The Keeley Sojourner, announced in April 2015 as the Sojourner Fuzz Verb, is a combined fuzz and reverb stompbox from Edmond, Oklahoma builder Keeley Electronics1. Chief engineer Robert Keeley set his team the task of creating what the announcement called a first-in-class fuzz/reverb pedal, a "shoe gaze dream pedal" that puts both effects in one rugged dual-format enclosure2.
The idea is simple: instead of stacking a fuzz and a reverb from two separate pedals, the Sojourner runs its fuzz circuit straight into its reverb algorithms, with an insert jack in between so you can drop other effects into the chain. Premier Guitar's reviewer summed up the appeal in 2023: "Fuzz and reverb work deliciously together."3
A fuzz and reverb in one enclosure
The Sojourner's fuzz side is Keeley's Psi Fuzz, described in the announcement as "a highly modified take on the Op Amp Pi"2. Premier Guitar's reviewer put the whole pedal in familiar terms for Keeley fans: "It essentially combines Keeley's Psi fuzz and Nocturner reverb circuits."3
The fuzz circuit itself is a hybrid. It is a layered, op-amp based fuzz with a vintage germanium transistor output stage, which Keeley says gives it "the added warmth and cream of a vintage germanium transistor output stage"4. Delicious Audio's coverage at launch described the same design as "utilizing both op-amps and the now legendary germanium transistors"1. In practice, that means the op-amps do the heavy clipping while the germanium stage rounds off the output, and the announcement characterized the result as "thick, full range fuzz with enhanced midrange presence, tight bass, and an overall polish and compression"2.
The reverb side was built on Keeley's Aurora reverb, with new algorithms including reverse and shimmer4. MusicRadar described the pedal overall as containing "a thick, creamy fuzz coupled with an all new set of musical reverbs soundscapes in a dual pedal format"4.
The controls
The pedal splits its knobs between the two sides. The fuzz side carries Level, Tone and Fuzz controls, while the reverb side has Decay, Pre-Delay and Blend3. The 2015 announcement also listed a Warmth control on the reverb side, for choosing "between long, expansive, ambient times or to create a subtle new space around your sound"4.
| Control | Side | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Level | Fuzz | Sets the fuzz side's output level3 |
| Tone | Fuzz | Shapes the fuzz's frequency balance3 |
| Fuzz | Fuzz | Sets the amount of fuzz3 |
| Decay | Reverb | Sets how long the reverb tail lasts3 |
| Pre-Delay | Reverb | Sets the time before the reverb begins3 |
| Blend | Reverb | Mixes dry and reverberated signal3 |
| Warmth | Reverb | Tunes the reverb's character, from subtle space to long ambient times4 |
Premier Guitar's reviewer shared one example setting from the review: "Level at 9 o'clock, tone at 10 o'clock, fuzz at 3 o'clock" with "Decay, Pre-Delay, and Blend at 2 o' clock."3
Reverb modes: reverse, hall and shimmer
The reverb side offers five algorithms. Premier Guitar's review listed them as "Reverse, followed by two hall reverb samples and two shimmer reverb samples at various levels."3
- Reverse: the reverb swells up before the note instead of decaying after it, the sound most associated with shoegaze3
- Hall: two sampled hall reverbs at different sizes3
- Shimmer: two shimmer reverbs, which add a pitched, octave-shifted layer to the tail3
The reverse mode is the one that draws players to this pedal. Premier Guitar's reviewer noted that the Sojourner "combines a very creamy fuzz sound with reverse reverb, cornerstones of several My Bloody Valentine live and Loveless tone recipes"3. For players chasing that sound, the fuzz-into-reverse-reverb order is built in, with no cables to arrange.
The insert jack
Between the fuzz and reverb sides, the Sojourner provides an insert jack. As the launch announcement put it: "We've also provided an insert jack, allowing the insertion of additional effects in between."2 MusicRadar's coverage carried the same detail4. This means you can place a delay, modulation or any other effect after the fuzz but before the reverb, all inside the one enclosure, which is an arrangement a normal two-pedal stack can only match with extra patch cables and a loop switcher.
What reviewers said
Premier Guitar reviewed the Sojourner in June 2023 and came away positive, writing that "fuzz and reverb work deliciously together"3. The review's test gear included a Fender Jaguar, a Fender Telecaster Deluxe, a Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster, a Fender Champ and a 1968 Fender Bassman3.
At launch, the pedal was priced at $349, shipping for a limited time at $2994, and Delicious Audio reported it selling at $299 on Keeley's website1. By Premier Guitar's 2023 review, street price was listed at $2993.
Videos
The Pedal Press
Questions
What fuzz circuit is in the Keeley Sojourner?
The fuzz side is Keeley's Psi Fuzz, a highly modified take on the Op Amp Pi. It is a layered op-amp based fuzz circuit with a vintage germanium transistor output stage, which Keeley says adds warmth and cream to the tone.
Does the Keeley Sojourner have an effects loop or insert jack?
Yes. The pedal has an insert jack that lets you place additional effects between the fuzz and reverb sides, so you can run, for example, a delay or modulation pedal after the fuzz but before the reverb.
Can you get My Bloody Valentine tones from the Keeley Sojourner?
Premier Guitar's reviewer found that the pedal combines a very creamy fuzz sound with reverse reverb, which the reviewer called cornerstones of several My Bloody Valentine live and Loveless tone recipes. The reverse reverb mode is the key ingredient for those sounds.
Does the Keeley Sojourner use germanium transistors?
Yes, in part. The fuzz circuit is a hybrid design: op-amps do the main clipping work, and a vintage germanium transistor sits in the output stage, adding what Keeley describes as warmth and cream.
Sources (4)
- Fuzz + Reverb In One Pedal: Keeley's Sojourner, Delicious Audio, 2015-04-20
- Keeley Announces the Sojourner Fuzz Verb, Guitar Interactive Magazine, 2015-04-23
- Quick Hit: Keeley Sojourner Fuzz/Reverb Machine Review, Premier Guitar, 2016-05-12
- Keeley unveils Sojourner Fuzz Verb pedal, MusicRadar, 2015-04-21
