Warm Audio Centavo - The Best Klon Centaur "Clone" Pedal Ever In The World?

The Klon Centaur pedal, known for its highly-praised boost and overdriven tones, remains popular to this day, even after its production from 1994 to 2009. Despite its simple three-knob overdrive design, its prices have skyrocketed, making it unaffordable for many. However, renowned guitar players such as Jeff Beck, Joe Perry, John Mayer, and Josh Homme still find the mythical magic of the original pedals worth the hype.

Warm Audio has recently introduced a new pedal called the Centavo, which is a part of their series of "True-To-Original-Recreation" classic guitar pedals. They claim that it is "The Best, Most Unapologetic Recreated Klon Centaur Pedal In The World". Let's take a closer look at Warm Audio and their gears to see if their claim holds true!

Re-Inventing The Past

Warm Audio was founded in 2011 to make classic analog recording gear affordable for all musicians and engineers. They've quickly become popular and received many awards for their microphone preamplifiers, compressors, equalizers, and microphones that are designed, developed, and tested in-house in Texas, USA. The company's unique approach combines technical expertise with strong partnerships with premier component manufacturers, resulting in award-winning products that have redefined what's possible in the audio electronics industry.

Warm Audio creates modern reproductions of legendary studio classics, including; microphone preamplifiers, compressors, equalizers, and microphones, with premium components such as; CineMag USA transformers, Altran USA transformers, AMI USA transformers, Russian Tung Sol Tubes, JJ Slovak Tubes, Kenetek Opto-cells, Custom mic capsules, Wima film capacitors, French Solen Capacitors etc… delivering the best in sound quality while keeping prices affordable. Implementing Warm Audio technology into your mixes will reintroduce classic warm tones, realism, and thickness, which is a significant improvement over digital or software technology. The company strongly believes that well-built analog hardware provides a level of articulation, depth, realism, and responsiveness that digital technology cannot match.

Today, Warm Audio products are used globally in various settings such as live music venues, recording studios, broadcasting control rooms, houses of worship, and live tour and festival sound rigs.

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From Legendary Studio Gears To Legendary Pedals

Warm Audio is committed to its mission of recreating some of the rarest and most expensive guitar pedals ever made while staying true to the original design.

They use the same approach in reproducing studio gears such as microphone preamplifiers, compressors, equalizers, and microphones. These pedals are recreated using premium components and are true to the original circuit design to produce the iconic tones of the pedals that they are based on.

By recreating these pedals, Warm Audio makes it more affordable for guitarists and bassists to own these "difficult to find" and expensive original pedals while experiencing the classic, original sounds on their pedalboard.

Warm Audio Jet Phaser

6-Mode Phaser Guitar Pedal with Built-in Jet Fuzz Circuit

True reproduction of a popular six-mode, phase & fuzz Roland Jet Phaser pedal made famous in the 70s

The seventies were an amazing time, as bell-bottoms, chains and afros dominated the fashion scene and the swoosh and swirl of phaser effects were everywhere on the radio. From the guitar work of David Gilmour, Brian May and Eddie Van Halen to the trail-blazing keyboard stylings of Steely Dan, Herbie Hancock and Paul Simon’s Richard Tee, it seemed like everyone was incorporating phasers into their sound.

Of all of the designs available during that time period, one phaser pedal stood apart from the others due to its flexibility, sound quality and addition of fuzz sounds, and it was immediately adopted by funk bass pioneer Larry Graham as the core of his modulated sound with both Sly and The Family Stone and his own Graham Central Station.

The Warm Audio Jet Phaser is a hyper-authentic recreation of this famous pedal, accurate from the gooey swirl of the audio circuit to the look and feel of the enclosure, except that it’s true bypass and far more affordable and reliable than vintage units!

Warm Audio Foxy Tone Box

Octave Fuzz Guitar Pedal

Accurate reproduction of a beloved 70s Foxx Tone Machine fuzz pedal known for searing saturation and octave-up solo magic

The new Foxy Tone Box from Warm Audio is a hyper-accurate recreation of one of the most sought-after and beloved fuzz pedals of all time - used in the early seventies by legendary tone masters Billy Gibbons and Peter Frampton, and in the present day by folks like Adrian Belew, Nine Inch Nails and Beck. Covered in thick velvet just like the vintage pedal, the Warm Audio Foxy Tone Box faithfully recreates the vintage circuit and brings you the huge tone, octave-up sounds and look of the original…without having to pay crazy vintage prices!

