I bet nobody here can skip to a random part of this video and tell which pedal is playing. However, one of the guys at Anderton's (in the recent Klon blindfold shootout) said that one way of identifying the Klon is to listen for the feedback when the drive is turned up: 5:30
I don't think the tone control works the same way in both pedals, anyway one represents the most pure od you can imagine, the other rules the sound we have internalized as the sound of the electric guitar, therefore both are old gems and this is a very interesting comparison, thank you.
I’m surprised how similar they are. In the context of a band I’d take the lowly TS because when everyone else is wailing away you don’t want those lows or highs because they get in the way of the bass and brass respectively. Also as a mortal, I can afford a TS. It’s good enough.
As an actual user of a 808 for more than 10 years I admit that the klon is superior. I bought a CKk scream drive as a clon of the klon and in 5 minutes it gives me the 808 and within 10 puts me very close to the klon. At the of the day pedals are nothing but wasted money without good hands in a guitar. Those cannot be bought...
I have a Klon AND 808... they're great for different things, each sound different stacked with my RAT, and they also sound crazy good stacked together!
Perfect comparison and presentation, very good that you compared at 0 gain. People seem to be missing that the klon is also a clean boost and very precise. Klon clone everyday for the versatility
Hell I own tge mosky silver horse klon clone that I got for like $27 on Amazon is fantastic. I feel like the klon style OD has a good bottom end with a good complementing mid, cuts through well, and it sounds more.... natural to me.
I have 2 vintage ts808s. They shine best when your amp is already pushed but not very overdriven. Kick that bad boy on, and you get that singing midrange overdrive. If your amp is not pushed enough, the 808 seems to just drop all of your bass out and not sound all that great.
I take all…but a Klon clone. I love a BluesBreaker and a TS808 after. Nice stand out tone to solo or retro vibe for me. Klon I like paired with a BB for mid to high gain stack. Very clear and articulate. I personally like a transparent BB first at low gain, then a Klon clone at high gain after. TS 808 after just for options. Mainly just stack the BB with either or.
It's funny though, when you buy a new car literally every stupid little uprade is a thousand bucks. 15 years from now the car will be in the junkyard and the Klon will be worth 5 grand lol
Nice work- but I think it would be more helpful to do back-to-back testing with similar settings & (also) similar tones. Human ears lose reference points very quickly. The base tone here is really middy- it makes the Tubescreamer seem extremely midrange-y. A more neutral base would show more the characters of each unit. But thank you for the work!
Great comparison. At low gain levels, the Centaur sounds flimsy to me, though a little clearer, and the TS has more midrange beef--the classic sound I like. At higher gain levels, they seem pretty similar. I was wondering if you've done a video comparing the mini Tube Screamer with the mini Centaur.
The Nux Horseman is $69 and awesome but if you want a Klon Clone that is actually built by the company that was chosen to manufacture the last run off official Klons, buy a J Rocket Archer (Silver) or the J Rocket Archer Ikon (Gold). Both are $199 and virtually identical to the original Klon but only the Gold "Ikon" Archer had the original Germanium diodes. If $199 is still too much, go for that $69 Nux Horseman which is great in it's own right and much cheaper.
its like Caline Pure Sky and Mosky Silver Horse: i happen to like Silver... ( this is a wonderful comparison: i used ti own the tubec. younger...i also have Mosky Golden Horse ( for the colour of guitar pedal off coursse.....!!!! ) greetings for a lovely comparison, oh why wont you take the ai bandez to some shap to be restored, oh my goodness , or the fashion these days...
Most of the people buying the originals now are afraid to play them. They're just putting them away for a year or two so they can sell them for $1000 more later!
@@rdhorsey9081 right. I have a couple of old stomp boxes that i bought new in the late 70' or early to mid 80's. Big Box Rat overdrive pedal and Boss CE-II chorus. I quit playing bands in the mid 90's for a career option that worked out great. It's time to semi retire and play some music again. I have watched some of these videos but not sure. So I'll buy something to try first. then if liked I'll sell the old one and made a couple of hudred easily. If I can get tube screamer or klon clone that i like for 60 bucks the Rat pedal alone will bring at least 350. i have a lot of cool old stuff. Even a rack mount effectron adm 256. that is truly the best chorus sound I ever got. slap back verb also. a lot of steel guitars players had them in their racks up until maybe 10 years ago.
