The Honker Overdrive, by TL Pedals, certainly impresses and delivers. Engineered in Atlantic Canada, this soft-clipping style transparent overdrive is a take on the famous Tube Screamer, but with several differences. For example, the Honker has more low-end, more headroom, more transparency and more drive.
Now, the low end definitely is neither boomy nor muddy. In fact, you can crank the Tone knob all the way left, and it’s far from a heavy bass. Conversely, all the way right and the treble simply adds more clarity and cut, as opposed to shrill or an unpleasant high-end. As well, the Honker has less mid-hump than a TS pedal, which means a wider stereo range in guitar tone. As for headroom, the entire accompanying demo kept the Volume at only 9-o’clock… this pedal is loud (and yet, very quiet). The transparency of the Honker also is superior to so many TS pedals on the market, and Tim Lewis, the brains behind TL Pedals, lowered the minimum gain threshold five times, which means cleaner cleans. Moreover, when listening to the Drive of this pedal, it is slightly crunchy to thick and massive (particularly past 12-noon) and a typical TS’s full gain would reach only about 10-o’clock on the Honker.
The sound of the Drive is superb. When turned all the way down, it makes a clean amp sound fuller, richer and slightly broken up. As you turn up the Drive, the quality ranges from thick and robust to heavy (a cross between distortion and fuzz). However, the sound of the pedal does depend on which style or ‘voice’ you use. The stock clipping mod has the toggle switch all the way left, and the dirt sounds smooth and less ostentatious than flipped all the way to the right, which produces a fatter quality. I tend to like ‘in your face’ effects, and so the crunch style clipping is preferred with my amps and other pedals. The middle toggle position bypasses the clipping and it has a bigger amp-like result. I find myself flipping a lot between the crunch clipping and the bypass clipping voices. When using the pedal as a boost (whether full range or a treble booster via the Tone control), the bypass clipping voice sounds a bit better to my ears. It’s great to have choices and the Honker certainly provides that.
Another important point is that the Tube Screamer has an input/output buffer to level out various guitars and their pickups, which produces a very homogenous sound no matter the instrument. TL Pedals removed that aspect from the Honker’s guts to improve transparency and produce a more natural tone inherent in your guitar; good news for those of us who spend money on quality guitars.
What I appreciate about small builders is the boutique quality of their work, and TL Pedals is no exception. The company uses a Texas Instrument Burr Brown dual op-amp for quality ultra-low noise, Alpha brand pots, Neutrik jacks, Panasonic and Nichicon aluminum electrolytic caps, audio-grade polyester box film caps, 1% metal film resistors, multi-strand hookup wire, a high-cycle (30,000 cycle) rated stomp switch by eSwitches (with chrome trim washer, double check nuts and lockwasher), Japanese-made Lumberg 2.1mm Boss-style 9VDC jack (negative center), and custom PCB designed hand-soldered thru-hole audio grade components. The knobs are black anodized solid aluminum (the pots turn smoothly and feel solid), and the enclosure has a professional powder-coated silver sparkle finish.
As an added incentive, pricing ($199 Canadian) includes shipping to the USA and Canada. And for all those USA guitarists, that free shipping and difference on the dollar makes the Honker a no-brainer! However, no matter your country of origin, the Honker is a serious contender for the best overdrive pedal.
Brian Johnston - CoolGuitarGear
Now, the low end definitely is neither boomy nor muddy. In fact, you can crank the Tone knob all the way left, and it’s far from a heavy bass. Conversely, all the way right and the treble simply adds more clarity and cut, as opposed to shrill or an unpleasant high-end. As well, the Honker has less mid-hump than a TS pedal, which means a wider stereo range in guitar tone. As for headroom, the entire accompanying demo kept the Volume at only 9-o’clock… this pedal is loud (and yet, very quiet). The transparency of the Honker also is superior to so many TS pedals on the market, and Tim Lewis, the brains behind TL Pedals, lowered the minimum gain threshold five times, which means cleaner cleans. Moreover, when listening to the Drive of this pedal, it is slightly crunchy to thick and massive (particularly past 12-noon) and a typical TS’s full gain would reach only about 10-o’clock on the Honker.
The sound of the Drive is superb. When turned all the way down, it makes a clean amp sound fuller, richer and slightly broken up. As you turn up the Drive, the quality ranges from thick and robust to heavy (a cross between distortion and fuzz). However, the sound of the pedal does depend on which style or ‘voice’ you use. The stock clipping mod has the toggle switch all the way left, and the dirt sounds smooth and less ostentatious than flipped all the way to the right, which produces a fatter quality. I tend to like ‘in your face’ effects, and so the crunch style clipping is preferred with my amps and other pedals. The middle toggle position bypasses the clipping and it has a bigger amp-like result. I find myself flipping a lot between the crunch clipping and the bypass clipping voices. When using the pedal as a boost (whether full range or a treble booster via the Tone control), the bypass clipping voice sounds a bit better to my ears. It’s great to have choices and the Honker certainly provides that.