The specific components used in a pedal circuit are critical to the way that it sounds and reacts to your playing, so each Foxy Tone Box is assembled by hand using premium parts. They have searched far and wide for a stash of the correct NOS (“New Old Stock”) Fairchild transistors used in the original—and then paired them with germanium diodes, high-watt carbon resistors, and film capacitors to bring the fury of the vintage pedal to the present day.

Warm Audio Warmdrive

Amp-In-A-Box Overdrive Pedal

True Pedal Reproduction of Hermida Audio Zendrive, Delivering That Special Overdriven Amp Sound

The Warm Audio Warmdrive is a true reproduction of the most sought-after "amp-in-a-box" pedal of all time, delivering the tones of a truly unattainable overdriven amp. Both guitar heroes and modern virtuosos like SRV, Eric Clapton, Robben Ford, John Mayer, Santana, and Cory Wong are known to have used either the original amplifier or the pedal inspired by it. With an artist roster like that, it’s no wonder that original vintage pedals are talked about amongst the most demanding and discerning chasers of tone. Staying true to the legacy, the Warmdrive delivers all the tones of the original pedal and amplifier that inspired it.

Whether you’re driving cleans into breakup, thickening up rhythm tones, or saturating solos, the Warmdrive can transform your amp from a polite and clean pedal platform into a fuzzy monster. While the Warmdrive has plenty of dynamic gain on tap, adding the pedal to your rig does not dramatically alter or diminish your tone. Just like the original, the Warmdrive has the unique Voice/Tone control to go from silky-smooth tones reminiscent of that special overdriven amp at the sweet spot all the way to sustain-rich distortion. It’s like having the best of both worlds, from clean to mean.

Warm Audio Mutation Phasor ll

Electro-Optical Phase-Shifting Pedal With Feedback Circuit

Accurate Recreation of the Musitronics Mu-Tron Phasor II, a Swirly Phaser Made Famous in the Experimental Era of the 1970s

The Warm Audio Mutation Phasor II is an accurate recreation of one of the most desirable,100% analog phaser circuits made famous in the experimental era of the 1970s. Mutation Phasor II has all of the vintage vibes of the original phaser pedal allowing you to add depth, wobble, swirl, or “instant funk” to guitar, keys, bass, or anything you can dream of. This electro-optical phase-shifting pedal is built with a true-to-spec recreation of the 70s circuit using premium components. True to the original pedal, Mutation Phasor II delivers all the rich depth and instant psychedelic tones, favored by innovative musicians and producers like Billy Corgan, Tom Bukovac, Robin Trower, and many more.

Adding the Mutation Phasor II to your rig is like adding a new instrument. Fine-tuning the depth of the modulation just right and timing the speed to sync perfectly with the tune takes you back to old-school gigging and recording. For those looking for a truly unique phaser experience, send the phase shifts into overdrive by dialing up the feedback, emphasizing the “wooshes” of the pedal. Altogether, the Mutation Phasor II is not just a pedal, but more of a tone-shaping experience.

A true-to-original recreation of the 70s circuit, Mutation Phasor II is built with premium components including classic RC4558P op-amps, vintage-style diodes, carbon resistors, and film caps - Housed in an ultra-tough, vintage-vibe steel case.

Warm Audio ODD Box v1

Hard-Clipping Overdrive Pedal

Inspired by an Iconic Pedalboard Staple Known for Cranked-amp Tone, the Fulltone Obsessive Compulsive Drive (OCD)

The Warm Audio ODD Box V1 (“ODD” for short) is a hard-clipping, op-amp-based overdrive inspired by an iconic pedalboard staple known for having a “cranked amp” tone. Perfect for boosting, adding breakup, or adding high gain to cleans, the ODD has all the tonal versatility of its inspiration. Delivering all of the sounds of a cranked, saturated tube amp, the ODD features classic-inspired controls, including a UK/US Switch, to flip the personality of ODD from a “British” to an “American” tube amp. True to its inspiration, the ODD delivers the sound of massive, live electric guitar that attracted players like Billy Gibbons, Mark Hoppus, Eric Johnson, J Mascis, Paul Gilbert, and many more to that open tube amp sound.

The ODD brings the coveted “amp-in-a-box” tone to any stage or studio. With a high degree of touch sensitivity combined with powerful drive and tone controls - the ODD sounds like a full stack regardless of volume. The added versatility of the UK/US switch ensures that any guitar or amp will deliver a true cranked-amp tone in any setup.

To accurately deliver this artist-favorite tone, the ODD is built with through-hole construction using premium components, including a TLO82CP Op-Amp, 2N7000 transistors, & hand-selected capacitors & resistors.

