I just did this build. What a fun project! The instructions are fantastic, and the customer support is great if you have questions. I still think it's strange that a pedal I built could sound so good.
You are absolutely right that it is easier to leave the breakout board attached. It was a giant PIA to solder it removed from the board. They should not tell you to remove it in my opinion.
Thanks so much for watching & for the comment! Yeah, it just seemed like the smartest way to do it to me. Hopefully it will help people that see this first.
Here's another handy little tip. When you are to solder the 1 inch wires to the board for the on/off button, leave it right in the breakout board. You can insert the wires right in there, and the tension will keep them in place for you. I suggest you do not pre-tin any of those wires either. The tolerance is so tight, it can be a royal pain to get them in without reheating them. Peace!
My Wampler Tumnus (centaur klone) is part of my clean tone, and never turned off! It also provides a great boost to my next overdrive in the chain, suppling all the distortion you could ask for! The centaur and all of its clones are all about the subtleties!
I mostly just use a small effects board for reverb and Delay and not much else. JHS just came out with a Klon that's called "Notaklon" in a kit that is 99 Bucks.
I'm fixing to build one of these & so far this is the best review I've seen with the bonus of an excellent build job all together so good that I didn't just give a thumbs up but I subscribed also. Now to find the deep dive you talked about doing.👍
Ahh, my Klon Klone deep dive video, lol. So far, I think you may be the only person that actually expressed an interest in it! I started to shoot some video for it, and then life took some unexpected turns & it ended up on the back burner. But now you've got me thinking about it again, so let's see if I can't knock that out in the next few weeks! Thanks so much for watching, for the comment, and for the motivation!
@@ClarkColborn thanks for the motivation!😆👏👏👏😵No thank You for the motivation.👍 I'm drawing from everyone. I also enjoyed the video about the smaller Bad Horsie. I haven't played in a long time & have been unpacking a lot of things but am sweating it out because I haven't found my old gigantic Bad Horsie. Hopefully it's deep in a box somewhere instead of the potential one of the movers liked it or I've even wondered if I forgot about it & left it at the biker church when I helped them start their band. Between hauling anhydrous ammonia & propane & being way too busy & had to pour myself into my job when it got cold, heck I didn't know whether I was going or coming & I had to leave the band because I began working probably 100+ hours a week even though my logbook said 70 hours. That's why I laid the guitar down 30 years ago because I was stupid busy with life... I digress, sorry. I'm retired now & with the way our world is I'm hankering to write some good old time protest songs, 10-4? 😆 I've got the time. I'm a nice guy but I don't mind getting into some trouble. "Freedom Ain't Free" Freedom is like a garden. Work = Beauty, but weeds will pop up & Must Be removed. ⭐Note: Thanks for doing this build. It will be very valuable. I also honestly don't know anything about a Klon because most of everything I ever did was massive gain, a big muff, Bad Horsie, & I don't know how but I acquired a flanger & I enjoyed using that a lot & still have it. I've got too much stuff 😳. I digress, sorry. Too long, sorry. I'll be watching because I've got a good idea how to use the Klon clone but I'm watching everybody else. Thanks man. I never would have fallen in love with quartz & agate picks if a salesman hadn't showed me (told me I needed to use...) a weird thing I knew nothing about. What I'm saying is, I'm watching now that I'm brushing off the dust & basically restarting my creative music journey. 😵Later
@@jerryhayden8720 Congrats on your return to guitar! I understand life getting crazy busy - I've been there myself. Luckily, I managed to ride it out, and plan to just keep on keepin' on. 🙂 Good luck on your musical journey!
Great video! Thanks. I built one last June and still love it. You're the only one I've seen show leaving the little board in place-I did when I built mine, makes it a lot easier. Have a great day.
I've watched a handful of builds on this pedal, and no one seemed to have the knowledge of how to approach this like you do! Thank you so much! So many great tips and tricks! I intend on buying this pedal, and have literally no experience, so this is awesome! Great video, thank you!
Thanks so much for the kind words! The best tip I can offer you if you have no experience building pedals and/or soldering is to watch a few videos on soldering & practice soldering on some old board that you aren't afraid of wrecking. It's like playing guitar, the more you practice the better you'll be!
