Keeley BD-2

Joe Neri · June 27th, 2003, 02:40 PM

I know a lot of you are using Robert Keeley's compressor. What about his Blues Driver? And how good or different is the Phat mod on this pedal? Thanks.

Brad · June 27th, 2003, 03:41 PM

I have an un-modded BD2 and I like it a lot of things about it and don't like other things. For one, it's a great clean boost. It also excels at mild break-up. The higher gains sttings of the stock pedal ( at least for me ) seem a bit fizzy & gritty. I've been using mine for a bit more oomph on solos. I have the gain between 7 & 10 O'Clock and the tone between off and 8:00 O'Clock. If I pick lightly it's clean and if I dig in a bit it gets a great bluesy grit. Very responsive with the guitars volume control. The modded ones I've heard address the fizziness and actually let the tone control on the BD do it's job. Very smooth and transparent. Steve Dudley at Doo-Tone also does the Keeley / AM mod. You might check him out as I hear he does excellent work. All in all, a great pedal and a good alternative to a tube screamer.

MJ Harnish · June 28th, 2003, 12:54 AM

Having listened to my BD-2 both before and after doing the Keeley mods here's what I would say:

1) The cleanish boost (which isn't really transparent at all but sounds pleasing to the ear) gets better: It's harmonically richer and has better transparency. This is where the pedal shines.
2) The bass response of the pedal is improved: most of the Boss pedals strip out a lot of bass right at the input which can make them sounding a bit thin. The K-mod lets more bass into the circuit giving you a fuller-bodied tone.
3) The tone control works over a larger range and is more effective at altering the actual tone of the pedal.
3) The mild break-up sounds are a bit smoother; some of the raspiness of the pedal is gone.
4) The higher gain sounds are still very fizzy and harsh; there is a small improvement here but it's not enough to fix the inherent limitations of that particular sound. I still think this pedal sounds too "hair metal" for my tastes with the gain cranked. Here is where I'm still experimenting to find a mod that improves this but doesn't screw up #1.

I think for a boost to push your amp harder the mod greatly improves the pedal. If you want to run the gain full on it's probably not worth the money since it doesn't change the stock BD-2 sound significantly. Of course YMMV.

DerektheDomino · June 28th, 2003, 11:37 AM

I haven't had as big an issue with the higher gain settings. Granted, they're not my preference, but they aren't bad at all. I occasionally play cover tunes that require those kinds of noises and the BD2 does the job better than most. In fact I recently sold one of those high falutin' Tonebone Hot British pedals in favor of the Keeley BD. Personally I prefer moderate amounts of gain with any pedal, but when I need higher gain, the BD2 is more than adequate. Gain at 12 is about perfect, though.

RKeeley · June 29th, 2003, 08:41 AM

Howdy!
Thanks for the interesting notes on the BD-2.
There are a couple things that can be done to the BD-2 to alter the high-end sound.
First you could make it clip more than the low end pushing it into a more saturated area where you might like it...A capacitor in series with the diodes will block lower frequencies from being clipped and and push the higher ones, there are 2 places in the BD-2 design where that could be done.
You could reduce the amount of clipping in the high end by installing a coil in series with the diodes.
I'll try that this week and see what happens, I'll have to order a variety to test with.
You can simple place a cap across the quad of diodes in the first clipping stage. I think a large value of 0.01uF does the trick but don't hold me to that value. I have done it several times before for customers and they just loved it.
thanks for the thoughts on the pedal!
rk

MJ Harnish · June 29th, 2003, 09:07 AM

Robert,
Those are some very interesting ideas.

Lately, I've been experimenting with using different types of diodes, trying to find something that doesn't clip quite as soon as silicon. I've tried some LEDs but they even still clip right away (turn the gain up much over 8:00 and it starts); you get virtually the same exact tone as the silicon diodes. My next experiment will be with a series of LEDs just for fun. I've also been fooling with bypass caps for the diodes but so far haven't done anything too systematic. The idea of using a cap to keep the low freqs from clipping is an interesting one that I might have to experiment with too.

