Anyone have the King of Tone?

[Outlier22]

So... I got myself on the waiting list for a KOT in May 2017. I didn't actually need the pedal then but there was /is just so much hype around this pedal so I thought, "it wont hurt to get on the waiting list."

In the meantime I've bought / sold a number of pedals, a new amp, guitar, etc... and outside of needing a different kind of fuzz, I feel pretty good with my overdrives right now. I'm currently stacking a fulltone full drive w a tube screamer so that is possibly a bit overboard with mid range so I have been considering a more transparent overdrive to replace one of them and move one to my smaller board??? But i'm in no rush to do so as overall it's working for me now.

However, I just realized that any day I'll probably get an email from analog man telling me I can order my KOT and I wonder if it's worth it. Anyone currently using one? If so, how do you like it with your PRS?

*I'm playing a CE24 through a Marshall DSL15 and Blues Jr and a variety of drive and effect pedals. I play in a band with 2 guitars, bass and drums doing "jam band" type of music, some blues, some classic rock. (just added that info if it helps anyone with advice )

 

[toothace]

The obvious solution is that yes, you DO need the KOT. I mean, can you have too many pedals???

 

[Outlier22]

...well depends on who you ask. I know my wife's answer will be much different lol.

But the good thing with the KOT is that I can easily turn it around and sell it after a few weeks if I don't like it and not lose any money. Probably would make $100 or so. But I don't want to buy one just to turn it around and gouge someone who really wants one, so wanted to figure out if I "need" one before my turn comes up.

 

[László]

I tend to think of overdrives as color boxes, as opposed to substitutes for amp distortion. I run ‘em with low distortion settings, but just enough added volume to add their tone color, goose the amp’s front end, etc.

I can only think of a few overdrives I’ve played/heard in the last 40 years where I thought, “This is a pretty special overdrive.”

For my kinda tone these are the Pettydrive 2, the OCD, the Xotic BB, the Klon, and the KOT. So I wouldn’t pass one up.

 

[Tone-y]

I don't have one as such......I am on the list, but only as of last year so I probably have another 2 years to wait. However, I have built my own KoT clone pedal with the correct diodes and other quality components so I'll assume that is close enough to reference.


I like it just fine. I tend to have one half on boost and the other on overdrive (I haven’t really found use for the harder clipped setting), and run the boost into the overdrive rather than boosting after. This way I get increased overdrive rather than a volume lift. I tend to prefer running it into a crunchy or already overdriven amp rather than into a clean amp and getting all of the overdrive from the pedal.


I do have the presence controls that are normally on internal trimmers as external controls on mine. I don’t know if this is an option that Mike gives, but I do tweak them quite often, so if you can have that I would recommend it.


Overall I would definitely say try it. Like you say they are not hard to shift if you don’t like it. I’m still planning to get one when I get to the top of the list, even though shipping to the UK and adding tax will make it really quite expensive.

 

[Tone-y]

 

[Outlier22]

I tend to think of overdrives as color boxes, as opposed to substitutes for amp distortion. I run ‘em with low distortion settings, but just enough added volume to add their tone color, goose the amp’s front end, etc.

I can only think of a few overdrives I’ve played/heard in the last 40 years where I thought, “This is a pretty special overdrive.”

For my kinda tone these are the Pettydrive 2, the OCD, the Xotic BB, the Klon, and the KOT. So I wouldn’t pass one up.

Thanks and good info! I currently run my amps so they get just a little bit of dirt with full guitar volume when you hammer the chords and like you, use the overdrives for more drive (and EQ change). I stack the tube screamer on the fulltone pedal and if I have too much gain on the pedal and the amp is too clean it sounds a bit nasal. So I also run them with lower distortion settings and the second OD with a volume boost.

I have a feeling i'll have to re-work all this if I introduce the KOT but based on our last sentence, I think i'm convinced enough to buy it when my turn comes up. Thanks!