I think the TS has more mids, I have tried many OD pedals but I keep returning to TS (vintage) because of transparency and low noise, klon is very pricey, I heard philip sayce use klon for a booster, great sound 👏🏻
@@YaYa-ke1zr There's also the top notch quality with full size through hole components, custom spec'd CTS pots and Swtichcraft USA jacks that are hard to find in modern production pedals that use mostly surface mount stuff that isn't as reliable. The build quality is another reason why people shell out thousands for the originals. Every part matters. The enclosures were hand cast as well. Can you buy a Chinese or Taiwanese replica enclosure and pcb and find near the same components as in the original, probably, but they don't quite sound the same unless the builder really knows their stuff and has access to the same matched 1N34A germanium diodes that Bill used. The parts are becoming more and more scarce and as this happens, the pedals will only be worth more over time. I've played a few originals and the replicas just don't cut the mustard in my experience. Sure they're close, but I definitely prefer the feel of the original units. They're dialed in really well. That isn't to say that the replicas aren't good pedals though. I've built my own with different audio grade components and germanium diodes that had a really great unique sound and a more tube like feel, but those were their own different thing and not really a true Centaur. I've never found a pair of 1N34A diodes that nailed the original feel and I went through hundreds of diodes from a bunch of surplus warehouses. Those particular diodes in the originals just have a thing going on you can't really get with the others.
@@randallabracadabra It’s still going to come down to whether or not ‘that’ is worth the cost difference. Things are worth whatever someone is willing to pay. It’s not worth it to me because my rig prefers the TS but if the Klon is worth $4000 to you, then there’s nothing wrong with that. One of my PRS guitars is worth the 10k to me but several of my friends wouldn’t pay a nickel over $2000 for it because that’s the cost of a good strat to them… and the strat does everything they need it to do. Yeah the PRS is awesome, but it ain’t $8000 extra worth of awesome to them. To each their own.
@@YaYa-ke1zr Well sure, but it's the same deal if you can afford a really great sounding vintage Les Paul vs. buying a newer one that might be good sounding, but not quite as good as the vintage one. The player with the $$$ that really knows what they're after will most likely go for the better sounding piece, even though it costs significantly more.
I disagree. My EHX Soul Food(Klone) works just just as well as my TS9(don't have an 808) for boosting metal tones, and has less muddy tendencies all around.
I sold my tubescreamers and overdrives after getting a tumnus deluxe for higher gain and a soul food to boost it. Comparing a tumnus and a ts9 or ts808 I felt like the tubescreamers sounded fake in comparison. Klon circuts take your tone and give you more of it with a low mid boost. The tubescreamer only good for boosting what is already boosted and take away low end so I could never leave it on in a cleaner amp it always had to come off before I cut my main drive pedal. Either the tumnus or soul food can be left on at any gain level and sound authentic. I always kind of questioned my tone at time while enjoying it other times and I thought it was ear fatigue or my amp or something. Since I got the tumnus deluxe I can’t get enough of how good it sounds every single time.
Both have alot of mids, they just sit in different midrange frequencies, the TS is more upper mids and the Klon is more in the lower midrange, most people say thr Klon actually has more mids in it
It's like Cronus and Zeus. TS808 was king god until Klon showed up and killed him. I have both and "Klon" gets the "what is actually on my pedalboard" nod over the classic TS. What's funny is Bill Finnegan specifically designed the Klon to supersede the TS in the areas he felt could be improved upon. They both sound good, but I just think the Klon is ever so slightly more magical. To me the main difference is in the frequency response. YMMV.
Both are good for that, but the klon is probably the best as a clean boost as it never gets muddy like the TS sometimes can. However there are some drive pedals that work better with one or the other (e.g. TS-> Rat and Klon -> Bluesbreaker are common stacks)
+Alex Padilla Maybe I missed what you were responding to. Since the none of the comments or the video referred to the TS as "early" or differentiated between the logos, I assumed you were referring to "early" meaning "early 80s." In comparison to the modern reissues, this is an "early" TS.
