggest difference between the buffered/tb is the pick attack. True bypass ones have a much sharper pick attack that can border on harsh while buffered ones are a bit smoother and chewier.

The originals used germanium clipping diodes. Most of the sub-$100 klones use silicone.

There are silver and gold circuits. The silver tend to have a bit more dirt/compression in them (although not much of either). The gold tend to be a bit more responsive. I know there have been klones that can be switched between the two, but this is rare.

The circuit has an ABSURD amount of volume boost available. I primarily play medium to hot alnico V bridge humbuckers and unity is at around 9 o'clock for me. From my experiences the pedal sounds significantly better with the volume set louder than 12 o'clock. I know a lot of people use it as an always on pedal because of this, where they turn their amp down and set the pedal volume to like 2 o'clock or higher.

There are a lot of people who run the gain at 0, but this completely removes the mid sculpting of the drive portion and on some klones can cause op amp oscillation issues due to the circuit design. This can be solved by setting the drive to 0.1 rather than 0.

In general, most Klones do not have a lot of available dirt in them. Like, the gain maxed being in the ballpark of an SD-1 with the gain set to 9-11 o'clock.

At any given time, there is usually a Klone that the internet has decided is supposed to sound most like the original. Over the past couple of years it was the Mojo Hand Sacred Cow (true bypass), but I believe there is another one that recently took over that role but is fairly expensive (~$300). A lot of the past Klones that held this distinction have been discontinued (e.g. the Chellee Ponyboy). The EHX Soul Food is probably the least accurate one that a lot of people use. The J Rockett Archer is apparently extremely close to the KTR since they were going to be the ones that produced the KTR but that deal fell through at the last minute, after the pedal had been designed, but general consensus is that it is a good KTR version, and not as close to the original Centaur. As for "highly tweakable" klones, the Bondi Sick-As generally has the rep with this (with the Manticore/Sericon being in the conversation as well).

I know if I was giving a recommendation for someone exploring Klones for the first time, I would suggest trying to find a store with a Wampler Tumnus Deluxe since that has a toggle for a fat boost and a button on the side to switch between buffered and true bypass. While it isn't my favorite Klone, the experience will help narrow down options pretty significantly. For me, I prefer playing ones with a fat boost (or having it hard-wired into the circuit like on the Han Taun) and are buffered.

klon_shirt-_raw-.png (330.06 KiB) Viewed 3384 times

[bigtone23]

Sounds like what I'm after. I don't have a legit Klone of any sort. This will be my intro to this type pedal.
It's funny, I almost never use pedals for my grit tones, but I do have a LOT of drives/distortions/fuzz... and often have one in the chain to push my crunchy amp a little crunchier. I'm also a bridge single coil guy, so the Han-Taun seems great for this application!

Cool. I tried a bunch of different Klones when I was deciding on which one to have on my giant board (that board I wanted the "most accurate representation").

A few things about the circuit in general... (sorry if you already know this)

The originals were buffered and it is a very good buffer. The later KTR was SMD and had a buffered vs. true bypass switch labeled "almost always better" (buffered) and "almost always worse" (true bypass). Most Klones will be one or the other, but a couple of them will have a switch between the two (sometimes internal). I find the biggest difference between the buffered/tb is the pick attack. True bypass ones have a much sharper pick attack that can border on harsh while buffered ones are a bit smoother and chewier.

The originals used germanium clipping diodes. Most of the sub-$100 klones use silicone.

There are silver and gold circuits. The silver tend to have a bit more dirt/compression in them (although not much of either). The gold tend to be a bit more responsive. I know there have been klones that can be switched between the two, but this is rare.

The circuit has an ABSURD amount of volume boost available. I primarily play medium to hot alnico V bridge humbuckers and unity is at around 9 o'clock for me. From my experiences the pedal sounds significantly better with the volume set louder than 12 o'clock. I know a lot of people use it as an always on pedal because of this, where they turn their amp down and set the pedal volume to like 2 o'clock or higher.

There are a lot of people who run the gain at 0, but this completely removes the mid sculpting of the drive portion and on some klones can cause op amp oscillation issues due to the circuit design. This can be solved by setting the drive to 0.1 rather than 0.

In general, most Klones do not have a lot of available dirt in them. Like, the gain maxed being in the ballpark of an SD-1 with the gain set to 9-11 o'clock.

