Keeley Filaments "First Impressions" Review

[LLL]

Yeah but, nothing beats a Gorilla.

...when used as a paperweight.

[weepingminotaur]

Update. In the past few days, I've been trying to dial in a sound that combines distortion from the Boss Katana, my Blues Driver, and the Keeley Filaments. Success!

Putting the Keeley first in the signal chain (before the Blues Driver) produced some great results. What I realize that I want from the Keeley is that big, dark, rich tubey distortion, but not as the main ingredient in the dish. It just needs to fatten up the signal. So putting it first allowed me to get that big sound while avoiding sag. I used the BD with gain all the way down (that classic TS use), level at 1 o'clock, and tone at 3. The Keeley's settings were all in the "mid-morning" (9-11 o'clock on the dial) except presence. I rolled the Katana gain back to 25, removed the TS Clone boost, and actually removed the compressor as well, then A/B tested the sound with pedals off and on. Working together, all three made for a great (to my ears) metal tone! Gritty and present but not shrill, and the Keeley takes the digital edge off the signal, particularly when playing lead. Chugs are good, but I think I need to sculpt tone a little more precisely to nail that aspect. But otherwise, mission accomplished!

This afternoon, I tried to dial in a Hysteria-era Def Leppard crunch tone using the same combo (Katana + BD and Keeley) with some good early returns. Playing on my Sterling Cutlass with a Screamin Demon in the bridge, I got me some nice "Love and Affection" and "Women" sounds. Solos in particular sounded aggressive without being shrill.

The side effect of buying the Keeley is that I've fallen in love with my Blues Driver all over again. Such a great, versatile pedal!

[Aceman]

Nice reviews!