J. Rockett Audio Designs Archer Select
The most versatile Klon-style overdrive ever made — seven clipping diode options, a direct output with cab sim, and all the Archer DNA intact. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
In this episode the J. Rockett Audio Designs Archer Select takes center stage — featuring the Frank Brothers Arcade Goldtop with Righteous Sound Monte P90s, into the Benson Amps Monarch. No direct tones in this demo — this is the Archer Select straight into the amp, the way it deserves to be heard first.
The Archer is J. Rockett's faithful interpretation of the Klon Centaur — the most mythologized overdrive in history. The Archer Select takes that foundation and adds two meaningful upgrades: a selectable clipping diode system with six additional options beyond the stock OA10 germanium, and a DI output with a built-in British 4x12 cabinet simulator for direct recording or FOH.
The clipping diode system is the centerpiece. The right footswitch is the main bypass — standard Archer behavior. The left footswitch engages whichever diode is selected on the Clipping rotary dial. With the Clipping switch off, you get the stock OA10 germanium diodes — the same warm, sweet compression of the original Archer. Engage the switch and you access the rotary, which moves from lowest to highest output: 1N270 (germanium, NOS), 1N695 (germanium, NOS), 1N34A (germanium, NOS — the same diode Bill Finnegan used in the original Klon Centaur), D9B (germanium, NOS), D9E (germanium, NOS), and Red LED (highest output, least compressed, most aggressive). The differences between the germanium options are subtle — this is a clipping circuit, and at Klon-typical low gain settings you may not hear much. At higher gain the character differences open up. The Red LED is the outlier — significantly louder and less compressed, usable as a volume boost or a genuinely different second channel.
This demo is explored in two primary modes: gain mid-to-maxed with the clipping diodes swapping in and out to hear the character differences, and low gain with level pushed hard into the Benson Monarch — the classic Klon use case, where the pedal is driving the amp's input stage rather than generating its own clipping.
🎛️ J. Rockett Audio Designs Archer Select: https://jrockettaudiodesigns.com
🎸 Frank Brothers Arcade: https://www.frankbrothersguitars.com
🎸 Righteous Sound Pickups: https://www.righteoussoundpickups.com
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers
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🎸 Frank Brothers Arcade Goldtop | Righteous Sound Monte P90s
🎛️ J. Rockett Audio Designs Archer Select | 7 Clipping Diodes | OA10 + 5 NOS Ge + Red LED | DI + Cab Sim
🔊 Benson Amps Monarch