Okay, so from my own experience - the Klon is just 10times better. It seriously blows out TS808 in every way. The "Treble" (which is basically tone) has much wider range than TS808 and gain is just the same story - exceptionaly good for metal boosting. I cannot properly describe it, but your tone just starts feeling "professional" and articulated. I did a proper comparison between Klon and TS and don't get fooled by YT's compression -it can replicate TS808 pretty well. An excelent approach is to combine these two boxes. However,..the price is really unbelievable. I personally don't own the original, but a copy fiend of mine made me. And guess what, even this copy is a leap forward :D. Try to get your hands on Klon KTR/Archer and you won't regret.
Shootout videos of overdrive pedals really should be done through an already driven amp, especially for pedals like this. You never get the real qualities in a clean amp. Certain amp-in a box pedals can be done through a clean amp,but you'll never get what makes these desirable in the first place; excellent clean to mildly overdriven boost pedals.
they both boost mids but the klon doesnt cut out so much low end and gives more treble presence and I love that
Simple fix, change just one capacitor to give a TS its bass back.
You can still achieve that by GE 7
I bet nobody here can skip to a random part of this video and tell which pedal is playing. However, one of the guys at Anderton's (in the recent Klon blindfold shootout) said that one way of identifying the Klon is to listen for the feedback when the drive is turned up: 5:30
I don't think the tone control works the same way in both pedals, anyway one represents the most pure od you can imagine, the other rules the sound we have internalized as the sound of the electric guitar, therefore both are old gems and this is a very interesting comparison, thank you.
Search Google for "the secret of the tube screamer tone control" maybe that helps.
@Maafa 1619 What about Stevie Ray's tone..
No major difference that would justify the insane price of the centaur.
Sacco Belmonte no, but you can look through the hundreds of Klon clones that get you a very similar sound at much cheaper
The idea is to stack them ! I did this with my Ceriatone Centura and TS808 and it's DREAMY
agreed but vintage TS808's prices are wild, just picked up a vintage screamer today and love it.
Until you play one and realize how fucking rad it is.
A real one is awesome, but the clones are right up there. Even the amazon "silver horse clone" is a top notch pedal as far as tone goes.
I’m surprised how similar they are. In the context of a band I’d take the lowly TS because when everyone else is wailing away you don’t want those lows or highs because they get in the way of the bass and brass respectively.
Also as a mortal, I can afford a TS. It’s good enough.
wouldn't buy an original of either of them anyway, since there are great clones for a fraction of the price out there ^^
Joyo all the way!
exactly!!
Bahaha...just learn how to build them and never “buy” one again.
This is a brilliant comparison video! I wish everyone would do it like this!
As an actual user of a 808 for more than 10 years I admit that the klon is superior. I bought a CKk scream drive as a clon of the klon and in 5 minutes it gives me the 808 and within 10 puts me very close to the klon. At the of the day pedals are nothing but wasted money without good hands in a guitar. Those cannot be bought...
I have a Klon AND 808... they're great for different things, each sound different stacked with my RAT, and they also sound crazy good stacked together!
TS808 and RAT sounds dam good.
I must try that. 808 & RAT.
I think you need to boost a dirty amp to measure these, hear they are similar, i think they boost tube distortion differently.
TS808! every time.
The best review on you tube !!! shnobel dont try to sell stuff ... help us to see the real deal im big fan,,,
Ibanez TS-808!
2 minutes in and he hasn't touched the gain knob on the TS.
if you were more patient you could have said 3 minutes in for maximum snark.
because the pedal already has too much on 1
I probably wouldn't touch it either
Perfect comparison and presentation, very good that you compared at 0 gain. People seem to be missing that the klon is also a clean boost and very precise. Klon clone everyday for the versatility
Hell I own tge mosky silver horse klon clone that I got for like $27 on Amazon is fantastic. I feel like the klon style OD has a good bottom end with a good complementing mid, cuts through well, and it sounds more.... natural to me.
