Pedal Shoot Out - Archer Vs Archer Ikon 

Now THIS is the way comparison vids should be done. Thank you Andertons.

Ikon. The gold paint-job sounds great

Pete needs his own RU-vid channel. I can watch him play all day. Excellent reference material.

Great video, not too worried about which one I get now. Both sound great. Great playing as always Danish Pete.

Great comparison. I have both on my board right now as always on options. Depending on the amp i'm using, one will be used as an always on, the other as a boost to that. sometimes the always on just depends on the day and the room. You really can't go wrong with either and both are as spot on as you are going to get with either the original silver or the gold. The one notable difference being that you can dime these out to great effect and the originals were never too fond of the dime action.

Great side-by-side comparison! Thanks Pete!

These vids are very informative - because there's only one variable and no hype. Keep them coming please!

It's always a joy to listen how Danish Pete plays :) :) Very tasteful playing ;)

Archer sounds more crisp and clear. Ikon sounds warmer. Both really good though.

I bought the Archer Ikon when it came out and i have zero regrets. Such an incredible sounding drive pedal

I like both Archers! Currently I'm stacking the Ikon with a Wampler Euphoria in the "smooth" setting through a Fender Hot Rod Deville 410. All I can say is, "WOW"! The Ikon's a very smooth pedal that's a great booster that will push a quality pedal with class.

Both sound nice. The silver model clearly has a tad more volume with the output knobs on the same setting. Also minor eq differences. If the volumes were adjusted to be the same (by ear) In a mix, no one would be able to tell a difference.

I have an Archer Ikon and it has a little more mid meat and grit. Great pedal and Danish Pete plays some sweet licks!

Ikon for me. I bought one used a few years ago and it was more beat up than I thought it would be. Used gear curse.still works great but a little shaky. The guy who sold it to me apparently got it used himself so this thing was gigged for sure but I just ordered a new one. For me to do that I must like it!! And the old one will be a spare. Ha. That’s how good it is. It’s the klon to me. I have a Tumnus as well which I really like. And the soul food which i used a lot at the beginning of my klon-ism. But I think the gold ikon nailed it. I also heard the Bill F teamed up with rockett for the archers. So there it is!!

Both are great sounding pedals. A must have.

I can't hear a difference I'm sure of but who knows with RU-vid audio compression. Thanks for sharing these videos.

Great demo. Both sound good. Ordering the silver

Great job, Pete.

Excellent playing!

To my ear the Silver seems to shine in the clean setting’s department - The Gold has it in the crunch end, a little darker. Although these differences seem very minimal. Gotta have both would probably be the census. Kudos to your work here Pete. 🤜🏻💥🤛🏻

I find it interesting how polarizing people's opinions are sometimes. One guy thinks a pedal is warmer or more compressed than the other, then the next guy says the complete opposite. What I would say from my own experience is that the clarity, perceived headroom, open, and less distorted Silver Archer works better in most live band settings. It will be more touch sensitive, and sit in a full band mix better than the gold, allowing the guitar to stand out more. I find that although many times as guitarists we gravitate to a little more gain, and thicker sounds, they don't always work best in a band setting when you are fighting all the other frequencies. These pedals are not meant to be distortion boxes. They are meant to be edge of break type pedals that give a boost to the front end of an amp, without altering the sound too much....just giving it a little bit more. They also work well for clean sounds that need just a bit of grit to them when you're digging in. IMHO the Silver for the Win.

I swear by my iKon. Great sounding pedal!

You can’t go wrong. Either one is magnificent.

Incredible demo Pete. I'm really glad I found it. Cheers

Excellent comparison!

Just bought the IKON yesterday and I'm running it after a Route 66. Very impressive on its own and stacked.

Perfect comparison. Thank you!

