The Keeley Caverns is a dual-effect pedal that puts a delay and a reverb in one compact enclosure, made by Keeley Electronics of Edmond, Oklahoma. The original, announced June 26, 2015, combined what Keeley called a full-featured 1-second delay with a studio-quality multi-mode reverb1. The V2, announced August 21, 2017, rebuilt the pedal around Keeley's Magnetic Echo circuit, a tape-echo-style delay engine, with up to 650ms of delay time2.
The two effects are the point of the design: the reverb and delay can be used individually or combined together, and each has its own footswitch, so the Caverns can sit at the end of a pedalboard as a single time-effects box3. Keeley's own pitch for the V2 called it "the perfect end to any pedalboard"245.
A delay and a reverb in one compact pedal
The Caverns is built as two effects in one box. The delay side of the V2 incorporates Keeley's Magnetic Echo circuit, which is designed to emulate analog tape delay lines, with three-way switchable modulation for adding Wow and Flutter to the repeats2. Keeley describes the result as perfectly voiced echoes that sit in the mix well, either clean or with distortion5.
The reverb side offers three modes, and the two halves can be run at once. Pedal of the Day's reviewer put it simply: "The best part about having these two pedals in one enclosure? Running them at the same time, of course!"7
Because of its small and compact design, the V2 was pitched as a fit for fly-rigs and small boards, with top-mounted input and output jacks that allow a compact pedalboard layout54.
The original 2015 Caverns and the 2017 V2 are different pedals. The V2 replaced the original digital delay with the Magnetic Echo engine on one circuit board, and Robert Keeley has said the original was retired partly because it was a complicated build113. On That Pedal Show's video database, the original Caverns reverb is listed as no longer made, with a link to the latest version.
The controls
The V2's control set divides between the two effects. Toneisland's review summarizes the layout as reverb controls for blend, decay and warmth, and delay controls for blend, time, rate and repeats, with reverb and delay modes independently foot-switchable12.
The original Caverns used a Morph control that changed function with the reverb mode, customizing the reverb effects in each mode with control over modulation pulse, pre-delay reflection, and octave-up voice intensity3. Pedal of the Day's review of the original detailed what the knobs do:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Blend (reverb) | Mixes your dry guitar signal with the Caverns' wet signal |
| Decay (reverb) | Adjusts the decay time of the reverb, longer as you turn clockwise |
| Tone (reverb) | Blends in darker or brighter tones |
| Morph (Plate Mode) | Affects just the pre-delay, with a range up to 200ms |
| Morph (Shimmer Mode) | Sets how low or high the intensity of the octave shift is in the reverberated sound |
| Level (delay) | Selects the output level of the pedal |
On the V2, the delay side adds the three-way modulation switch for Wow and Flutter on the repeats2.
The reverb modes: Spring, Shimmer and Modulated
The V2's reverb side features three modes5:
- Spring Mode: Blackface-style spring reverb with F-style tremolo25
- Modulation Mode: Choral modulation on the reverb, which Keeley describes as producing a huge, cavernous reverb25
- Shimmer Mode: Reverb with emphasis on octave-up voices in the reverb trails25
MusicRadar's news coverage summed up the three as "a 'blackface'-style spring with tremolo; modulation; and shimmer with octave-up voices on the trails"9.
The original 2015 pedal had a different mode set: Modulation Mode, a neutral Studio Plate Mode, and Shimmer Mode13. So the V2 swapped the plate mode for the spring-with-tremolo mode.
On That Pedal Show, Robert Keeley described hidden detail in the V2's sound: "we put a bunch of little Easter eggs in the sound so it allows kids to sit there and listen to it"11.
In the That Pedal Show video, Dan Steinhardt and Mick Taylor talk with Robert Keeley about the Caverns V2, covering the Magnetic Echo delay engine that replaced the original digital delay, the $179 launch pricing, and the decision to retire the original pedal11.
History and versions
The timeline of the pedal runs:
Keeley stated that the V2 took two years to develop, blending what the company called its most popular time-based effects104. The V2 also brought a visual and practical reworking: wider spacing between the footswitches, a more open and logical control layout, and top-mounted jacks210.
