Hello Gearheads! Welcome back to warm and fantastic waters of the tone zone, where I get the supreme pleasure to share with you fantastic new and exciting gear! Today is a great day here at Tinkercity Music, not only do I get the the chance to revisit one of my favorite companies but showcase a brand new release from the awesome folks at Keeley Electronics. If you haven’t had a chance to check out my previous Keeley feature on their Rotary pedal, please take a moment (now or at your tonal leisure) and check it out HERE. Robert Keeley and team have been cranking out some incredible pedals as of late and their next release is definitely doing to make some noise!
What is this magical, dare I say mythical new pedal!? It is indeed the brand new Keeley Electronics Manis! The Manis is Keeley’s effort to begin and end the conversation on the Klon Centaur. While I can’t imagine that literally ANYONE reading this written feature wouldn’t have deep, dare I say compulsive knowledge of the Klon Centaur… if you’ve somehow missed one of the pinnacles of the gear world archetype, plainly put the Klon is mythical, rare and no longer available. In it’s original form, the Klon Centaur fetches insane market prices north of $5k and hence an entire cottage industry has been birthed from it’s ashes. The Klon has become it’s own meta, inception style experience where clones or rather Klones have taken the ethos into new worlds and evolved states.
This is where we meet the present. Robert and his team have taken the Klone mythos to new and exciting heights using their deep knowledge, tonal mapping technology and expertise to create an evolution of the mythical circuit. The Manis isn't just a mod: it’s an evolution of the mythical overdrive mid-boost pedal.
The Manis sports some very useful additions to the stock circuit which include switchable bypass modes, buffered bypass or true bypass, 9v or 18v operation (you absolutely cannot do this with a traditional Klone unless you wish to fry your pedal), an option to use a Germanium diode like the original or a transistor and lastly a bass boost switch. These options not only add simple tonal changes but they’re all very musical.
The mythical circuit in it’s typical use case is seen in two forms. A clean boost or a midrange heavy medium gain overdrive. The original circuit works amazing with certain rigs and not so great with others. Often, the higher gain tones are less than stellar and are met with an unnatural midrange honk that’s unpleasant. Keeley’s changes really help to make this circuit an option for higher gain tones that not only feel great but also sound wonderful regardless of your rig.
I personally found using the Manis in my rig best suited as a medium gain overdrive while using my guitar’s volume knob to clean up the tone. Pushing the amplifier in a great way while having the Manis’ silky midrange to add pleasant compression and clarity. I opted for the stock bass setting and used both the transistor and diode setting with great results. Plainly put I could see the Manis working out in “your” rig like this…. Bass boost on and GE transistor switched for rigs that are more of a pedal platform - cleaner or more headroom. If you’re running a rig where your amp is set to edge of breakup, the bass boost off and GE switch set to diode makes more sense. These features really open up your opportunities to use this kind of circuit and I really do think they’re not only inventive but also very musical.
In the video demo below, I used the Manis on all the stringed instruments including the bass guitar. The Manis sounds awesome on bass! I highly encourage you to check out the Manis whether you’ve owned or tried previous Klones or even if you own an original. It truly is an evolution of a mythical circuit!
Thanks for checking this Gearheads Feature on the Keeley Manis. If you’d like to learn more about Keeley Electronics please do check out these sites for more information.
https://www.facebook.com/KeeleyFX
https://www.instagram.com/keeleyelectronics/
Until next time Gearheads, please take a moment to Like, Subscribe & Share this Feature and I’ll see you all very soon!