The silver one seems like it has more depth and just a slightly better sound

The Archer(Silver) pedal sounded more dynamic, maybe a bit more headroom. IMO

Really glad I came by this video. I was about to get the ikon, and as far as looks go I like it more, but the original is so much better for what I need. (Worship/ambient jam)

I like the ikon's warmth, but that's just my personal preference. Both sound really good. I would equate it to the difference between a jtm45 and a newer style Marshall or for example the JCM 800. Both are killer amps but I find that I personally prefer the cleaner and much warmer jtm45. you can turn the bass down or relish in it, I kind of like the bass/mid quality of the sound, especially with vocals I find it provides a much over all fuller sound. you can go crazy with trying pedals with a cleaner amp too, as demonstrated here, they seem to just work better with cleaner amps. although the jcm takes pedals very well too. that's the great news. there is no wrong answer. just personal preference in this case in my humble opinion. you can't really go wrong either way, this just showcases very well what each does. thanks for a great demo!

It sounds pretty much what you'd expect from Si vs Ge clipping diodes, the Ge clipping at about half the voltage of Si, and having a slightly softer and *grainier* clipping quality.

Danish Pete- u rock!!! Love your playing style😎😎😎

I haven't played a great deal of klons/klones In in person but i like the compressed sound of the ikon as much as i do the more open sound of the archer. It may replace my OD808 in many applications. Though i play with an SG instead of a fender into a blues jr and that may compress the sound in my 808 in a way i dislike

I have the Archer Ikon and bought it 2 seconds after trying it out in the store!! Instant gratification!!

Archer Ikon it is. Been shopping around for one.

and 7 years later I bought the Ikon...they pretty much sound alike :)

I have a Archer and love it....they sound the same to me...

Both pedals sound great. I really think these are some of the best OD's on the market. The being said, I think the silver has a slight edge (both figuratively and literally).

They are both nice so let's get that out of the way. But for me I find the Gold Ikon a little more compressed and warmer which I like. The silver Archer has a faster attack with a tighter more sparkly top end. I wouldn't kick either one to the curb. The two would probably make a killer dual drive pedal with the ability to select either model on each side, and the option to choose which direction to stack.

Great Demo. Thx

These are two just killer pedals....in my opinion the Ikon is just a little sweeter but, that being said I will choose the the Icon over the original Klon Centaur any day the Centaur has collectable worth other than that- J Rockett knocked it out of the park here!

Great demo... I kept finding myself saying the silver one and then the gold in quick succession: just couldn't make up my mind! Both really fantastic pedals. I'd like to see you do a side-by-side comparison demo of Lovepedal Eternity and Hermida Zendrive 😄

The Gold Ikon is a bit cleaner..low gain..better for blues I think. But both sound better than the Wampler Tumnus!

Prefer the sound of the Ikon *apart from* the 3 o'clock position, sounds like it almost hits a sweet spot for the Archer? Both great sounding pedals though

while I appreciate the sound of the gold style pedal, the silver style pedal just has that little extra bark or bite that really gets me going

They sound just about the same to my ear...I own both and as long as one of the two are on my pedal board I'm good.just might turn the treble up a little more when using the gold Ikon

Silver is clearer and a little more open with a little more mid bite, the ikon is rounder, warmer and perhaps a bit darker. With the knobs in the same position should it be remeinded...

Very good demo..wish everyone did it you way..I will now subscribe. Thanks!

Does it have to be pedals that are available from Andertons at the moment? I'd like to hear an original Marshall BB1 vs. a Morning Glory :-)

I have both. The gold is a bit warmer, but they are both equally good pedals.

I've been listening to this video in the background as I'm working. Every time the silver one was on, my ears would perk up and I'd rewind to hear it again. Never happened to me with the gold. Sounds more clear, articulate and just better than the gold. Gold is just a little too muffled, silver wins!

I like the silver one better for a clean boost.

so what would be better an archer or a Blues driver?

definitely more mids and compression going on in the ikon, interesting.

Any reason why not to stack em?

I think i liked the silver one more. But I would have to play them in person.

Well I own the original Archer and I think it is clear to say that the Ikon has more gain as the gain pot is wound up, but to my ears the original Archer sounds more authentic and vintage.

Nice comparison but both pedals sound much better going in to an almost clean amp to cause a bit more breakup. I own both and they are very similar to say my band don't care which is on my board. The difference is more or less just EQ anyway save for a touch more compression but it's minimal. Both great pedals

How about the Little Green Wonder against the TS808??

I don't think it matters which one of these you get - the differences are negligible.

