JHS Pedals NOTAKLÖN DIY Overdrive Boost

Not being an engineer, or particularly skilled in the ways of electronics creation, I have never built an effects pedal. I love how they sound and what they can do, but their innerworkings completely baffle me, and I’m not alone. For all of us who want to tinker and experiment a little, without having to do too much actual work, Josh and the JHS Pedals crew have created the NOTAKLÖN, an effects unit based on that certain mythical sound, but one that you get to put together yourself. It sounds like fun, and guess what?? IT IS!!

The NOTAKLÖN DIY Overdrive kit utilizes the unique “Shamrock” modification that JHS performed on the Klon KTR for several years. With easy-to-understand instructions (no soldering required), this kit is for anyone who wants a particularly mythical overdrive and the experience of easily building their own pedal. They’ve even included “goop” so that you can conceal the “magical” diodes. It’s NOTAKLÖN ’til you build it.

This complete pedal-building kit includes everything you need to make your own Klon. All you need to bring is a pair of hands and a sense of adventure. The NOTAKLÖN kit lets you build your own Klon (including the unique JHS Shamrock mod) for just $99. Considering that Klon Centaurs have sold for as much as $8,000, that’s a savings of roughly $7,901. Not bad.

Output – Controls the overall volume of the pedal. Left is less, right is more.
Treble – Controls the amount of treble boost or cut. Noon is neutral.
Gain – Controls the amount of overdrive. Fully left is clean, which gives the ability to add up to +16dB of clean boost in conjunction with the output. Fully right is max overdrive. As the control is turned clockwise, there is an increase in the mid-frequency range.
Shamrock Mod Switch – Increases the overall gain +4dB for unmatched boost abilities with an increase in mid frequencies and an additional stage of hard-edge clipping.

I had a great time building the NOTAKLÖN, and documented the entire process in the demo video below. The music you’ll hear throughout all comes from the completed NOTAKLÖN, too, so you’ll get a sense of what it sounds like as you watch me build from start to finish. This is a great idea from JHS Pedals, and as evidenced by the fact that over 21,000 people have already ordered one (as of today), I think it’s safe to say it has been a success. Head over to the JHS website for ordering and more info, and don’t forget to check out our video, too – cheers!

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