Not to resurrect this whole thing or beat a dead horse, but, after having played a real Klon Centaur Gold recently, I get it.
Found this interesting read about it with a similar experience with the invetor himself:
http://blogs.online.berklee.edu/thaddeushogarth/2013/01/05/the-klon-centaur-phenomenon/
Video where they beging A/B/C all of these
Two things I will throw my 2c in on:
1) Placebo effect is very real with drive pedals IME. If you watch the video when they start demoing and take into account the amp, the referencing mic and the drive pedals they use, I am 95% confident we can obtain that sound almost identically with my AFX II or AX8. What you cannot take into account is the in the room feel you get with those drive pedals. Something that is difficult for me to be reminded of is how the audience, whoever we play for, hears "that tone". Do
they care about it as much? No. That is not what we're discussing here, but it is something to factor in. If a modeler as advanced as the FAS technology can obtain 95% accuracy of
that tone using a different method or different modeled pedal, what would be the point of adding a Klon sim in the lineup(?), which preps for my second point:
2) Very dangerous threats were made by an individual who is a career internet troller and
very ill mentally/spiritually asking, no, demanding a Klon Centaur sim. FAS and the moderators handled the individual incredibly well even while there were 40+ accounts that were made by the individual to continue a pointless debate about a single drive pedal sim. The final straw was broken when death threats in a video series were made against FAS staff extending to their loved ones. If you feel that those of us who had to watch a number of threads get blown out of proportion are sensitive to this topic, it is for good measure.
Fortunately, FAS, the moderators and this forum rose above the endless negativity and continued to move forward into a successful launch of the AX8 & beyond. We [mostly] all learned to appreciate each other a hint differently and it really united this forum in a way that I have never seen on the interwebs. Now before your tears start streaming down your face, you grab your Martin and suggest us all to sing KumBaYa, I have a point. This is a forum to exemplify talent, share approaches and continuously make a great product series greater. If your intentions are otherwise, you don't need to be here but know that this community values innovation, tenacity, talent and meaningful dialogue from my experience(s).
@pima1234 - not harpin' on you at all bro, just want others who were unfamiliar to know
some of the history.