NPD Keeley C4 Compressor and Fulltone PlimSoul

[gibsonguitar1988]

Got two new pedals today.

And I LOVE them both.

I'll go ahead and give my review on each as I know how everyone loves my reviews and tone descriptions as well as my video reviews which will be posted this weekend.

Keeley C4 (4-knob) Compressor:

First of all, let me say I have tried or heard every compressor pedal on the market. Wampler Ego, MXR Super Comp, MXR Dyna Comp Block AND Script, MXR Custom Comp, Analogman Bi Comp, Analogman Juicer, Analogman CompROSSor, JHS Pulp N' Peel, Diamond, Empress, Pigtronix Philosophers Tone, BOSS CS-3, BOSS CS-2, BOSS CS-1, Demeter Compulator, Keeley 2-knob, Keeley 4-knob, etc. I could go on and on.

The Keeley 4-knob beats them all HANDS DOWN no competition. Its dark/warm with the right amount of squash (not too squashed) and right amount of transparency (not too transparent, which can happen), and also NOISE FREE. This pedal will only amplify noise that is already present in your rig. It will not make its own noise in my experience. But if you have a noisy amp or a noisy board, it WILL amplify that as that is what a good compressor does, highlights the quiet sounds and tames the loud sounds and balances it. It has the right amount of smoothness as well. I love it for chicken pickin Country playing, funk, lead boost, extra sustain, you name it. It's so versatile and so usable it's no wonder why guys like Brent Mason use this as well as guys like Peter Stroud. It's a killer compressor pedal. I needed a compressor that wasn't too transparent and that was warm. For my #1 compressor (and right now only compressor), I needed one with a bit of squash and one that was dark/warm/smooth. If I add a 2nd compressor to my board it will be a dark compressor as well but more transparent (something like the Demeter Compulator). I need dark compressors because my amps are really bright (Blackface Fenders). I would have loved the Wampler if it wasn't so damn bright. I LOVE my Keeley!

Fulltone PlimSoul:

It's no secret to anyone in this section that I'm a dirt pedal addict (just read my signature, baby! ) and that I have a ton of them on my board which I am adamant about having and I've received some flak for but still stand by my use of. I have said previously that my favorite overdrive out of every dirt pedal I've tried (including ones I don't own currently or that are not on my board) was the Wampler Paisley Drive. Well, this PlimSoul is giving my Paisley a run for it's money. And I've tried pretty much every dirt pedal out there. I can't get over the tones I'm getting. I have it mainly on the soft clipping side with just a hair touch of hard clipping to give it that edge. This is truly Joe Walsh in a box. And you can get this box at any Guitar Center. I opened it up to remove the battery and make sure Joe wasn't somehow shrunk and stuck in this box. (you have to admire my wit and humor). It NAILS the Life's Been Good tone better than any pedal I have. It NAILS the Eagles tones I love so much (Hotel California, Already Gone, etc). It's PERFECT in every way. It is a very midrangey and WARM overdrive where as the OCD is a very flat EQ and BRIGHT overdrive.

So for all of the OCD haters (which I still don't understand but to each his own), this is the answer to your prayers. This has everything you want and you can still get the OCD tone if you want plus you can have more mids, less bass, and more warmth if you like. It's like having a Fulldrive and an OCD in one box. For the person who wants both pedals but can only have one, the PlimSoul is the one to buy. I love my OCD and now that I love the PlimSoul I am going to get a Fulldrive just to complete my Fulltone main dirt collection. I LOVE Mike's dirtboxes. God bless Mike Fuller - he's the father of the boutique pedal industry IMO. Just like Lindy Fralin is the father of the boutique pickup industry IMO.

Conclusion:

I will be shooting two separate videos on each pedal tomorrow and will upload them over the weekend so check back.

And to end it off - here is my board in it's current form. I just need a Delay, Phaser, and still waiting for my Tim overdrive. I plan to get those at Christmastime. I also have a few other dirts on my list for a future board. The Wampler Black '65, Wampler Hot Wired, Wampler SLOstortion, Fulltone Fulldrive, BearFoot Honey Bee, and Catalinbread Formula No 5 (unless Wampler comes out with his Tweed Overdrive he is rumored to be working on).

My signature says it all!

 

[2009LPGT]

Happy NPD!

"I will be shooting two separate videos on each pedal tomorrow and will upload them over the weekend so check back."

Looking forward to these! I must have missed your other demos in the past that you refer to at the beginnig of the post, can you provide a link? I would love to check them out!

 

[gibsonguitar1988]

I will PM you a link.

 

[Couldn'tStandTheWeather]

HNPD!

