Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

I have a thought....you go through a lot of gear. ;)

I have no idea about either one of those units....I could never justify $400.00 on an O.D....Klons are expensive.

Happy hunting!
 
Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

save your money. the economy just tanked and cash is king. noone in their right mind should be spending any money right now. Of course thats why im driving up to austin tomorow to buy 800.00 worth of amplification . Its because the prices have bottomed out and people are needing to sell. I shouldnt, but ive been wanting these amps for like ever and now that cash is scarce stuff is comeing back on the market lower than ive seen in in years and years.. I hope to sell a couple other amps to help pay for these. is 800 cash worth more than these amps now??... hell yes! so im kind of a fool but i havent seen them at this price for so long Im going to jump on them.
 
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Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

hahaha, F the economy.....it's a media hyped bankers' problem. They F'ed themselves....sorta F'ed us in the process, but now they can eat it, while the rest of us live responsibly and try our hardest to make money!

I used to live next to where Fulltone started their shop, so I had one of the first orange FDII's, then got the blue which wasn't as nice, then stepped up to the Custom Shop white one. I like FDII's, but they're a way different animal than the Klon, which in my opinion is the best OD ever made.....because it's literally an extension of whatever amp you're using.....simply neutral gain. The FD has a more tube screamerish vibe to it, if you had a TS that did everything.

In simplest terms, I think of Robben Ford when I think of the Klon, and I think of SRV when I think of the FDII.

The Klon is nothing short of it's reputation and pricetag. If a person bought only one OD, I'd say the Klon would be the one. It's fat, linear, and makes whatever you're using just sound better than it does without it. It's expensive though.
I got lucky enough to find my early gold w/Centaur logo version for $240 locally.
I hit the jackpot when I came home with that one.....much like you feel about the Emma Reezafratzitz, which you've got me thinking about. Now, I want one of those!

The FDII in it's most modern form.....blue w/MOSFET is another classic WAY worth buying.

I tend to think of it like this....The Klon is great for humbuckers and single coils because it's just a gainy clean boost extension of your amp.
The FDII is best suited to single coils, but gives you EVERY flavor of gain with a Tubescreamer flavor, minus the midhump and clean/gain mixture fakey sound. I'd NEVER buy a Tubescreamer again. The FDII kills it, and ironically, that's how I paid for my first one...the orange one. I had an old TS-9, sold it, added money, and bought the orange FDII. I didn't regret it for a minute. I made the mistake of trading the orange for an early blue, sold that, then went through many others. When the opportunity arose, I grabbed the white Custom Shop FDII. It's a great OD pedal, but has more coloration than the Klon. I use them side by side, and am fully happy with what they both offer. If you want something similar to the Klon for less money, the Banzai Coldfusion is close, but a tiny bit crunchier. Banzai makes great stuff you'd like too. Look into them! Rising Sun, CF, and Fireball II.

Pedalboard1.jpg
 
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Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

save your money. the economy just tanked and cash is king. noone in their right mind should be spending any money right now. Of course thats why im driving up to austin tomorow to buy 800.00 worth of amplification . Its because the prices have bottomed out and people are needing to sell. I shouldnt, but ive been wanting these amps for like ever and now that cash is scarce stuff is comeing back on the market lower than ive seen in in years and years.. I hope to sell a couple other amps to help pay for these. is 800 cash worth more than these amps now??... hell yes! so im kind of a fool but i havent seen them at this price for so long Im going to jump on them.

If the economy gets too bad I'll just live a life of crime and make more money than ever doing an honest job!

hahaha, F the economy.....it's a bank problem! I used to live next to where Fulltone started their shop, so I had one of the first orange FDII's, then got the blue which wasn't as nice, then stepped up to the Custom Shop white one. I like FDII's, but they're a way different animal than the Klon, which in my opinion is the best OD ever made.....because it's literally an extension of whatever amp you're using.....simply neutral gain. The FD has a more tube screamerish vibe to it, if you had a TS that did everything.

In simplest terms, I think of Robben Ford when I think of the Klon, and I think of SRV when I think of the FDII.