I have 2 vintage ts808s. They shine best when your amp is already pushed but not very overdriven. Kick that bad boy on, and you get that singing midrange overdrive. If your amp is not pushed enough, the 808 seems to just drop all of your bass out and not sound all that great.
Klon type pedals do that mid-boost thingy too but unlike the Tube Screamer they don't cut the low end.
@@TheNocturnalEvil I need that cut but do want to try a Klon one day
The Klon activates the same mids as the TS when you hit it with more kick. Although the TS has some indescribably delicious special sauce
I take all…but a Klon clone. I love a BluesBreaker and a TS808 after. Nice stand out tone to solo or retro vibe for me. Klon I like paired with a BB for mid to high gain stack. Very clear and articulate. I personally like a transparent BB first at low gain, then a Klon clone at high gain after. TS 808 after just for options. Mainly just stack the BB with either or.
I can definitely hear a quality difference between the two. But it sounds like a $50 - $200 difference, not $1950.
Bavarian Banshee Yeah, the are NO overdrive pedals worth even a 3rd of that. I guess if you were using gold wire and sterling silver enclosure.
The Klon used to sell for like $200 to $350 new.
It's funny though, when you buy a new car literally every stupid little uprade is a thousand bucks. 15 years from now the car will be in the junkyard and the Klon will be worth 5 grand lol
Can all agree that who ever is playing guitar is a master of tone?
The Tube Screamer sounds brighter, which I prefer. Klon sounds a bit muffled.
I was hoping they would sould alot more different. Back to my EHX English Muff'n (2203 modded).
TS for Vox amp and Klon for Marshall
Nice work- but I think it would be more helpful to do back-to-back testing with similar settings & (also) similar tones. Human ears lose reference points very quickly. The base tone here is really middy- it makes the Tubescreamer seem extremely midrange-y. A more neutral base would show more the characters of each unit.
But thank you for the work!
I'll take both
Klon Centaur sounds like a wet blanket. Look how much higher the gain knob is on the Centaur than the TS808
Klon Bottom End Awesomeness..
try Mosky Silver Horse Golden H or Crazy Tone, bottom end oh someness und loch ness too...
Great comparison. At low gain levels, the Centaur sounds flimsy to me, though a little clearer, and the TS has more midrange beef--the classic sound I like. At higher gain levels, they seem pretty similar. I was wondering if you've done a video comparing the mini Tube Screamer with the mini Centaur.
Reissue ibanez and saved wallet is surely a right choice.
Many great klones out there thought too
They sound nearly identical around @1:22
the both overdrive is much for take the Pocket, especially klon centaur but with cheap pedal to make sound great its very salute to person who did it?
I think the only area that's klone gets and advantage on the808 is in the output. Whit the output you can boost more sounding more "transparent " imo
The klon is nice sounding but not good enough for the stupid prices it’s listed at. Tubescreamer is something you categorically can’t go wrong with.
The circuit inside the klon can be had for about $50
The Nux Horseman is $69 and awesome but if you want a Klon Clone that is actually built by the company that was chosen to manufacture the last run off official Klons, buy a J Rocket Archer (Silver) or the J Rocket Archer Ikon (Gold). Both are $199 and virtually identical to the original Klon but only the Gold "Ikon" Archer had the original Germanium diodes. If $199 is still too much, go for that $69 Nux Horseman which is great in it's own right and much cheaper.
its like Caline Pure Sky and Mosky Silver Horse: i happen to like Silver... ( this is a wonderful comparison: i used ti own the tubec. younger...i also have Mosky Golden Horse ( for the colour of guitar pedal off coursse.....!!!! ) greetings for a lovely comparison, oh why wont you take the ai bandez to some shap to be restored, oh my goodness , or the fashion these days...
Anyone spending $3-5k on a Klondike, gets what they deserve... and might want to talk to a professional therapist.
Most of the people buying the originals now are afraid to play them. They're just putting them away for a year or two so they can sell them for $1000 more later!