All this is not really out of any dissatisfaction about the pedal's tone (it really is a pretty versatile pedal) but more to see what can be done and how it sounds. :D

hippietim · June 29th, 2003, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Neri

I know a lot of you are using Robert Keeley's compressor. What about his Blues Driver? And how good or different is the Phat mod on this pedal? Thanks.

I have a BD-2 that was modified by DoobTone. It is the Keeley mod plus a toggle for assymetrical/symetrical clipping. This pedal is amazing. I replaced my Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde with a Keeley modded DS-1 and the modded BD-2. For blues and rock tones, I like the modded BD-2 better than either of my 808 modded Tube Screamers.

Joe Neri · June 29th, 2003, 08:39 PM

Thanks, all. Robert, I'll email you with some specific questions.

RKeeley · July 4th, 2003, 07:02 PM

The Bd-2 and possible keeley compressor are on A&E tonight, 7PM central time. Buddy Miller will have them out for Al Green and Lee Ann Womack!
Enjoy the blue lights!
rk
Happy 4th of July!
rk

IndyGuitarist · July 7th, 2003, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ Harnish

Robert,
Those are some very interesting ideas.

Lately, I've been experimenting with using different types of diodes, trying to find something that doesn't clip quite as soon as silicon. I've tried some LEDs but they even still clip right away (turn the gain up much over 8:00 and it starts); you get virtually the same exact tone as the silicon diodes. My next experiment will be with a series of LEDs just for fun. I've also been fooling with bypass caps for the diodes but so far haven't done anything too systematic. The idea of using a cap to keep the low freqs from clipping is an interesting one that I might have to experiment with too.

All this is not really out of any dissatisfaction about the pedal's tone (it really is a pretty versatile pedal) but more to see what can be done and how it sounds. :D

a guy named backstepper does this on his ds-1 mods. He coined the term 'mullet clipping'.

RKeeley · July 10th, 2003, 07:28 AM

Sure, backstepper emailed me the cap idea. The inductor idea is just a logical extension. I love that word, Mullet!
rk

June 27th, 2003, 02:40 PM	#1 (permalink)
Joe Neri Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 232	Keeley BD-2 I know a lot of you are using Robert Keeley's compressor. What about his Blues Driver? And how good or different is the Phat mod on this pedal? Thanks. __________________ The blues is my business, and business is good.

June 27th, 2003, 03:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
Brad Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Tacoma, WA Posts: 1,294	Hey Joe...where ya going with that...oh, never mind! I have an un-modded BD2 and I like it a lot of things about it and don't like other things. For one, it's a great clean boost. It also excels at mild break-up. The higher gains sttings of the stock pedal ( at least for me ) seem a bit fizzy & gritty. I've been using mine for a bit more oomph on solos. I have the gain between 7 & 10 O'Clock and the tone between off and 8:00 O'Clock. If I pick lightly it's clean and if I dig in a bit it gets a great bluesy grit. Very responsive with the guitars volume control. The modded ones I've heard address the fizziness and actually let the tone control on the BD do it's job. Very smooth and transparent. Steve Dudley at Doo-Tone also does the Keeley / AM mod. You might check him out as I hear he does excellent work. All in all, a great pedal and a good alternative to a tube screamer. __________________ We don't stop playing because we get old, we get old becasue we stop playing.

