A Look At Iron Mike’s Pedal Board -
I’m not running a ton of effects these days so this is going to be an easy rundown. I make no secret that I like to run all Keeley pedals. Its not to say that other pedals aren’t good, its just that I have been using Robert’s stuff since the early days when he was modding Boss and Ibanez stomp boxes and selling them on Ebay. His designs and his customer service have always been the very best, and I have simply grown to accustomed to the comfort of dealing with him over faceless corporations.
From right to left the signal chain is as follows:
Keeley Compressor - This is the original two knob compressor, which if compared to any of the old classic compressor pedals, it is most similar to the older MXR Dyna-Comps, but better. I had both the old script logo DC as well as one of the early DC pedals after they changed the logo and added the LED.
Compared to the Dyna-Comp, the Keeley is much quieter even when pushed. This pedal is absolutely an essential part of my slide sound. I use it for sustain and to pick up those extra little details and overtones when using some of the behind the slide techniques. Keeley stopped production of this pedal at the end of 2014, since he’s come out with several new compressors in its place. I can’t wait to try those, but my original two knob will always hold a special place in my heart. If you’re a collector, I highly recommend snatching up original two knob compressors now.
Keeley Neutrino - This is your classic guitar envelope filter. I have developed a reputation for using alot of wah sounds with slide guitar, plus I have a love for playing funk rhythms. I used a Morley NSW wah for years which in my opinion was the greatest wah pedal ever invented. After years of abuse on the road…its really in shambles. I intend to send it to Keeley to see if he can make a similar pedal so until then, I am using the Neutrino While I lose some of my personal technique by using an “auto-wah”, it is a very good, very flexible pedal. It has several controls that allow you to really dial in exactly the type of sound you are looking for. My wah sound has always been a warm, mellow growling cat sort of sound and this thing allows me to dial that in.
Keeley 6 Stage Phaser - This is the most flexible Phaser pedal I have ever used. Its capable of so many different sounds I haven’t even discovered them all yet. Everything from classic Phase 90 tones to tremolo sounds. I think this pedal may no longer be in production since I can’t find it on his site anymore and some kind of simpler phase pedal is now available. I think this pedal has been overlooked by the industry. In my opinion, this box is destined to be a legendary, highly sought after collectors item someday. If you have one….DO NOT LET IT GO.
Keeley Red Dirt Overdrive - Robert gave me this pedal as a gift. I used to have two Ibanez TS-10’s that I had his Baked Mod added to. I used to love the sound I got from using them to push the front end of the amp, in the same manner that Stevie Ray Vaughan did with his old Tube Screamers. Over the years and especially after I started using a Mesa Boogie F-50, I got away from using an overdrive pedal in favor of that now classic Mesa overdriven tone. So when I got this pedal, I wasn’t looking to add overdrive to my chain. It sat in my road case for about a week and I decided just for fun to add it to my chain during soundcheck before a show. I kicked that puppy on and BOOM…there were all those old tones I use to get with my Tube Screamers. I ended up using the pedal the whole night and every show since. So, I not only want to thank Robert for the gift, but thank him for helping me rediscover the pedal and the sounds that made me start using his products in the first place…close to 20 years ago.
Since, this photo was taken I have decided to switch the Neutrino and the Compressor in the signal path. I like the sound of the Neutrino better when its before the compressor. This year I’m going to be adding more Keeley pedals to the board, as well as possibly having a switching system built, so stay tuned.
For more information on Robert Keeley and his awesome pedals of awesomeness visit his website at www.robertkeeley.com
Visit my website at www.ironmikenorton.com
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