@@rdhorsey9081 right. I have a couple of old stomp boxes that i bought new in the late 70' or early to mid 80's. Big Box Rat overdrive pedal and Boss CE-II chorus. I quit playing bands in the mid 90's for a career option that worked out great. It's time to semi retire and play some music again. I have watched some of these videos but not sure. So I'll buy something to try first. then if liked I'll sell the old one and made a couple of hudred easily. If I can get tube screamer or klon clone that i like for 60 bucks the Rat pedal alone will bring at least 350. i have a lot of cool old stuff. Even a rack mount effectron adm 256. that is truly the best chorus sound I ever got. slap back verb also. a lot of steel guitars players had them in their racks up until maybe 10 years ago.
@@KevinJDildonik what the hell you talking about ?!
Just buy a reproduction like a sane human being
I’d never buy an original Klon but there’s copies for below a 100 bucks that seem to be perfectly usable overdrive pedals for the price
That is some authoritative clean tone. I like it a lot more than with Klon or TS.
This!
Dude break down your tone for me! What amp, pick ups etc?
Crap! So a TS with drive on ZERO does a spot on Klon impression?
Little greenie all the way!
I can't understand about something sounds 2000 grand's, sounds good or bad is perception not about the price.
I think the TS has more mids, I have tried many OD pedals but I keep returning to TS (vintage) because of transparency and low noise, klon is very pricey, I heard philip sayce use klon for a booster, great sound 👏🏻
If listen direct to speaker ok it’s not same but if you listen off axis with speaker it’s same.
I'd have them both on my board. Great video!
The Klon also has amazing sustain that the TS808 does not.
have in your opinion asf... love
True… but whether amazing sustain is worth $4k is the critical question.
@@YaYa-ke1zr There's also the top notch quality with full size through hole components, custom spec'd CTS pots and Swtichcraft USA jacks that are hard to find in modern production pedals that use mostly surface mount stuff that isn't as reliable.
The build quality is another reason why people shell out thousands for the originals. Every part matters. The enclosures were hand cast as well.
Can you buy a Chinese or Taiwanese replica enclosure and pcb and find near the same components as in the original, probably, but they don't quite sound the same unless the builder really knows their stuff and has access to the same matched 1N34A germanium diodes that Bill used.
The parts are becoming more and more scarce and as this happens, the pedals will only be worth more over time.
I've played a few originals and the replicas just don't cut the mustard in my experience. Sure they're close, but I definitely prefer the feel of the original units. They're dialed in really well.
That isn't to say that the replicas aren't good pedals though. I've built my own with different audio grade components and germanium diodes that had a really great unique sound and a more tube like feel, but those were their own different thing and not really a true Centaur.
I've never found a pair of 1N34A diodes that nailed the original feel and I went through hundreds of diodes from a bunch of surplus warehouses. Those particular diodes in the originals just have a thing going on you can't really get with the others.
@@randallabracadabra It’s still going to come down to whether or not ‘that’ is worth the cost difference.
Things are worth whatever someone is willing to pay. It’s not worth it to me because my rig prefers the TS but if the Klon is worth $4000 to you, then there’s nothing wrong with that.
One of my PRS guitars is worth the 10k to me but several of my friends wouldn’t pay a nickel over $2000 for it because that’s the cost of a good strat to them… and the strat does everything they need it to do. Yeah the PRS is awesome, but it ain’t $8000 extra worth of awesome to them. To each their own.
@@YaYa-ke1zr Well sure, but it's the same deal if you can afford a really great sounding vintage Les Paul vs. buying a newer one that might be good sounding, but not quite as good as the vintage one.
The player with the $$$ that really knows what they're after will most likely go for the better sounding piece, even though it costs significantly more.
So I am sold. Sticking with whatever TS clone that is not broken.
Difference is only apparent at higher gain.
I stack both and love the sound. But I have a wampler tumnus because well, klon isn't worth what they sell for currently.
Klon for the win. Can’t afford, Wampler tumnus 😉
why does it sound like the guitar is almost direct input?
TS forever!
Cool, but if we use they together? Klon in a crunch tone and boosting the TS?
I thinking abou that with Nux Horseman.
Get a JHS double barrel and you essentially have both these pedals with much more options.
I like the 808 a bit better. It’s snottier. The Klon is for jazz-dads
I disagree. My EHX Soul Food(Klone) works just just as well as my TS9(don't have an 808) for boosting metal tones, and has less muddy tendencies all around.
