GEAR REVIEW
JHS NOTAKLON DIY PEDAL | Michael Hodge
KEY FEATURES
• No Soldering Required
• Shamrock Mod Switch
• Goop to Hide Diodes
• Guaranteed DIY Fun
BACKGROUND : Bill Finnegan created the original Klon Centaur . It ’ s become the most legendary overdrive in pedal history . There ’ s a good reason for that . It ’ s got something special that most guitar players are searching for . A combination of self-esteem “ I got one ” and actual real-life practicality . It ’ s a fantastic pedal . I ’ m a big fan of the original gold version and bought two for under $ 400.00 . One was stolen , and I paid over $ 1,000.00 to replace it . It ’ s silver , not gold , but still increasing in value . I looked them up on Reverb . com and some hope to sell for up to $ 10,000.00 USD !
Supply and demand ! I called Bill way back , and he told me that the Centaur casing was becoming impossible to find and how important it was to the sound . He stopped making them and eventually came out with the KTR version in a smaller , more pedalboard-friendly case . Of course , there are many opinions about whether they sound the same , adding to the mystery . JHS was one of the first companies to come out with a cool KTR mod called the Shamrock Mod , which added extra gain and mids . JHS introduced the NOTAKLON , and it is a game changer for all of us looking to get “ that sound ” on a budget and throw in some DIY fun .
OUT OF THE BOX : One of the most fun aspects is the fun of the build ! I built my first fuzz pedal in High School and never built another pedal until this NOTAKLON . Inside the box is a green circuit board , A bag of screws , nuts , and washers .
A toothpaste container of GOOP and a white metal case . Also , four tiny feet that no one will use . There ’ s a Q . R . code in the box with instructions and a well-designed DIY manual with twelve steps for the build . It ’ s reminiscent of an IKEA project .
THE BUILD : I haven ’ t had this much fun since my son was into Legos ! The only sad part is that it just lasted a few minutes . I was hesitant about breaking the PCB board , but it was seamless . There are two small wrenches built into the board . Genius ! After trimming the board , it goes very fast . There ’ s a ribbon connector to attach , washers and nuts for the ¼ ” jacks , and placing the knobs on the top . I went ahead with the optional Goop because it would be over so quickly . Be careful it ’ s messy . I signed the bottom and it was done ! Here ’ s my 12-minute build on YouTube .
58 BUYER ’ S GUIDE # 8 - 2024 WL Subscribe to [ WM ] for Free ...