Centaur

The Klon Centaur is an overdrive pedal designed by American engineer Bill Finnegan between 1994 and 2008. The pedal was created to recreate the harmonically rich distortion of a guitar amplifier at a high volume, aiming for a "big, open" sound with a "hint of tube clipping" that would not sound like a pedal was being used. The Klon Centaur features germanium diodes in its circuit and was coated in epoxy resin to make it harder to replicate.

The Klon Centaur measures 170x130mm / 6.6″x5″ inches at the base and has a large-sized design. It operates with a 9V battery or an external power supply with center negative (optional). The pedal is an overdrive type with a single channel and does not support stereo operation. It features an LED display and is considered a boutique effect.

In 2014, Finnegan redesigned the Centaur as the Klon KTR, aiming to create a straightforward design that could be built by a contracted manufacturing firm and would be easy to repair while preserving the Centaur sound. The Klon KTR took two years to design and was sold for $269.

The Klon Centaur has been used by renowned guitarists such as Jeff Beck, John Mayer, Joe Perry, Nels Cline, Matt Schofield, and Ed O'Brien. Used Centaurs have been reported to sell for between $1,900 and $2,500 USD.

The Klon Centaur has inspired numerous clones by different manufacturers, although Finnegan expressed skepticism that they could replicate the sound due to factors including the rarity of the Centaur's germanium diodes.