
A bargain klone delivers expensive OD tones.
Nice clarity and detail. Well made for the money. Effective extra midrange seasoning.
Not quite as euphonic as some of the best replicas or original Klon.
$129
76Owl Owldrive
76owl.com
Mythical, magical, mysterious … overrated? Whatever praises or criticisms you slather on the original Klon Centaur overdrive, there's no denying the way it captured the imagination of thousands of guitarists—and inspired underwhelmed observers to question why originals are worth several thousand dollars.
While exploring the intricacies and now-numerous variations of the famously transparent and dynamic Klon, Aric Bandy of Minneapolis stumbled on a circuit from China that he found particularly accurate. He decided to market it for sale in the U.S. as the 76Owl Owldrive. And it captures many of the most essential sonic qualities that define the Klon mystique, while delivering a little more midrange punch in the process.
K-Line Springfield with Strat-style single-coil pickups, into Friedman Mini Dirty Shirley head set to low-gain mode.
Clip 1: Bridge pickup—first pedal off, then with Gain 11 o'clock, Treble noon, Output noon.
Clip 2: Bridge pickup—first with pedal off, then Gain 3 o'clock, Treble 1 o'clock, Output 11 o'clock. Change to neck pickup near the end for the bluesier riffs.
Night Drive
While not as big as the original, the 4 ½" x 3 ½" x 1 3/8" Owldrive honors the inarguable style of the original Klon, with a metallic-copper finish, three retro radio pointer knobs, and an off-center footswitch. The controls are the same as the Klon, too, right down to the nomenclature: gain, treble, and output. The input, output, and 9V jacks are top mounted, and there is no battery option.
Bandy makes no secret of the fact that the pedal is an import from China, which enables the low $129 price. But while affordably priced, the Owldrive feels robust and is entirely hand-wired using through-hole construction. True-bypass switching is a slight tweak on the original formula.
Our review pedal is No. 9 from an initial run of 100. A second run is already in the works, which will be the same electronically, but feature a few cosmetic updates. And in a very cool gesture of environmental stewardship, 76Owl has partnered with Woodchuck USA to plant a tree for every pedal sold. Each Owldrive will also include a card to geo-locate the planting. Nice!
It exhibits a clarity that shines no matter how much overdrive you ladle on your signal.
Taking Flight
So, is the Owldrive a Klon-worthy klone, or klunker? Klon comparisons and puns aside, it is a super-usable and worthy overdrive. Compared to both affordable and higher-price klones, the Owldrive acquits itself very well. For starters, it exhibits a clarity that shines no matter how much overdrive you ladle on your signal. But it also has a away of enlivening your overall tone at lower gain settings. The latter quality has long made this circuit a favorite always-on tool for goosing an otherwise dull amp, and the Owldrive does this trick exceptionally well. Not surprisingly, it also excels as a near-clean boost—another Klon hallmark.
These low-gain applications made the Klon famous. But it's easy to forget how juicy and thick a good klone can sound in medium-gain overdrive settings. For the most part, the Owldrive nails these tones, too—especially when you crank the gain knob up to 1 o'clock or beyond. But the Owldrive's slightly accentuated midrange adds a little more grunt at these settings than an original or more accurately scooped klone might. Some of the extra oomph comes at the expense of the sonic lushness and sparkle dust that lives in the more pronounced, detailed high-end output of an original. To many ears, however, the extra muscularity will be an advantage in a hard-rocking environment.
The Verdict
The 76Owl Owldrive is a fine homage to a classic. And at just $129, it's certainly one of the best values in the klone category. Klon purists may quibble about the extra midrange punch and how it can obscure some high-end detail. But for any player who ever wanted to bridge the gap between a Klon's sweetness and a TS9's midrange heft, the Owldrive is an enticing option.
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Metalocalypse creator Brendon Small has been a lifetime devotee and thrash-metal expert, so we invited him to help us break down what makes Slayer so great.
Slayer guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman formed the original searing 6-string front line of the most brutal band in the land. Together, they created an aggressive mood of malcontent with high-velocity thrash riffs and screeching solos that’ll slice your speaker cones. The only way to create a band more brutal than Slayer would be to animate them, and that’s exactly what Metalocalypse (and Home Movies) creator Brendon Small did.
From his first listen, Small has been a lifetime devotee and thrash-metal expert, so we invited him to help us break down what makes Slayer so great. Together, we dissect King and Hanneman’s guitar styles and list their angriest, most brutal songs, as well as those that create a mood of general horribleness.
This episode is sponsored by EMG Pickups.
Use code EMG100 for 15% off at checkout!
Learn more: emgpickups.com
The legendary German hard-rock guitarist deconstructs his expressive playing approach and recounts critical moments from his historic career.
This episode has three main ingredients: Shifty, Schenker, and shredding. What more do you need?