Thank you! I love these types of pedals, ESPECIALLY because of how you mentioned you can push an already overdriven amp with it and get everything from sweet jazz to screaming, crunching, destruction. I really find they're great for when you really want to keep your amp-guitar combo tone intact to do exactly that, push the amp and sound natural diving as deep into distortion as you want to go. They just seems to put the studio polish on top and make everything stand out just the way you like it no matter what you dial in on them. So yes, thank you for doing a great demo! I am now very excited to start building my Ghost Drive kit because WOW! You put it through some good paces and it sounds like it interacts as well as my J. Rockett Archer Ikon, which is my personal favorite Klon Clone. I do have an original, and well maintained, Fender Deluxe Reverb Blackface, which for the peanut gallery, we know is the smaller version of the Fender Twin Reverb with the identical sound. I did not realize the Klon was made for that amp specifically. I had plans to put the amp back in my rig and now I'm thinking definitely!
I just finished this same build yesterday. First time doing a pedal. I will say, I did just like you and left the breakout board on and used those helping hands... worked like a charm. I am very pleased with the sound. I like it better than my Wampler Tumnus Deluxe... it just seems more natural sounding. I did have two issues... One set-screw was missing off one of the knobs, and two, the LED does not light up. I paid close attention to how you did yours, and I checked the instructions...and I installed it right. Other than that, im happy with my first build. Seems like replacing the bulb will be a royal pain in the ass... I guess I'll try it when i have an afternoon with nothing to do....smh
StewMac would most likely send you a replacement knob. The LED could be a couple of things; I would start by checking all the solder points. Good luck, & thanks for watching!
I left the breakout board on too. Heaps easier to stuff the board. I never liked many OD pedals but i like this one and my old ProCo Rat. Built 2 5E3 Tweed Deluxe amps and 3 Stewmac pedals. Never had any problems, and it all works beautifully.
I started building this. A voltmeter to measure the resistance of the resistors should be required. It's too difficult to read the stripes on the resistors.
I bought this when it first came out and it's been sitting unassembled in a draw. I'm planning on assembling it soon and your video will be very helpful. Thank you very much for making this video! If your using a lead based solder do you worry about fumes or do you have an exhaust fan somewhere?
Thanks for watching! I usually have a small fan going to keep the air moving. When I'm doing larger soldering projects, or soldering for a long time straight, I try to do them in my garage with doors open. If you have the means to exhaust the fumes that's always a good idea. I'm actually working on a way to get an exhaust vent going in my basement workshop area with an old dryer vent, since we redirected the dryer. Great point to bring up! Have fun with the pedal kit!
I first heard about a Klon Centaur when a friend of mine in 1998 said he was gonna get one for his mom as a Mothers Day gift and ask if he could borrow it.
Your case magically transformed from white to gold, but you never mentioned that in the video. Can you tell us about the painting process? Brand and color used, any tips for a better finish etc? I asked Stew-Mac and they said they only sell them in white, so this got my attention and my curiosity.
Hey Rick, the gold Ghost Drive in the thumbnail is an image I pulled from the original email I received announcing the pedal. I used that image because it ties in better with the whole "clone" concept. I actually painted mine red, which you can see in this video at about the 6:51 point. It is a screen-in-screen shot & only lasts a couple of seconds, so it's easy to miss. You can see it during the demo at the end, as well. I prepped the case with some really fine sandpaper, maybe 800 grit, then just painted it with red Krylon from the hardware store, lol. If I was going to go for the same finish from my thumbnail I would pick up a can of the bright gold Colortone spray paint from StewMac. (Item # 3892) and some clear lacquer for the topcoats. I would put quite a few coats of clear before I tried to buff it out, because the metallic paint doesn't look good sanded. StewMac has a couple good videos on getting great results with a spray can on their RUclips channel. Thanks so much for watching, and good luck on your Ghost Drive!
I just did this build. What a fun project! The instructions are fantastic, and the customer support is great if you have questions. I still think it's strange that a pedal I built could sound so good.
I know, me too!
You are absolutely right that it is easier to leave the breakout board attached. It was a giant PIA to solder it removed from the board. They should not tell you to remove it in my opinion.
Thanks so much for watching & for the comment! Yeah, it just seemed like the smartest way to do it to me. Hopefully it will help people that see this first.
Here's another handy little tip. When you are to solder the 1 inch wires to the board for the on/off button, leave it right in the breakout board. You can insert the wires right in there, and the tension will keep them in place for you. I suggest you do not pre-tin any of those wires either. The tolerance is so tight, it can be a royal pain to get them in without reheating them. Peace!
