68 Pedals Klone

The 68 Pedals Klone is a boost overdrive pedal from small builder 68 Pedals, built on the circuit of the Klon Centaur, the 1990s overdrive whose original units became expensive collector items. Like the Klon itself, it sits in the boost and overdrive family: at low gain settings it works as a clean-ish boost that pushes an amp harder, and as the Drive control comes up the germanium clipping diodes shape the signal into overdrive¹.

Pedal of the Day reviewed it in February 2020 and came away impressed, writing that the pedal "passed the test with flying colors"¹. The review also noted the price: about $100 through the builder's Reverb.com shop at the time¹.

A Klon-style boost overdrive

The Klon Centaur set the template for a whole category of pedals, and a number of small builders make their own versions of the circuit. The 68 Pedals Klone is a boost overdrive built in the Klon style, with a dipswitch that in the Up position selects a 1n34a germanium diode, which the maker describes as representing "the original style and sound of a Klon"¹. Other builders with their own Klone boost overdrives include Kenny B Pedals, Old-Fx Custom Pedals, Pedal Monsters, DCW Pedals, JedsPeds and Pedal Projects².

What the Klon circuit does, and what a pedal like this inherits, is combine a clean boost path with a clipped overdrive path, blending them so the low end stays firmer than a simple diode-clipped overdrive. The germanium diodes in the clipping stage are a key part of the recipe: germanium clips at a lower forward voltage than silicon, so the overdrive character arrives earlier and with a softer edge as the Drive control rises.

The 68 Pedals Klone keeps the original's three-knob format. Pedal of the Day put it plainly: "The Drive, Treble and Volume controls are present here, as they have to be to warrant a klone"¹.

The internal dipswitch and clipping modes

The feature that separates the 68 Pedals Klone from a straight reproduction is a dipswitch inside the enclosure that selects between two clipping modes¹. In the Up position, the pedal uses a 1N34A germanium diode, which the review describes as representing "the original style and sound of a Klon"¹. The second position gives an alternate clipping character, so a player can compare two diode setups without swapping components.

Pedal of the Day found both settings usable, writing that both modes capture "the essence and power of the Klon in all its glory"¹:

For a player who wants to experiment with clipping character, an internal switch is a simpler route than soldering, though it does mean opening the enclosure to change modes¹.

How it compares with other Klones

The 68 Pedals Klone sits in a crowded field of small-builder Klon replicas, several of which take slightly different approaches to the same circuit. Comparing them side by side shows where the 68 Pedals version fits:

The diode choice is where most of these builders differ. The Kenny B and DCW versions both use Russian D9E germanium diodes, with DCW calling them "the key elements" of its build³⁴. The 68 Pedals Klone instead uses a 1N34A germanium diode in its Klon-voiced position and adds the dipswitch so a player can move between two setups¹. Pedal Projects' Klone, reviewed back in 2014, took the straightforward route with the same controls as the Klon, and its reviewer praised its range, from "an amazing boost" to "a downright gorgeous overdrive"⁷.

Price and availability

When Pedal of the Day reviewed the 68 Pedals Klone in February 2020, it sold through the builder's Reverb.com shop for about $100¹. That made it one of the less expensive small-builder Klones at the time: the DCW Pedals Klone, for comparison, cost less than $140 when reviewed in November 2019⁴. As a small-builder product sold through an online shop, availability depends on the maker's production runs, and the 2020 price should be read as a historical figure rather than a current one.

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