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review: keeley BD-2
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Posts: 6,638
cut and paste of my HC review fyi.
Price Paid: US $135
Ease of Use: 9
level/tone/gain. simple.
phat toggle switch. up position give a slight boost to the lows. it's very subtle and you won't hear it unless you're really paying attention.
boss manual and keeley manual included.
Sound Quality: 10
setup:
fender tele/gibson les paul/warmoth P90 jazzmaster -> mxr phase 100 -> keeley compressor -> pharaoh class a boost -> keeley BD-2 -> russian big muff -> line6 DL4 -> fender deluxe reverb reissue/line6 POD2.
this is a high gain pedal so it can be noisy at the higher settings. but that's the penalty for high gain. the range of gain is huge, from slight drive to almost muff-like distortion at the maximum setting. also, a very wide range in the level control that allows you to set a higher level with a lower gain to get a sort of clean boost thing happening. it is very versatile.
as claimed, this is a very transparent pedal and doesn't instantly kill your lows or highs when activated. much truer to the tone of the guitar than my stock SD-1.
i use it as a rhythm drive and in combination with the pharaoh boost for my attempts at solos.
Reliability: 10
well, given that it's a boss foundation, i'm not anticipating any problems. i took a look at the modded circuit board and things look solid. the work was done by jared adam (as per the signature in the pedal) and (i assume) checked by keeley before he signed his name. he's an engineer, i trust he checked it before putting his name to it.
i would not worry about a back up for this pedal.
Customer Support: 6
the pedal arrived quickly. i was very happy with the time from order to plugging in. especially given that it had to pass through canadian customs.
one small complaint: when i was trying to choose between the BD-2 mod or sending my SD-1 or voodoo lab sparkle drive in for mods, i asked robert a couple times via email for info on how he felt the SD-1 and sparkle drive mods compared. i received no response to those questions. in the end, the sounds clips of the BD-2 convinced me to take that direction.
he was, however, very quick in responding to the "notication of payment" emails. i just wish i'd heard back on my inquiries when i was trying to make the choice.
also, in the plus column, free shipping to canada.
Overall Rating: 9
i play fairly mellow acoustic based music with a number of electric guitar overdubs. the pedal works very well for me in that it doesn't muddy the tone of the instrument and provided a huge range of gain. it also works very well with my compressor and boost. those three pedals make a very good team for me.
i compared this pedal to my other "drive" pedals, an SD-1 and voodoo lab sparkle drive. it is miles above the SD-1. the sparkle drive puts up a better fight thanks to it's clean boost feature that restores some of the bass response 808 type overdrives usually lose. however, the versatility and range provided by the BD-2 make it more useful for me.
Price Paid: US $135
Ease of Use: 9
level/tone/gain. simple.
phat toggle switch. up position give a slight boost to the lows. it's very subtle and you won't hear it unless you're really paying attention.
boss manual and keeley manual included.
Sound Quality: 10
setup:
fender tele/gibson les paul/warmoth P90 jazzmaster -> mxr phase 100 -> keeley compressor -> pharaoh class a boost -> keeley BD-2 -> russian big muff -> line6 DL4 -> fender deluxe reverb reissue/line6 POD2.
this is a high gain pedal so it can be noisy at the higher settings. but that's the penalty for high gain. the range of gain is huge, from slight drive to almost muff-like distortion at the maximum setting. also, a very wide range in the level control that allows you to set a higher level with a lower gain to get a sort of clean boost thing happening. it is very versatile.
as claimed, this is a very transparent pedal and doesn't instantly kill your lows or highs when activated. much truer to the tone of the guitar than my stock SD-1.
i use it as a rhythm drive and in combination with the pharaoh boost for my attempts at solos.
Reliability: 10
well, given that it's a boss foundation, i'm not anticipating any problems. i took a look at the modded circuit board and things look solid. the work was done by jared adam (as per the signature in the pedal) and (i assume) checked by keeley before he signed his name. he's an engineer, i trust he checked it before putting his name to it.
i would not worry about a back up for this pedal.
