Klon Announces A New Pedal At NAMM

Klon is surrounded be a mystic cloud that plucks magic and pixie dust out of an another dimension, then mixes them with electronic components and creates other-worldly pedals that entrance the unwitting player. That very same Klon has now bestowed us mere mortals with another creation of pure essence

...and it's a boost.

Klons first 'new' pedal in years and it is basically a Klon overdrive without the overdrive. As it was explained, This is the same pedal, but without the clipping section, so to give you a boost without the drive. This came about from the typical use of Klon pedal. Mostly use to boost the signal in a chain of other effects. Now we have a unit to do just that, but nothing else. May this is a lower cost offering from Klon. Maybe this is just an uninspired follow up to an outragously popular pedal. I don't know.

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The EHX Soul Food and Why Its Not a Klon Klone.

This might be a little behind the curve, but let's talk about the Electro-Harmonix Soul Food. There is a common assumption that it is a Klon clone. That's not a terrible assessment. From the outside, this is a very similar pedal. We have Treble, Volume and Gain knobs on both pedals. You get sounds that are similar out of both pedal. The circuit them selves might be very similar, but then again are most gain circuits "similar". I'm a fan on the Soul Food. I have one on my board currently. I'd probably like the Klon Centaur too. Did EHX just rip a massivly popular pedal off? Probably. But there are differences that separate the two, and they are:

1. It's Smaller

Let's start slow. The original Klon and the Klon Centaur are larger pedals. If you look at the insides of one these pedals you notice ample space. EHX created a circuit that fit in their small enclosure. Not ground breaking, but its a key difference.

2. It's Less Expensive

Right, again, duh... But lets take a look at what other Klones cost and see what EHX did. They made a pedal that performed a similar function and made it for a fraction of the price. Other similar pedal tend to take advantage of being klones and charge similar prices. This pedal bucked the trend and filled a gap in the market.

3. Switches, Please...

The Klon KTR (the red one) has a buffer. On the KTR it is optional, but the Soul Food is true-bypass. The Klon buffer is so fabled that people have made klones of the Klon buffer. The Soul Food has a switch as well. Hidden inside is a voltage switch. It takes your 9-volt supply and doubles it for more headroom. So, that's neat, and different.

4. Some Things Just Aren't The Same

We've discussed some finer points, but crack this pedal open and thing just aren't the same. Values and specs aren't one for one. The main difference being the diodes are germanium like in the Klon. Alchemy Audio has a mod that corrects this. What you get is a clipping section that more closely resemble that of a Klon. Is the mod worth you $35? Maybe,

In Conclusion

The EHX Soul Food is a great pedal. Many people have added it to their pedal boards for good reasons. Whether it is a klone or not shouldn't matter. What matters is that when you plug it in and turn it on, you like what it does. Nuf Said