Should I buy a Klon Centaur clone or Kemper could get very close?

  • I would like to add a transparent boost tone to a clean profile trying to replicate a tone closer to any Klon Centaur clones or Analogman King of Tone.
    I never had one of these pedals, so I am thinking either buying one or setting up the KPA if possible.


    Some KP forums threads suggest to buy the pedal and use it in front of the KPA or in the FX loop. It doesn't work exactly like using the pedal with a real amp, but they are happy with the results.


    In the other hand Kemper has some tools: I watched the KP boost&volume tutorials, pure boost, mix parameters and some threads in the forum suggest to use parallel path or EQ. But I do not know how close they actually are to the klon tone.


    Anyone had good benchmark results? Please share your experience.

    Edited 2 times, last by Syntek ().

  • But do you have a Kemper now?
    If the answer is yes :
    With all the profiles in sales and in Rig Exchange I am sure you can find one that is close


    If the answer is no:
    I was in love with my pedals before I bought the Kemper,but after I bought it , I ended up selling all my pedals...

  • Yes, I do a have a Kemper.


    I believe that Kemper can do it, but I do not have an actual clone pedal for the A/B tweaking.


    The only reference I’ve found is RigBusters and r.u.sirius Klon Centaur profiles, ToneJunkie has some clones as well, but all those pedals are profiled and blended with an amp.


    I was not able to find stomp presets or settings guidelines to achieve a standalone clone stomp. Thoughts?

    Edited once, last by Syntek ().

  • I use the HX Effects with my Kemper exactly because it has an excellent Centaur clone - the Minotaur. I know that Kemper’s effects are improving (the new delays are incredible and the upcoming reverbs sound incredible), but in the interim, I love my HX. I actually use the Kemper in the stereo fx loop of the HX and can position compressors and boosts in front of the Kemper and reverbs and delays at the end.

  • The best I’ve heard my Kemper sound is when using a Klon in front of it.
    I prefer to use analog distortion and compression in front of the Kemper.


    If you want convenience and full recall, use the Kemper for everything. If you want better tone, quicker tweaking and wider variety of options, use pedals with the Kemper.
    I use DAW plugins for stereo effects like delay and Reverb...easier to tweak on screen and more options if you have a lot of plugins.


    So don’t sell your pedals. Good sounding pedals will never go out of style.
    Try everything and use what sounds best. But there’s nothing wrong with just using the Kemper for everything either. It all depends on what you’re doing.

    These profiles go to 11!

    Edited once, last by Guavadude ().

  • I would buy a Klon Centaur clone.
    Recently I went back to use my pedals again because some have a unique sound and tweaking them is faster.
    I like the distortion pedals of the Kemper very much. But my Superfuzz clone and my Klon Centaur clone do something unique to me which I cannot achieve with the build in Kemper pedals.

  • Persoanlly I don't get it.


    The Klon is an overdrive pedal ( as I understand it) so it will add either some gain, volume, or tone change. All of these can be changed on the KPA, along 100's of clean profiles to choose from with various flavours.


    You're looking to buy a pedal that you've never used in case it gives you something else? Do you know what it is you want from it?


    Not looking to be "anti-pedal" here but we are all always search for something else, but I would only go looking if you can;t find a tone that makes you happy.


    But then I'm not a pedal guy - I love the fact I don't need to carry a separate pedal board alongside the KPA ( along with associated leads, power supply etc) :)

  • The Klon isn't completely transparent, so it does add a fairly unique 'flavor' which some find desirable. Thus far, to the best of my knowledge it has not been completely replicated and its ability to pair with a Fender amp (for which it was designed) almost seems to make it part of the circuitry whether used in front of the actual amp or used in front of a profiled Fender. Either way it gently pushes the guitar above the mix... which is what most folks using them are looking for. So its not really just an OD...

    The older I get, the better I was.

  • I would buy a Klon Centaur clone.
    Recently I went back to use my pedals again because some have a unique sound and tweaking them is faster.
    I like the distortion pedals of the Kemper very much. But my Superfuzz clone and my Klon Centaur clone do something unique to me which I cannot achieve with the build in Kemper pedals.

    That's the way I feel also , just like a real amp with the ability to tweak with ease

  • A bit of a dead thread, but I have the Kemper and I have Arc Effects Klone V2

    Arc Effects Klone V2

    as well as Timmy

    Timmy


    I completely love the Klon Klone and it sounds fantastic in front the Kemper. The Timmy is even more flexible but doesn't impart that 'warm sheen' that most Klon clones are famous for.


    I cannot replicate this sound exactly with the Kemper's stomp boxes. This video shows an approach using a combination of the Green Scream and an EQ to create something more Bluesbreaker pedal. For me it doesn't really ever sound like a Bluesbreaker pedal or a Morning Glory but rather like Green Scream with a softened mid hump ;) (but I still hear a bit of the hump). Kemper OD Stomps It does however sound good and creates something totally useable.


