Crème de la Crème
Klone of the Klon
The Crème de la Crème is a Klone circuit with two foot-switchable channels. It’s made using full-sized components with through-hole construction and NOS Tungsram OA1160 germanium diodes, which have a high clipping threshold and very amp-like breakup. The pedal has a built-in voltage doubler, giving it the extended headroom of an 18V powered pedal.
The Crème de la Crème has a foot-switch that engages the gain knob, allowing you to switch between a clean boost (using only the level and treble controls) and distortion (using all three knobs). The LED switches from green to red to indicate which mode is active.
There is an internal dip-switch to bypass the clipping diodes in circuit, making the gain knob function as a second clean boost. Two Klone boosts in one!
“Warm, full-sounding clean boost, lots of headroom, without any harsh or spiky highs. Gain mode adds a subtle amount of grit that sounds good by itself and also mixes well with amp distortion or higher-gain drives. Clean, solid construction. An all-around nice pedal, will likely replace the Tube Screamer (set for clean boost) at the front of my signal chain.”
“I’ve had my Crème De La Crème pedal for a while now. Before I made a review I wanted to make sure it was a piece of gear that had staying power instead of just being the newest toy. It sounds great as a boost, overdrive or both together. It even sounds good when mixed with high gain on the amp. Check it out and you will not be disappointed!”