Robert Keeley Electronics: Frequently Asked Questions


	WELCOME to Keeley Electronics! And... Explore our HUGE new site... You'll need the latest Shockwave plugin if you don't have it (and just a little patience while the new site loads): Click here. Second of all, a big HOWDY from Robert Keeley. It has been a joy to work with so many amazing people over the years, finding tone and searching for that final touch that defines your tone. I'm even more proud to say that it has worked! People have finally found the tone that's been in their heads for years! They have found the perfect compressor, found the perfect booster, the perfect delay or mod to their unit; and yes, they have found the Perfect Distortion! So come on in and enjoy our laid-back Web site where you still have all of the features and comforts of a bigger business. We have email and phone support, we work hard to make sure backorders are constantly being addressed and solutions found, we honor our warranties, we care about your tone AND you. Please take an evening to read the reviews on the web at www.harmony-central.com under Keeley, and you'll see why Keeley Electronics, Inc. isn't just a manufacturer of high-end musical electronics, but a lover of tone and customers. Please... by all means, contact me if you don't get the answers you need. And please read through the product descriptions for helpful details about the pedals and the tone they will give you. Download the MOD ORDER FORM (also available on each modded pedal page) in order to get information about sending in a pedal for us to mod. Shop Phone: 1-405-341-2025 Toll Free: 1-8668-go-rkfx (1-866-846-7539) We TRY to answer calls between 9-6 Monday-Friday Central time. We take lunch from 1-2 Central time. If there is no answer, just try back in 10-15 mintues as we may be on the phone with other customers and don't swtich over--so we can devote our full attention to you and others. Please call for credit card orders >>> General questions should be asked via email, if at all possible, please. ALWAYS TRY GIVING US A CALL BEFORE YOU EMAIL SPECIFIC INQUIRIES--EMAIL CAN BE A SLOW PROCESS. To electronically reach out with your finger tips, send email to Keeley Electronics: FX@RKFX.COM Hungry for more info and Web sites? Well, visit some of my other creations! These sites will give you a greater glimpse of what we offer: www.javaboost.com www.ts9deluxe.com www.timemachineboost.com The Fuzz Head Page by Paul Priest LAST BUT NOT LEAST! THANKS SO MUCH FOR MAKING US A HUGE SUCCESS. LET US SURPRISE YOU WITH OUR LOVE OF TONE AND QUALITY SERVICE! Robert Keeley What Countries Can We Ship To? Compressor TS-9 Mods BD-2 Mods DS-1 Mods Rat Mods SD-1 Mods Time Machine Boost Questions Other Mods Phone Calls The Order Your Effects Go In: Arranging Your Signal Chain A Buffer and Parallel Mixer from Keeley Electronics--Coming Soon! Got a discount coming your way? Have a special group of pedals that I said we'd give a discount on? Payments for special amounts or discounts are easy. Yes, you can do a PayPal for any amount you want or to take advantage of discounts I've offered personally. Here's how to do a PayPal for custom amounts: Log into your paypal account--www.paypal.com--and make a payment (SEND MONEY is what they call it) to fx@rkfx.com. On the Subject Line of your PayPal payment, please indicate "Notification of Payment." In the Notes Section, list your full name and address (maybe even phone and cell phone), as well as the pedal and the mods you want done to it, and any other special instructions or features we talked about. The Wisdom of Will Rogers (as it applies to guitar effects). Don't squat with your spurs on. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. Good tone comes from simple, good pedals, you can learn a lot from trying out bad effects too. Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back in. Buyin' a lotta of bad guitar effects is a whole lot easier than sellin' 'em off. If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there. If you think you have good tone, ask others with better AND worse tone than you to help. If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around. If you think you sound good with your effects, try turning them off every once in a while. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day. Never bring an effect to a gig that you know might have intermitant problems.... On that hot day it will act up! If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'. If you ain't got the money to buy effects, don't! Never slap a man who's chewin' tobacco. Never put lit tobacco between the E string and the headstock of a 59' Les Paul. It don't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep. It easy to spot someone who uses too many effects for their tone. Record yourself and see if you sound like a goat. Always drink upstream from the herd. Effects placement has a lot to do with good tone. Read about the suggested order of effects placement. When you give a lesson in meanness to a critter or a person, don't be surprised if they learn their lesson. When you talk mean about someone's tone, be prepared for the same thing to happen to you..., maybe even from the person you're talking to! When you're throwin' your weight around, be ready to have it thrown around by somebody else. If you play like SRV in Austin, be prepared to be thrown out. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket. The quickest way to good tone is to fold your money over and not buy too many effects. Never miss a good chance to shut up. Never miss a good chance to not use effects. There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves. Never cut the ground wire off your amplifier and never, ever lick an AC outlet. How and Where to Send a Pedal Q: Where do I find your address? A: On each pedal page, about the middle of the page, is a highlighted link that says MOD ORDER FORM. (There's a link at the top of this page, too.) You click that and it brings up a modification form for you to fill out and to write all the information we need. Please use this with every pedal you send in. WHAT�IF�MY�COMPUTER�WON'T�LOAD�THE�MOD�FOAM? Then just PRINT (PLEASE�PRINT) Everything on paper and send it along with your pedal. Be sure to include your complete name and address, phone number(s), email address. Q: I don't like PayPal and want to send you money. Is this possible? A: Sure! Click one of the MOD ORDER FORMS. My mailing and shipping address is there and you also can see a list of pedal prices! Q: What is the turn-around time? A: We usually take about 3-5 working days, and then ship back. So, with 3 days shipping to us, then 3 days back, you should have your pedal--WELL IMPROVED--within about 10 days. Q: Why don't you just put your address here? A: Well, okay.... Robert Keeley Electronics 6400 Industrial Blvd. Edmond, OK 73034 Q: What is your phone number? A: 1-405-341-2025. or toll free in the US 1-8668-go-rkfx Q: RETURNS and REPAIRS? A: Don't happen often, BUT, you MUST call my service manager ISAAC NELSON to get a RETURN/REPAIR AUTHORIZATION Q: I don't like the pedal for some reason, what now? A: RETURN FOR CREDIT/MONEY - If you do not contact us with in 24 hours (2 business days (M-F)) after getting your pedals, we will charge a restocking fee for returns. We don't sell used pedals, (even if you have kept them in "mint" condition). So there is a 10% re-stocking fee. All returns, regardless of how long you have had them will be less shipping costs. Again, you have 24 hours to preview the pedals, if for some reason it just doesn't work for you, then you will get a refund less shipping. If you return the pedals in mint condition and within a 2 weeks, then you will get a refund less shipping and 10% the purchase price. After 2 weeks time, will give you a credit, no cash back. Don't forget, call right away for an RA number!!! Thanks for your understanding!!! THERE ARE NEVER ANY REFUNDS ON MOD WORK!!! Don't send a pedal in for mod work unless you are confident that you like the pedal, just want it a whole lot better with our mod work. THANK YOU! NUMBER! You will place this on the outside of the box. Please include ALL of your contact information on the inside of the box as well. Back to Top What Countries Can We Ship To? We can ship to any country! We do ask that you check with local dealers in your area or country. There have been countless emails and worried customers because things get held up in customs and just arrive slow; so always try a dealer in your country first. We have full distributors in the Japan, Australia, Korea, Taiwan, UK, Italy, and Russia and many more!!! Back to Top Keeley Compressor Q: Is payment required for being on the wait list? A: Yes. Payment-in-full starts the building process for your Keeley Compressor. Currently it is only 4-5 days (a bit longer around holidays so Always call us for the current wait time.) Q: Is the DC jack on your compressor the same as the Boss/Ibanez/Fulltone/Voodoo Labs Pedal Power, etc.? A: Yes. 9 volt DC negative tip. You can use any BOSS, Ibanez, MXR, Danelectro, Dunlop 9 volt DC supply. Please don't use the Radio Shack kind, they can be unregulated and unfiltered causing you hum, noise, and hiss! Q: What makes it better than other compressors? A: We use a higher