how's the keeley java boost?

[tom]

anybody got one? does it need to be in front of an already wound up amp or does it work well in a clean amp? how does it clean up when guitar vol is rolled down?

[pluto]

I've never played the Keeley, but my understanding is that it's a germanium chip treble booster. I've owned a few of them, and in my experience, treble boosters sound absolutely horrible in front of a clean amp and sound best when your amp is already clipping.

[BrownDog]

Keeley Katana and really like it. With the knob in, it is a very nice boost, and when the knob is turned up, it gives modest to a fair amount of overdrive. It sounds best, at least on my amp (KT45), when there's a little amp breakup.

With the knob pulled out, there is some serious gain and more crunch. The amp can be set cleaner, but the overdrive is still pretty pronounced - depending on where the knob is set. I like this.

In both cases, the tone cleans up as I roll back the volume.

I play in a classic rock cover band and the Katana meets my needs. (I still use a Keeley modded 808 as well.

If you find one, it is worth a try.

For myself alone and with tone and oneness, Mike.

[BFC]

I have played one. The amp needs to be doing some work before the pedal does its trick. I personally found the Java Boost to have way too much noise which indicates that it nails the vintage vibe. I also had a really hard time with the price tag after opening it up and having a look at the parts. Take a look inside one of the hundred dollar Barber pedals then take a look inside the Java and try to figure out why the Java costs what it does. The Analogman Beano Boost is essentially the same thing and significantly cheaper but still pricey for what it is and does.

[tom]

i have played other rangemaster things, and had the same experience as you pluto. thought maybe this might be different. the vstack seems to be an exception as it is capable of lots of gain of it's own. thanks.

[mwoeppel]

I bought one after I heard Joe Bonamassa's tone using it. I thought it added some additional color to his already overdriven sound.

As for me, I never get to push my amp that much, so I put it up on the 'bay. Hay! it's there now! :o

Java boost on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3778200975&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT )

[Dave M.]

I bought one after I heard Joe Bonamassa's tone using it. I thought it added some additional color to his already overdriven sound.


Now there's a guy with fire in his playing, and fire in his tone!
Where has he used the pedal? He gets a nice sound out of his Jubilees.

[mwoeppel]

I saw him in a very small club in Oklahoma last fall, got to visit with him and got a close look at his rig. He had 3 pedals into his Marshall; a wah (Vox, i think), line 6 delay modeler, and the java boost. He puts a baffle in front of the amp to control the sound when he cranks it. Very tasty.

[guitarzan]

I worked the Visual Sound booth at NAMM and they shared the space with George L's cables, Trailer Trash Pedal Boards, and Robert Keeley. All weekend long, the booth had traffic of notable players all because of keeley's stuff and the trailer trash Pedal boards (www.trailertrashpedalboards.com). One of the guys who came in was Joe Bonamassa. He thanks Keeley on the liner notes of his newest record and is using a handful of the pedals, namely the java boost and the fuzz head which is a fuzz-meets-overdrive pedal.

For an in-depth look at Joe's rig (pre-keeley), go to the Tone Quest Report site.

http://www.tonequest.com/sample.htm

One of the free sample issues they offer is the Joe B. Cover story. And if they don't have it anymore, just email me.

[rfmason]

I bought a Java Boost last year. It definitely needs to be used with an amp that is already distorting. It sounds awful in front of a clean amp. Under the right circumstances, it can sound really good. But it's pretty easy to get a bad sound too if not adjusted properly. Lower settings work best IMO. Also, it is fairly noisy which I guess is a standard characteristic of these kinds of pedals.

Tom, if you want to try one, let me know; you can borrow mine.

Rob M.

[tom]

thanks for the offer. i do play with a clean amp, so i'll keep looking.