Klon Centaur vs. Tone Monk Seed of Life

[WinterSun]

Has anyone compared these two?

I have the Tone Monk, and so far it has killed anything I put it up against (made me sell all my other overdrive pedals). I'm wondering if it would be worth it to pursue a Klon in the future.

[popinvasion]

I would go for a klon as the klon is superb however if your on a budget tim timmy are easier to get and will land you right in the middle of the seed and klon imo.

[WinterSun]

Thanks, I've got a Timmy on the way, but I plan on using more as a boost than an overdrive. If you've played the Tone Monk and the Klon in the same room, how would you describe the differences?

[popinvasion]

I have but I would need to do it again as my memory was pretty simple on it. The klon was bigger and more crisp the tone of life seemed a little muffled in comparison and ragged. The klon sat better in the mix. The timmy sits right in the middle of both.

[WinterSun]

No one else has tried both of these pedals???

[gururyan]

Probably like myself, nobody has even heard of this Tone Monk Seed of Life.

[JoeyHarley]

looks good on paper ;)

http://www.tonemonk.com/seed-of-life.html

[sanhozay]

Probably like myself, nobody has even heard of this Tone Monk Seed of Life.

I love it! My thoughts exactly!

How anybody can recommend a Klon when they are out of production and will set one back $600+++ for a used can??? C'mon world! These things are overdrive pedals intended to take your already great tone to a little better place.

But, of course, I googled Tone Monk Seed of Life. And now I want one. :bonk

[LPSlinger]

I've never heard of the Tone Monk Seed of Life...thanks for bringing it up. I do have a Klon though and the one thing I can say about it is that it has made every amp I've ever tried it through sound better. It's such a great sounding pedal I leave it on all of the time. That's the mark of a great pedal to me...once you use it, you never want to turn it off.

[WinterSun]

How anybody can recommend a Klon when they are out of production and will set one back $600+++ for a used can???

Supposedly, a smaller enclosure version from Klon is in the works.

[Rocksully]

I own both of these pedals.
They are completely different.
Use the Klon as a boost after the Seed of Life.
You will NEVER regret it.
I sometimes use my Klon as an always on eq boost.
The SOL pedal is just amazing, and added with the mid boost of a Klon,
my friend,
you will RULE.

[mike@nortoncable.com]

aN_BapN8i4o

I've been working with mr.tone monk on a few vids.
Did a seed of life,klon, analogman king of tone compare vid over the weekend, I should have it up soon!

heres a ankh-klon vid I did (yes I know about the buffer)..

[popinvasion]

aN_BapN8i4o

I've been working with mr.tone monk on a few vids.
Did a seed of life,klon, analogman king of tone compare vid over the weekend, I should have it up soon!

heres a ankh-klon vid I did (yes I know about the buffer)..


The klon sounds bigger, clearer and also has a bit more midrange(sits better in a mix). Just my op.

[jbrown013]

wow that was a really good demo thank you! now I am looking at their pedals lol.

[teleclem]

interesting. new discovery!

[wundergussy]

Supposedly, a smaller enclosure version from Klon is in the works.

LOL.

[overture2005]

I own both,
I can tweak them sound the same whatever boost setting or od setting.

[sutherland]

aN_BapN8i4o

I've been working with mr.tone monk on a few vids.
Did a seed of life,klon, analogman king of tone compare vid over the weekend, I should have it up soon!

heres a ankh-klon vid I did (yes I know about the buffer)..

The Ankh sounds great! The Klon sounds rounder and clearer in comparison to the Ankh, but that could be attributed to the increased output impedance of the Centaur (then again, what do I know).

How is the build quality (inside & out) of Tone Monk's products?

[starfish]

Great shootout! Gotta love competition, the entire game gets raised.

[mike@nortoncable.com]

The Ankh sounds great! The Klon sounds rounder and clearer in comparison to the Ankh, but that could be attributed to the increased output impedance of the Centaur (then again, what do I know).

How is the build quality (inside & out) of Tone Monk's products?


The build quality is excellent- 100% hand built, Mr.Monk hand stuffs and hand solders each circuit board, no wave soldered/mass produced stuff going on there. Cliff switches, switch craft jacks and top notch components. Tone monk is as botique as it gets..

I have a seed of life V.2 with the Fat switch its an excellent pedal- from Boosting, to OD to singing lead it covers it all very well. Aside the SOL, I plan on adding an Ankh to my board- its hard to bump the klon off but the Ankh's Clarity is tempting!, The integrated buffer circuit on the Ankh amazing as well


If all goes to plan I'll have some Tone monk products ready to go on our new site, I see good things happening with this brand, They know what they're doing and its being done properly.