 

[Outlier22]

I don't have one as such......I am on the list, but only as of last year so I probably have another 2 years to wait. However, I have built my own KoT clone pedal with the correct diodes and other quality components so I'll assume that is close enough to reference.


I like it just fine. I tend to have one half on boost and the other on overdrive (I haven’t really found use for the harder clipped setting), and run the boost into the overdrive rather than boosting after. This way I get increased overdrive rather than a volume lift. I tend to prefer running it into a crunchy or already overdriven amp rather than into a clean amp and getting all of the overdrive from the pedal.


I do have the presence controls that are normally on internal trimmers as external controls on mine. I don’t know if this is an option that Mike gives, but I do tweak them quite often, so if you can have that I would recommend it.


Overall I would definitely say try it. Like you say they are not hard to shift if you don’t like it. I’m still planning to get one when I get to the top of the list, even though shipping to the UK and adding tax will make it really quite expensive.

Thanks for this Tony! I actually searched KOT and found your post about making this clone and thought you might have good info as well. I didn't want to hijack that thread so started a new one

Thanks for this advise. Great info for sure. I was thinking I would run the boost after the OD so I could get a small volume boost which is what I do with the full drive. I do have my amps close to break up though with full guitar volume so there's only so much volume boost available before it starts to compress. currently I have the tube screamer going into the full drive but if I switch the boost order maybe I can just pull the tube screamer and use that on my small board???

But from what I understand the KOT is more of a transparent drive so doesn't boost the mids as much as the TS or full drive. so perhaps I need to keep that TS???

regarding options, I supposed I can ask if he can do external controls instead of those internal trimmers. I didn't see that as an option when I looked at the pedal a few years back but I didn't really study the options too hard since the waiting list is so long. But I did see you can have two in's and out's so that you can use a loop switcher and run each side of the KOT as two separate pedals. I don't know if I'll use that but I'm definitely would want to have the option.

 

[pac90]

I love that build, neat!


They have modelled the King and the Prince in Helix too, if that floats your boat

 

[Brad737]

I bought a KoT several years ago when my spot finally came. I opted for the high-gain mod on both sides, simply because “why not?”. I’ve owned most of the big-name overdrives, except the Klon Centaur, although I have played through them. IMHO, the KoT is one of the best overdrives ever. I like to set mine up with a mild breakup on the left, around 50%, and run the right side around 75%. The KoT and my Zendrive 2 are never leaving my board.

 

[RickP]

I’ve had two, still have and use one. They are really great pedals as long as you’re looking for non-metal type tones. The one I decided to keep is high gain both sides. I started with a “high gain red side” version, and realized that I never set the volume or drive knobs below 9 o’clock anyway, so why not add some usable range on the top end of the knob? That’s actually what the high gain mod does, basically sliding your range farther up, losing a little of the very low settings I don’t think anyone uses. It’s all win to me.

It’s interesting to note that I put the first one online for exactly what I had in it, and it sold in a flash. People sell them for $100 or more over what they paid all the time, so you can be assured you’ll get your investment back in a flash if you decide that don’t care for it.

Used for classic rock, blues, country, jazzy round tones, it’s top shelf. The combination of drives, range of what you can set them to do, and the quality of the tone has put this one on the “not for sale” list here. The wait is long, but the pedal is undeniably worth the cost when you do get the opportunity to get one.

Feel free to PM if I can help.

 

[Outlier22]

I’ve had two, still have and use one. They are really great pedals as long as you’re looking for non-metal type tones. The one I decided to keep is high gain both sides. I started with a “high gain red side” version, and realized that I never set the volume or drive knobs below 9 o’clock anyway, so why not add some usable range on the top end of the knob? That’s actually what the high gain mod does, basically sliding your range farther up, losing a little of the very low settings I don’t think anyone uses. It’s all win to me.

It’s interesting to note that I put the first one online for exactly what I had in it, and it sold in a flash. People sell them for $100 or more over what they paid all the time, so you can be assured you’ll get your investment back in a flash if you decide that don’t care for it.

