Ohmless Pedals AKC-4 Overdrive

The Ohmless Pedals AKC-4 is the second attempt by German pedal builder Ohmless at perfecting the Klon Centaur circuit, with an emphasis on versatility.

It expands on the original by adding knobs for Bass and Blend (on top of the three ones found on the original: Level, Gain and Treble) and also by adding an extra clean Boost with its own control and footswitch, that can push your signal up to 20dB. It can be placed before or after the drive stage.

It also gives you 4 clipping voices which can be switched via Midi or by holding the footswitches; doing so changes the function of the footswitch from on/off to scrolling through the clipping options. That’s a quite unique feature for a Klon clone.

So all in all a very interesting pedal that get’s Eirik of The Living Room Demo’s blessings (see video below).

Ohmless Pedals AKC-4, Builder’s Notes

AKC-4 is – after Lorena back in 2013 – our second approach to the perfect Klon. This time we took it a few steps further and created what we think is the most versatile Klon out there. We made sure to include everything you need to find your unique sound. 4 different clipping options deliver a wide range of possible sounds from low to mid range distortion. The Boost section can be added pre or post overdrive to further shape your sound and stand out in the mix.

CONTROLS
Volume › Sets the overall output of the drive section of the pedal
Gain › Sets the amount of gain from the drive section that is being applied to your guitar signal
Blend › Mixes the effect signal (Drive and Boost) with the dry signal. Full CCW = 100% effect signal

Bass › Allows you to cut or boost low frequencies. If you want the original Klon feel, this knob needs to be at noon position
Boost › Sets the overall output of the boost section of the pedal. It offers 20dB of clean headroom, starting at unity volume
Treble › Allows you to cut or boost high frequencies

FEATURES

MIDI functionality for switching operations:

• OD on/off
• Clipping Options 1-4
• Boost on/off
• Boost pre or post-overdrive)
• Internal mute circuit (35ms during switching operations) can be deactivated
• Soft Switches

POWER
Operates at 9V, center negative. WARNING: 18V will destroy your pedal!
No battery support
Current consumption at 9V DC: 190mA