Welcome to the PlimSoul club! It's so versatile. My other dirt pedals seem to be gathering dust.

And congrats on that Keeley. I know you'll love it too. I almost kept mine but the Custom Comp won me over by a hair.

Have fun!

 

[gibsonguitar1988]

HNPD!

Welcome to the PlimSoul club! It's so versatile. My other dirt pedals seem to be gathering dust.

And congrats on that Keeley. I know you'll love it too. I almost kept mine but the Custom Comp won me over by a hair.

Have fun!

Thanks! I can't wait to use these at my gig on the 1st of next month. I have a huge music festival I put on every year on my family's farm (it's been in the family for ages and belonged to my great grandparents) and it's like a mini-Woodstock if you will with lots of different bands and players and I'm going to be headlining the event with a new band I'm working on starting (my Eagles tribute is in hiatus due to members having things come up in their lives but I hope to get that going again next year) and we will do lots of tunes. I'll try to get some video of that for here as well and I'll post in this thread some clips of the PlimSoul and Keeley in a live environment which will be good.

 

[Hector Arcadius]

You dirt -junkie!


MAN, I could spend HOURS with that pedalboard of yours! Tweaking and comparing stuff, getting similar sounds, getting different sounds, stacking them for extra fun and so on... And in the end, you know, that's the important thing. Having gear that inspires you to play more & more. And the more you enjoy, the more you keep playing and, eventually, getting better at it.

Congrats on the new acquisitions bro. Enjoy them to the max!

 

[gibsonguitar1988]

You dirt -junkie!


MAN, I could spend HOURS with that pedalboard of yours! Tweaking and comparing stuff, getting similar sounds, getting different sounds, stacking them for extra fun and so on... And in the end, you know, that's the important thing. Having gear that inspires you to play more & more. And the more you enjoy, the more you keep playing and, eventually, getting better at it.

Congrats on the new acquisitions bro. Enjoy them to the max!

Yep - that's what's most important!!! Being inspired to play. My gear definitely does just that. I've always had good gear and always have been inspired to play right from the beginning. That is how I advanced so fast and worked my way into becoming a professional musician and being in bands. Nothing will help your playing more than sounding great. When you have good gear that inspires you to play you will play your best. I have to be inspired by the tone I'm getting back to play my best. That's a crucial part of my playing I can't do without.

And yes I'm a total dirt junkie. I like to tailor the drive pedal to a song or two to help me get those studio recorded tones. So I might use one pedal for only a couple of songs. That's why I have so many of them. But they all sound different.

Thanks!!!

 

[GrouchyDog]

HNPD!!

I knew you were gonna love the Plimsoul - it's a really versatile pedal, isn't it? It cleans up SO nice with guitar volume OR pick control, I just love it!

If anyone cares, here's my review of it: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/pedals/159240-npd-fulltone-plimsoul.html

 

[gibsonguitar1988]

Yes that's one of the first things I noticed is how responsive it is - it's perfect! I love it!

 

[gibsonguitar1988]

PlimSoul Video Demo:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-LN9KESiME]New Pedal Demo #1 - YouTube[/ame]

Keeley Compressor Video Demo to come tomorrow evening.

 

[MineGoesTo11]

Plim Soul rocks! I have one!

 

[gibsonguitar1988]

Plim Soul rocks! I have one!

It's my new favorite overdrive/distortion pedal. Very musical and so very versatile. Mike Fuller is a genius. I love his pedals. I also have the OCD. Hope to add the FullDrive and FatBoost to my collection eventually!

Glad you dig your PlimSoul! I love mine.

 

[Hector Arcadius]

Many thanks for the video GG1988! Great job as always. This pedal sounded KILLER with the Les Paul! Indeed Mike Fuller knows how to make some amazing drive pedals, no doubt about it.


And I like your point of view and that you're pretty straight about it: ''I don't make exact pedal demos, there are other guys out there that do that. I play what I play, with my gear and take it as it is''. Keep rocking man.

 

[gibsonguitar1988]

Many thanks for the video GG1988! Great job as always. This pedal sounded KILLER with the Les Paul! Indeed Mike Fuller knows how to make some amazing drive pedals, no doubt about it.


And I like your point of view and that you're pretty straight about it: ''I don't make exact pedal demos, there are other guys out there that do that. I play what I play, with my gear and take it as it is''. Keep rocking man.

No, thank YOU for watching!

And yep - I'm not out to make money, sell pedals, or be the best demoer on the Utoobz, all I do is make some videos of pedals with my sounds I like that people may also like if they like the Joe Walsh style of playing and my way of getting tones out of the boxes.

 

[yawny]

Great playing GG.

