Joe Bonamassa and Way Huge have teamed up for the “ultimate Klon clone,” available exclusively on the bluesman’s Reverb store.
The Deep State overdrive pedal is a limited-edition, modified version of the firm's Conspiracy Theory Overdrive, hailed as one of the best Klon clones.
Chief adjustments have been made by Way Huge's resident tonal scientist Jeorge Tripps and Bonamassa.
Only 550 units have been made, with each one numbered and hand-signed by Bonamassa on the inside.
The pedal finds its Klon-like character from the discovery of a diode that has “a truly magical-sounding voltage drop” – but what that diode is remains top secret.
“We’re talking electronic alchemy,” says Reverb. “The results were mind-blowing. Smooth, velvety clipping that responds to playing dynamics like you wouldn’t believe.”
It concludes that the stompbox “delivers all of the dreaminess of the original for a mere fraction of the price of a real Klon Centaur.”
In the video, Bonamassa puts the pedal through its paces in a shootout against a 1995 Klon Centaur.
However, there was a catch: The Deep State was paired with a budget rig comprising a 2021 Epiphone JB Lazarus Les Paul, which retailed at $899, and an early '90s Fender Reverb Sidekick 25 amp, which retailed between $100-200.
The Klon, meanwhile, is teamed with a '59 Les Paul Standard and a 1983 Dumble Overdrive Special, the total price of the trio comfortably into the six-figure mark.
It comes after Bonamassa and Reverb compared a $1,200 Hendrix-inspired rig with a rig closely resembling the late great’s own, costing around $60,000.
Bonamassa concludes that the pedals “sound virtually identical,” before fanning the flames of keyboard warriors by adding, “and I'm not just saying that!”
“I did a deal with Bill [Finnegan, Klon founder] at the Philly Guitar Show in 1994,” he says of how he came to own his first Klon. “He didn't have a booth or anything, he was walking around with a knapsack full of them. They were $125, which was a lot of money. I think I bought one for half price.
“About a year later, I got called into a session with John Leventhal, who is Rosanne Cash's husband, and I ended up giving him the pedal. It was serial number 12 or something like that!”
Bonamassa also believes, and he says Finnegan would agree with him, that the second-hand market for original Klons “has gotten out of hand,” which is why he's eager to bring an affordable alternative to the market.
“It's the toolkit,” he underscores. “We're sitting here with a Sidekick and a Dumble Overdrive Special and in a roundabout way we're achieving the exact same thing.
“We're trying to debunk this mystery of what it actually takes to get a good sound. You can gig with anything. It doesn't really matter. It's the intent and the player behind it all that you can't forget.”
That, however, didn’t stop Bonamassa from spending 15 years searching for Lowell George’s famed Dumble Special Overdrive amp – a quest he finally completed earlier this year.
The Deep State’s release follows Martin’s recent collaborative build with Reverb. Together, they produced the Reverb Select Martin Custom GP Blonde, a premium – and expensive – all-blonde non-cutaway Grand Performance acoustic guitar.
That guitar's $7,999 price tag doesn’t exactly make it accessible, but thankfully the Deep State comes in at a far less eye-watering $189 plus shipping.
Head to Reverb to discover more.
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