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Dorado '94
1994 Klon Centaur overdrive
Transparent Overdrive · Germanium Diodes · Buffered Bypass🪟 Win🍎 Mac🐧 Linux
The famous 1994 transparent overdrive, rebuilt part by part: the buffer, the gain section with its germanium diodes and the clean signal running alongside, the treble control on its charge-pump rails and the original buffered bypass. That's why it thickens your tone instead of replacing it, works as a clean boost with GAIN low, and pushes an amp into singing overdrive when you turn it up.
Specifications
- The whole circuit, part by part, solved in real time, not sampled
- The gain section solved as one circuit: clean and clipped paths, the dual-gang GAIN pot, op-amp clipping and germanium diodes
- TREBLE: the active high shelf on the +16 V / -9 V charge-pump rails
- The original buffered bypass, with its little leak of the effect
- Clean boost with GAIN low, full overdrive at the top
- Input calibrated to the voltage of a real guitar
- POWER switch for 0% CPU; silence costs nothing
- Free and complete: no key, no time limit
This manual describes how to use Dorado '94 and what each control does.
Welcome
Dorado '94 is the famous 1994 "transparent" overdrive, the Klon Centaur, rebuilt part by part. It is not a sample or a profile: the whole circuit is solved in real time, with the same parts doing the same work.
- The input buffer: a TL072 running on 9 V, always on, as in the pedal.
- The gain section, solved as one circuit: a clean path and a clipped path running side by side, the dual-gang GAIN pot that turns one down as it turns the other up, the op-amp clipping on its rails and the pair of germanium diodes.
- The output: the summing amp and the active TREBLE shelf, on the +16 V / −9 V rails of the pedal's charge pump, so the output stage has plenty of headroom.
- The bypass: the original buffered bypass, where a little of the effect leaks through, just like the real one.
The clean path running alongside the clipping is why it "thickens" your tone instead of replacing it: your guitar and your amp are still there, with more push and more mids. With GAIN low it's a clean boost; turned up, it pushes an amp into a thick, singing overdrive.
Free, forever. No license key, no time limit and nothing locked. If Dorado '94 earns a place on your board, the tip jar keeps the lights on.
System Requirements
| Windows | 10 or later, 64-bit. Nothing else to install. |
| macOS | 10.13 High Sierra or later. Universal binary: runs natively on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. |
| Linux | x86_64, with glibc 2.35 or later (Ubuntu 22.04 and equivalents onward). |
| Formats | VST3 on all three systems; Audio Unit (AU) on macOS for Logic Pro and GarageBand. It is an effect for your DAW: there is no standalone application. |
| CPU | Moderate: on our test machine, about 13% of one core at 48 kHz at the default 4× oversampling (about 4% at 1×). When the track is silent or POWER is off, practically nothing. |
Installation
Copy the files to the appropriate folder for your operating system:
| Operating System | VST3 Format | AU (Audio Unit) Format |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\ | — |
| macOS | ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/ | ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ |
| Linux | ~/.vst3/ | — |
Note for macOS users:
Because this is an independent project distributed without an Apple commercial developer certificate, macOS Gatekeeper may say the plugin is damaged or from an unidentified developer. It is neither: you will find two simple Terminal commands in the includedINSTALL.txtfile to authorize it in seconds.
Once copied, run a plugin rescan in your DAW. You will find it listed as Dorado '94 by Main St Audio Labs.
Where to Put It
1. In front of your amp (the default)
Put Dorado '94 first on the guitar track, before your amp simulator (or before the amp you re-amp through). The input is calibrated like our amps, to the voltage of a real guitar, so the clipping reacts to your picking like the pedal.
- Clean boost: GAIN low, OUTPUT up. The amp gets hit harder, with a touch more mids.
- Overdrive: GAIN from the middle up, OUTPUT to taste.
- Into an already dirty amp: GAIN low to medium and OUTPUT up: it tightens the low end and makes the amp sing.
2. Stacked with another drive
It works before or after another overdrive. Before, it feeds it with more level and mids; after, it acts as a boost for solos.
