- Build Rating
I'm actually not much of a Klon(e) user, but this is actually the third Klone I've built, and the fourth I've owned. The first one I owned was the el-cheapo Mosky Silver Horse. At the time, I was just getting into pedals, and of course you can't read anything about overdrive pedals without the legendary Klon Centaur coming up. At the time, I really liked it, and with everything I like, I have to replace with a DIY version. So my first build was the BYOC Silver Pony, which I built from their kit. I believe that was the second pedal I ever built (the first being the delightfully named BYOC Large Beaver). I liked the Silver Pony, and actually used it a bit; my only complaint was the two switches (one was some tonal/bass shift, the other was a clipping switch) weren't terribly useful. I don't think I was alone in that opinion, as the latest version of BYOC's Silver Pony omits those switches. I next built Aion's Refractor from the kit. Ironically, right about the time I finished that build, I lost interest in the Klon Centaur.
I'm still far from a Klon enthusiast, but, I feel everyone needs a Klone in their pedal stable. And even if I'm not going to use it often, I want it to have all the "amenities" my latest builds have - particularly, relay bypass, and my own graphics/art. (I can't say the graphics are truly my own, I just used some centaur clip art I found via image search.) So here I present my version of the Kliche Mini. Usually I'm not a fan of gold-colored anything, but I felt obligated to use a gold enclosure along with the oxblood knobs. I'm actually really happy with how it looks.
The build itself was unremarkable. I only deviated from the standard parts in a couple places: for C15, I used 6.8nF instead of 3.9nF, as this seems to be a standard mod for Klone builds (supposed to make the tone knob a bit more powerful). I also used BAT41 diodes instead of GE for the clippers. I also forced film caps in a couple places that called for MLCC or Electrolytic. Edit: I also used JRC4558D and NE5532 opamps, instead of TL072, as I read somewhere that's a common tweak. I did that just for fun (but the opamps are socketed, so I can always do opamp rolling).
For the 6-pin ribbon wire that goes between the main PCB and the relay board, I put a bead of hot melt glue on either side where the wires were soldered. In the past, I've accidentally over-worked those ultra-thin wires and caused myself some debugging/re-work pain. So hopefully the hot-melt improves the strain relief.
I can't really say anything about the tone that hasn't already been said - it's got to be one of the most, ahem, cliche overdrive circuits. I only played on it a bit, but it worked great on first power-up. I need to put it next to my Aion Refractor for comparison (which also does the 3n9 to 6n8 change and uses BAT41). I remember the Refractor having a pretty distinct midrange "honk". My Kliche definitely has that classic Klon midrange emphasis, but it doesn't seem as over-the-top as I recall. So I might have to give this pedal some real board time. (My Mosky Silver Horse and BYOC Silver Pony have long since been sold off.)
I'm still far from a Klon enthusiast, but, I feel everyone needs a Klone in their pedal stable. And even if I'm not going to use it often, I want it to have all the "amenities" my latest builds have - particularly, relay bypass, and my own graphics/art. (I can't say the graphics are truly my own, I just used some centaur clip art I found via image search.) So here I present my version of the Kliche Mini. Usually I'm not a fan of gold-colored anything, but I felt obligated to use a gold enclosure along with the oxblood knobs. I'm actually really happy with how it looks.
The build itself was unremarkable. I only deviated from the standard parts in a couple places: for C15, I used 6.8nF instead of 3.9nF, as this seems to be a standard mod for Klone builds (supposed to make the tone knob a bit more powerful). I also used BAT41 diodes instead of GE for the clippers. I also forced film caps in a couple places that called for MLCC or Electrolytic. Edit: I also used JRC4558D and NE5532 opamps, instead of TL072, as I read somewhere that's a common tweak. I did that just for fun (but the opamps are socketed, so I can always do opamp rolling).
For the 6-pin ribbon wire that goes between the main PCB and the relay board, I put a bead of hot melt glue on either side where the wires were soldered. In the past, I've accidentally over-worked those ultra-thin wires and caused myself some debugging/re-work pain. So hopefully the hot-melt improves the strain relief.
I can't really say anything about the tone that hasn't already been said - it's got to be one of the most, ahem, cliche overdrive circuits. I only played on it a bit, but it worked great on first power-up. I need to put it next to my Aion Refractor for comparison (which also does the 3n9 to 6n8 change and uses BAT41). I remember the Refractor having a pretty distinct midrange "honk". My Kliche definitely has that classic Klon midrange emphasis, but it doesn't seem as over-the-top as I recall. So I might have to give this pedal some real board time. (My Mosky Silver Horse and BYOC Silver Pony have long since been sold off.)
awesome build dude.