The Klon is nothing short of it's reputation and pricetag. If a person bought only one OD, I'd say the Klon would be the one. It's fat, linear, and makes whatever you're using just sound better than it does without it. It's expensive though.
I got lucky enough to find my early gold w/Centaur logo version for $240 locally.
I hit the jackpot when I came home with that one.....much like you feel about the Emma Reezafratzitz, which you've got me thinking about. Now, I want one of those!

The FDII in it's most modern form.....blue w/MOSFET is another classic WAY worth buying.

I tend to think of it like this....The Klon is great for humbuckers and single coils because it's just a gainy clean boost extension of your amp.
The FDII is best suited to single coils, but gives you EVERY flavor of gain with a Tubescreamer flavor, minus the midhump and clean/gain mixture fakey sound. I'd NEVER buy a Tubescreamer again. The FDII kills it, and ironically, that's how I paid for my first one...the orange one. I had an old TS-9, sold it, added money, and bought the orange FDII. I didn't regret it for a minute. I made the mistake of trading the orange for an early blue, sold that, then went through many others. When the opportunity arose, I grabbed the white Custom Shop FDII. It's a great OD pedal, but has more coloration than the Klon. I use them side by side, and am fully happy with what they both offer. If you want something similar to the Klon for less money, the Banzai Coldfusion is close, but a tiny bit crunchier. Banzai makes great stuff you'd like too. Look into them! Rising Sun, CF, and Fireball II.

Pedalboard1.jpg

That's exactly the reason I want one. I like the Fulldrive a lot but the Klon supposedly doesn't color your amp but enhances the amps sound. I bought the Fulldrive for a universal OD & boost but the Klon Centaur does OD & boost too.

I don't think the Klon is that expensive. $379 except you have to wait. I'm not in a hurry.

Man I'm happy with my Emma Reezafratzitz. With that I'm covered for distortion. It's basically my Marshall in a box. I love how the bias control changes the whole character of the pedal.
 
Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

hahaha, F the economy.....it's a bank problem! I used to live next to where Fulltone started their shop, so I had one of the first orange FDII's, then got the blue which wasn't as nice, then stepped up to the Custom Shop white one. I like FDII's, but they're a way different animal than the Klon, which in my opinion is the best OD ever made.....because it's literally an extension of whatever amp you're using.....simply neutral gain. The FD has a more tube screamerish vibe to it, if you had a TS that did everything.

In simplest terms, I think of Robben Ford when I think of the Klon, and I think of SRV when I think of the FDII.

The Klon is nothing short of it's reputation and pricetag. If a person bought only one OD, I'd say the Klon would be the one. It's fat, linear, and makes whatever you're using just sound better than it does without it. It's expensive though.
I got lucky enough to find my early gold w/Centaur logo version for $240 locally.
I hit the jackpot when I came home with that one.....much like you feel about the Emma Reezafratzitz, which you've got me thinking about. Now, I want one of those!

The FDII in it's most modern form.....blue w/MOSFET is another classic WAY worth buying.

I tend to think of it like this....The Klon is great for humbuckers and single coils because it's just a gainy clean boost extension of your amp.
The FDII is best suited to single coils, but gives you EVERY flavor of gain with a Tubescreamer flavor, minus the midhump and clean/gain mixture fakey sound. I'd NEVER buy a Tubescreamer again. The FDII kills it, and ironically, that's how I paid for my first one...the orange one. I had an old TS-9, sold it, added money, and bought the orange FDII. I didn't regret it for a minute. I made the mistake of trading the orange for an early blue, sold that, then went through many others. When the opportunity arose, I grabbed the white Custom Shop FDII. It's a great OD pedal, but has more coloration than the Klon. I use them side by side, and am fully happy with what they both offer. If you want something similar to the Klon for less money, the Banzai Coldfusion is close, but a tiny bit crunchier. Banzai makes great stuff you'd like too. Look into them! Rising Sun, CF, and Fireball II.

Pedalboard1.jpg

thats an amazing review and im totally in awe its pretty special . Ive heard that fantastic Robben Ford tone, but being more of single coil Strat guy, I'd say that the FDII will get you closer than anything else to that Robben Ford sound , enabling a single coil fender to approach Robbens raspy thick and lush Humbucking sound).
I know nothing about the Centaur. You seem to describe it as a transparent distortion. Isnt that a clean boost? Well, I dont new, maybe a distortion can be neutral also.
I likew the FDII for thick colored humbucking Robben Ford sound with a single coil Start, and I like a bad Bob or a OCD Fulltone for that gainey and very present and trebly crunch like aTimmy.
 
Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

Jerry, I'm envious. I was gonna say something snarky followed by a middle finger, but the truth is I wish I was in your situation.
 
Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

So reviews say the Klon is a noisy pedal. What's your experience Jonsie?
 
Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

This might be a lame reply, but have you ever checked out the old Zoom Power Drive PD-01?

They're frequently compared to the Klon and some consider them to be a holy grail.

Check out some reviews and track one of those pedals down for 50 bucks.
 
Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

I will say right off the bat that the FDII and Klon are simply 2 different beasts...truth is Im not a big TS fan so the FDII is not really my bag but think of the FDII as the most advanced TS style pedal on the market. Klons on the other hand...I just don't get it...never have. I don't tink they are nearly as transparent as folks would have you believe and as for the sound that they DO impart on your tone I persoanlly don't care for it. If I wanted something to push my amp over the top and retain the tone of my amp I would use a pure clean boost, the Klon is a light OD and IMO there are better light OD's out there...
 
Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

That link ^ is a typical review by someone with the agenda of bagging on the Klon to bolster a pedal they have something to do with. When reading that, it sounded like the complete opposite of the truth.

The Klon isn't completely transparent, but what it does to the signal is similar to what a Neve module does to a vocal mic. It enriches it and gives it body.

Another thing about the Klon that many other good pedals lack is the bouncy tube feel....the touch responsiveness under your fingers that makes you forget you're even using a pedal.

I've seen a lot of people bashing the Klon, and I can sort of understand the complaints about the high price, but you've also got to realize that Bill Finnegan didn't go the cheap route, using painted Hammond boxes. Everything from the circuit to the anodized cast box, to the pots and knobs is quality stuff.
 
Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

I will say right off the bat that the FDII and Klon are simply 2 different beasts...truth is Im not a big TS fan so the FDII is not really my bag but think of the FDII as the most advanced TS style pedal on the market. Klons on the other hand...I just don't get it...never have. I don't tink they are nearly as transparent as folks would have you believe and as for the sound that they DO impart on your tone I persoanlly don't care for it. If I wanted something to push my amp over the top and retain the tone of my amp I would use a pure clean boost, the Klon is a light OD and IMO there are better light OD's out there...

I know they are two different pedals but I'm considering replacing my Fulldrive with one. One reason being my fulldrive doesn't do it for me on my Soldanos. I think the Klon might sound better on ALL my amps.
 
Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

I know they are two different pedals but I'm considering replacing my Fulldrive with one. One reason being my fulldrive doesn't do it for me on my Soldanos. I think the Klon might sound better on ALL my amps.

If you get a chance, check out the analogman King of Tone. Id put that up against a klon any day. And im not in any sense bagging on the klon.
 
Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

So reviews say the Klon is a noisy pedal. What's your experience Jonsie?

Nope, it's not noisy. Joe's right about the Klon adding dimension to existing amp drive, too. I've used it with a tweed Fender, blackface Fender, Vox and Mesa, all with great results. The results are what I'd call "classy," like a control that meshes nicely with what your amp's already doing.

- Keith
 
Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

Nope, it's not noisy. Joe's right about the Klon adding dimension to existing amp drive, too. I've used it with a tweed Fender, blackface Fender, Vox and Mesa, all with great results. The results are what I'd call "classy," like a control that meshes nicely with what your amp's already doing.

- Keith

Well thanks bros. I'm going to invest in one for my Soldano and hopefully get the kind of sound I'm looking for.
 
Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

I found out that Klon held it's value quite nicely. (I sold it obviously)
 
Re: Klon Centaur vs Fulltone Fulldrive II

I was lucky enough to score my original version Klon (gold with centaur logo) for $240 and never looked back. It absolutely destroyed every other OD pedal I'd tried, and I'm keeping it for life. It's like a magic box that works with all guitars and amps.

The thing that I love seeing is how those early ones like I've got just keep climbing in price. Several times, I've seen them go for as much as $760 used on Ebay, and it almost makes me laugh. It's a good pedal and all, but the price it fetches from collectors is almost getting crazy. I'm still not selling it, because I love what it does.
 
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