No.1 Signature

Ah, the mythical Klon Centaur... If there's one pedal that stands out, it's this one! It is indeed unique because of the artists who use it and the characteristic sound it produces, but also because of the impressive deluge of absurdities that gravitate around this pedal and because of its prices on the music market. 'occasion. Absolutely ridiculous prices if you ask us. Are you looking for a Klon? Can't afford it? Want a Klon and more? Well Nordvang has thought of you, with the No. 1 Signature. A Klon, but... but better! :-)

In 2014, when Nordvang Custom made its appearance, the No.1 Overdrive was the brand's first pedal. Pedal which is an interpretation of the legendary K circuit. Abandoned in April 2020, it is back in 2021 in a new version with, it must be said, some very well felt refinements.
Small important detail, the No.1 Signature is not a direct successor of the original No.1 Overdrive and their circuits differ. While the first version was a tweaked version of the K circuit, the No.1 Signature is as close to the sound and playing feel of the original Klon as possible.

Like all Nordvang pedals, the No.1 Signature benefits from "premium" manufacturing. The chassis is a model of its kind, as is the finish of it. At Nordvang, we only use the best: Vishay 1%, Wima MKP10, MKS4 and FKP2 film capacitors, Vimex knobs, Carling switch, Pure Tone jacks, silver-plated Teflon insulated wiring, etc… The pedal has a true-bypass and a three-position toggle switch called "Clipping" which allows you to choose between 3 modes. Germanium diodes, Schottky diodes or no diodes within the overdrive stage.

Well, you will have understood, basically, you have a Klon under your feet, with crazy components and superb manufacturing quality. Alright, that's already not bad, you're going to tell me. But where is the originality? Well, the originality is in the toggle switch which allows you to choose the clipping, as we have seen. But it is especially in the other toggle switch called Pre-Drive. Yes, dear friends, we are sitting on gold! So what is it? The Pre Drive is a "cascading overdrive" type circuit. Similar to what Klon fans usually do, ie we stack the Klon before or after other ODs and that's how it works best (John Mayer all that all that...). This therefore makes it possible to considerably expand the vocabulary of the pedal and its field of use. The Pre-Drive uses asymmetric soft-clipping with a slight mid boost. We can tell you that it works terrible on just about any pedal and pickup configuration. It bards! For those who want a Klon with better gain management and more possibilities / flexibility than the original, this is for you, it's a gift!
The possibilities are almost endless. Zero gain, high volume, you have an ultra-dense pure clean boost, transparent with a little "bump" in the mids. Bump characteristic of the Klon. Crank up the gain a bit and start hitting the EQ, you have a great low-gain Overdrive.
The Gain knob works like a blend. By increasing the gain, you immediately hear the mids of the gain stage and the Klon circuit while increasing the harmonics and the fluidity of the drive. With the Pre-Drive activated, you step up a gear by having the equivalent of a Klon+ 2x Overdrive configuration within a single pedal. Ideal for compact pedalboards.

Finally, a small point on the 3 different diode modes. Concretely you have:
- Germanium diodes - low headroom with stronger compression.
- Schottky diodes - high headroom, punchier low end and slight compression.
- No diodes - More headroom and no additional compression. Be careful, it gets LOUD very quickly!

Here, once again Henrik Nordvang succeeds in the feat of combining extreme quality and musicality. It's done with intelligence. Nothing is left to chance and you can feel the passion that he put into making this pedal. It is not only a great work of electronics, but also a perfect guitar tool. You don't have 5000 euros? That's okay, the Nordvang No.1 Signature does just as well for a tiny fraction of the price. Isn't life beautiful?