There it is. The Klon Centaur. Revered as the overdrive pedal for a guitarist. There aren’t many of them, fewer than 10,000 were built and they have become collector’s items.

One is up for sale in Canada. The asking price? A mere $3,537.

If you play guitar and are chasing the holy grail of guitar tone then you have an overdrive. If you have seriously chased tone then you have many overdrives. I really cannot think of another pedal that gets changed out as often as an overdrive. Unless, I suppose, you spend several thousand dollars on a Klon. At that point, you will undoubtedly convince yourself that it is the best sounding overdrive period. Your quest for the perfection of guitar tone will have ended.

Until Gibson came out with this product innovation: the Gibson Custom Burstdriver.

A Custom Shop Les Paul Standard exhibits the finest in materials, construction and historical accuracy, making it one of the best sounding and playing electric guitars on the planet. Additionally, the innovative new Gibson Custom Burstdriver provides players built-in sonic expansion capabilities. Essentially a high-end analog overdrive pedal built into the backplate of the guitar, the Burstdriver is engaged with a quick tap of the push/push tone knob. A simple twist can transform the dry signal into anything from a fat clean boost to a warm, thick overdrive all the way to a snarling distortion. The effect is entirely true bypass and the level, tone, and gain controls can be adjusted using a guitar pick. The Gibson Custom Burstdriver Les Paul Standard is your new secret sonic weapon!

I have no idea why Gibson would do something like this. I am not alone in this opinion.