NPD Keeley Bass Compressor

[Rollin Thunder]

Last dedicated Compressor pedal I had was a Seymour Duncan studio bass , decided to ditch it (regrettably) when I went to the Helix Stomp. Love the Stomp and the Compressors are good but ultimately feel too digital and just more of an affect. So decided to look at a dedicated compressor again. Wanted the Cali but just could not justify the price as I’m just more a hobbyist and occasional jammer nowadays. Looked at the Boss and the Mxr (which both looked good value) also the Jam pedals which is a two nob compressor which felt too simplistic and I am a fan of Jam pedals. 
Then Saw the Keeley which had great reviews and it was on sale at a bargain price if £125 brand new (£199 usually) from a place I’ve not heard of before called HotRoxuk. Great fast postage and tracking from them will be using them again.

 

Plugged it in everything at noon, threshold, gain at zero/unity compression 4:1 at noon, twiddled about a bit sounds fantastic, transparent nor tone loss, just a bit of squish when digging in hard, just what i always wanted, totally dynamic and not to fast not too slow response, even at full infinity it never really squashed the sound too much. Have it set at threshold about 11.30 -45 gain about 12.15-30 compression 4:1 12 i clock and that’s it might need slight tweaking on different basses but marginally. Great pedal and almost the definition of what a compressor should be.  Could not recommend it enough and at that bargain price ( still a few left) 

 

disclaimer: i have no affiliation with Hit rox uk! 

https://www.hotroxuk.com/robert-keeley-bassist-bass-compressor-kbass.html

[pantherairsoft]

Amazing pedal, especially as an end-of-signalchain limiter if you use a lot of pedals with variable output signals. It's a stunning approach to 'no fuss' compression.

[BassAdder60]

Does it make a crackle noise when the LED changes colour ?

 

I had three new units this year and all did the same .. you really have to listen but it’s there 😞

Edited August 3, 2023 by BassAdder60

[pantherairsoft]

5 minutes ago, BassAdder60 said:

Does it make a crackle noise when the LED changes colour ?

 

I had three new units this year and all did the same .. you really have to listen but it’s there 😞

Mine certainly does not.

I had this issue with an old TC Nova Dynamics pedal... when certain compression kicked in, a strange audible artefact could be heard. Nothing like that with the Keeley though. I've just given it a test under a microscope... nothing. Perfectly transparent. Got the gain cranked or anything?

Edited August 3, 2023 by pantherairsoft

[BassAdder60]

6 minutes ago, pantherairsoft said:

Mine certainly does not.

I had this issue with an old TC Nova Dynamics pedal... when certain compression kicked in, a strange audible artefact could be heard. Nothing like that with the Keeley though. I've just given it a test under a microscope... nothing. Perfectly transparent. Got the gain cranked or anything?

Mine was under normal operation and after receiving three units I assumed it was a design flaw of the pedal. 
 

It was only when the compression was releasing on a long note you could hear it clearly. Fast notes never 

[pantherairsoft]

17 minutes ago, BassAdder60 said:

Mine was under normal operation and after receiving three units I assumed it was a design flaw of the pedal. 
 

It was only when the compression was releasing on a long note you could hear it clearly. Fast notes never 

I can't reproduce that at all, nor find anyone else discussing it online, which is odd given this being one of the most common/well loved bass compressors out there.

The assumption would be an interaction issue with the pedal not liking your particular combo of bass/cables/power supply/electrics/amp/other pedals etc etc. I can imagine how frustrating that must have been - but honestly cannot reproduce that issue. One thing I do know however, is that Robert Keeley is a compression master, and emailing them  for some advice would likely herald some insight.

[BassAdder60]

41 minutes ago, pantherairsoft said:

I can't reproduce that at all, nor find anyone else discussing it online, which is odd given this being one of the most common/well loved bass compressors out there.

The assumption would be an interaction issue with the pedal not liking your particular combo of bass/cables/power supply/electrics/amp/other pedals etc etc. I can imagine how frustrating that must have been - but honestly cannot reproduce that issue. One thing I do know however, is that Robert Keeley is a compression master, and emailing them  for some advice would likely herald some insight.

No worries I’m glad yours is working as they should 👍

[MartinB]

I can reproduce it - it's a brief crackle as the threshold indicator turns from orange back to green. To hear it, I have to turn the gain right up and the threshold down, play a sustained note and then listen carefully.

I've been using the Bassist for gigs and recording for seven years, and have not heard this noise under normal playing conditions, so I'm not concerned about it.

[pantherairsoft]

4 hours ago, MartinB said:

I can reproduce it - it's a brief crackle as the threshold indicator turns from orange back to green. To hear it, I have to turn the gain right up and the threshold down, play a sustained note and then listen carefully.

I've been using the Bassist for gigs and recording for seven years, and have not heard this noise under normal playing conditions, so I'm not concerned about it.

I’ve just tried this, with those extreme settings and yes - I can hear that noise, but only through a recording interface. I can’t hear it through my amp/cab setup. As I can’t imagine those settings ever being useful to me, I’m also not concerned. If I roll either the gain or the threshold from those positions, even by 5%, it’s no longer audible.