June 28th, 2003, 12:54 AM	#3 (permalink)
MJ Harnish Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hattingen, Germany Posts: 457	Having listened to my BD-2 both before and after doing the Keeley mods here's what I would say: 1) The cleanish boost (which isn't really transparent at all but sounds pleasing to the ear) gets better: It's harmonically richer and has better transparency. This is where the pedal shines. 2) The bass response of the pedal is improved: most of the Boss pedals strip out a lot of bass right at the input which can make them sounding a bit thin. The K-mod lets more bass into the circuit giving you a fuller-bodied tone. 3) The tone control works over a larger range and is more effective at altering the actual tone of the pedal. 3) The mild break-up sounds are a bit smoother; some of the raspiness of the pedal is gone. 4) The higher gain sounds are still very fizzy and harsh; there is a small improvement here but it's not enough to fix the inherent limitations of that particular sound. I still think this pedal sounds too "hair metal" for my tastes with the gain cranked. Here is where I'm still experimenting to find a mod that improves this but doesn't screw up #1. I think for a boost to push your amp harder the mod greatly improves the pedal. If you want to run the gain full on it's probably not worth the money since it doesn't change the stock BD-2 sound significantly. Of course YMMV. __________________ MJ Harnish Suburbs: Where they cut down all the trees and then name the streets after them.

June 28th, 2003, 11:37 AM	#4 (permalink)
DerektheDomino TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 29	BD2 I haven't had as big an issue with the higher gain settings. Granted, they're not my preference, but they aren't bad at all. I occasionally play cover tunes that require those kinds of noises and the BD2 does the job better than most. In fact I recently sold one of those high falutin' Tonebone Hot British pedals in favor of the Keeley BD. Personally I prefer moderate amounts of gain with any pedal, but when I need higher gain, the BD2 is more than adequate. Gain at 12 is about perfect, though. __________________ Could you guys turn it down?

June 29th, 2003, 08:41 AM	#5 (permalink)
RKeeley TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 54	Howdy! Thanks for the interesting notes on the BD-2. There are a couple things that can be done to the BD-2 to alter the high-end sound. First you could make it clip more than the low end pushing it into a more saturated area where you might like it...A capacitor in series with the diodes will block lower frequencies from being clipped and and push the higher ones, there are 2 places in the BD-2 design where that could be done. You could reduce the amount of clipping in the high end by installing a coil in series with the diodes. I'll try that this week and see what happens, I'll have to order a variety to test with. You can simple place a cap across the quad of diodes in the first clipping stage. I think a large value of 0.01uF does the trick but don't hold me to that value. I have done it several times before for customers and they just loved it. thanks for the thoughts on the pedal! rk __________________ Email: fx@robertkeeley.com Honk if you own a Telecaster!~

June 29th, 2003, 09:07 AM	#6 (permalink)
MJ Harnish Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hattingen, Germany Posts: 457	Robert, Those are some very interesting ideas. Lately, I've been experimenting with using different types of diodes, trying to find something that doesn't clip quite as soon as silicon. I've tried some LEDs but they even still clip right away (turn the gain up much over 8:00 and it starts); you get virtually the same exact tone as the silicon diodes. My next experiment will be with a series of LEDs just for fun. I've also been fooling with bypass caps for the diodes but so far haven't done anything too systematic. The idea of using a cap to keep the low freqs from clipping is an interesting one that I might have to experiment with too. All this is not really out of any dissatisfaction about the pedal's tone (it really is a pretty versatile pedal) but more to see what can be done and how it sounds. :D __________________ MJ Harnish Suburbs: Where they cut down all the trees and then name the streets after them.

June 29th, 2003, 08:39 PM	#8 (permalink)
Joe Neri Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 232	Thanks and an email for Robert Thanks, all. Robert, I'll email you with some specific questions. __________________ The blues is my business, and business is good.

July 4th, 2003, 07:02 PM	#9 (permalink)
RKeeley TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 54	BD-2 on TV The Bd-2 and possible keeley compressor are on A&E tonight, 7PM central time. Buddy Miller will have them out for Al Green and Lee Ann Womack! Enjoy the blue lights! rk Happy 4th of July! rk __________________ Email: fx@robertkeeley.com Honk if you own a Telecaster!~

July 10th, 2003, 07:28 AM	#11 (permalink)
RKeeley TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 54	Sure, backstepper emailed me the cap idea. The inductor idea is just a logical extension. I love that word, Mullet! rk __________________ Email: fx@robertkeeley.com Honk if you own a Telecaster!~