    So I love the Klon clone and the Timmy but to be honest for the last couple of years I only break them out very occasionally. I wanted to simplify stuff when I was getting the Kemper and anything that requires a power supply and multiple connections, any one of which could fail is not simplifying (for me).


    Instead I use different amp profiles with different flavours of gain for different levels of distortion and I use the Kemper's Compressor/Treble Booster/Green Scream (down low)/Green Scream (set higher) or the Mouse to create flexibility with a particular profile.


    I cannot even replicate the low gain level sounds of a real RAT pedal with the MOUSE ... but I don't really care.


    I can get so many different gain sounds from amp profiles that I could never get from putting a box in front of an amp and I can add flexibility to those profiles with the gain STOMPS so I have a huge range of sounds at my disposal.


    ...and you know what? I never have to check batteries, wonder what is the best place to put a new pedal in the signal chain, wonder why my Fuzz Face sounds so different today than yesterday or if one of the connectors is loose. On top of that, it is so QUIET! People forget about how much noise those pedal chains insert into your signal path until they aren't using them.


    So I have a Klon and a Timmy and, as Tony the Tiger says, "They're great!". I pull them out every once in a while when I want some their particular mojo but I don't really feel I NEED them ... at all.


    There are so many choices of great amp profiles with gain. I don't feel I need to rely on outboard stompboxes.


    But if you really want the sound of a Klon, you should get a Klon or one of the clones. You can't make stuff sound EXACTLY like stuff it isn't.

  • Aren't there profiles with the Klon pedal you can use? Maybe there will be a Klon eventually. Many have requested one so I won't be surprised if we will see it eventually. Or a Klon Klone Klon pedal? ^^

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

  • Klon Klones are Klose, but none of them nail it, even the KTR. T'would be nice if it could be built in, but my dos centavos says it ain't never (and I don't throw that word around lightly) gonna happen... so if you want a Klon... get a Klon!!!

    The older I get, the better I was.

  • Luckily I got my Klon direct when they were still available. There’s no way I’d spend the going rate for one now. Jeff Beck used to use the original Klon but on this last tour he used an Archer so there are options that are pretty close.

    These profiles go to 11!

  • The Klon isn't completely transparent, so it does add a fairly unique 'flavor' which some find desirable. Thus far, to the best of my knowledge it has not been completely replicated and its ability to pair with a Fender amp (for which it was designed) almost seems to make it part of the circuitry whether used in front of the actual amp or used in front of a profiled Fender. Either way it gently pushes the guitar above the mix... which is what most folks using them are looking for. So its not really just an OD...

    Yeah I get that it adds flavour, but what is that flavour....eq, gain ? Combination of all of that, possibly other artifacts?


    I guess my point is ( beware I'm gonna generalise here), overdrive and gain pedals are there to give what the amp currently doesn't have, because that is the amp you have.


    So you buy a fender twin but it needs a bit more bite and grit. When you have that amp that's your only option except sell it, but you want it for is cleans as well. So the pedal gives you the versatility for best of both worlds.

    With the Kemper, we are not restricted to one amp but a multitude, so I'm just asking if actually the same effect is possible using different amps rather than stomps. In the case of the Fender, you could choose a HotRod deluxe for extra grit or a matchless blah blah.


    The OP had never used a Klon so whilst that and many other pedals are held in very high regard, just suggesting another way to think about the approach.


    But as I said, I'm not a stomp guy ( I'm not anti stomp either :) ). I've always just used the the Amp gain structure and eq. I've never got on with pedals in the front...but that's just me..maybe there is a big world I'm missing :)

  • But as I said, I'm not a stomp guy ( I'm not anti stomp either :) ). I've always just used the the Amp gain structure and eq. I've never got on with pedals in the front...but that's just me..maybe there is a big world I'm missing :)

    Hey V8, it’s not just you. I don’t get on with pedals either and always use the amps gain structure. Maybe we’re missing a whole big world together.


    Having said that, I know plenty of great players get great tnes with pedals so the old adage still applies; if it sounds good to you it IS good :)

  • Yeah Wheresthedug given that I suffer from GAS I'm quite happy they don't do it for me else I would have another outlet to spend money :).


    Not trying to diss anyone that uses pedals. I just think that the KPA has so many amp variations that overdrive/gain pedals are less needed.


    But as you said its whatever people like :)

  • Using an always-on Klon(e) or Tube Screamer on zero drive and a bunch of gain (volume) in between single coil pickups and an amp are two of the universally great recipes for sweet tone, which is why so many of our heroes do it. The Kemper Green Scream is close but not perfect. For some reason it requires a clean boost stomp at -2db in front of it. No Klon. I don’t want to bring my pedals to shows so I make it work and sound great. But improving the boost/drive/comp depth and capabilities of this device would be a godsend. It’s true that there are great profiles with baked-in Klons and other pedals, but I prefer to set those parameters myself.