Keeley Electronics and Sweetwater have teamed up for a budget-friendly series of basic effects pedals, delivering a bread-and-butter trio of $99 overdrive, fuzz, and reverb pedals.
Notably, this new release seemingly looks to be Keeley’s answer to similarly priced and comparatively spec’d stompboxes in the essential effects pedal market, including the Walrus Fundamental and JHS 3 Series.
As such, no-nonsense tones, sleek designs and simple controls underpin the new collaborative pedals, which are all made in the US.
The overdrive and fuzz offer a trio of tweakable dials, while the reverb’s two controls are augmented by a three-way mini switch for different voicings. A two-way switch can also be found on the OD for extra flavor.
Standard sizes and humble price tags make them all a viable pedalboard option for a multitude of players. Moreover, the trio – comprising the Super Bass Overdrive and Distortion, Suns Ultravoid Fuzz, and Soft Reverb – are all original designs that have been inspired by some previous Keeley creations.
For example, back in 2022, Robert Keeley unveiled the Moon Op Amp Fuzz – a fuzz box that references Keeley’s David Gilmour-inspired Dark Side of the Moon workstation. The all-new Suns Ultravoid pedal can ascribe some of its DNA back to that pedal, delivering a biting, sandpaper-smooth fuzz.
Keeley promises “tweaks and refinements” to the formula of its lunar predecessor, hinging off a reactive clipping LED that “launches every note into the stratosphere with a lively, harmonic-rich, and dynamic feel”. There are controls for Level, Filter, and Fuzz, with its redesigned tone stack tightening the low-end for a “sharper and more focused” sound.
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It looks set to battle it out with Behringer’s $65 Fuzz Bender, which promises the fuzz sounds of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Pete Townshend in an ultra-affordable format.
For its overdrive pedal, the Sweetwater/Keeley tag team has built an amp-in-a-box based on a legendary – and tactfully unspecified – British tube amp, therefore promising to provide faux-plexi tones without breaking the bank. Spoiler: it’s replicating a Marshall Super Bass, a 100-watt amp adored by Jimmy Page.
There’s plenty of dirt to be drawn from its Level, Tone, and Drive knobs for players chasing classic Marshall tones à la Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Jimi Hendrix, with a JFET-driven circuit working hard beneath its all-black housing.
Keeley is championing how its “amp-like sensitivity responds to your pick attack”, while a nifty toggle for Open Back and Closed Back amp emulations shouldn’t be sniffed at (especially for a double-figure outlay).
For its Soft Reverb, things are even simpler, with an emphasis on allowing players to effortlessly curate far-out, space-y soundscapes from the box with minimal knob fiddling.
Altering the positions of its Dwell and Level controls offers surprisingly versatile results, but its secret weapon is the mini switch. Here, Soft Focus (hence its name), Spring, and Plate reverb emulations are all on tap, making it a handy three-in-one.
“Whether you’re seeking an effortlessly controllable studio effect or eying the missing piece of your pedalboard puzzle, the Soft Reverb from Keeley is the ’verb for the job,” writes Keeley.
All three pedals can be prized exclusively from Sweetwater for $99 a pop.
Head to Sweetwater for the full specs.