On the analog-versus-digital question, the descriptions differ. Keeley's 2015 material described a dual DSP platform engineered completely in house13, and gearnews called the V2 "a DSP unit of a sort that's already very common in the marketplace"10. RockBoard's PedalPedia lists the V1's circuit type as analog13, and Delicious Audio described the V2 as an analog stompbox with an analog-style tape delay6. The "analog" labels refer to the tape-echo character of the Magnetic Echo circuit rather than a fully analog signal path.
What reviewers said
Reviews of both versions were positive, with some reservations.
Pedal of the Day reviewed the original in February 2017 and found a lot to like, including the delay's refusal to run away: "its ability to NOT go into self-oscillation when cranked up," with repeats that almost reach that point but never run away. The reviewer's overall verdict: "it's pretty damn brilliant nonetheless," with so many tonal options and uses that the reviewer would keep it in their collection forever7.
MusicRadar's Michael Astley-Brown wrote that "for a lot of players, this could be all the delay and reverb they need," adding that given Keeley's recent track record, he had high hopes for it9.
gearnews took a cooler view of the upgrade itself: "Personally, I don't think this is a huge upgrade. However, it is on paper an interesting pedal if you are in the market" for a delay-plus-reverb, with reasonable introductory pricing10.
Toneisland's later review of reverb pedals compared the Caverns against the EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master and found it "more difficult to dial in due to the sheer number of controls," though it offers extra reverb modes and more granular control in exchange12.
Videos
ProGuitarShopDemos
ProGuitarShopDemos
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Questions
Is the Keeley Caverns analog or digital?
It depends on which description you follow. Keeley's 2015 launch material described the original Caverns as a dual DSP platform engineered in house, and gearnews called the V2 a DSP unit, while RockBoard's PedalPedia lists the V1 circuit type as analog and Delicious Audio called the V2 an analog stompbox. The delay is described as an analog-style tape delay built on Keeley's Magnetic Echo circuit.
Does the Keeley Caverns have reverb trails?
Yes. The V2 added a True-Bypass or Trails option, so you can choose whether the reverb and delay tails continue after you switch the pedal off, or whether the signal path goes fully bypass. Keeley says it worked on the buffers to maintain audio quality when the trails option is chosen.
Is the Keeley Caverns made in the USA?
Yes. Keeley's launch material for the original 2015 Caverns said it was hand-built in the USA, and the press releases for the V2 in 2017 stated that the New Caverns Delay Reverb V2 is entirely built in the US.
Does the Caverns delay self-oscillate?
No. Pedal of the Day's review of the original Caverns noted its ability to not go into self-oscillation when cranked up, with repeats that almost reach that point but never run away. Players who want runaway feedback loops will not get them from this delay.
Sources (13)
- Keeley Electronics Unveils the Caverns Delay Reverb, Premier Guitar, 2015-06-26
- Keeley Electronics Launches Caverns V2 Delay Reverb, Premier Guitar, 2017-08-21
- Keeley Caverns to Release Newly Designed Delay and Reverb Pedals, Guitar Interactive Magazine, 2015-06-30
- Keeley Caverns V2 Delay + Reverb, Delicious Audio, 2017-08-23
- Keeley Electronics Caverns Delay Reverb V2, Bass Gear Magazine, 2017-08-16
- Keeley Caverns V2 Delay/Reverb, Delicious Audio, 2022-08-12
- Keeley Electronics Caverns Delay Reverb, Pedal of the Day, 2017-02-03
- New Pedal: Keeley Super AT Mod Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2023-05-12
- Keeley's Caverns delay and reverb promises to be “the perfect end to any pedalboard”, MusicRadar, 2017-08-22
- Keeley Caverns V2 Delay and Reverb pedal: Not much of an upgrade?, gearnews.com, 2017-08-18
- That Pedal Show, That Pedal Show (YouTube), 2017-10-19
- The Best Reverb Pedals For 2026 (Comparison), toneisland.com, 2026
- Caverns V1 by Keeley Electronics, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