Why didn’t you max the treble and gain so we could hear the different characteristics of each

The IKON in this video is more open in the upper frequencies than the silver one. The silver one seems better suited to Strats, while the Ikon would probably do better with Gibson HB and P-90 pickups.... maybe even Teles.

High gain amp guy here, soldano's and boogies...the silver klon stays on ...period.....home and live. It cuts through the mix better than the Ikon. I use EMg and fishmans so maybe the acitve pickups make a difference. The gold Ikon just got pushed too hard with active pickups and gets muddy. The silver i gut keep the output at 11 oclock, the treble at about 1 ocklock and the drive is barely on at 6-8 oclock

I have a silver one, which I love, but might need to get a goldie as well ;)

I want one of those sooo bad. uhg.

Silver one is has slightly more output and more compression. Differences are very slight though.

..and 5 years into the future im buying my archer ikon..so i hear...'quite different' archer and Klon...and yet...without watching switching between the two i would not be able to hear when the change happens...archer ikon..good enough..great enough...(Dan..u've changed sooo much...in a good way-...no need to panick if u r watching this 5 years prior to my comment..;) )

Watched this video and bought one immediately. Sorry Anderton's but you haven't opened a US store yet...yet.

Could chapters and the captain do amp demos like Marshall JCM 800 , both the 1959 plexis and cool Marshall heads like those. 🎸😄

Minimal difference between the two. The Ikon sounds a bit smoother and softer, but again this means absolutely nothing playing live.

I think maybe (And this is hindsight because here in NZ it is 2022) you should have had someone else doing the adjustments

To my crappy ears, the Ikon seems to have a more smoother, mild gain EQ as you go up. There's very little between the 2 pedals & if you wanted a "Klon" ish sound either would do to be honest.

ikon wins in my opinion. I'd love to see a muff style fuzz shootout

I will need to get both then……right?

I compared the two pedals, in my opinion the Archer have way more headroom and clarity an the Ikon is smoother and don't have that headroom. That was really irritayting to me .

Has Pete ever challenged you to say: "rød grød med fløde"?

More bass on the silver??

They seem exactly the same except the archer has more dynamic range via less compression which makes for more volume. What i will say is that I owned the gold running into a revv d20 with a tele. If you are using a compressor get the archer. The ikon is almost a compressor on its own

I dont know which one comes closer to sounding like the OG KLON, but the silver sounds a bit less bright. I favor the silver.

Di Caprio brother?

I think the Silver Archer has a bit more compression. As for those from Dec 2015, I'm from the future. Fix Flint's water problem in 2016; it's still happening in 2019.

Hey, Danish Pete, have you heard about the Captain's idea of all the Anderton's presenters doing a gig together?. Personally, I think it's great, I hope somebody films it, and I hope we get to see it!. And Captain, how about some videos with Hannah AND Nastassja demoing audio and PA stuff? I bet they would do great. !!!

Archer for clarity, Ikon for that little bit of extra dirt.

I'm thinking £39.99 for the tone city version is hard to ignore.

Archer Ikon vs. Wampler Tumnus

Humbuckers would have been nice... Can't say I heard much difference between them after straining with a pair of high quality headphones on. Any differences would get lost in the mix very early on. Seems a bit pointless. I own an Archer!

Having owned a klon I can say j rockett makes spot on copies. The ikon is more closer to the original but not by much.

I prefer the ikon for high gain, archer for low

Shouldn't the title be changed to 'ikon'?

Can we do a new shootout. Danish Pete Vs Swiss Tony.

I have the Silver and I wouldn't trade it for any other drive in that price range

i don't know.... ikon seems a bit warmer than the original one... sounds more "klon" ...

So basically I need both??

Can you compare a Tone City King of Blues to Mick's King of Tone?

That strat is a beaut. Silver is tighter than the gold imo.

silver sounds more "open" less compressed and mid mucky

Here I am. 7 years later. Watching this after I already bought the gold one. It was only $20 more so... fuck it 🤟

Gold 💪

I'm debating over these two. I play a Strat and an SG through a Fender 65 DRRI. I'm worried the original will be too bright for the Strat and the Ikon may get muddy with the SG. Any suggestions?