View other reviews for this product:
Hatsubai « My favorite compressor »
Published on 11/27/11 at 17:30The Keeley compressors are probably some of the most famous compressors in the entire industry. They've withstood the test of time and provide some of the cleanest, most transparent compression out there. There are two versions he makes, and both are amazing. However, I find that the four knob version happens to be the absolute best thanks to its ease of use and versatility. There are four knobs that control sustain, level, attack and trim. It's true bypass and small enough to fit on any board.
UTILIZATION
Keeley did a great job at shoving a ton of features into this small pedal. It delivers the goods in every way. First of all, the finish on this is amazing. It's super clean and great looking. I especially like the oversized knobs, but that's more of a looks thing than anything else. The pedal is built like a rock and can withstand pretty much any abuse you throw at it. In fact, I've never seen a broken one in my life, but I'm sure there are some idiots out there who have plugged in the wrong power source to these pedals and fried them. Still, I've never seen one actually break. The knobs are laid out in a nice to use fashion, and while the words might be a bit ambiguous, it's pretty easy to use.
SOUND QUALITY
I'm a big fan of clean, transparent compression. I don't like a huge amount of coloration with my compressors. Some people really love coloration, so you need to decide what kind of camp you're in. The Keeley does what I want with spectacular fashion. I'm able to dial in an amazingly funky clean tone, and if I want a country clean tone, with just a few tweeks, I'm there. It's super simple to use, and it sounds great no matter what setting, really. I've also used this as a bit of a lead boost to give me some more sustain. It helps with legato and those super long solos where you're just sustaining a note for days. On top of that, it's fairly quiet, so you don't have to worry about noise.
OVERALL OPINION
To me, this is the ultimate compressor. There's really nothing out there that beats this, in my opinion. It's super transparent, clean sounding, true bypass, easy to use, has great versatility, built by one of the best guys in the business and just looks amazing. I also enjoy how small it is, as these bigger pedals on boards can be a real pain when you're trying to save on space.
UTILIZATION
Keeley did a great job at shoving a ton of features into this small pedal. It delivers the goods in every way. First of all, the finish on this is amazing. It's super clean and great looking. I especially like the oversized knobs, but that's more of a looks thing than anything else. The pedal is built like a rock and can withstand pretty much any abuse you throw at it. In fact, I've never seen a broken one in my life, but I'm sure there are some idiots out there who have plugged in the wrong power source to these pedals and fried them. Still, I've never seen one actually break. The knobs are laid out in a nice to use fashion, and while the words might be a bit ambiguous, it's pretty easy to use.
SOUND QUALITY
I'm a big fan of clean, transparent compression. I don't like a huge amount of coloration with my compressors. Some people really love coloration, so you need to decide what kind of camp you're in. The Keeley does what I want with spectacular fashion. I'm able to dial in an amazingly funky clean tone, and if I want a country clean tone, with just a few tweeks, I'm there. It's super simple to use, and it sounds great no matter what setting, really. I've also used this as a bit of a lead boost to give me some more sustain. It helps with legato and those super long solos where you're just sustaining a note for days. On top of that, it's fairly quiet, so you don't have to worry about noise.
OVERALL OPINION
To me, this is the ultimate compressor. There's really nothing out there that beats this, in my opinion. It's super transparent, clean sounding, true bypass, easy to use, has great versatility, built by one of the best guys in the business and just looks amazing. I also enjoy how small it is, as these bigger pedals on boards can be a real pain when you're trying to save on space.