Used for classic rock, blues, country, jazzy round tones, it’s top shelf. The combination of drives, range of what you can set them to do, and the quality of the tone has put this one on the “not for sale” list here. The wait is long, but the pedal is undeniably worth the cost when you do get the opportunity to get one.

Feel free to PM if I can help.

Thanks! and Thanks everyone who replied! I was going to ask if the high gain options just give you more range or if you lose something on the bottom. Sounds like the former. I'm guessing I'll want the option for gain on both side but more likely i'll use the one side as a clean boost. (clean is relative though. even if it's clean, it should break up my amp a bit.) ...but how clean will the high gain option get?

 

[Tone-y]

Actually, the 'clean boost' mode does a really good overdrive by itself. All this setting is really doing is taking out the clipping diodes from the circuit, but you can still overdrive the op-amp which can make a nice open overdrive - more amp like in many ways, and because you are not clipping the signal with the diodes you can get more volume from it as well (The more ‘distortion’ you get from clipping diodes, the quieter the signal). Having both sides set to clean boost and overdriving them one into another can really get you some good results, especially if you’re also driving an amp hard as well.

 

[RickP]

Thanks! and Thanks everyone who replied! I was going to ask if the high gain options just give you more range or if you lose something on the bottom. Sounds like the former. I'm guessing I'll want the option for gain on both side but more likely i'll use the one side as a clean boost. (clean is relative though. even if it's clean, it should break up my amp a bit.) ...but how clean will the high gain option get?

Exactly as @Tone-y said, the two sides are not repeats of the same thing. You can make them so with some internal switch settings, but that's not the way the pedal actually works best. The Red (right) side is normally the one set for Drive, and the Yellow (left) side for a clean(er) boost. The settings I have it on in that picture are not my normal ones, as I was playing around with the Silver Sky and a Fender Deluxe Reverb seeing what sort of sounds I could get. Using just the Red side, a lot of gain and drive. On the Yellow, a boosted sound that made the amp grind a little more. Together, a great lead tone that was LOUD. The point being that, although they are set nearly identical, each side was producing something 1. completely different, and 2. that sounded deafeningly cool together. That's really the beauty of the pedal. It's not like a lot of pedals that are essentially the same thing twice in series. The KoT is two sounds that are useful individually, and set right, together.

Just keep in mind that the Higher Gain Option doesn't change the pedal as much as it just rotates everything farther around the dial. From the Analogman site (http://www.analogman.com/kingtone.htm), they explain it about as well as you could do:

Higher Gain option
We also have a new HIGHER GAIN option available starting in 2009. It increases the DRIVE knob setting by a few numbers, in any mode. It moves the ENTIRE range higher, what was 12:00 on drive is now about 9:00, etc. With this option, you can no longer get the sounds of the normal pedal with the drive knob turned down low. But almost nobody runs the drive knob below 11:00 or 12:00, as it does not sound very good at very low drive settings. You can still get a clean boost in CLEAN mode with the drive turned down all the way. It does not change anything else about the sound, you should be able to get the exact same sound as the normal version, by turning the drive knob down a bit.
We can put the HIGHER GAIN option on either side, or both sides. A lot of people run the DRIVE knob on the OD side up all the way- with this mod you can reach the perfect setting if you wanted it to go up a little higher. Even the CLEAN mode with the higher gain option sounds great with the drive up all the way- cool, responsive distortion without the clipping/limiting/compression of most overdrive pedals. And of course it really helps to make the DISTORTION mode sound bigger and thicker.

I recommend the higher gain option on your OD side for almost everyone. Setting the red side to OD and the yellow to clean boost (our factory setting) will give a louder sound when you kick on the boost - boost after OD increases volume and thickness. Setting the yellow side to OD and the red to boost will add more drive when you kick on the OD - boost before OD adds distortion.

If I recommend the higher gain option, why didn't I make it standard? Because some people have owned or tried the original KOT and want that exact same pedal. Or maybe they don't turn the drive knobs up high for their playing and can save a few dollars. The Higher Gain option is $10 per side extra at time of ordering a new pedal.