Absolutely not. The creation of the Klon (and by consequence, the Soul Food) came about a result of Bill Finnegan’s dissatisfaction with Tube Screamers in early 1990s. Searching for that “amp at 8” sound without actually turning the volume up that high, TS9s and TS808s were natural starting points. However, he found that they compressed the signal too much and lost low-end definition when cranked. The Klon and Soul Food both retain bass clarity and open, full sound as you march the gain higher. Some people like the compression and mid-range growl that Screamers add, so it’s not a matter of better - just different. There are so many “klones” already. Why is this one any different? It should be clear after listening to the pedal switched on and off what is really meant by ‘transparent’. The tone isn’t dramatically changed. What you notice is an overall enhancement to the tone. Harmonics, overtones and sustain all add to your tone and give it a richer feel. You can hear that it’s quite a bright sound compared to other overdrive pedals that roll off the high frequencies. with my marshall...an immediate Jimi vibe w/the strats. and superb tone on the paul. perhaps SF likes KT66s better for hummers than 5881s in the fender. its all subjective. the marshall also has adjustable gains whereas my classic fender does not. The Klon Centaur is one of the most hyped guitar pedals in existence. It wasn’t the first and neither will it be the last.

USED products: 4% of the current new selling price to increase the warranty from 3 months to 1 year. 4% for each additional year. The pedal circuit uses hard clipping and has an internal charge pump that boosts the 9v power to 18v internally. This offers a significant amount of headroom. But remember – you still power it with a 9v adapter. Most variants of this pedal have a buffered output. In the case of the MXR Sugar Drive, you can switch between buffered output and true bypass via a switch on the side of the pedal. My next choice of pedal is a little more realistic, perhaps: Wampler’s Belle. This is Brian’s take on the Nobels ODR-1 overdrive pedal. The ODR-1 is an affordable overdrive that’s been used on countless hit records over the decades. It can be used with low gain to get a volume boost, a tiny bit of breakup, or then with the gain up it can push a tube amp or another drive pedal nicely. Also, you might have a little pop when you turn it on but this just happen the first time (that's why the 4.5 score), after that you can turn it on and off with no pop. This is my second Electro-Harmonix pedal and they are built like a tank, very reliable.

Affordable Klon clone

The pedal is known for its ability to add gain without coloring the tone of your amp too much. In other words – a fairly transparent overdrive pedal. Although it does have fairly pronounced mids. I may as well get this out of the way now. If you have only just found out about the Soul Food, you may have also heard about another pedal: the Klon Centaur. The Soul Food is a clone (or ‘Klone’ in this case) of the Klon Centaur. Overall it’s incredibly easy to use and it wouldn’t take much adjusting in EQ on your amp or other pedals to fit the Soul Food into your pedalboard. Sound It would have been great to see a separate bass and treble control similar to what you see on the Timmy If you’re looking for a klone and you’re more a middle-position player, then look at the Wampler Tumnus Deluxe. That 3-band EQ is makes all the difference, it really does.

its the strange brilliance of this pedal that permits the perception of Jimi and SRV like nuances with a range of instruments from cheap to vintage. and at a ridiculous price, too. my hearing is pretty sensitive so i wondered....the manual states the internal switch is usually set to 'bipass' at the factory...i opened the unit and it was set to 'buffer'. once again subjective. i prefer bipass. The amount of available gain is very similar to the Centaur. With the Gain knob maxed out I coaxed rich, harmonic overdrive tones out of single-coils that evoked thoughts of Eric Johnson and vintage Larry Carlton. And unlike many TS-style ODs at high-gain settings, the Soul Food’s low end was defined full of presence. This type of overdrive doesn’t suit all guitarists. I usually prefer a more rounded out tone rather than a bright and sparkly tone. I do enjoy using the Soul Food, but for a lot of what I play, it doesn’t suit my tone needs. If you’re a metal guitarist or any style that doesn’t fit what you hear in the video earlier, then this type of overdrive might not meet your needs. How to get the most out ofthe Soul Food There’s also a switchable buffer that’s a help if you use fuzz pedals ahead of the Soul Food in you signal chain. When the buffer is switched off, the pedal functions as any standard true bypass pedal. Overall, the build quality is exactly what you would expect from Electro Harmonix—rugged, and built for real-world gigging. Meanwhile, the Soul Food’s controls mimic the minimalist set on the Centaur: gain, treble, and output. It made people hungry for better klones. As I’ll demonstrate later, it’s not a great klone. Thanks to YouTube demos like the ones I shared above, some of us wanted that tone, and when we couldn’t get it from the Soul Food, we eagerly went looking for other klones.The Axe-FX 3 is running my own custom ‘OD Pedals v4’ preset. I’ve built this to emulate the sound and feel of my physical Marshall DSL20HR’s clean channel into a pair of 1×12 cabs fitted with Celestion A-Type and Celestion Blue speakers. Now gradually raise the DRIVE knob and get a feel for the level of grit it adds to your tone. Find the sweet spots where you enjoy the tone and what type of playing it suits. This is a very dynamic pedal so the position of the DRIVE knob should really reflect what you are doing. Once you find a DRIVE position you enjoy, adjust the TREBLE knob to find the position you enjoy the most. If you have a valve amp and enjoy playing the styles this type of overdrive is suitable for (eg: if you’re a metal player, this isn’t the pedal for you), then this is a no-brainer. Even if you have a solid state amp I still feel it’s a great pedal worthy of most guitarist’s pedalboards. The Wampler Tumnus Deluxe gives me that unique 3-band EQ, allowing me to really shape the tone to suit both the guitar and the following overdrive pedal. Of all the klones I’ve tried over the years, it’s the most adaptable. To Answer The Question

