Klon Centaur designer says you should NEVER use a multi-tap PSU to power the legendary pedal – but his recommended way to ensure you don’t “blow it out” is incredibly fiddly
If you own an original Klon Centaur – the gold-plated unicorn of the overdrive world, now worth thousands on retailers like Reverb.com – you’d think keeping it powered would be as simple as plugging it in. But according to its creator Bill Finnegan, doing it wrong could “fry” your beloved investment in an instant. And his correct method? Let’s just say it’s less ‘plug-and-play’ and more ‘plug, snip, solder, and pray.’
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In a new Instagram video, Finnegan addresses what he says is one of the most common questions he still gets: how best to power an original Centaur unit. His first rule: do not – under any circumstances – use a multi-tap power supply with switchable voltages.
“For a simple reason: the Centaur absolutely requires no more than 9 Volts DC coming in,” he explains. Anything more will “fry” the unit, which is why “using any type of multi-tap power supply with switchable voltage is just asking for trouble”.
Instead, he strongly recommends using a dedicated 9V supply like the trusty Truetone 1 SPOT.
Sounds simple enough? Well, wait for it. Finnegan wants you to clip the barrel connector off that nice, safe PSU and solder on a Switchcraft 780 plug – a slightly odd-sized .14” connector – because it gives a “much more positive snapping connection” to the Centaur than a regular 1/8” plug.
Sure, he admits a regular 1/8” adapter “could work in a pinch,” but we’re talking about a pedal worth more than some people’s rigs over here…
As you might guess, this is not a job for the casual tinkerer. Finnegan suggests having “somebody who’s completely qualified” (like a good guitar or amp tech) do the work.
The process generally involves clipping the barrel jack off the PSU cable, stripping the two conductors, and testing for polarity (you need +9 Volts to the tip of the plug). Only then should the Switchcraft 780 be soldered on, the polarity re-tested, the parts reassembled, and everything checked again.
Once that’s done, he says, you’ll have “a completely reliable, goof-proof way to power your Centaur over the long haul.” Which, to be fair, is probably worth the hassle – because nothing says ‘peace of mind’ quite like preventing a puff of magic smoke from a pedal worth more than your amp, your guitar, and possibly your car.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