Customer Support: 6
the pedal arrived quickly. i was very happy with the time from order to plugging in. especially given that it had to pass through canadian customs.
one small complaint: when i was trying to choose between the BD-2 mod or sending my SD-1 or voodoo lab sparkle drive in for mods, i asked robert a couple times via email for info on how he felt the SD-1 and sparkle drive mods compared. i received no response to those questions. in the end, the sounds clips of the BD-2 convinced me to take that direction.
he was, however, very quick in responding to the "notication of payment" emails. i just wish i'd heard back on my inquiries when i was trying to make the choice.
also, in the plus column, free shipping to canada.
Overall Rating: 9
i play fairly mellow acoustic based music with a number of electric guitar overdubs. the pedal works very well for me in that it doesn't muddy the tone of the instrument and provided a huge range of gain. it also works very well with my compressor and boost. those three pedals make a very good team for me.
i compared this pedal to my other "drive" pedals, an SD-1 and voodoo lab sparkle drive. it is miles above the SD-1. the sparkle drive puts up a better fight thanks to it's clean boost feature that restores some of the bass response 808 type overdrives usually lose. however, the versatility and range provided by the BD-2 make it more useful for me.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
I like the regular BD-2. I'm considering the Keeley as a compliment to my 808 style (Direct Drive) You can never have to many overdrives you can always spice things up and change the sound probably Compressor first though.
keep in mind i'd already bought a $220 compressor from him at this point.
Yeah I hear you. He deserved a 6 and I hope he sees the review. He could have at least referred you to FAQ's on his page. The SD-1 is too much like the circuit in the Sparkle Drive to sound dramatically different with the Five Star Mod. Clearer way clearer yes but not that different transparent and sweet sound that the BD-2 provides . A lot more bass definitely but for 99 bucks I'd trade the SD-1 and get a Barber Direct Drive or if you can find and old one for around the same price a Fulltone Fulldrive 2.
he may still get my SD-1 some day. i'm leaving my sparkle as is.
Hi,
I became intrigued about your distortion pedal after reading a review about it a month ago. I decided not to go that route and instead bought your run of the mill Boss distortion pedal (I already had a Metal Zone and an overdrive setting on my amp). I like the basic Boss a lot. It's a little thin, but it suffices.
However, I then stumbled accross the Akaipro.com site and fell in love with the shred-o-matic...so much so that I ordered it and it arrived yesterday (found it on sale for around $60, compared to $150+ suggested retail). It's the best distortion pedal I have ever played...and that says a lot. I've tooled around with my friend's Tube Screamer, and other distortion pedals, and this one takes the cake.
I was wondering if you were familiar with the shred-o-matic: (http://www.akaipro.com/consumersite/productpage.asp?id=83) and whether you could point me in the direction of some comparisons between it and your pedal. Even though I got the s-o-m, I am still interested in your pedal (though $225 is not exactly easy to part with).
Thanks for your time!
-Brian-
Needless to say, I went with the Akai pedal and I love it.
Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
why not ask analog mike and see what he says. He mod's all of Kenny Wayne Sheppard's Tubescreamers and KWS also uses his compressors and clone chorus. Mike responded to me in less than a day on a mod question about my Dynacomp. I've only bought from Keeley but Mike seems like a good guy too, maybe its like a Ford/Chevy thing I don't know.
I know he does SD-1 mod's too.
AnalogMike@aol.com
http://www.analogman.com/boss.htm#SD1
I'm very happy with my pedal too but I still shop around.
I know I'd rather have a Keeley comp than the Comprossor but Mike's a smart guy too.
the only dumb question is one not asked.
http://www.mindspring.com/~j.blackstone/index.html
Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
check http://www.harmony-central.com
sorry. i don't know anything about that one.