NPD Klon clone

[Robert]

Thanks DVM - it's awesome!

Demo to come one day...

By the way, how come people can clone designs like that - are these types of designs not copyright protected by law?

[markb]

Most pedal designs are slight (often very slight) variations on existing designs and thus very hard to protect. Could you really grant a new patent to a Tube Screamer variant?

[duhvoodooman]

My understanding is that, while it is possible to patent a circuit design, very few are because there are so few truly new ideas that aren't just modifications or recombinations of "prior art" and thus non-patentable. However, this still doesn't grant "carte blanche", since the pedal name is commonly trademarked or copyrighted. Also, the PCB layouts themselves are usually copyrighted artwork. So what tends to get done is that a "circuit of interest" is reverse-engineered, reproduced with a new PCB layout, and then called something "new", even if it is a thinly veiled reference, like "Klone". The manufacturer may "goop" the board (http://homepage.mac.com/vasilye/Sites/iSale/Pictures/1229545005_3.jpg), as was done with the Klon Centaur, to make the reverse engineering process a PITA, but if the pedal sounds good enough, some enterprising individual will eventually surmount that obstacle....

[markb]

I think when we look at some clones like the Joyo Ultimate Drive I have here I'd wonder seriously how much competition it really is to the Fulltone OCD? Maybe it acts like a "gateway drug". Once you have a taste of it you just have to move on to the harder stuff that Mr. Fuller sells so it's not really a threat :D

I can't say the same for my Bad Monkey. The price of genuine Ibanez Tube Screamers is just ridiculously inflated. A standard TS9RI for 139GBP? Oh, please... I bought a new BM for under 37 quid. It does the job admirably.

Oddly, I also have two excellent original Boss designs, the OD-3 and the SD-2 Dual Overdrive. Both great pedals with unique tones but nobody appears to be queuing up to clone them. Maybe because "everyone" knows that Boss pedals are rubbish :)

[duhvoodooman]

....The price of genuine Ibanez Tube Screamers is just ridiculously inflated.
But this one is hand-wired: :sarcasm http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifiers-effects/ibanez-ts808hw-tube-screamer-overdrive-guitar-effects-pedal

You believe that--$349 for a freakin' Tube Screamer?? :thwap You can build your own hand-wired TS808 circuit (with better component quality, I might add) for $70 and an evening or two of your time: http://buildyourownclone.com/overdrive.html

Or buy 5 of those kits, build 'em all, sell 4 of them for $100 each and end up with a great pedal and $50 in your pocket....

[Robert]

Hey DVM, what type of "DIY kit" is my Klon clone made from? I think you told me, but I can't recall. BYOB?

Details please?

[duhvoodooman]

To my knowledge, nobody currently sells a complete "Klone" kit, but there are a variety of PCB's available. These are what I have used to build several of these pedals, but you have to buy all the parts, figure out your layout, drill the enclosure, and then do all the soldering, assembly & finishing work. The one I sold to you was a repair I did on a problem build I had purchased. The problem turned out to be a minor error but apparently the seller just didn't want to bother troubleshooting it. Took all of 15 minutes to find & fix. Too bad, because the rest of the guy's workmanship was stellar! Anyway, the one you got was based upon the Sunking PCB from Madbean Pedals, since discontinued. But there are several equally good--and fully equivalent, circuit-wise--Klone PCBs available.

[cebreez]

I've been putting off buying the Kingslayer which is madbeanpedals.com 's Klon-a-like. I already have more od and distortions and fuzzes than I ever thought I would have on my board but there is a mystique about the Klon I can't get past. So I figured I would order the board and build one. If I find out I don't need it then I'll just sell it. By the way their tubescreamer "modified" clone is the "green bean". As TS clones go I wouldn't be without it, Throw a Red Llama in front of it and it almost does everything you need an OD pedal to do. And the build was really easy.