Just cut the components above the tape. The taped part is for a automated install machine. Proper video ,enjoyed.
Good tip! Thanks! And thanks for watching & commenting. 😊
My Wampler Tumnus (centaur klone) is part of my clean tone, and never turned off! It also provides a great boost to my next overdrive in the chain, suppling all the distortion you could ask for! The centaur and all of its clones are all about the subtleties!
I have a friend who does essentially the same thing with his Tumnus, and he loves it.
Same. I have the J. Rockett Archer Ikon. It is ALWAYS on. Clean, overdriven, doesn't matter. It puts the polish where it needs to be
I mostly just use a small effects board for reverb and Delay and not much else. JHS just came out with a Klon that's called "Notaklon" in a kit that is 99 Bucks.
I saw the JHS vid too late to order one. I'd like to compare the two. Thanks for watching & commenting!
I'm fixing to build one of these & so far this is the best review I've seen with the bonus of an excellent build job all together so good that I didn't just give a thumbs up but I subscribed also. Now to find the deep dive you talked about doing.👍
Ahh, my Klon Klone deep dive video, lol. So far, I think you may be the only person that actually expressed an interest in it! I started to shoot some video for it, and then life took some unexpected turns & it ended up on the back burner. But now you've got me thinking about it again, so let's see if I can't knock that out in the next few weeks! Thanks so much for watching, for the comment, and for the motivation!
@@ClarkColborn thanks for the motivation!😆👏👏👏😵No thank You for the motivation.👍 I'm drawing from everyone. I also enjoyed the video about the smaller Bad Horsie. I haven't played in a long time & have been unpacking a lot of things but am sweating it out because I haven't found my old gigantic Bad Horsie. Hopefully it's deep in a box somewhere instead of the potential one of the movers liked it or I've even wondered if I forgot about it & left it at the biker church when I helped them start their band. Between hauling anhydrous ammonia & propane & being way too busy & had to pour myself into my job when it got cold, heck I didn't know whether I was going or coming & I had to leave the band because I began working probably 100+ hours a week even though my logbook said 70 hours. That's why I laid the guitar down 30 years ago because I was stupid busy with life... I digress, sorry. I'm retired now & with the way our world is I'm hankering to write some good old time protest songs, 10-4? 😆 I've got the time. I'm a nice guy but I don't mind getting into some trouble. "Freedom Ain't Free" Freedom is like a garden. Work = Beauty, but weeds will pop up & Must Be removed. ⭐Note: Thanks for doing this build. It will be very valuable. I also honestly don't know anything about a Klon because most of everything I ever did was massive gain, a big muff, Bad Horsie, & I don't know how but I acquired a flanger & I enjoyed using that a lot & still have it. I've got too much stuff 😳. I digress, sorry. Too long, sorry. I'll be watching because I've got a good idea how to use the Klon clone but I'm watching everybody else. Thanks man. I never would have fallen in love with quartz & agate picks if a salesman hadn't showed me (told me I needed to use...) a weird thing I knew nothing about. What I'm saying is, I'm watching now that I'm brushing off the dust & basically restarting my creative music journey. 😵Later
@@jerryhayden8720 Congrats on your return to guitar! I understand life getting crazy busy - I've been there myself. Luckily, I managed to ride it out, and plan to just keep on keepin' on. 🙂 Good luck on your musical journey!
Great video! Thanks. I built one last June and still love it. You're the only one I've seen show leaving the little board in place-I did when I built mine, makes it a lot easier. Have a great day.
Glad you liked it! And thank you for watching!
I've watched a handful of builds on this pedal, and no one seemed to have the knowledge of how to approach this like you do! Thank you so much! So many great tips and tricks! I intend on buying this pedal, and have literally no experience, so this is awesome! Great video, thank you!
Thanks so much for the kind words! The best tip I can offer you if you have no experience building pedals and/or soldering is to watch a few videos on soldering & practice soldering on some old board that you aren't afraid of wrecking. It's like playing guitar, the more you practice the better you'll be!
Thank you! I love these types of pedals, ESPECIALLY because of how you mentioned you can push an already overdriven amp with it and get everything from sweet jazz to screaming, crunching, destruction. I really find they're great for when you really want to keep your amp-guitar combo tone intact to do exactly that, push the amp and sound natural diving as deep into distortion as you want to go. They just seems to put the studio polish on top and make everything stand out just the way you like it no matter what you dial in on them.