parts quality than any other stomp box compressor. If I find something better, it goes in. Parts are hand-matched to less than 1% difference in some cases! Q: Why is there no Attack Control? A: All compressors after serial number 4000 have an attack control! The little blue trimmer by the battery is set to the Classic Keeley Compressor sound. The attack control is factory set all of the way off, perfect for most people including all Strat/Tele types of guitars and most humbucker guitars with regular output pickups. Turn it clockwise to have a longer attack time: this is perfect for high output/hot humbuckers--set it to the midway point. For active basses and line level instruments, set it all the way up. Compressors after serial number 5500 have our new Input Sensitivity Control for inputs that are really hot and need more than an attack control. All of these internal controls are set to the classic Keeley Compressor sound when they are built. You will enjoy the same sound we've been famous for right out of the box. Don't adjust these controls unless you know for sure you are having problems with the stock sound compressing too much or distorting. Back to Top TS-9 Mods Q: Are your mods better than the other man's mods? A: Absolutely. We have taken customer suggestions and made this the best sounding TS9 possible. The bass response problem is corrected, the drive range is opened up so that you can get cleaner sounds and more saturation (about 2 times as much!!!). The fidelity is increased in our standard mod with use of audiophile grades metal film coupling caps. The tone circuit has higher grade parts for a better tone as well. Q: Do you mod the other man's pedals? A: Yes we mod pedals that have been previously modded (sometimes 1-5 pedals a week!). Customers are extremely happy with the results! Not a single complaint. Q: Does the TI chip you use make it sound much different than the JRC chip? A: No, the mods we do affect the tone more than just a chip change. The TI chip is better sounding than the re-issue JRC chip that others use. We gold pin socket the chip so that you can experiment and try other chips in some of our modded pedals. Q: I have a solid state amp, which is better for me, will the TS9 work for me? A: I happen to prefer the tone of the TS9 through a transistor amp over the BD-2 in some cases. The TS9 and its smoothness is perfect for transistor amps. Not many other pedals can claim that. Any of our pedals will work with a solid state amp, it's just that some, like the Java Boost are designed to overdrive a tube so those effects will just have a different sound. Q: I know your mods are covered for as long as I own the pedal but the switch has gone bad, will you fix it? A: Yes, I will fix anything wrong with the pedal for you. For Example, the switch replacement is $15 for a TS9 to cover my shipping costs. This is to cover paper work, the shipping department time and the switch. If there is a problem with any of the mods work we did, that would be fixed for free, no $5 charge. PLEASE�CALL�US�for repair estimates to other units. Q: Is the TS9 you mod True-Bypass? A: No the TS9 has a great FET transistor switching system that really sounds great. Its sound quality does depend on the battery level. So use fresh batteries or an adapter. We can make the TS9 True-Bypass, the Cost is $60 and it requires me to drill into the Case where the Ibanez logo is. The turn around time on that mod is about 5 days. Q: On the TS9 DX, do you perform modifications to the other modes? Yes, we have always made the other modes sound better. In the stock form, each mode ends up having too much bass for most people and too much volume to be useful. We go in and give each mode a nice but subtle difference from the first with the use of smaller caps and changing the clipping diodes to give you nice, tube like sounds. We don't charge anything extra for those mods. We just want the pedal to sound its best. Looking for an Overdrive that is Dynamic? This is it. You can pay me $220 or $350 if you want, but the price on our pedal is much lower. Check out the FLEXI 4x2 I designed for Steve Vai, it's true-bypass and has 8 modes of operation! Q: what do you do different with the Maxon OD808? A: The OD808 has a decent chip in it, it's the reissue JRC4558. Since there is no room for a socket, we don't use one and we don't change the chip. The REST of the mods are the sound improvement everyone talks about, as long as there is a decent chip in there that's a great place to start improving the frequency response, tone, bass, range, etc... Back to Top BD-2 Mods Q: What is the difference between the Blues