[JUSTJOB]

Watching that video has got me GASSING for a Klon. I really liked it in comparison, although, I won't pay the going rate the used ones demand at this time.

[WinterSun]

I've been working with mr.tone monk on a few vids.
Did a seed of life,klon, analogman king of tone compare vid over the weekend, I should have it up soon!

heres a ankh-klon vid I did (yes I know about the buffer)..

Great video! I think the Ankh has a soft, smooth, and warm quality and the klon has a grittier, mid-frequency thing going on. The mid emphasis of the klon seems to offer a lot of note definition, but could be too aggressive for some applications. They seem to compliment each other well, both being great circuits.

I would love to see the Seed of Life / Centaur comparison video! Send us a link in this thread when it's ready! I'm still loving my SOL.

[mike@nortoncable.com]

At the moment my plate is overflowing (guitar show in t-minus 3 days) after the Show I'll have 3-4 vids with the Seed of life V2 with the fat switch vs klon vs king of tone- same rig with a strat this time and an sg as well.

[Rocksully]

The Seed of Life is AMAZING!!!!
I own this and a Klon.
I utilize my Klon as a boost for solos and the SOL is for all things heavy, on my board.

[anais]

The Seed of Life is AMAZING!!!!
I own this and a Klon.
I utilize my Klon as a boost for solos and the SOL is for all things heavy, on my board.

I do the same dirty sol pushing into the klon.. I've actually been one of the guinea pigs for a tone monk klon clone or... tribute as they call it.. hence why my gold klon is sitting in the emporium right now.. sounds exactly the same and I can fit an extra pedal on my board now :D

I think its a bit unfair to be comparing these pedals to eachother.. but they do work great together....

[sutherland]

I do the same dirty sol pushing into the klon.. I've actually been one of the guinea pigs for a tone monk klon clone or... tribute as they call it.. hence why my gold klon is sitting in the emporium right now.. sounds exactly the same and I can fit an extra pedal on my board now :D

I think its a bit unfair to be comparing these pedals to eachother.. but they do work great together....

I think almost any pedal will sound good going into a Klon, the only compatibility issues arise when the Klon lines up first (then again, I actually like the "haywire" and saturation that occurs when a buffered pedal hits a fuzz).

I went ahead and decided to feed my curiosity and bought the Ankh (with the buffer option) and the Seed of Life (with the Lush/Fat option). I've been quite skeptical of the Seed of Life in the past, but decided, what the heck...try them out.

[anais]

I think almost any pedal will sound good going into a Klon, the only compatibility issues arise when the Klon lines up first (then again, I actually like the "haywire" and saturation that occurs when a buffered pedal hits a fuzz).

I went ahead and decided to feed my curiosity and bought the Ankh (with the buffer option) and the Seed of Life (with the Lush/Fat option). I've been quite skeptical of the Seed of Life in the past, but decided, what the heck...try them out.

ive tried a lot of pedals with my klons over the years and only a few got me the tone I was looking for... I like a simple set up and don't like tap dancing and most times it would be too much. I like pedals that respond well to my volume rolling off and dont have a crazy mid hump ala ts types.. LGW, zen, eternity, etc into a klon would always give me unpleasant feeback if i turn the gain up even a hair on the klon. maybe a downfall of using full hollows? everyone is different, obviously.. its all reality tunnels man. i honestly havent tried an ankh in my rig yet.. pretty happy with my set up, if it did the gain thing like a klon id give it a go but i need that extra push once in a while

[mike@nortoncable.com]

Finished the video editing last night, its rendering today, should have it uploaded soon :)

[Lonely Raven]

Looking forward to it, Mike.

[mike@nortoncable.com]

:DLooking forward to it, Mike.


Thanks, need some sitting on ass time at the home pc, sorry for the delay, my day gig is starting to interfere with my night gig now...

shooting for tonight to upload.

[anais]

knew they would make it official sooner or later... http://www.tonemonk.com/phoenix.html

[DGTCrazy]

knew they would make it official sooner or later... http://www.tonemonk.com/phoenix.html

Here we go again!

[WinterSun]

knew they would make it official sooner or later... http://www.tonemonk.com/phoenix.html

Sweet, if there's anyone I would trust to make this it would be him. Do you know if it is a buffered bypass like the original?