At any given time, there is usually a Klone that the internet has decided is supposed to sound most like the original. Over the past couple of years it was the Mojo Hand Sacred Cow (true bypass), but I believe there is another one that recently took over that role but is fairly expensive (~$300). A lot of the past Klones that held this distinction have been discontinued (e.g. the Chellee Ponyboy). The EHX Soul Food is probably the least accurate one that a lot of people use. The J Rockett Archer is apparently extremely close to the KTR since they were going to be the ones that produced the KTR but that deal fell through at the last minute, after the pedal had been designed, but general consensus is that it is a good KTR version, and not as close to the original Centaur. As for "highly tweakable" klones, the Bondi Sick-As generally has the rep with this (with the Manticore/Sericon being in the conversation as well).

I know if I was giving a recommendation for someone exploring Klones for the first time, I would suggest trying to find a store with a Wampler Tumnus Deluxe since that has a toggle for a fat boost and a button on the side to switch between buffered and true bypass. While it isn't my favorite Klone, the experience will help narrow down options pretty significantly. For me, I prefer playing ones with a fat boost (or having it hard-wired into the circuit like on the Han Taun) and are buffered.

klon_shirt-_raw-.png

I fully appreciate all of the detailed info. Thank you!
The fact that it's a Klone and has the great and funny graphics sells it for me. I was a 2nd grade kid when the OG Star Wars movie came out. It was as important as KISS as to how it influenced my life. Empire Strikes Back and Van Halen sealed the deal! This pedal ticks the boxes! I'm not looking for a perfect Klone, I'm just looking for something that does that thing. I have old and original dirt pedals of all types, and the BYOC and boutique versions are not always exact, but in the same wheelhouse for some version of the pedal. It's like those Dumble Clones, those were bespoke designs of a circuit for that specific player, which one is getting copied? The Dumble made for Robin Ford or Eric Johnson would not work for me, as I hit the guitar way harder than them, just to start... The Klon is much more consistent in that regard.

I 'missed out' on the OG Klons, but sort of on purpose. They were something like $195 back in the mid 90s, but had to be ordered through Vintage Guitar Magazine or something like that. The idea of a $200 pedal back then was getting an original TS808, an original TS9 and sending it off to AnalogMan for the 808 mod, a fat deal on a MuTron Bi-Phase, a Script MXR D+, Phase 45 and 4 knob Flanger combo, etc...

Point is, it was the last decade where an average to below average income guy in his 20s could get killer gear for cheap. $200 for an overdrive pedal was seemingly absurd. MIJ BOSS stuff was never more than $100ish for the rare stuff, like the Spectrum, Slow Gear, CE1 being around $150...

For $200, I would rather buy an amp. For example, I picked up a poorly modded 83 JCM800 2203 head for $175, sent it off to Bruce Egnater for a gain mod (which cost $225 with shipping) and had a fire breather amp. Same with my 64 Blonde 6G6B Fender Bassman head and cab that I picked up for $150, which had a pair of original 72 Greenbacks in the cab. After a $150 tune up at the shop, I had a killer amp.

[zentropa]

I fully appreciate all of the detailed info. Thank you!
The fact that it's a Klone and has the great and funny graphics sells it for me. I was a 2nd grade kid when the OG Star Wars movie came out. It was as important as KISS as to how it influenced my life. Empire Strikes Back and Van Halen sealed the deal! This pedal ticks the boxes! I'm not looking for a perfect Klone, I'm just looking for something that does that thing. I have old and original dirt pedals of all types, and the BYOC and boutique versions are not always exact, but in the same wheelhouse for some version of the pedal. It's like those Dumble Clones, those were bespoke designs of a circuit for that specific player, which one is getting copied? The Dumble made for Robin Ford or Eric Johnson would not work for me, as I hit the guitar way harder than them, just to start... The Klon is much more consistent in that regard.

I 'missed out' on the OG Klons, but sort of on purpose. They were something like $195 back in the mid 90s, but had to be ordered through Vintage Guitar Magazine or something like that. The idea of a $200 pedal back then was getting an original TS808, an original TS9 and sending it off to AnalogMan for the 808 mod, a fat deal on a MuTron Bi-Phase, a Script MXR D+, Phase 45 and 4 knob Flanger combo, etc...

Point is, it was the last decade where an average to below average income guy in his 20s could get killer gear for cheap. $200 for an overdrive pedal was seemingly absurd. MIJ BOSS stuff was never more than $100ish for the rare stuff, like the Spectrum, Slow Gear, CE1 being around $150...

For $200, I would rather buy an amp. For example, I picked up a poorly modded 83 JCM800 2203 head for $175, sent it off to Bruce Egnater for a gain mod (which cost $225 with shipping) and had a fire breather amp. Same with my 64 Blonde 6G6B Fender Bassman head and cab that I picked up for $150, which had a pair of original 72 Greenbacks in the cab. After a $150 tune up at the shop, I had a killer amp.