Driver and the TS9 A: The BD-2 has more grit and "dirt" to the sound. It is much more of a transparent type of overdrive. It sounds like real tube break-up. It is therefore not as smooth and narrow sounding as the TS9. Q: I use the volume control on my guitar to affect the distortion amount in my playing, will the BD-2 do that? A: Yes, by far the BD-2 is the choice for lively dynamics and volume control interaction. The TS9 doesn't do that as well. Q: I can't really hear the affect of the PHAT switch you installed. A: I never have liked over-kill bass boosts, so this one is mild and is tuned to an area that is located around the open E and A strings. Strum those strings and then toggle the switch. See how obvious the change is now. Subtle yet dramatic. Perfect for fine tuning Strats and Pauls. Q: Is the BD-2 you mod True-Bypass? A: No the BD-2 has a great FET transistor switching system that really sounds great. Its sound quality does depend on the battery level. So use fresh batteries or an adapter. No BOSS pedals are true-bypass. There is just not enough room to make a neat and clean install. Back to Top DS-1 Mods Q: What is the benefit of the Ultra Mod over the standard Seeing Eye Mod? A: The Ultra mod has a diode selector switch that lets you fine tune lower distortion settings while still giving you a nice fat sound. There are some additional capacitor upgrades for a slightly better tone. Flip the switch up and you get to our Seeing Eye Mode. We no longer make the older SEM since you get both with Ultra mod. Back to Top Rat Mods Q: Do you still have the stock Rat sound when it has been modded? A: Yes, the stock Rat sound is still there! Yet it's slightly better because of the higher quality parts we install for the low end bass response. Q: Is the battery drain the same after your Rat mods? A: Yes, the Rat is fantastic on batteries and that is unchanged. Q: Can you mod my Vintage Rat? A: Yes, we sure can. Q: Can you add an LED to the Vintage Rat? A: Yes, that requires us to put a new type of switch in the unit and wire in an LED circuit. Q: Is the Rat honest-to-goodness true-bypass? A: Yes, the brand new ones are, No not all others, but it has a great bypass circuit. Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jerry Garcia, and Trey Anastasio never had true-bypass and most of the time they sound DAMN GOOD! Back to Top SD-1 Mods Q: How similar is this pedal to the TS9? A: Very Similar, we mod the circuit so that it has more of a TS9 sound and the results are incredible. One player who has about 6 different Keeley Effects purchased 6 SD-1 pedals (some for friends) because he says the SD-1 with our 5 STAR Ge mod has the edge he wants. Q: Is the SD-1 you mod True-Bypass? A: No the SD-1 is not true-bypass, BUT we have designed a circuit that prevents horrible bleed though with higher gain settings! We are the only company doing this mod to ever pedal and really makes a difference to your clean/off tone. Test our pedal against any other modded SD-1...even off! Back to Top TMB Q: Is the TMB an overdrive pedal? A: Close, but not really. It really depends on your amp to be close to clipping or distortion for the Vintage side to give you the great Classic tones. The TMB will also work in front of an overdrive pedal. If you amp doesn't breakup soon, this is the way to go. The Modern side is strictly a clean boost. There is no coloration in the tone and it can be used under any condition or type of music. Q: What is the difference in the Java Boost and the Time Machine Boost? A: The Time Machine Boost is two pedals in one. It has a vintage sounding overdrive from half of the pedal and a clean boost (just like our Katana Boost)from the other half. The Vintage side treble booster has two modes, a treble boost and a midrange boost. The Java Boost has no clean boost, it is just one pedal but has three modes; it has a treble boost, midboost, and full range boost. The Java has the rare Mullard OC 44 transistor in it. Check out the Java Boost on this site and www.javaboost.com and find more about the TMB on the www.timemachineboost.com website. Bothe the Modern Side of the TMB and the Katana use cascaded FET stages to give you a Very Tube like, Clean Boost. Both have internal voltage doublers that give you about 18 volts for the power supply rails! (Note: NEVER put more than 9 volts to your Katana Boost or TMB!!!) Back to Top Other Mods Q: Do you mod other pedals like the Shredmaster, OD-2/3, Drive Master, OD-2, CE-1, Ch-1, you name it, etc... A: No, We do NOT mod any pedal not listed on the site. Please do not email or ask if I can mod this or that, we mod only pedals that are on the