The Keeley Retro Super Germanium Overdrive is a custom shop overdrive pedal from Keeley Electronics, announced in August 2018. It is a modified version of Keeley's Super Phat Mod, built around a germanium amplifier stage placed in front of the pedal's amp tone stack, and Keeley pitched it as "a fuzz, it's a drive, and it's a cranked amp all in one" with what the company called supernatural quantities of gain, maximum dynamic gain and loads of sustain12.
Guitar.com described the design goal plainly: the pedal layers old-school fuzz tones over an amp-like overdrive, the sound of a retro fuzz unit hooked up to a tube amp3.
A germanium gain stage in front of the tone stack
The circuit is the story here. Keeley's own announcement put it this way: "At the heart of the Keeley Retro Super Germanium Phat Mod is our germanium amplifier stage," designed into the front of the amp tone stack1. Guitar World's news report confirmed the pedal is based around that germanium amplifier stage4.
What that means in practice, according to Guitar.com, is an additional gain stage thrown in front of the preamp tone stack, so the pedal behaves like a retro fuzz unit driving into a tube amp's front end rather than a conventional overdrive alone3. The result, in the site's words, "layers old-school fuzz tones over amp-like overdrive"3.
Keeley's description of the sound, from the launch announcement:
"It's a fuzz, it's a drive, and it's a cranked amp all in one!"
Keeley Electronics, launch announcement1
The company also said the pedal delivers maximum dynamic gain with loads of sustain1. As with any maker's claims, that is Keeley's own characterization rather than an independent verdict; the press coverage from launch was news reporting rather than review.
From the Super Phat Mod to the custom shop Retro version
The Retro Super Germanium sits at the end of a lineage that goes back to Keeley's earliest business. The chain runs like this:
- Keeley's original modification, a souped-up version of the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver circuit, which the company started selling 16 years before 20177
- The Keeley Germanium Super Phat Mod, announced in September 2017, which added a small germanium gain amplifier after the tone stack to simulate a tube power amp section8
- The Retro Super Germanium, a custom shop pedal that started with the Super Phat Mod Germanium drive and added another germanium amplifier gain stage in front of the amp tone stack1
Robert Keeley described the Germanium Super Phat Mod's own contribution in its announcement: "we have added a small gain germanium amplifier right after the tone stack to simulate a tube power amp section"8. Gearnews reported that this gave the earlier pedal a more "amp-like" guitar tone7.
The Retro version was the work of Keeley's Custom Shop team, which gearnews reported had tinkered with the secondary gain stage so the dynamics were more pronounced9. It was built as a limited edition, available in limited quantities109. On That Pedal Show, Dan and Mick called it "the Retro Super from Keeley with the coolest graphics possibly ever seen on a pedal"10.
How it differs from the Germanium Super Phat Mod
The two germanium Phat Mod pedals put their germanium in different places, and that is the main distinction:
| Germanium Super Phat Mod | Retro Super Germanium | |
|---|---|---|
| Germanium stage position | After the tone stack8 | In front of the amp tone stack1 |
| Stated purpose | Simulate a tube power amp section8 | Sound of a retro fuzz unit into a tube amp3 |
| Character | More "amp-like" guitar tone7 | Fuzz layered over amp-like overdrive3 |
| Edition | Limited run of the 16-year-old BD-2 mod7 | Custom shop limited edition12 |
Both trace back to the same Boss BD-2 Blues Driver modification, and both carry the Phat Mod name, but the Retro Super adds a whole extra gain stage rather than revoicing the existing one71.
One detail worth knowing if you spot one secondhand: on the earlier Germanium Super Phat Mod, the gold graphics printed "AC128 Germanium" on the top right, though the pedal actually contained a Tungsram AC1257. Gearnews also noted a mini toggle switch on the Retro Super Germanium choosing between Flat and Phat settings9.
Price and availability
The Retro Super Germanium listed for $179. Keeley's announcement stated it would be available 08-09-2018 at dealers worldwide and at RKFX.com for $1791, and MusicRadar and Guitar.com reported the same price at launch23.
The Retro Super Germanium is discontinued. Guitar Pedal X lists it as a 2019 release that is discontinued, $179 when new, and rare and limited56. It was only ever built in limited quantities by the Custom Shop9, so today it is a used-market find.
Keeley has since carried the Super Phat Mod line forward in other forms, including the Keeley Super Phat Mod Germanium Anniversary Edition and, in 2026, the Keeley Tube Drive, which pairs the Super Phat Mod circuit with a high-voltage 12AX7 tube preamp.
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Questions
Is the Keeley Retro Super Germanium Overdrive based on the Boss Blues Driver?
Indirectly, yes. It started with the drive from Keeley's Super Phat Mod Germanium1, and that pedal was a limited run of the modification Keeley began selling 16 years earlier, a souped-up version of the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver circuit7. The Blues Driver lineage is there, with germanium stages added on top.
How is the Retro Super Germanium different from the Germanium Super Phat Mod?
The Germanium Super Phat Mod put its small germanium gain amplifier after the tone stack, to simulate a tube power amp section8. The Retro Super Germanium kept that drive and added another germanium amplifier gain stage in front of the amp tone stack1, which Guitar.com described as producing the sound of a retro fuzz unit driving a tube amp3.
How much did the Keeley Retro Super Germanium Overdrive cost?
It listed for $179. Keeley priced it at $179 when it went on sale on 08-09-2018 at dealers worldwide and at RKFX.com1, and Guitar.com and MusicRadar reported the same list price32.
Is the Keeley Retro Super Germanium still available?
No. It was a custom shop limited edition, available in limited quantities at launch29, and Guitar Pedal X lists it as discontinued, dating it to 2019 and calling it rare and limited56. Finding one today means the used market.
Sources (10)
- Keeley Launches New Super Germanium Overdrive Pedal, Premier Guitar, 2018-08-09
- Keeley launches Retro Super Germanium Overdrive pedal, MusicRadar, 2018-08-10
- Keeley launches new germanium fuzz/overdrive stompbox, Guitar.com, 2018-08-10
- Keeley Debuts New Retro Super Germanium Overdrive Pedal, Guitar World, 2018-08-10
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-01-26
- Guitar Pedal X, guitarpedalx.com, 2020-11-05
- Keeley mods a mod with Germanium Super Phat Mod 16th Anniversary overdrive, gearnews.com, 2017-09-12
- Keeley Launches Germanium Super Phat Mod Overdrive, Premier Guitar, 2017-09-07
- Keeley Retro Super Germanium Phat Mod, gearnews.com, 2018-08-10
- Keeley RS Phat Mod, JHS Unicorn V2, Dano Pride Of Texas, Thorpy Fat General, That Pedal Show, 2018-10-16