[amphead777]

The Seed of Life looks(sounds) interesting. I'm going to wait for more feedback before putting down another $279 for an OD.

[mike@nortoncable.com]

The Seed of Life looks(sounds) interesting. I'm going to wait for more feedback before putting down another $279 for an OD.



Im running a tour box right now with the current tone monk pedal line (seed of life, ankh, line driver)

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=813449

3 spots left, chance to try the pedals for about $10-12 in shipping :)

[starfish]

horsey not needed

http://www.tonemonk.com/uploads/3/6/8/6/3686953/6330120.jpg?371

[anais]

a little green man once told me that the horsey doesn't make you sound better:hide2

[neville5000]

I've owned both (not at the same time) and while the SOL is a great, great pedal I don't think it has the same mid-range oomph that the Klon does. That said it is much more versatile and gets close to the Klon, Tim, and Zen and I've been told the KOT, but never owned that one.

If I owned a studio the SOL would definitely be my go-to workhorse, and gets close enough to be a catch-all for the above mentioned pedals.

[Godspeed64]

Well if you want a Klon SoulSonicFX has his own tinkering version of it, called the Illuminated if I'm not wrong.

[Painasusual]

The klon sounds bigger, clearer and also has a bit more midrange(sits better in a mix). Just my op.

I agree that the Klon has more midrange, but to me the klon sounded honky and thin compared to the Ankh. The Ankh souded way bigger.

[anais]

horsey not needed

http://www.tonemonk.com/uploads/3/6/8/6/3686953/6330120.jpg?371

I've owned both (not at the same time) and while the SOL is a great, great pedal I don't think it has the same mid-range oomph that the Klon does. That said it is much more versatile and gets close to the Klon, Tim, and Zen and I've been told the KOT, but never owned that one.

If I owned a studio the SOL would definitely be my go-to workhorse, and gets close enough to be a catch-all for the above mentioned pedals.

I dont think it sounds anything like the KOT... there was another thread around here where this topic was beat to death.. check this vid.. KOT can get a close gain factor but is thin in comparison of sound..

NlVMS7wJKR8

[vbf]

Probably like myself, nobody has even heard of this Tone Monk Seed of Life.

Awesome pedal...best OD I own...and I have lots. :rotflmao

[Blanket Jackson]

horsey not needed

http://www.tonemonk.com/uploads/3/6/8/6/3686953/6330120.jpg?371

Just ordered mine ... let's see how it sounds

[Bloomfield fan]

It will be a long 4 weeks for you....

[Blanket Jackson]

It will be a long 4 weeks for you....

I dunno - sounds like they have a bunch pre-made and ready to ship. I think I'll be getting mine before the new year.

[mike@nortoncable.com]

I dunno - sounds like they have a bunch pre-made and ready to ship. I think I'll be getting mine before the new year.

there in full on RED BULL PEdal mode over there I think the turn time on these are going to be quick, I have one on order myself :) Can't wait to get my paws on it.

[Blanket Jackson]

http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/red-bull.jpg

[pold]

Just ordered mine ... let's see how it sounds

Is it true bypass like the Kalamazoo?

[mike@nortoncable.com]

Monks going to need a bigger roll of solder :)
Hope he has good fume extraction.

[anais]

Is it true bypass like the Kalamazoo?

id think a truebypass version of the klon would defeat the purpose.. that buffer is straight magic and one of the things that completely turned me off to the kalamazoo...

though it does look like they are offering it with truebypass on the website..

[Blanket Jackson]

^^^ true, true, and true ^^^

[neville5000]

id think a truebypass version of the klon would defeat the purpose.. that buffer is straight magic and one of the things that completely turned me off to the kalamazoo...

though it does look like they are offering it with truebypass on the website..

Agreed. I thought the buffer was as good as the effect itself, and to me that is part of the magic of the Klon.

[pold]

I have no doubts the buffer was part of that magic, but considering the Kalamazoo sounds 95% like a Klon, I still think true bypass is a big big bonus that can't be refused.

[anais]

I have no doubts the buffer was part of that magic, but considering the Kalamazoo sounds 95% like a Klon, I still think true bypass is a big big bonus that can't be refused.

if you are running a lot of pedals i dont see a buffer being a bonus...:dunno

i used to be on the truebypass bandwagon until someone got me hip to this..Pete Cornish- Case Against True Bypass (http://www.petecornish.co.uk/case_against_true_bypass.html)