Behringer Centaur Overdrive: Honey, I Cloned a Klon!
German Germanium Hard-Clipper!
4,3 / 5,0 | 
After the tone-bending Fuzz Bender comes the Behringer Centaur Overdrive. This time, it’s a replica of the legendary Klon Centaur, of which an endless array of clones already exist. So, what makes this one special?
Behringer Centaur Overdrive: She’s got the look
First, it’s the look. I would bet if you overlaid the two – the one on the Behringer Centaur Overdrive with the one on Finnegan‘s original design – you’d find very few differences. Plus, the gold finish also seems very close! So, in this regard, it seems Behringer gets even closer than Warm Audio with Centavo. One key difference: although we’re getting a metal case (a rarity in Behringer land), this pedal is much smaller than the original one. Which is great for stuffed pedal boards, but it might surprise some who expect it to be a 1:1 copy of the Klon.
Then, there is the price, obviously. At 69 euros, this Klon clone is affordable for a much broader audience than the more expensive iterations, let alone the eye-watering prices the originals get on the second-hand market. And judging from Behringers product video, it seems to get pretty close, sonically speaking.
Soft-Clipping Germanium Diodes
Great overdrive tones, even at low volumes – Klon’s original mission is still very present in the Behringer Centaur Overdrive. You get the same basic three controls: gain for input, treble to shape the high frequencies, and output to set the output level, plus a foot switch (true bypass). Input and output are situated on top.
In terms of sound, the Centaur houses Germanium soft-clipping diodes. Not quite the hard-clipping of the original, but they do seem responsive enough to allow for very dynamic playing. One key difference to the original is the Centaur’s ability to up its internal voltage from 9 volts to 18 volts. That gets you more headroom and additional harmonics to enrich your sound.
How much does the Behringer Centaur Overdrive cost?
With a delivery time of ‘several months’, it might not be a Christmas present for guitarists, but at 69 euros at Thomann*, the Behringer Centaur Overdrive is certainly one of the most affordable ones.
More on the New Pedal from Behringer
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One response to “Behringer Centaur Overdrive: Honey, I Cloned a Klon!”
I’m surprised nobody has cross referenced a suitable replacement for these diodes yet. I’m curious what the part# and specs are, and what the original application was intended for.