Controls
- GAIN (0–10): From a clean boost to full overdrive. Turning it up raises the drive and, at the same time, turns down the clean path that runs alongside the clipping, exactly as the dual-gang pot does in the pedal.
- TREBLE (0–10): An active high shelf: from darker to brighter, without touching the lows and mids.
- OUTPUT (0–10): The output level. The pedal has plenty of level on tap, so it also works as a boost.
- The footswitch: Turns the effect on and off. Off, the signal goes through the pedal's original buffered bypass, with the tiny leak of the effect the real one has. The LED shows when it's on; it glows brighter when the germanium diodes are clipping.
- POWER ON: Turns the whole plugin off. The signal passes untouched and the plugin uses 0% CPU. It's different from the footswitch: the footswitch is the pedal's bypass, POWER switches the plugin off.
Double-click a knob to return it to its default.
The Bottom Panel
- INPUT (−24 to +24 dB): How hard the signal hits the pedal. Below its meter, the peak voltage reaching the pedal (V pk).
- OUT TRIM (−36 to +24 dB): The final level. Below its meter, the output level in dBFS.
- INFO: What the controls do, the version, the website and the tip jar.
- OVERSAMPLING (1×, 2×, 4×): Reduces aliasing when the pedal clips. 4× is the default, because high gain on high notes needs it; 1× and 2× use a quarter and half of the CPU. 2× and 4× add 3 and 4 samples of latency, reported to your DAW. Oversampling counts from 48 kHz: at 96 kHz each setting runs one step lower and costs the same.
You can resize the window from its corner; it keeps its size with your project.
Silence costs nothing. After a moment of digital silence on the track (gaps between regions, a stopped transport) the pedal rests and the CPU drops to almost zero. The first note wakes it up instantly, right where it left off.
Setting INPUT
The pedal responds to the actual voltage at its input jack, like our amps. 0 dBFS corresponds to 4.62 V peak at the jack (a Focusrite Scarlett 3rd gen at minimum gain, INST input). Strum hard and adjust INPUT until the reading under the input meter lands in the range of your pickups:
| Pickup type | Normal playing | Hard strum |
|---|---|---|
| Vintage single coil (Strat, Tele) | 0.05 – 0.10 V | 0.3 – 0.5 V |
| Hot single coil, P-90 | 0.10 – 0.20 V | 0.5 – 0.8 V |
| Humbucker (PAF style) | 0.10 – 0.25 V | 0.6 – 1.0 V |
| Hot humbucker | 0.20 – 0.40 V | 1.0 – 1.5 V |
| Active pickups | 0.30 – 0.60 V | 1.5 – 2.5 V |
That matters for an overdrive: the clipping depends on how hard you hit it, just like the real pedal.
Info
Click INFO to open the info panel: what each control does, the version, the website and the tip jar. Click BACK, or anywhere outside the card, to close it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the sound change a little with the effect off?
Because, like the pedal, the bypass is buffered and a tiny bit of the effect leaks through. It's part of the sound of the original.
Why does it sound "transparent"?
The clean signal runs alongside the clipping and is mixed back in at the output. At low and medium GAIN your guitar is still there, with more level and mids, instead of being replaced by the distortion.
Why is it mono?
Like a pedal, it is mono. A stereo input is summed to mono, and both outputs carry the same signal.
Is it really free?
Yes. No key, no time limit, nothing locked. The tip jar is there if you want to support the lab.
Credits & Trademarks
- An original model of the circuit by Main St Audio Labs, validated against a nodal analysis of the pedal.
- Typefaces: Barlow Condensed, Cormorant Garamond and IBM Plex Mono (SIL Open Font License 1.1).
- Developed with the JUCE framework.
All product names, trademarks, and registered trademarks mentioned (including Klon, Centaur and Focusrite) are property of their respective owners and are referenced solely for historical context and descriptive identification of the modeled analog equipment. Main St Audio Labs is an independent developer and has no affiliation, endorsement, or commercial sponsorship from these companies.
If you record something with Dorado '94, we want to hear it. Copy our email to send us the link:
mainstaudiolabs@gmail.com
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