Klon Centaur?

[LonestarGtr]

Hi guys and gals,

I was wondering what everyone's take on the klon centaur is? Is it really the be all/end all of overdrives? I may be in the market for one based on friends' recommendations, but haven't played one in person. Any help...

thanks,
Mike

[guitarzan]

my buddy has one and swears by it. He's a Cobra-into-Matchless DC30 player. It's certainly smooth, but I can't get over the price tag for something that claims to be so transparent. If I'm gonna sell an organ to get one, It better actually DO something remarkable, no just do something miniscule on a remarkable level.

I don't mean to be a buzzkill, and your friend may consider his the be all, end all- but I feel like the vibe about the Centuar is similar to the ZenDrive right now. Nobody can get it, so the street price goes through the roof and the guys who already have one inflate it's perceived value by advertising it's magic. And don't get me wrong, I feel like the ZenDrive is worth $3 hundred bucks. But I have yet to find a pedal that does what the ZD does as well. The Centuar has some stiff competition out there. And even the Klon site perpetuates that mystique by offering very little conversational information. It's the Rodeo (ro-DAY-oh) Drive of storefronts...

Just my two pesos

[sonsop]

Klon is life.

It's a remarkable pedal; clearly worthy of it's status based. $344 delivered to your door in about 12 weeks. What's the fuss? If you don't like it you can flip it for what you paid in about five minutes.

The pedal has remained unchanged and still grabs huge praise. Why? Maybe because it just melts into your amp and becomes another channel, simple as that. If you use it as a clean boost it will slay you. Ditto for the world class buffer. And the tone control has a taper as useful as your Andy-Guitar. The Overdrive is pretty slick. Yeah, past 10 O'clock there's a mid boost. Isn't there supposed to be? If you're driving a Fender style amp you can't have a flat EQ. Right? Otherwise it's mud city. Mids good. And they can be tamed with the tone control. It's a great pedal. There's nothing even close; tremendously versatile and capable of LOTS OF COLORS. It's a fine tool/instrument.

[sonsop]

And even the Klon site perpetuates that mystique by offering very little conversational information. It's the Rodeo (ro-DAY-oh) Drive of storefronts...

conversational information....Huh?



There about ten reviews from different rags singing high praise and discussing -- at length - the unit. What else are you looking for?

The Klon and the Hot Cake are amongst the best overdrives ever manufactured. There's something called the test of time and these benchmarks boxes have stood up to it.

[tom]

so, you really like it ;)

[sonsop]

so, you really like it ;)

Aye...hope I didn't sound like I was pouncing. Yeah, I do like it. :)

You?

[tom]

haven't tried one, i'm behind the curve. just got a hot cake. i don't have a need for a clean boost with my current rig, but i do understand that many like it for the reasons you mentioned. someday i'd love to try it, but i'm trying to not buy any more at this point. i have too many pedals i don't use. perhaps if i sell some stuff. must clean house.

[crash]

Hi guys and gals,

I was wondering what everyone's take on the klon centaur is? Is it really the be all/end all of overdrives? I may be in the market for one based on friends' recommendations, but haven't played one in person. Any help...

thanks,
Mike

If you try a Centaur, definately weigh in on what you think.

I thought that the Landgraff DO was supposed to be the "mother-of-all-overdrives" or whatever a few years ago, and then I gigged with one. Once in the mix, it just didn't make me want to part with $400.

You research and buy and sell and all that, and eventually get your rig to be, like, 97% of what you want. And then you spend all your energy and money fighting for that last 3%. I'm starting to think it's just not out there. 97% will have to do.

[ckofahl]

I've had my klon now for about 5 yrs. I first set it up to be a clean boost which I think it does as well as any. For years that is the way that I used it, when I would want to hit my amp with a little extra to push the solo's. I set my amp to break up just a bit when guitar is full volume. Last week I started messing around with the clean channel and discovered yet another side by setting to overdrive just lightly and it gets this real nice fat wes mont. sound. It is a great pedal. If you already like your sound, but you just want to juice it abit it's great. I've ordered a 2nd one for my other pedal board set up. THe down side is that it is expensive. I spoke to bill the maker and it is 344.00 and 8 weeks. IF you don't like it, you can put it on ebay and easily get your investment and then some.

[tom]

good call crash. that 3% is a killer. and since what i want today is a little different than what i wanted last week, it does seem a little excessive, but hey it's still pretty fun. i have had mountain top experiences with lots of different stuff, some of which i still have and some of which have gone to others.

[crash]

i have had mountain top experiences with lots of different stuff...

The mountaintop thing is a good point. I put an Earvana compensated nut on my G&L Legacy the other day (there's no Feiten retrofit installer around here and I wanted to see if it helped). The difference in material gave the guitar quite a bit more sparkle. So now I play it all the time now just because it's different and more fun. 97.4%!!

Maybe a better way to look at the 3% issue is just looking for more mountaintops. If a Centaur does it for you for a few months and makes your playing that much more inspired (especially if you play for a living), it's money well spent.

But, I digress...

[sonsop]

Tom - how are you doing with the Hot Cake? I find them to LOVE the way you voice your VA pickups. Crazy good!

[tom]

i have only used it once, this weekend will be fun. it seems to do both ends of the spectrum well. it feels like a nice addition, and different than my other pedals. more to come.

[Janine Doubly]

I had a Klon for about 3 years and loved it. It did everything it claimed to do, but I ended up using it strictly as a clean boost. Bill Finnegan has hit a very specific niche and he did through lots of careful research and a strong commitment to building the thing he set out to build with no compromises. The wait has never been as long as some of the myths have made it out to be, and the price has only risen due to inflation. It holds its value on the used market and it looks cool too! I sold mine to make room on my board for other stuff, but I don't regret owning it or selling it. I made money on the sale, the new owner loves it and I can always get another when the need arises without having to worry about whether a new one will "still have that same magic" the old ones have. Copper and gold and a Centaur picture do not change the sound. Bill's a great guy to talk to as well.

[chasyboy]

[QUOTE= i have too many pedals i don't use. perhaps if i sell some stuff. must clean house.[/QUOTE]


Send them all to me Tom, I have a perfect Ebay rating and would be glad to unload them at top prices for you. Just make sure you 'count' them carefully...I have a slight tendency to borrow stuff for a long, long time. :p

Let me know if you need some help.

BT