site. It takes me months sometimes to develop mods. Phone Calls Q: Can I call you with my credit card number, Do you check your answering machine? A: We MUCH�PREFER�PAYPAL. Called in credit card orders are process much slower, sometimes days slower! We don't check phone messages!!!!. Please don't try to leave sensitive info, or credit card numbers on the machine. Please try to call (1-405-341-2025) or TOLL FREE 1-8668-go-rkfx between 9-6 central time Monday through Friday (gone from 1-2 for lunch) when the techs are here to help you. Back to Top EFFECT PEDAL ORDER AND PLACEMENT Q: Is there a specific order my effects should go in? A: Yes and no. There are some guidelines that can be followed to make sure odd things don't happen. There have been times when a compressor after a delay pedal or reverb unit has caused some bad (good?) effects, there have been brilliant moves to place effects in certain orders that break most rules, but below is a guideline I came up with and was published in Musician's Hotline Magazine. Nice things is it gives you a way, a phrase to memorize so that when you're on the road, you can get it right if you pick up a new effect. Placing effects in a logical order will help! This list of effects order is just a general guideline. Some of the best and most unique guitar tones have been created by breaking the rules! You guys need a head start at good tone right?! A way to make life easy right?! I came up with a little phrase to help remember the order because even I forget. Ask yourself this when you wonder about effects order or placement: Which Chain Of Effect Pedals Makes Life Easy? All you have to do is remember this phase and which letter corresponds to which type of effect. Wah -> Which, Compressor -> Chain, Overdrive -> Of, EQ -> Effect, Pitch -> Pedals, Modulation -> Make, Level -> Life, Echo -> Easy. I like to see wah pedals and sometimes even phasers as the first effect after the guitar. We�ll call these Wah effects (yes even the phaser). Wah pedals boost a frequency you sweep to with your foot and phasers cut or notch a frequency that is swept to electronically. Distortion pedals make interesting response changes to the boost or cut from these sweep pedals. Compressors typically go next although I like them after distortion pedals in many cases if the compressor is clean and transparent enough. Compression after distortion has two effects that I really like. First, the noise floor is lower because the noise from a compressor isn�t being amplified and distorted by the overdrive pedal. Second, there appears to be more sustain. There is one draw back that some people notice and that is a darker, warmer tone. Some folks might prefer a more conventional, brighter tone. Next comes Overdrive or distortion. Equalizer pedals can go next. They are commonly used for a boost pedal if they can be turned on and off, or used to shape the tone of the distortion pedal. Pitch changing pedals, Vibrato for example; go next for the simple reason that many distortion pedals can�t handle the many pitches at one time. Try strumming a complex chord with your distortion pedal on, say a C7#9#11. Modulation effects go next such as chorus and flanging go next. Level pedals that control the volume go next in many cases. This would include tremolo, volume pedals (great at this point in the effects chain because it cuts all the hiss going to your amp), noise gates and limiters. Since compression is a limiter in many cases and this is why it works post-distortion by the way. Echo effects go last. These include delay and reverb. A sample effects board might contain these effects: Guitar -> Wah, Compressor, Overdrive, EQ, Vibrato, Chorus, Tremolo, Volume Pedal, and Delay-> Amp. A Buffer and Parallel Mixer from Keeley Electronics coming soon! www.robertkeeley.com/manuals/Keeley_Parallel_Mixer.pdf PICKUPS!!! What does Robert Like for Pickups? Well, many really THE KEELEY BRAND PICKUPS ARE THE BEST FOR MANY REASONS!!! HAND WOUND, BEST PARTS IN EVERY REGARD, MANY STYLES, UNIQUE STRUCTURE!!! That said....I do like Fralin's, Lollar's, Fender stuff, including the Noiseless, and Lace and all the custom shop stuff, I like EMG for my telecasters, Oh...this is really sweet...Try Tim Mills in the UK. This man and his company are really tought to beat! I hate tearing out pickups once I've spent money...but this is an easy choice... Tim Mills - Managing Director Bare Knuckle Pickups Ltd www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk Tel:+44 (0)1598 763666 Fax:+44 (0)1598 763270 Back to Top www.robertkeeley.com Revised: Feb. 11th, 2008.

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