Klonk (Klon clone) build thread (Done!)

BradK · Post by **BradK** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 9:59 pm

Zaphod wrote:It sounds nice, not $400 nice.

Ugh, thats so much money, at that price you could probably buy an amp wth a decent overdrive rather than the pedal.

My thoughts exactly. Awesome fuckin' job though, Mike, that looks like quite a doozy haha.

ultratwin · Post by **ultratwin** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:30 am

Yar!

A squillion wires makes for some really unique drive going on there. Kudos for sharing the constructive lurve, as always.

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 4:09 am

Damn, not once...but twice you had to build this monster? FUCK THAT. Glad it worked, would of sucked to build it a second time and still no worky right. Sounds Ace, has a nice smoothness too it? Or is that youtube compression?

Post by **Mike** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 8:21 am

More Cowbell wrote:Damn, not once...but twice you had to build this monster? FUCK THAT. Glad it worked, would of sucked to build it a second time and still no worky right. Sounds Ace, has a nice smoothness too it? Or is that youtube compression?

A bit of both maybe? It's definitely what I would call "Smoky" or "Throaty" in the mids and it's not a Harsh sounding overdrive, particularly if you play with the Treble control as you change the Gain level. Yeah it was a pain to have to build it twice, because it's so complicated, but I liked the sound the first time around and it is a unique pedal - if you want an overdrive pedal, why not build a Clone of the most expensive one to annoy corksniffers at the same time?

I'm probably just going to sand the case with fine paper and leave it bare, or I might paint it. I dunno. Either way I'm happy - when they fire up first time it is so satisfying.

Post by **Mike** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:11 am

I built it into a case last night, mainly to keep warm.

it's complicated beast!

Reece · Post by **Reece** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:32 am

SPAGHETTI JUNCTION.

A testament to your pedal building skillz.

nomorebridge · Post by **nomorebridge** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:36 am

I REALLY like the sound of that one
through my laptop speakers anyways

ace job!

Post by **Mike** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:41 am

Cheers. It sounds a lot better in person. I'm looking forward to breaking it out with the band on Monday.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 2:22 pm

Cool. So transparent I can't find my laptop now.

Post by **Mike** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 2:25 pm

hahaha

hazelwould · Post by **hazelwould** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 3:38 pm

Sounds and looks great! Have you tried a Crowther Hotcake? I don't know why this reminds of one (cept the HC has a TON more gain and all the low gain as well).

... Then again I jut heard a you tube demo...

Planning on selling these? You should look into cloning the hotcake! It really is one of my top dist pedals.

Post by **Mike** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 4:27 pm

I'm not interested in building the Klon to sell, it's too complicated.

I have build a HotCake recently actually for Haze, it's a nice pedal, very fun when driven full on.

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:09 pm

Love the way it looks! Reminds me of Vintage Muffs.

Post by **Mike** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:34 pm

Cheers! I was going for as close as possible to the current ones, with a little Mike twist on the LED and knobs.

jcyphe · Post by **jcyphe** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:35 pm

I always thought this was a stupid pedal.

Post by **Mike** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:43 pm

jcyphe wrote:I always thought this was a stupid pedal.

haha

I've always been intrigued about it, it's an original design that's for sure. I really have no idea what the fuss is about, you can easily get a great Overdrive pedal for a fifth of what the Klon costs new (which is a darn sight cheaper than what they go for on ebay). It's an odd one. If you're building pedals, it's pretty much one of the most complicated overdrives out there, which was the main challenge for me.

JaguarOW · Post by **JaguarOW** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:07 pm

this sounds great, how long did it take to do all of that wiring?

Post by **dots** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 8:04 pm

Mike wrote:Cheers! I was going for as close as possible to the current ones, with a little Mike twist on the LED and knobs.

hahahahaha

i used one of those on that last satchild record. it's very unremarkable in appearance, but it fit the tone i was going for on the song. never heard (of) it before.

hazelwould · Post by **hazelwould** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 8:23 pm

It's probably a great sounding overdrive... But like anything else, it's just a status symbol. Klon, could probably start selling the case and name with tubescreamer guts, and people would still shell out the money for it.

BTW Mike, do you happen to have the PCB/PERF/SCHM or anything else regarding your hotcake build?

I'd be really interested in building one. Was it an easy build?

Post by **Mike** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 8:50 pm

JaguarOW wrote:this sounds great, how long did it take to do all of that wiring?

About 2 hours. It's probably a 4-5 hour build in it's entireity including testing.

hazelwould wrote:It's probably a great sounding overdrive... But like anything else, it's just a status symbol. Klon, could probably start selling the case and name with tubescreamer guts, and people would still shell out the money for it.

BTW Mike, do you happen to have the PCB/PERF/SCHM or anything else regarding your hotcake build?

I'd be really interested in building one. Was it an easy build?

I agree that it's hyped beyond hype now so people love it even if they don't really like it. I decided to build one to see what the fuss is about.

freestompboxes.org is an excellent resource. You have to register and be activated to see all the forums, but once you can, there are lots of schematics and knowledgeable people there. I'll also PM you a link to the hotcake layout, it's not a bad build at all if you have soldering skills, but the Zener Diode is a must.