Another important point is that the Tube Screamer has an input/output buffer to level out various guitars and their pickups, which produces a very homogenous sound no matter the instrument. TL Pedals removed that aspect from the Honker’s guts to improve transparency and produce a more natural tone inherent in your guitar; good news for those of us who spend money on quality guitars.
What I appreciate about small builders is the boutique quality of their work, and TL Pedals is no exception. The company uses a Texas Instrument Burr Brown dual op-amp for quality ultra-low noise, Alpha brand pots, Neutrik jacks, Panasonic and Nichicon aluminum electrolytic caps, audio-grade polyester box film caps, 1% metal film resistors, multi-strand hookup wire, a high-cycle (30,000 cycle) rated stomp switch by eSwitches (with chrome trim washer, double check nuts and lockwasher), Japanese-made Lumberg 2.1mm Boss-style 9VDC jack (negative center), and custom PCB designed hand-soldered thru-hole audio grade components. The knobs are black anodized solid aluminum (the pots turn smoothly and feel solid), and the enclosure has a professional powder-coated silver sparkle finish.
As an added incentive, pricing ($199 Canadian) includes shipping to the USA and Canada. And for all those USA guitarists, that free shipping and difference on the dollar makes the Honker a no-brainer! However, no matter your country of origin, the Honker is a serious contender for the best overdrive pedal.
Brian Johnston - CoolGuitarGear
Here's what people are sayin'...
The Klone
This is the pedal that brought me to TL Pedals. I was doing some late night reverb browsing, trying to find a Klon type pedal I could actually afford, and I stumbled onto TL Pedals. After reading reviews and watching the YouTube demonstration, I decided to pull the trigger. Once I received it, I was blown away by both the build quality and the tone. I'm no Klon expert or connoisseur, but I really like this pedal. I run it after a fuzz, and it helps to smooth out the spikiness. I also run it into a distortion pedal, and that gives the distortion a good mid-boost which helps me cut through the mix better without becoming too much. On it's own the pedal works well as a clean boost or as an impressive overdrive. I like to run it with the drive about just over half way and I roll my volume back on my guitar to tame the drive. Doing this cleans up the guitar and gives an incredibly sweet clean tone. I would highly recommend TL Pedal's Klone to anybody searching for an affordable and high quality Klon type pedal.
The Honker
I was initially going to buy the King Klon, but on a whim I decided to take a chance on the Honker. I was intrigued by its Tube Screamer roots and the improvements Tim had added. I honestly had no expectations and just wanted to see what it would be like. Once I received it, I was blown away. This has to be one of the most versatile overdrive pedals I've ever used. It can go from a 'transparent' clean boost to near fuzz territory, and everything in between. If I could only take one drive pedal, it would be the Honker. Right now I have it set as a clean/treble boost, but it is comforting knowing that there is so much more I could do with it should I need or want to. I highly recommend the Honker to anyone. Seriously, you should buy this thing. Thanks for everything Tim!
Riley Penny - Alberta, Canada
I had known of TL pedals for a while and had heard how solidly built Tim’s pedals were (good components and solid construction is rare in this day and age). I explained to Tim I’d like something for my bass for distortion/growl. Tim modded one of his Klon pedals to make it bass friendly, and let me tell you, this surpasses my expectations by a mile. I had tried probably 20 drive pedals and was always left a little underwhelmed when it came to bass drive. This thing growls and snarls, holds its low end, and has output to spare! The attractive graphics, paint finish and knobs are straight up well done, and the Amber coloured bright LED is a fantastic alternative to the red that so many pedals have. This thing also kills with my duo-sonic thru my 60’s tube combo. Do yourself a favour and check out his demos online. Quality work from a great guy (who is willing to take time to chat gear). Thanks Tim!
Devin Quinn - Moncton, NB Canada
Hey Tim! Just wanted to say thank you. I have two of your Klon clones that I bought a few years back. I use one as a clean boost and another as my overdrive. The have a great voice and work well when stacked together. I have had people try to buy them from me at shows, but I would not sell them. I am glad to see that you are back into it. Anyways, just wanted to say great pedals, I really love them. Thanks,
Josh McKinley - Saint John, NB Canada
The Klon clone is a really great sounding pedal! Ive been using it as a clean boost after my main overdrive definitely a keeper! Amazing quality as well.
