19 Jan Fredric Effects Golden Eagle Klone
We all want an original Klon Centaur pedal but sadly, unless you re-mortgage the house and scour the universe we shall never have the pleasure of seeing it on our board. However, there are plenty of ‘klones’ of the Klon on the market today and without doubt one of the best is the Fredric Effects Golden Eagle (an update on the Fredric Effects Zombie Klon, with different paint and graphics).
The Golden Eagle has been around now for a few years and we finally got our mitts on one recently. Yes, it is boutique, but at RRP of £125 it is accessible and a big seller for the company, being highly sought after. It certainly stands out in the crowded klone marketplace being one of the finest and smallest Klones you can buy.
100% Boutique Clone
Billed as a 100% accurate electronic clone, with nothing added or removed from the original effect – the buffer and charge pump circuitry are intact. It is hand built in the UK using through hole components, a custom enclosure fabricated for Fredric Effects in North London with professional powder coating and screen printing. Yes, it looks the part and it sounds great.
No, we don’t have an original Klon to A-B it with but having tried lots of klones this one stands out and we can agree with all the reviews say it is one of the best.
It has simple gain, treble and output controls and will add a bit of grit and dirt to your tone without being too thick and heavy, preserving your original tone. We tested it through a Vox amp with a Les Paul (with coil split so we could try it with single coils) and a Les Paul with P90’s, and spent a happy few hours getting some excellent tones out of it.
Flexible Pedal
At one end it can be used as a clean boost with the output high and the gain low or as a flexible overdrive pedal. With the gain on full it is not a ‘high gain’ pedal at all but adds texture to your sound with some great tones. Klon pedals can be quite bright, which is where the treble control comes in and this is certainly useful to stop your humbuckers sounding too muddy.
Playing though the dirty channel on the amp the pedal adds more girth and character but again is never extreme, sounding more ‘rock’ than ‘metal’.
Verdict
This is an awesome sounding pedal that is very addictive – you can see why original Klons are so sought after and revered!
Fredric Effects users include: Future Of The Left, Kurt Vile, Biffy Clyro, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Foals, Marmozets, Arrows of Love, Bombay Bicycle Club.
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Effects pedals you need on your board
12 August 2020