Personally, I would consider your videos less of demos and more of showcases, as you aren't so much showing all that the pedal can do, but are showing off the tone you like from it.

A little long for my taste, but good job nonetheless.

 

[gibsonguitar1988]

Great playing GG.

Personally, I would consider your videos less of demos and more of showcases, as you aren't so much showing all that the pedal can do, but are showing off the tone you like from it.

A little long for my taste, but good job nonetheless.

Thanks so much yawny!

Thanks, and yep like I say at the beginning of the video - I just show off the sounds I like with it and the people that like my type of tone will know if the pedal can "get it" or not. For the whole range of tones, I HIGHLY recommend guys like Burgerman666, Gearmanndude, and ProGuitarShop. Those guys mic their amps and show every setting imaginable. I go by their reviews a lot for my pedal purchases. I'm not trying to sell pedals but rather make fun informal demos.

And I know my videos are longer but I don't do them too often and I always figure people can skip ahead as I like to do about a 3 minute intro talking abou the pedal, why I got it, updates on what I'm doing, etc. These are somewhat personal videos as they go out to my friends as well. But my subscribers that subscribe know my video style and know I am an opinionated talker and that I love to talk. I am a little camera shy about playing though at times. My videos are meant to be fun informal laid back "demos" of what sounds I like and just showing off my new gear and hopefully turning other people on to great gear. Although I'm not in this to sell pedals. I just like helping people find good pedals to buy... I have had a lot of experience with many pedals and when I find one I want to keep and do a video for, (after trying I bet close to 50 I bet), you know it's one worth listening to. I've passed up a lot of pedals, even high end boutiques for the ones I have. I won't name names as I don't want to put any pedal maker down but I'm very picky about pedals. I even have passed up other pedals by makers who's other pedals I use.

But I agree. I'll refrain from using the word demo in the future, as I'm not in any way nor do I have any desire to compete with the likes of Gearmanndude or PGS or any other great pedal demoer (who I personally love to subscribe to). My vids are meant to be funny, relaxed, and just about me talking about my new gear and recommending it to friends. And letting people hear how this stuff works for that Joe Walsh/Eagles or Classic Rock tone. I'll call them NPD videos instead!

Thanks again! I appreciate it! You're very kind.

 

[yawny]

Also, I have a question.

I saw in the first post that you said you'd played the Diamond before and prefer the 4 Knob to it. What would you consider the Keeley to he better at? I'm looking at expanding my (non-existent) board considerably this holiday season and was looking primarily at the Diamond and the Keeley, as they seem to be the best offerings out there.

 

[gibsonguitar1988]

Also, I have a question.

I saw in the first post that you said you'd played the Diamond before and prefer the 4 Knob to it. What would you consider the Keeley to he better at? I'm looking at expanding my (non-existent) boar considerably this holiday season and was looking primarily at the Diamond and the Keeley, as they seem to be the best offerings out there.

The Diamond is a great choice but ultimately I liked the "squash" of the Keeley better. The Diamond is IMO more transparent and didn't have enough "squish" for me. The Keeley is more transparent than say, an MXR Dyna Comp, but the Keeley still retains the right amount of compression.

But the Diamond is great for sure. It's just more transparent IME than the Keeley, although the Keeley is more transparent than other compressors. But for me and what I like, there is such a thing as too transparent.

Hope this helps. I tried many in store and listened to a lot of demos before I bought my Keeley. And it was worth every penny.

Watch for a NPD video on the Keeley later this evening!

 

[yawny]

Thanks GG. I always find it hard to gather how good a compressor is just by watching demos, since poor micing takes away a lot of what you would hear if you were actually there listening to the person play. I feel that the compressor loses more than most in pedal demos.

I do like it transparent, but it's nice that some comps can be transparent, but thicken up with the turn of a knob.

The 4 Knob has no eq right? I know the diamond does, but it also has bypass.

 

[gibsonguitar1988]

Thanks GG. I always find it hard to gather how good a compressor is just by watching demos, since poor micing takes away a lot of what you would hear if you were actually there listening to the person play. I feel that the compressor loses more than most in pedal demos.

I do like it transparent, but it's nice that some comps can be transparent, but thicken up with the turn of a knob.

The 4 Knob has no eq right? I know the diamond does, but it also has bypass.

That's why I LOVE the Keeley. It's so thick when you mess with the gain and attack.

The 4 Knob has Sustain (compression amount), Level (volume), Attack (slow or fast attack), and Clipping (amount of gain).

Personally, I find the Keeley to be just the thing. I'm uploading my vid right now. Stay tuned! I'm also trying to work on my setlist ideas for my big festival next weekend at the same time.