Boss OD-3 vs Klon Pedals - Ceriatone Centura & EHX Soul Food

The Boss OD-3 vs the mighty Klon clones. Is the Klon sound all hype? You decide.

Boss OD-3
USA: https://amzn.to/36QnOCA
UK: https://www.andertons.co.uk/boss-od3-...

Ceriatone Centura
USA: http://www.ceriatone.com/centura-prof...
UK: https://www.andertons.co.uk/ceriatone...

EHX Soul Food
USA: https://amzn.to/35mO4Eo
UK: https://amzn.to/3iFELm3

After getting the EHX Soul Food when they first came out I could never really get into it. But I’ve heard so many great sounds from other people using Klon pedalsthat I thought I'd get a better clone of the original Klon and spend some time seeing what this circuit can really do. I’m using one of my favourite overdrive pedals the Boss OD-3 as a benchmark comparison here, just to provide a bit of context. The main focus is on the sound of the Centura and the Soul Food.

If you’re using these for a clean boost then the OD-3 might not be the best choice as it won’t go completely clean. The Centura and Soul Food can do the thing where they go absolutely clean. They both sound nice and neutral, not colouring the sound too much. They both have loads of volume and while they sound a little different particularly in the mid range to each other I think they both sound great.

So for low gain the OD-3 still can’t get as much range on the low gain settings as the Klons, the OD-3 has a little more drive even on it’s lowest setting. As you turn the gain up on the Klon pedals there is a pretty strong mid boost that comes in and top end starts to roll off quite a bit so I’ve turned the treble up a little. The bass response is still nice and strong. The main two differences between the OD-3 and the Klons that I can hear is the OD-3 has it’s airy open high end frequencies a bit more present where the Klons have rolled some of that off to get rid of any harsh high end. The mid frequencies are very different. It feels like the Klons are boosting low mids and that the OD-3 has it’s mid emphasis in a higher frequency band.

On a mid gain setting I can really hear the mid frequencies coming out in the Klon pedals even more as a result of turning up the gain control, there’s a bit less bass now too. The OD-3 sounds more even and a little more amp like when it’s played through a clean amp like this. I think these settings on the Klon pedals really work best when you’re using the pedal to push a valve amp that’s already on the edge of breakup.

With high gain settings the Klons are all about the mid frequencies again although the Soul Food seems more open in the high end and doesn’t have the same mids as the Centura. When you compare them to the OD-3, the OD-3 has loads more low end and just sounds more balanced through a clean amp. But through an amp set to the edge of breakup, the mids in the Klons which can sound a bit boxy through a clean amp will really help focus the drive sound on the dirty amp where the OD-3 doesn't work as well because it overloads the amp with muddy bass frequencies and a more shrill high end.

Timecodes:
00:00 - Intro
00:41 - Clean Boost
01:55 - Low Gain
04:10 - Mid Gain
07:02 - Hi Gain
09:50 - Summary