Joey Jo-Jo Shabadu just bought a soul-food. You’re right
I sold my tubescreamers and overdrives after getting a tumnus deluxe for higher gain and a soul food to boost it. Comparing a tumnus and a ts9 or ts808 I felt like the tubescreamers sounded fake in comparison. Klon circuts take your tone and give you more of it with a low mid boost. The tubescreamer only good for boosting what is already boosted and take away low end so I could never leave it on in a cleaner amp it always had to come off before I cut my main drive pedal. Either the tumnus or soul food can be left on at any gain level and sound authentic. I always kind of questioned my tone at time while enjoying it other times and I thought it was ear fatigue or my amp or something. Since I got the tumnus deluxe I can’t get enough of how good it sounds every single time.
input -> +diode- -> output
-> -edoid+ -> just put this inline with your guitar cord ! Simple.
For the price of a Klon i'll take the TS808
tube screamer has more mid range
Both have alot of mids, they just sit in different midrange frequencies, the TS is more upper mids and the Klon is more in the lower midrange, most people say thr Klon actually has more mids in it
What program do you use to make this video the way you did?
It's like Cronus and Zeus. TS808 was king god until Klon showed up and killed him. I have both and "Klon" gets the "what is actually on my pedalboard" nod over the classic TS. What's funny is Bill Finnegan specifically designed the Klon to supersede the TS in the areas he felt could be improved upon. They both sound good, but I just think the Klon is ever so slightly more magical. To me the main difference is in the frequency response. YMMV.
It's like Clapton and Hendrix or what? :P
But does that little bit of magic bridge such a big price gap?
u can buy cheap clone klon
Way more dynamics, harmonics, better sounds from the klon. More versatile.
They both need more Doubly
I don't get it with the price of klon
Which would be better to boost my drives for solos?
Both are good for that, but the klon is probably the best as a clean boost as it never gets muddy like the TS sometimes can. However there are some drive pedals that work better with one or the other (e.g. TS-> Rat and Klon -> Bluesbreaker are common stacks)
No Reserved (R) mark next to the Ibanez logo. Not an early tubescreamer.
Alex Padilla Not every vintage 808 had the "(R)"
Check Analogman's TS History page for examples of early 808s with/without
Scott Walley Hence "early"
+Alex Padilla Maybe I missed what you were responding to. Since the none of the comments or the video referred to the TS as "early" or differentiated between the logos, I assumed you were referring to "early" meaning "early 80s." In comparison to the modern reissues, this is an "early" TS.
a Klon is a NOT a tube screamer circuit. Apples and Oranges.
You can just tell that's a strat he's playing? ami rite?
i would say your ears have too much wax in it...huh?!
Tube screamer still sounds better
ts 808
Conclusión: "es un desperdicio de dinero".
Same sound
I think 18v tube screamer use.
Now I think TS' are transparent....
People saying no major difference must go to their doctors, those ears need help.
Or maybe it is you. Ever thought about that?
@@craigcotter7476 No, i'm fine.
moral of the story.. no its not worth 10 grand
TS
I think klon is more powerful
Thanks, that's what I'll tell the Mrs. when she sees our bank statement this month 🤣
Okay, so from my own experience - the Klon is just 10times better. It seriously blows out TS808 in every way. The "Treble" (which is basically tone) has much wider range than TS808 and gain is just the same story - exceptionaly good for metal boosting. I cannot properly describe it, but your tone just starts feeling "professional" and articulated. I did a proper comparison between Klon and TS and don't get fooled by YT's compression -it can replicate TS808 pretty well. An excelent approach is to combine these two boxes. However,..the price is really unbelievable. I personally don't own the original, but a copy fiend of mine made me. And guess what, even this copy is a leap forward :D. Try to get your hands on Klon KTR/Archer and you won't regret.
Shootout videos of overdrive pedals really should be done through an already driven amp, especially for pedals like this. You never get the real qualities in a clean amp. Certain amp-in a box pedals can be done through a clean amp,but you'll never get what makes these desirable in the first place; excellent clean to mildly overdriven boost pedals.
The Klon wins for me.
too muxh stuff its in the hands