It’s a nice size pedal with nice chunky knobs that don’t feel like they will snap off any time soon. I love the fact that the Soul Food gives guitarists the choice between True Bypass and a Buffer and that’s a level of quality I didn’t expect from such a low priced pedal. I haven’t heard of any other guitarists having problems with the Soul Food and I don’t expect any problems. It’s a simple pedal in a rigid housing. Overall impression There is one thing that some guitarists would argue: the Klon Centaur is a great overdrive pedal, indeed among the best. The Electro-Harmonix Soul Food is an original circuit design which is inspired by the Centaur. It targets to take the guitar to that realm of tone for a small fraction of the cost of a used Centaur. From the period you plug into the Soul Food, you can not help but notice that it sounds very Klon-like. Just what the world needs, right? Another overdrive pedal... Well, in the case of the Electro-Harmonix Soul Food the answer might just be a resounding 'yes'. Powered either by a 9V battery or the included 9.6V power supply, the Soul Food is a simple three‑knob overdrive box, sporting the expected Drive, Volume and Treble (tone) knobs. Plugging in a guitar switches on the power. An LED shows when the pedal is active, and there's an internal switch setting for true or buffered bypass. As shipped, the pedal is set to true bypass. All three knobs do pretty much what you'd expect, but with any overdrive pedal it's the fine detail of how these actually work and interact that matters. The Soul Food is often called a ‘transparent’ overdrive. If you read the recommendations given in the guide Must Have Guitar Pedals Chosen by Top Bloggers, you will notice the Soul Food recommended and you will see the term transparent overdrive used a few times. The reason many guitarists prefer transparent overdrives is because they allow you to retain the general feel of your tone.A truly authentic pedal that mirrors the ability of the Klon Centaur is now available to you at a fraction of the price, so don't delay, cook up a storm with the Elecrtro Harmonix Soul Food! Key Features: My personal answer is: no. I don’t care about the hype behind the Klon and I don’t feel you shouldn’t care either. Does it really matter how close the Soul Food replicates the Klon sound? What you should care about is whether the Soul Food is a good pedal on its own right and if you would find it useful.

It doesn’t get much easier to use than this. It’s a simple overdrive pedal meant for those who like a simple tone. Overdrive and booster pedals work best with avalve amp so if you own a solid state amp, this may or may not suit your needs. You will know for sure whether this is the right pedal for you by listening to the tone in the video later. And while these are the most common variations, Bill Finnegan also made a gold version with no graphic and silver version with centaur graphic. If you try this, you will notice that it adds a slight sparkle or brightness in the high frequencies and if you play hard you notice it brings out the overtones slightly. It’s a subtle change but it still adds a bit of edge or enhancement to your tone. Of course then when you dial in some gain or adjust the treble you really bring those overtones out, but it was nice to see that even on a very clean sound it does add subtly to your tone.It was pretty easy to play around with the settings and set it up for different uses. For example, if you’re looking to use it to give your clean tone a bit of a boost to drive your valve amp, then keep the DRIVE knob low and adjust the TREBLE and VOL knobs to suit your personal tastes.