Chris Shiflett sits down with Michael Schenker, the German rock-guitar icon who helped launch his older brother Rudolf Schenker’s now-legendary band, Scorpions. Schenker was just 11 when he played his first gig with the band, and recorded on their debut LP, Lonesome Crow, when he was 16. He’s been playing a Gibson Flying V since those early days, so its only natural that both he and Shifty bust out the Vs for this occasion.
While gigging with Scorpions in Germany, Schenker met and was poached by British rockers UFO, with whom he recorded five studio records and one live release. (Schenker’s new record, released on September 20, celebrates this pivotal era with reworkings of the material from these albums with a cavalcade of high-profile guests like Axl Rose, Slash, Dee Snider, Adrian Vandenberg, and more.) On 1978’s Obsession, his last studio full-length with the band, Schenker cut the solo on “Only You Can Rock Me,” which Shifty thinks carries some of the greatest rock guitar tone of all time. Schenker details his approach to his other solos, but note-for-note recall isn’t always in the cards—he plays from a place of deep expression, which he says makes it difficult to replicate his leads.
Tune in to learn how the Flying V impacted Schenker’s vibrato, the German parallel to Page, Beck, and Clapton, and the twists and turns of his career from Scorpions, UFO, and MSG to brushes with the Rolling Stones.
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editor: Addison Sauvan
Graphic Design: Megan Pralle
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
Katana-Mini X is designed to deliver acclaimed Katana tones in a fun and inspiring amp for daily practice and jamming.
Evolving on the features of the popular Katana-Mini model, it offers six versatile analog sound options, two simultaneous effects, and a robust cabinet for a bigger and fuller guitar experience. Katana-Mini X also provides many enhancements to energize playing sessions, including an onboard tuner, front-facing panel controls, an internal rechargeable battery, and onboard Bluetooth for streaming music from a smartphone.
While its footprint is small, the Katana-Mini X sound is anything but. The multi-stage analog gain circuit features a sophisticated, detailed design that produces highly expressive tones with immersive depth and dimension, supported by a sturdy wood cabinet and custom 5-inch speaker for a satisfying feel and rich low-end response. The no-compromise BOSS Tube Logic design approach offers full-bodied sounds for every genre, including searing high-gain solo sounds and tight metal rhythm tones dripping with saturation and harmonic complexity.
Katana-Mini X features versatile amp characters derived from the stage-class Katana amp series. Clean, Crunch, and Brown amp types are available, each with a tonal variation accessible with a panel switch. One variation is an uncolored clean sound for using Katana-Mini X with an acoustic-electric guitar or bass. Katana-Mini X comes packed with powerful tools to take music sessions to the next level. The onboard rechargeable battery provides easy mobility, while built-in Bluetooth lets users jam with music from a mobile device and use the amp as a portable speaker for casual music playback.
For quiet playing, it’s possible to plug in headphones and enjoy high-quality tones with built-in cabinet simulation and stereo effects. Katana-Mini X features a traditional analog tone stack for natural sound shaping using familiar bass, mid, and treble controls. MOD/FX and REV/DLY sections are also on hand, each with a diverse range of Boss effects and fast sound tweaks via single-knob controls that adjust multiple parameters at once. Both sections can be used simultaneously, letting players create combinations such as tremolo and spring reverb, phaser and delay, and many others.
Availability & Pricing The new BOSS Katana-Mini X will be available for purchase at authorized U.S. Boss retailers in December for $149.99. For the full press kit, including hi-res images, specs, and more, click here. To learn more about the Katana-Mini X Guitar Amplifier, visit www.boss.info.
Snark releases its most compact model ever: the Crazy Little Thing rechargeable clip-on headstock tuner.
Offering precise tuning accuracy and a super bright display screen, the Crazy Little Thing is approximately the size of your guitar pick – easy to use, unobtrusive and utterly dependable.
Housed in a sturdy shell, the Crazy Little Thing can be rotated for easy viewing from any angle, and its amazingly bright display makes it perfect for the sunniest outdoor stages or the darkest indoor studios. You can clip it to the front of your headstock or on the back of your headstock for extra-discreet usage – and you can easily adjust the display to accommodate your preference.
As the newest addition to Snark’s innovative line of headstock tuners, the Crazy Little Thing is rechargeable (no batteries!) and comes with a USB-C cable/adapter for easy charging. Its display screen includes a battery gauge, so you can easily tell when it’s time to recharge.
The Crazy Little Thing’s highly responsive tuning sensor works great with a broad range of instruments, including electric and acoustic guitar, bass, ukulele, mandolin and more. It also offers adjustable pitch calibration: its default reference pitch is A440, but also offers pitch calibration at 432Hz and 442 Hz.
Snark’s Crazy Little Thing rechargeable headstock tuner carries a street price of $21.99. For more information visit snarktuners.com.