A few times in my life I have purchased gear without truly researching it and/or hearing it. Most of the time it goes poorly and not necessarily because the product is bad, but because I haven’t actually considered whether the product fits within my rig and tone well. My most recent experience with Pedal Monster’s was one of the odd instances where I came out lucky!
With all of the Klon craze over the last few years I decided I wanted to try one of the Klones before pulling the trigger on the $1500-$2500 real deal. I tried both the standard EHX Soul Food and the JHS Modded Soul Food and both left me wanting. For the price they could not be beat but I wouldn’t be making room for it on my board. After those I kind of laid the Klon hunt to rest until I stumbled upon Pedal Monsters on Instagram. Their “Bright Lights” caught my eye as the layout was similar to a Morning Glory. Upon researching the company I found that they had a Klone and at the modest price of $150 I decided to pull the trigger.
The pedal arrived quickly and upon opening the package a found a well made pedal packaged in a cloth bag similar to other manufacturers do. After playing the pedal it has become a huge staple in my Sunday morning rig and I leave it on most of the time. The pedal reacts well to your playing so with the gain at around 11:00 I can get both clean tones with light picking and great crunchy tones when digging in. The transparency of the pedal is just incredible. Running my G&L ASAT Bluesboy through the pedal into my Morgan RCA35 is pure bliss. It matches the Morgan perfectly and while adding some dirt it doesn’t add a tone to the overall tone of the amp.
Upon inspection the pedal is very well made. The paint job is spotless and the knobs feel robust and very well made. Normally I find these features on a $200 and not one for $150. The only critique of the pedal is that the input and output jacks on the back are close to the 9v dc jack. The jacks have enough clearance to use any plugs on the market but with pancake jacks and soldered Neutrik style plugs it makes it hard to route cables in certain directions. This isn’t a game changer for me, but other’s might find it frustrating. Pedal Monsters does offer a standard JHS size enclosure model to minimize the footprint on your pedalboard, with input and output jacks on the right and left sides of the pedal.
Overall if you are looking for a great transparent overdrive or clean boost I think this is a great option. The pedal is both affordable and well made, making it a great option for Original Klon owners who don’t want to take the original on the road.
1 Comment
I’d be shocked if the klone is as good as the KTR,which literally is the best Klon clone made. I had an original,and the KTR,and sold the original to someone who really wanted one. I am relieved to be honest…I replaced it soncially,and dont have to take it off my board at break time like I did the original centaur graphic Klon Centaur.
One spilled drink on the Klon could cost me too much money.
If you would spend $150 on a klone,why not $270 on the real deal??