Jacob MacIntyre - Saint John, NB Canada
RAT
Canada Post delivered it at around 11am. So I put on my board instantly and had fun making some sounds, At noon rehearsal started and as luck would have it at the top of the list was a tune I wrote in a 'clav' rhythm with lots of syncopation from both the guitar and bass. I needed a sound that would tear your face off for the verse but sustained forever on the chorus. NOTHING is better than a Rat to just that! So it is 4:25pm ....rehearsal is done and i just sat down! So I had to laugh! I have been playing good ol' Mr. Rat for hours. LOL I am good at telling how good a pedal is from a tape. Your talk on the tape made it clear that the pedal was made to the highest standard. So I hate to say it but I took it for granted you had the thing nailed . HELL you did ....the pedal sounds amazing and better still it is very expressive... the hours I played it felt like minutes. lol Thanks for making me the pedal Tim. It really plugged a hole in my sound. I worked it into 2 tunes that were driving me nuts because they needed more growl and more sustain.
Paul Ewing - Stomp Box Steals blog, Ontario, Canada
The Klone
This is the pedal that brought me to TL Pedals. I was doing some late night reverb browsing, trying to find a Klon type pedal I could actually afford, and I stumbled onto TL Pedals. After reading reviews and watching the YouTube demonstration, I decided to pull the trigger. Once I received it, I was blown away by both the build quality and the tone. I'm no Klon expert or connoisseur, but I really like this pedal. I run it after a fuzz, and it helps to smooth out the spikiness. I also run it into a distortion pedal, and that gives the distortion a good mid-boost which helps me cut through the mix better without becoming too much. On it's own the pedal works well as a clean boost or as an impressive overdrive. I like to run it with the drive about just over half way and I roll my volume back on my guitar to tame the drive. Doing this cleans up the guitar and gives an incredibly sweet clean tone. I would highly recommend TL Pedal's Klone to anybody searching for an affordable and high quality Klon type pedal.
The Honker
I was initially going to buy the King Klon, but on a whim I decided to take a chance on the Honker. I was intrigued by its Tube Screamer roots and the improvements Tim had added. I honestly had no expectations and just wanted to see what it would be like. Once I received it, I was blown away. This has to be one of the most versatile overdrive pedals I've ever used. It can go from a 'transparent' clean boost to near fuzz territory, and everything in between. If I could only take one drive pedal, it would be the Honker. Right now I have it set as a clean/treble boost, but it is comforting knowing that there is so much more I could do with it should I need or want to. I highly recommend the Honker to anyone. Seriously, you should buy this thing. Thanks for everything Tim!
Riley Penny - Alberta, Canada
I had known of TL pedals for a while and had heard how solidly built Tim’s pedals were (good components and solid construction is rare in this day and age). I explained to Tim I’d like something for my bass for distortion/growl. Tim modded one of his Klon pedals to make it bass friendly, and let me tell you, this surpasses my expectations by a mile. I had tried probably 20 drive pedals and was always left a little underwhelmed when it came to bass drive. This thing growls and snarls, holds its low end, and has output to spare! The attractive graphics, paint finish and knobs are straight up well done, and the Amber coloured bright LED is a fantastic alternative to the red that so many pedals have. This thing also kills with my duo-sonic thru my 60’s tube combo. Do yourself a favour and check out his demos online. Quality work from a great guy (who is willing to take time to chat gear). Thanks Tim!
Devin Quinn - Moncton, NB Canada
Hey Tim! Just wanted to say thank you. I have two of your Klon clones that I bought a few years back. I use one as a clean boost and another as my overdrive. The have a great voice and work well when stacked together. I have had people try to buy them from me at shows, but I would not sell them. I am glad to see that you are back into it. Anyways, just wanted to say great pedals, I really love them. Thanks,
Josh McKinley - Saint John, NB Canada
The Klon clone is a really great sounding pedal! Ive been using it as a clean boost after my main overdrive definitely a keeper! Amazing quality as well.
Jacob MacIntyre - Saint John, NB Canada
RAT
Canada Post delivered it at around 11am. So I put on my board instantly and had fun making some sounds, At noon rehearsal started and as luck would have it at the top of the list was a tune I wrote in a 'clav' rhythm with lots of syncopation from both the guitar and bass. I needed a sound that would tear your face off for the verse but sustained forever on the chorus. NOTHING is better than a Rat to just that! So it is 4:25pm ....rehearsal is done and i just sat down! So I had to laugh! I have been playing good ol' Mr. Rat for hours. LOL I am good at telling how good a pedal is from a tape. Your talk on the tape made it clear that the pedal was made to the highest standard. So I hate to say it but I took it for granted you had the thing nailed . HELL you did ....the pedal sounds amazing and better still it is very expressive... the hours I played it felt like minutes. lol Thanks for making me the pedal Tim. It really plugged a hole in my sound. I worked it into 2 tunes that were driving me nuts because they needed more growl and more sustain.
Paul Ewing - Stomp Box Steals blog, Ontario, Canada