Keeley Compressor Plus Reviews

Quality product

I thought I would only use the pedal for funk playing, but now it's an always on pedal. It simply enhances all the qualities of my guitar signal giving me a thick tone with even dynamics. I like using it subtly rather than an overt effect and it's easy to use. I didn't want to spend too much time tinkering to get a good sound with features such as attack, release, soft/hard knee, etc. that you find on studio compressors. Keeley has a solid reputation for his compressors and I think it's the best in it's price category. Solid compressor.

Best compressor ever

I was searching for such a long time until I found the Keeley Compressor Plus. My choise was at last between this Keeley and the Cali76 which also has the blend knob. It?s compressing so well without noise and also in a way that the sound doesn?t become too compressed. I use all the time in my little set up, both on clean and overdriven sounds.

Good compressor

Make sure that you know what a compressor is before you buy it. If you need a compressor, it's a good one, maybe a bit noisy

Best compressor in a pedal format

There's a reason this pedal became a standard for compressors. You can go from subtle to in-your-face compression, use it as a booster, as a sustainer, it's great from rhythm strumming with the attack knob.

I use it mainly as a sustainer and for rhythm playing and couldn't be happier with it.

Great little squeezebox!

Trust the positive reviews people, this pedal is a great Ross clone, the blend knob is really handy! Knobs have a wide range effecting the sound! You can go from very subtle compression to full on, just for the sake of the effect!

Way too expensive for what it offers

I was looking for a compressor pedal for some time. After watching a series of reviews, demos, videos online I decided to purchase it despite its high price.

Pros:

+ The switch for humbucker and single coil guitars is an interesting feature that affects the sound a lot. For my single coil guitar it works quite well.

+ The sound quality is not mind-blowing but great overall.

Cons:

- Any configuration of the left knobs beyond 12 o'clock is musically impractical. The compressor effect is so strong that is almost useless for any type of music (in my opinion).

Overall, this compressor could and should have been better. The price is too high. I am confident that cheaper options could do the trick as well.

I mostly play Metal and was looking for something to had another dimension or presence to my lead work. At first I thought it could be a compressor, I tried one in a store and it really increased the sustain despite changing the sound's character when used on the FX loop. I researched and listened to lots of demos and I decided to buy this Qeeley, specially because it has a mix and a tone knob. The initial purpose was to use it on the FX loop as a lead coloring tool, but I also wanted to try it in front of the amp with a low mix setting to see if it could improve my sound.

These were my confused thoughts before having it.

When I tried the Qeeley Compressor Plus I really liked the versatility it offered. However I didn't like it on the FX loop because it altered my distortion's character and presence. However I really enjoyed it in front of the amp, with a low mix, the level set in a neutral setting, a bit of sustain and a darker tone it really improved my sound. The initial attack isn't altered, but the notes sustain much longer without any artifacts being heard.

It makes such a big difference without being noticeable what the pedal is doing. If I turned it off and play a chord the higher notes start to die after some seconds and the lower sustain much longer, with the pedal on all the chord sustains much longer and more alive and defined. I have it on all the time without noticing that it is there.

It takes some time and patience to find the right setting, and the manual gives some good starting points, but the end result is worth the effort. Maybe it is a cheat, but I can't live without it now that I discovered it. As to my initial lead tone quest, a EQ solved my needs.

Magic box

I bought this just over a year ago and I couldn't be happier. I play small and medium gigs/sessions in different settings (jazz, Latin music, hiphop, pop/rock). Versatile and useful.

Most often I keep the "sustain" knob between 09:00 (subtle) and 12:00. The "blend" makes it easy to dial in more or less effect when needed.

Especially over 12:00 on the sustain, both the blend and sustain knobs have an effect on the overall output. Once you get used to this and learn to adjust the "volume" knob accordingly.

Note: When people say this is a "warm" compressor, it's true: Like other analog units, at high sustain/blend settings the sounds gets a pleasing halo of creamy harmonic distortion. Overall this doesn't bother me (I mainly use it at lower settings).

If you are specifically looking for crystal clear, transparent output at high compression settings, this is not the box for you.

Great sound, average quality

This is supposed to be "the most popular boutique compressor in the world" which is "completely made in the United States", at least according to the manufacturer's website. Therefore, I assumed that I'll be getting highest quality in all aspects.

As far as sound quality is concerned, I admit I got what I was expecting. Nice compression, low noise, cool sustain, great features (e.g. single coil/humbucker switch).

But as far as build-quality is concerned, this product was a disappointment! One of the screws in the bottom of the unit was loose and I soon realized it wouldn't fit in the hole no matter what. Either the screw is faulty or the drill hole is not right. When I tried to purchase similar screws at a hardware store around the block, they told me that this kind of screws are hard to find so I ended up with a pedal that can't be placed flat on any surface. Well this doesn?t sound top quality to me at all.

Anyway, at least it sounds good?

Transparent.

Straight forward guitar compressor.

Pros

The fact that you can switch between Single Coil and Humbucker is the selling point. I have a guitar that has a push/pull pot to switch between them. The compressor respects the two sounds.

The blend is up to taste but I don't use beyond 60% wet; just so I can maintain a bit of the dynamics of playing.

Cons

You'd wish the ASDR parameter, just so you can have a more hands on approach to sculpting your tone, but you can just manage.

Deservedly acclaimed - but not perfect !

This is an awesome Compressor in stompbox format. The sneaky but clever addition of a dry/wet mix control makes it easy to recover Attack if the sound gets too stodgy.

EDIT: i have begun to get a bit fed up with the excessive brightness when this compressor is on. It makes an already bright Telecaster bridge pickup sound a bit vicious. The tone control is apparently there to feed highs back into the compressed signal. I wish to hell it could remove them.

A little expensive but...

When I put this pedal on my pedal board my sound just went to another level!!Makes the guitar and the sound more solid even for high gain heavy music without making the guitar sound dull..Just play with knobs try to find a balance between clean and high gain channel and you will see what i saw when i first used it.A little expensive but it's a keeley..Quality products always!!