Keeley Dark Side

The Keeley Dark Side is a multi-effects workstation pedal from Keeley Electronics, released in 2016 and aimed squarely at players chasing David Gilmour's classic Pink Floyd tones. It packs a big fuzz, a multi-head tape delay and four modulation effects into one hand-made, true bypass enclosure, pairing an analog fuzz circuit with a 24-bit DSP engine that handles the modulation and echo effects¹²³.

Keeley announced the pedal as shipping in September 2016 as the latest release in its Workstation Series, a line of hand-made multi-effect units that followed the Monterey, which also aimed to give users a signature guitar sound in one medium-sized pedal¹⁴. Street price at launch was $299 in the US, or £225 in the UK⁵.

Fuzz, tape delay and modulation in one pedal

The Dark Side is built from three main blocks: Fuzz, Delay and Modulation⁷. Together they cover fuzz, tape delay, uni-vibe, rotary, flanger and multi-head tape delay in a single unit⁸.

Fuzz. The fuzz is based on a vintage big IC fuzz tone, described as a 1977 op-amp style big fuzz distortion, in the territory of 1977 Big Muff-style sounds¹⁹. Keeley says it is a more transparent take that lets the guitar sing with sustain while retaining the guitar's essence, whether single coil or humbucker based, and reviewers noted it works well with single coils and humbuckers alike²¹⁰. The maker used something similar in its Psi Fuzz, but describes the Dark Side's circuit as completely and radically different, reworked to extract the nuances of earlier transistor based fuzzes².

Delay. The delay section offers 12 different syncopated delays, rhythmic settings with the tonal quality of old spinning drum tape delays². Guitar.com's review called the Binson echo simulation the real stand-out, with 12 preset "head" combinations for seemingly endless multi-tap echo, plus subtle pitch modulation and a facility to generate and control feedback³.

Modulation. The modulation section has four sounds: Flanger, Rotary Speaker Cabinet, U-Vibe and Phaser². You can blend between the "Electric Lady" Flanger and a Les-Rotary cabinet, or between a vintage opto-coupler based U-Vibe and the little orange phaser, creating sounds beyond the originals². The section offers rate, depth and volume controls¹.

Gearnews also reported that the pedal includes Delay and Plate Reverb or Rotary Speaker Cab plus a Uni-Vibe with Octave Up or Down, alongside the classic IC Big Muff Pi fuzz with a three-way EQ at the front end⁴.

Analog fuzz and a 24-bit DSP engine

Inside the enclosure there is an analog fuzz and a 24-bit DSP engine running the rotary speaker, Uni-Vibe, phaser, flanger and echo effects⁹³. The internal board is hand-built¹⁰. The fuzz side is the analog half, a big fuzz style distortion based on a 1977 op-amp style circuit²⁹.

The DSP side is what gives the pedal what Keeley describes as vintage inspired effects with modern interpretations and control¹. That includes expression pedal control of the delay section, with range over the number of repeats so you can push the delay into feedback oscillation²⁹.

Effect order and expression control

The Dark Side has an Expression Pedal port, and it has to be a TRS style expression pedal. Keeley suggests something like an M-Audio or Moog expression pedal². The rate control for the modulation effects can also be driven with a standard expression pedal foot controller¹.

This is a step up from the Monterey, where the order of the effects could only be switched internally¹¹.

Is it made for Gilmour sounds?

The Dark Side is consistently described as David Gilmour-inspired¹², with fuzz, delay, rotary, uni-vibe, phase and flange tones all voiced to Floydian sonic specs⁹. Gearnews framed the launch around the simple fact that David Gilmour's legendary guitar tones are chased by many players⁴. The Binson echo simulation in the delay is the most direct nod, since Gilmour's classic echo sounds came from a Binson Echorec³.

What reviewers said

Guitar.com reviewed the pedal in April 2017 and gave it a Highly Commended award in its Gear Of The Year 2017 Best Multi Effects category⁶. The review's overall verdict:

On That Pedal Show, Dan and Mick covered the pedal in December 2017, noting it was up for nomination in the guitar magazines' Pedal of the Year against the DM Drive, and demonstrating that you can put the fuzz before or after the effect⁸. Their demo walks through the fuzz, delay and modulation sections and the effect order switching:

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