aNaLoG.MaN Clone Clone 22-MAY-99

Analog Man Vintage guitar effects

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A little HISTORY

The Electro-Harmonix Small Clone was one of the best chorus pedals ever made - with lush, bright, shimmering tones. It was made from the late 70s until E-H went out of business about 1983. It could run on a 9V battery and was fairly small. This pedal has become VERY popular due to it's use by Kurt Cobain in Nirvana and many others. From some Nirvana web sites :

Kurt used the small clone for the chorus effects on Nevermind and Aneurysm. Visible easily on the Nevermind tour. His chain then simply went Guitar - DS2 - Small Clone - Amp. Used on Unplugged too. Visible in In Utero booklet under "Dumb" and on cover of Wishkah. Towards the end, Kurt got increasingly "effects-happy". He began using the Small clone for solos like School, About a Girl, In Bloom, Serve the Servants, etc.

The SMALL CLONE sounded great for the same reason that old fuzz faces, Tweed amps, and Les Paul Jrs sound so good - Simplicity!. The circuit used was about the simplest chorus that could be built based on the delay chips available at the time. There are no extra devices or circuitry to affect your pure tone.

Small Clones are always at the top of my want list in popularity but I can never find enough to satisfy the requests, and prices are getting CRAZY! I saw one on EBAY that sold for $400 and the buyer was VERY happy to have even found it! His review is on Harmony Central. The last one I sold was $250 but since then prices have continued going up. The first one I sold was $115, mint in the box at the Dallas vintage guitar show in 1993!.

We Want Clones!

clone clone gif As a tribute to this great Electro-Harmonix pedal, aNaLoG.MaN decided someone must make this pedal available again. Our Virtual Vintage Effects Group has come up with an EXACT duplicate, in a smaller, more rugged box. AnalogMike organized everything, and with the help of Alfonso Hermida (electrical engineer and pedal designer) we found all the original parts and decided on all the components and layout of the pedal. We also realized after building our first batch that the factory schematic is WRONG and effects built to that spec will sound weak. So we dissected my original Small Clones and found one tricky part that was slightly changed and made all the difference in the sound. Our circuit boards were designed and made by one of the major players in guitar effects on the internet. Alfonso is assembling them with the highest quality you will find of any guitar effects.
The second problem after you somehow find an original Small Clone, is that they just do not hold up well and tend to fall apart electrically and physically. Several people waiting for our first batch got back to me and told me that they had found originals, but were already requiring repair. Ours is built like an MXR pedal so it should hold up much better.

clone clone blue

I decided not to mess with the pedal and change features, so it is exactly the same as the original :

  1. LED ON/OFF status indicator
  2. Battery disconnected when INPUT cord removed.
  3. Power jack allows standard BOSS style PSA adaptor (barrel type).
  4. Battery disconnected when POWER CABLE inserted.
  5. Depth switch (up = stronger chorus)
  6. Speed control knob
  7. All aNaLoG full chorus, original 1024 stage bucket brigade chip used for high fidelity.
  8. Strong, High quality aluminum box, slightly smaller than an MXR phase-100.
  9. Sockets used for all chips, for easier replacement in the rare case of a failure.
  10. Buffered on / off switch, no loss of tone when off. Does not need true bypass like most old effects, switching is more like a Boss pedal. Adding true bypass to an effect like this will cause popping when it is switched.
  11. JRC4558 op amp used, as in the TS-808 mod, in place of generic 4558 chip.
  12. Lifetime guarantee except for damage caused by misuse or overenthusiastic stomping.

Inside the CLONE

Sound samples

Check out the awesome Tone Frenzy page for some realtime or .wav files of the CLONE CLONE and many other cool effects. Go to the ROAD TESTS page and find Analog Man at the top.

How to get one :

The main chip used in the pedal costs more than all the electronic components in most boutique effects (for example all the TS-808 tube screamer clones) so we can not sell these cheap. But they are priced well compared to many of the TS-808 clones. We are now offering the CLONE CLONE in batch #3 painted Blue/Grey Hammerite like a 60s fuzz face for $195. Some have sort of a Flame top which I tried to give them, let me know if you would like one of these figured ones. They are made in small batches but we will try to keep them available. Shipping is $5 in the USA by priority mail.

Here is a closeup of the 2nd batch blue one, showing the 3D texture (and the knob and LED) :

 

Please Email me for availability and ordering instructions.

Reviews

It sounds fabulous. As soon as I plugged it in I felt like I was shot back to when I used to own a Small Clone. It sounds pretty dead-on to my ears. And I still think the up chorus mode on this sounds somehow better and is even lusher than an original.

Dear Mike, yesterday I recieved the clone clone...It is F%^&*$G FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its sooooooooooo damn WARM & THICK its not funny! I just cant tell with words how much it blows away my other choruses! Let me know if you come up with anything else. - Art

I got the pedal today and I've been playing with it.. I like it a lot. Very Small Clone-ish. Honestly, I think the lusher chorus mode with the rate up sounds BETTER than the original one I used to have. The original one sounded like the chorus was comping from that small metal box.. but this one is very rich and ambient.. if that makes sense :)

More detailed Reviews of the CLONE CLONE.

Lots of 2nd batch Clones!!!

Keep on CLONEing!

Mike aNaLoG.MaN

Click here to order your CLONE CLONE AnalogMike@aol.com

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