Klon Centaur Overdrive Pedal, The Super Mythical Anti-Tubescreamer Overdrive Pedal Ever Made

During the late 1980s, Bill Finnegan was playing gigs at bars and clubs in Boston when he noticed that sound engineers at smaller venues were asking him to turn down the volume. Finnegan played a Telecaster through a Fender Tweed Twin, and found that the sweet spot on the amp was around 6 or 7 on the volume. However, when he was forced to turn down to 3 or 4, he lost the harmonic richness of the amp.

To fix this issue, Finnegan looked for a vintage TS9 Tube Screamer that could replicate the natural tube distortion sound. However, he found that the TS9 compressed the transient response of the original signal, had a midrange character that he didn't like, and subtracted a noticeable amount of bass response from the signal as well.

Finnegan then collaborated with MIT graduate Fred Fenning to invent a new type of overdrive pedal that would bring the richness and dynamics of a cranked amp at lower volumes. After several years of development, in 1994, he released the Klon Centaur Professional Overdrive, which was an instant critical success.

Finnegan manually made the pedals, and the Centaur is known as a "transparent" overdrive, meaning that it adds gain to the signal without significantly altering the tone of the guitar.

Around 8,000 units were built between 1994 and 2009, and guitarists appreciated the clear, uncolored tone of the boosted signal. The circuit had unique characteristics, most notably the use of an IC voltage converter (plate_number_1). This voltage converter drives 18 volts to the operational amplifier, which is the core of the circuit. At this voltage, the response of the amplifier is different from 9 volts since its slew rate depends on the voltage supply. The higher the voltage supply, the higher the order of harmonics the operational amplifier will generate, and the more "metallic" the sound.

Depending on the control knob settings, the pedal can function as a clean boost, adding mostly volume and minimal coloring to the sound. This can be utilized to drive the input valve stage of the amplifier to use the characteristic distortion sound of an overdriven guitar amp. Alternatively, the controls can be set to distort the sound signal in the pedal, where two germanium diodes can perform waveform clipping. The "gain" knob is a double potentiometer (a "dual-ganged gain pot"), which controls the balance between the diode clipping stage and the clean stage. The two signals are summed together before they interact with the other two controls, treble and volume.

The circuit boards of Centaurs are notably "gooped," or covered with black epoxy resin to make it harder for imitators to replicate the device.

After production was discontinued, original units were spotted exceeding $5,000 USD and were considered rare collector's items. Numerous pedal manufacturers have since come out with much more affordable products, some of which come very close to the characteristics of the Centaur. Nevertheless, the original Centaur is frequently used as a standard to compare new overdrive pedal designs.

Guitarists who use the Klon Centaur include Mark Tremonti, Jeff Beck, Warren Haynes, Britt Daniel (Spoon), Nick Valensi (The Strokes; CRX), John Mayer, David Grissom, and Adam Hann (The 1975). Neis Cline of Wilco once described his Klon, stating, "...It's an amp in a box. No more worries in the world of 'amp du jour' about overdrive tone. It will be OK. The Centaur will take care of it..."

How Warm Audio Centavo Become the Most Accurately Recreated “Klon Centaur” Pedal?

Warm Audio has done its usual job of going super deep finding an original unit and exactly duplicating it and that brings us to the Centavo! It's a straight-ahead pedal but it's designed to give you transparent overdrive so what does that mean the original pedal was intended to sound

From their microphones to their studio tools, Warm Audio is exacting in their quest to replicate iconic vintage gear. The Centavo is no exception, boasting ultra-premium parts including TL072 OP-AMP, high-end and vintage-style diodes, carbon and metal film resistors, and an 18-volt charge-pump voltage regulator for more headroom.

The Centavo pedal is a versatile tool for guitar players looking for different tonal options. It offers a range of boost tones, edge-of-breakup overdrive, and true grit for rhythm channel. The pedal is particularly great for transparent overdriven rhythm tones. Jeff Beck famously requested the addition of the MOD switch on the back, which allows players to extend the bass response, creating added low-end drive tones.

On the top of the Centavo pedal, there are three basic controls - Gain, Treble, and Output. The gain produces a late break-up, with edge-of-breakup hitting after 50% and real clipping occurring late in the gain stage. The treble control is useful for adding more top-end for guitars with muddier tones, such as dual-humbucker models or all-mahogany instruments. The Centavo also has a lot of output and can be used to deliver clean boost or create natural distortion. The MOD switch on the back enhances the overdrive's low-end response, which is a handy tool for players looking to add more depth to their sound.

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