I was almost 2 when I saw Empire in the theater. Luke getting his hand cut off traumatized me.

I remember when the Centaur was new. I think it was actually $300 when it launched and I thought that was comical at the time. My guitar gear didn't grow much in the mid-90s since I bought the band's PA/mics and assembled some recording gear. I do have a bit of an absurd memory when it comes to prices, though, so I remember a lot from that era. I regret taking friends (who didn't know much but I thought knew more than me) advice that told me to avoid tube amps due to maintenance, so I didn't get my first one until 1997, but it was a 1968 Fender Twin Reverb that I got for $425 out the door. I do remember that shop having 3 stacks of vintage Bandmaster, Bassman, and Showman heads that went from floor to ceiling, all priced between $150 and $225 depending upon if condition and year and Princetons were $125 for silver, $150 for blackface. JCM800 were $425-700 there... but everyone wanted the JCM900s since they had more gain. Our local prices on rare pedals were a bit higher. CE-2 were like $50, but SG-1, SP-1, and DM-2 were like $300. Part of the reason that I got my SG-1 recently was because it hadn't gone up by much in 25 years compared to other Boss pedals.

I still hunt undervalued gear, but each year it gets harder and harder to come by. Often this involves buying the exact opposite of what is trendy. If it's an amp associated with metal, I get the combo version. If 1x10 and 1x12s are trendy, I get the 2x12, 4x10, or 4x12. If people want 10-20 watts, I get 50+. I keep my eye out for steals and if it's not something I want I try to get a friend to buy it, but most are oddly resistant to it because they equate low price with "it must sound bad and be poorly built." Stuff like Peavey JSX combos, Crate Blue Voodoos, Peavey Windsors, etc. all punch well above their weight class IMO and can still be found for $300 and under. It always baffles me how few people actually understand how wattage vs. volume works as well as associated factors like speaker efficiency, but their lack of understanding leaves a lot of openings. Sadly finding undervalued guitars these days is much more difficult than amps.

[Pepe]

I received this one a week ago. No reissue.



There were a few stripes of velcro on the bottom and I had to use lots of isopropanol on a toothbrush to clean the rubber mat.



Overall I'm very pleased with the sound. To me it sounds best with Contour all the way down and Gain at about two or three 'o clock. I was surprised to find out that it allows for very mild overdrive settings, despite its name. I have only always heard that the Marshall Shred Master was great. It is, indeed. But I don't know yet if it will be a keeper.

Another surprise was the tiny box for this pedal. It just fits in.

[The_Doc]

I was using mine last week and it reminded me that this pedal is great for light overdrive tones. It’s not a super high gain pedal.

[zentropa]

I received this one a week ago. No reissue.

Nice. I remember playing all of the Marshall pedals in that line in the early 90s. The shred master and drive master were my favorites of them.

[Pepe]

I also had an original Guv'nor a few years ago. It was way better than the small GV-2. But I don't particularly love any of them.

[zentropa]

I also had an original Guv'nor a few years ago. It was way better than the small GV-2. But I don't particularly love any of them.

The small ones were definitely a step down in tone quality from the originals. I didn't love any of them either and I don't think the originals sold particularly well here. If memory serves, the Guv'nor was the first of them to really gain some traction, but not until 10-15 years after it was released and had long been discontinued in that form. I think one of my hangups was the build quality. I remember the used ones that would pop up were always dented/bent, frequently in the area around the footswitch indicating the top of the pedal was collapsing. I also encountered a bunch with broken off pots and cracked jacks. I ended up very surprised that the Bluesbreaker ended up skyrocketing in value... that was by far my least favorite of them.

[bigtone23]

It's here! The Idiotbox Han-Taun!
zentropa hipped me up to the 20% sale on the site, effectively making this the same as a used price with shipping. Opted for the pink, as I don't really see those in the wild, so no brainer...
It's just as zentropa described to me: a Klone that has a touch of mid/fat boost. The clean side of the circuit is transparent, the dirt side has a touch more mids vs a typical Klon. Sounds as great as it looks, a nice boost for a crunchy amp, tried it with my crunchy DSL50 and edge of breakup Mesa MKIIA and it was great.
As a stand alone drive, it's not my favorite, as I prefer MIAB, the Nobels ODR-1, RAT or SD2 for that. However, it will probably never get used for that, as I tend to play amps that already crunch up as my dirt.

[Pepe]

Wow, both colours look great!