Edited August 3, 2023 by pantherairsoft

[BassAdder60]

I wasn’t going mad then !!! 
 

I ended up giving it away on here as we all thought it was faulty !! 

[LukeFRC]

I wonder if you can adjust the threashold the indicator comes on at? Some pedals keep the led ‘on’ at a very low level so it’s not completely switching off 

[jimbobothy]

... I'm the chap that BassAdder said could keep the unit due to the above noise issue (thank you again, very kind of you).

 

I did read a thread a while back on here that indicated that there has been a noise fault on some units (confirmed by Keeley themselves I think). On my various setups, most apparent on this example is when using a passive bass (Zoot Funkmeister 5), the noise being really very obvious with the settings as per normal use (gain and threshold not at extreme settings at all, I do use IEMs though) on both short staccato and long sustained notes. However the same Zoot bass with another compressor (I have a few, think I used an Empress Bass Compressor for comparison) and no noise issues at all.

 

I have worked out via trial and error, that if I use a buffered pedal before the compressor for comparisons sake, the noise issue is reduced, but still audible to me. Potentially a faulty batch of components used in manufacture, or maybe this particular unit wasn't calibrated as well as others from the factory, I've really no idea? I've chatted to a friend (LukeFRC above) about this before and he came up with this link:

 

https://robertkeeley.com/blog-post-archive/threshold-indicator-schematic-board/

 

I've had the back off and couldn't see anything as described in the blog post as it'd have to come apart to see the other side of the PCB. I've no idea if it's something a non-specialist could adjust.

 

Either way, thank you again for the kind gesture BassAdder.

 

Also sorry Rollin Thunder if this reply has derailed your original post, glad you're digging it 👍

Edited August 3, 2023 by jimbobothy
Clarity

[Rollin Thunder]

No noise on my new one. Not that i can detect.

[BassAdder60]

On 03/08/2023 at 23:35, jimbobothy said:

... I'm the chap that BassAdder said could keep the unit due to the above noise issue (thank you again, very kind of you).

 

I did read a thread a while back on here that indicated that there has been a noise fault on some units (confirmed by Keeley themselves I think). On my various setups, most apparent on this example is when using a passive bass (Zoot Funkmeister 5), the noise being really very obvious with the settings as per normal use (gain and threshold not at extreme settings at all, I do use IEMs though) on both short staccato and long sustained notes. However the same Zoot bass with another compressor (I have a few, think I used an Empress Bass Compressor for comparison) and no noise issues at all.

 

I have worked out via trial and error, that if I use a buffered pedal before the compressor for comparisons sake, the noise issue is reduced, but still audible to me. Potentially a faulty batch of components used in manufacture, or maybe this particular unit wasn't calibrated as well as others from the factory, I've really no idea? I've chatted to a friend (LukeFRC above) about this before and he came up with this link:

 

https://robertkeeley.com/blog-post-archive/threshold-indicator-schematic-board/

 

I've had the back off and couldn't see anything as described in the blog post as it'd have to come apart to see the other side of the PCB. I've no idea if it's something a non-specialist could adjust.

 

Either way, thank you again for the kind gesture BassAdder.

 

Also sorry Rollin Thunder if this reply has derailed your original post, glad you're digging it 👍

No worries.. at least it didn’t end up in the bin !! 

[BassAdder60]

I’ve just ordered a new one so it will be interesting if I hear it !

 

It’s for playing live so I’m sure it wouldn’t matter anyway ! 
 

Playing with a pick and I need it to smooth out my playing a bit 

Edited February 28 by BassAdder60

[Jakester]

I found mine is very sensitive to any noise in the signal chain; I mean, I know how a compressor works and it is certainly way better than the TC Electronic one it replaced, but I was using more gain owing to a change in preamp pedal (it only has ‘cut’ eq, no boost) and over 12 o’clock on the Keeley gain it really magnified a *very* slight hiss.
 

Took me ages to figure out what it was, too 🙄

[BassAdder60]

16 hours ago, Jakester said:

I found mine is very sensitive to any noise in the signal chain; I mean, I know how a compressor works and it is certainly way better than the TC Electronic one it replaced, but I was using more gain owing to a change in preamp pedal (it only has ‘cut’ eq, no boost) and over 12 o’clock on the Keeley gain it really magnified a *very* slight hiss.
 

Took me ages to figure out what it was, too 🙄

And in fairness most pedals would do that when increasing the gain. It’s only reproducing what is a actually present in the input signal 

Edited February 29 by BassAdder60

[joel406]

I've tried a lot of compressors. All of em most likely.

 

While I still have an Empress and a couple of MXRs around I fell in love with the Keeley Compressor Pro. So bad in fact I bought 5 of em. In fact Sweetwiter is delivering #5 anytime in the next 2 hours. I even use one with my Quad Cortex. My Revolt and CABM board. One with each of my Mesa Subway boards, my Le Bass board. I ordered #5 as a floater to use when I have to use an amp.

 

Warning! 

 

Subjective comment coming.

 

Keeley Compressor Pro is the best compressor.