So yes, thank you for doing a great demo! I am now very excited to start building my Ghost Drive kit because WOW! You put it through some good paces and it sounds like it interacts as well as my J. Rockett Archer Ikon, which is my personal favorite Klon Clone. I do have an original, and well maintained, Fender Deluxe Reverb Blackface, which for the peanut gallery, we know is the smaller version of the Fender Twin Reverb with the identical sound. I did not realize the Klon was made for that amp specifically. I had plans to put the amp back in my rig and now I'm thinking definitely!
Happy to help! Thanks for watching & for the comment. Good luck with your build!
I just finished this same build yesterday. First time doing a pedal. I will say, I did just like you and left the breakout board on and used those helping hands... worked like a charm. I am very pleased with the sound. I like it better than my Wampler Tumnus Deluxe... it just seems more natural sounding. I did have two issues... One set-screw was missing off one of the knobs, and two, the LED does not light up. I paid close attention to how you did yours, and I checked the instructions...and I installed it right. Other than that, im happy with my first build. Seems like replacing the bulb will be a royal pain in the ass... I guess I'll try it when i have an afternoon with nothing to do....smh
StewMac would most likely send you a replacement knob. The LED could be a couple of things; I would start by checking all the solder points. Good luck, & thanks for watching!
I left the breakout board on too. Heaps easier to stuff the board. I never liked many OD pedals but i like this one and my old ProCo Rat.
Built 2 5E3 Tweed Deluxe amps and 3 Stewmac pedals. Never had any problems, and it all works beautifully.
I’ve never been a distortion pedal guy, either. I do like the ghost drive & can see it getting lots of use. Thanks for watching!
I started building this. A voltmeter to measure the resistance of the resistors should be required. It's too difficult to read the stripes on the resistors.
Yeah, that's why I checked them all & stuck each type in a baggie with a label. Thanks for watching & good luck on the build!
Most people use a Centaur circuit as a boost, but it's a pretty good drive.
Yeah, I think it sounds pretty good. And this is coming from a guy who has never used overdrive pedals, lol! Thanks for watching!
I bought this when it first came out and it's been sitting unassembled in a draw. I'm planning on assembling it soon and your video will be very helpful.
Thank you very much for making this video! If your using a lead based solder do you worry about fumes or do you have an exhaust fan somewhere?
Thanks for watching! I usually have a small fan going to keep the air moving. When I'm doing larger soldering projects, or soldering for a long time straight, I try to do them in my garage with doors open. If you have the means to exhaust the fumes that's always a good idea. I'm actually working on a way to get an exhaust vent going in my basement workshop area with an old dryer vent, since we redirected the dryer. Great point to bring up!
Have fun with the pedal kit!
I first heard about a Klon Centaur when a friend of mine in 1998 said he was gonna get one for his mom as a Mothers Day gift and ask if he could borrow it.
Wow. Hopefully his mom could out-shred him, lol.
Your case magically transformed from white to gold, but you never mentioned that in the video. Can you tell us about the painting process? Brand and color used, any tips for a better finish etc? I asked Stew-Mac and they said they only sell them in white, so this got my attention and my curiosity.
Hey Rick, the gold Ghost Drive in the thumbnail is an image I pulled from the original email I received announcing the pedal. I used that image because it ties in better with the whole "clone" concept. I actually painted mine red, which you can see in this video at about the 6:51 point. It is a screen-in-screen shot & only lasts a couple of seconds, so it's easy to miss. You can see it during the demo at the end, as well. I prepped the case with some really fine sandpaper, maybe 800 grit, then just painted it with red Krylon from the hardware store, lol. If I was going to go for the same finish from my thumbnail I would pick up a can of the bright gold Colortone spray paint from StewMac. (Item # 3892) and some clear lacquer for the topcoats. I would put quite a few coats of clear before I tried to buff it out, because the metallic paint doesn't look good sanded. StewMac has a couple good videos on getting great results with a spray can on their RUclips channel. Thanks so much for watching, and good luck on your Ghost Drive!
If you ever sell this -it’s worth $150 at least since it’s successful build
I actually bought a second one, thinking I might build it & sell it. Thanks for watching!
hehe, clone centaur
lol