By Popular Decree Cornerstone launch their Klon + Blues Breaker Colosseum Dual Overdrive Pedal

Cornerstone reached out to its community a while back to ask what its customers wanted it to make next. And the overwhelming response was that they wanted a Cornerstone Klon + Blues Breaker Combo.

This is by no means a unique combination and there are already several pedals that fit that profile - the Keeley D&M Drive, Ceriatone Horse Breaker, Nordvang ’83 Drive, and NUX Queen of Tone to name a few.

Of course Cornerstone have a reputation for doing things slightly differently and taking things a step further than most. Cornerstone’s Emilio Massari is an incredibly detail-oriented tone-chaser with very refined ears - and he has a knack for delivering just the right profile for a particular amp or overdrive style. And there’s always some fairly unique touches which differentiate Cornerstone pedals from others.

That said - I’m not sure this pedal is quite as good looking as the previous ones, in fact I particularly liked the richness of the Aquarium and Imperium as they looked like really high quality leather bound books sort of.

I can for sure understand what the artwork is trying to do here - while it just doesn’t carry the same quality or impact as the other Cornerstone enclosures.

Controls - KLON } Tone, Gain, Volume, Clip : Ge <> Si, K Footswitch, BLUES BREAKER } Tone, Gain, Volume, Clean (Blend), BB Footswitch, Order : K>BB / K

Both sides have 4 variable controls - 3 common ones - Tone, Gain and Volume, and then 1 apiece smaller specialist controls - a variable Germanium to Silicon Clipping dial for the Klon, and a variable Clean Blend control for the Blues Breaker.

The demos sound pretty great as always - so you just need to decide if you like the price and you like the format. The functionality is really cool here.

These are available right now via the Cornerstone Webstore for €299, and should be at major dealers imminently too.

Most of the Blues Breaker + pedals out there currently are TS808 + BB - where exactly as for the Klon - it’s that slight mid bump which pairs so well with the frequency profile of the Blues Breaker. You always know that you get quality from Cornerstone - I do feel the artwork can be improved a touch - while maybe that’s just me. Generally I really like all the Cornerstone enclosures - I’m just not 100% on this one.

What are your feelings - or do aesthetics generally not play too big a part in your acquisitions? Comments below as always!