Ohmless Pedals takes a leaf out of JA's playbook with smart footswitchable Clipping and Boost Options - for the Ultimate Compact Klone

The Ohmless AKC-4 Overdrive is something of an Iceberg or Tardis of a pedal which kind of hides its extended range a little. There are of course dozens of Klones already out there of all shapes and sizes - but mostly with just the 3 classic controls.

The AKC-4 is Ohmless’s 2nd attempt at the perfect Klone - coming way down the line from the last ’Lorena’ candidate back in 2013.

I believe the AKC stands for something like Advanced Klon Centaur, while the ’4’ alludes to the number of clipping options onboard. Actually the builder has informed me that AKC is semi-ironic as ’Another Klon Centaur’ - while for me this is a really special edition - so ’Advanced’ is a far more suitable moniker for me! It’s an acronym in any case and you can interpret as you wish.

Controls - Level, Gain, Blend, Bass, Boost, Treble, Drive Footswitch / Hold for Clipping Options, Boost Footswitch / Hold for Boost Order.

Clipping Options - [Blue] Ge Klon / [Yellow] Schottky Silicon / [Red] Silicon / [Aqua] MOSFET

Boost Options - [Yellow] Pre Overdrive / [Red] Post Overdrive

You both have an extended control topology here with 6 knobs, while you also get lots of extra options courtesy of the hold function on the two Footswitches. Holding down the left one takes you into ’Clipping Selection’ Mode - where you can flip between 4 different types of clipping - as referenced above. You simply hold down to scroll through to the next option and then hold and press again to return to normal operation.

The same function works on the second / right-hand footswitch too - where it changes the Order of the Boost - Pre or Post the Overdrive circuit.

Jackson Audio also has its ’Optimist’ as its sort of Klone (doubled up with Timmy style voicing). While overall I really prefer the Ohmless take on the variant.

The Matthews Effects Architect V3 is another fantastic expanded range Compact Klone - while this Ohmless AKC-4 is my favourite of the bunch! It moreover also has its Boost as independent - meaning that there are multiple modes of playback for this pedal.

I feel it’s very well priced at $249 - available right now from the Ohmless Pedals Webstore. It certainly goes straight down on my priority list - this is exactly the kind of pedal that really appeals to me.

Most probably have several Klone variants already - while for me this is for sure a worthy addition. Beautifully put together too from the finest quality components - it really looks the part also!

Is anyone else tempted?