I suppose by now most of us are aware of the Klon Centaur booster/overdrive pedal. This famous pedal was created and hand made by Bill Finnegan, and it rapidly became a favourite of many of the world’s most famous guitar players, for good reason. It sounds sweet, it’s a transparent clean boost and a harmonically rich overdrive.
Eventually Bill had to cease production, because he simply couldn’t fulfill the demand. This caused the price of used Centaurs to rise to ridiculous levels. If you search for a genuine original Klon today you’ll find them priced anywhere between $3,000 and $11,000! (It’s true – I checked!)
Eventually the demand for a Klon inspired others to produce Klon clones, and they range from Far Eastern lookalikes and “in the ball park” models to those that are claimed to be really close.
There is one that is claimed to be identical, and it has fans all over the world, including me.
My very good friend Mark Charleson (he was my first ever guitar student and he plays 100 times better than I can) lent me his RYRA Klone that he had managed to find used, but in new condition. I loved it so much that I played it for about 6 months. Feeling that it was time to give it back, I did some research and at first I bought a Mosky Silver Horse for $44, which is a “ball park” little Chinese box and good value. Then I looked around a little further and found the brand new RYRA Klone from Pedal Empire in Brisbane for $295 AUD, which is not a lot of money for any quality pedal, let alone a gem like this one.
The RYRA (Rock Your Repaired Amp) Klone is rated as the finest of the clones. The website https://theklonepedal.com states: “The Klone is an exact, part for part, meticulously crafted replica of the infamous overdrive pedal.” Just like Finnegan’s Klon, each RYRA Klone is lovingly hand made by the very friendly and approachable Shane Logan, the owner of the small but dynamic company in Texas. It has become my guitar’s best friend. All of my guitars. My amps love it too (they told me). I own a very rare Ibanez ST9 Super Tube Screamer and an early Boss OD1, and they are both on the market. They are great overdrives, but I don’t need them anymore. I’ve got the Klone and I’m a happy man.
They are also the prettiest looking pedals on the market!
