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Keeley Dark Side Multi-effects Pedal Reviews

Multi-effects Pedal for Electric Guitar, with Fuzz, Delay, Flanger, Rotary Speaker, U-Vibe, and Phaser Effects, and Expression Pedal Input

Combining biting fuzz, multi-head tape-style delay, and vibrant modulation effects, the Keeley Dark Side Workstation pedal is tailor-made for Floyd-esque psychedelic tone. The fuzz is based on a 1977 op-amp fuzz circuit, tweaked for maximum sustain and clarity. The multi-head tape delay effect offers 12 syncopated delay patterns, and the modulation section provides Flanger, Rotary Speaker, U-Vibe, and Phaser effects. And an Order switch makes it easy to switch the order of your effects on the fly. Get even wilder with your effects by connecting an expression pedal (not included). If '70s psychedelic and classic rock tones are your thing, Sweetwater highly recommends that you check out the Keeley Dark Side Workstation pedal.

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$299.00

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Highest Rated Reviews

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Love this workhorse of a pedal!

By Dave M from Framingham, Massachusetts on January 3, 2024 Music Background: hobbyist

Being a huge Dave Gilmour fan I was so excited to get this pedal especially for the delay part of it. I was gonna give 4.5 stars because you can't use any of the modulation effects with the delay but I mean c'mon sometimes we (or at least I) expect so much from our pedals. At this price it's an incredible deal. You get all those sweet phaser/uni-vibe and flanger/rotary effects with an option to blend them for unique sounds. The fuzz side is great too and is very versatile. And of course the delay is so magically beautiful! The folks down at Keeley and Sweetwater share a passion for providing the best products and customer service you could possibly ask for. Thanks Sweetwater and all the people at Keeley for this absolute gem of a pedal!

Inspiration, motivation, and fun

By Steve Harris from Fort Collins, CO on September 26, 2023 Music Background: Bass player, guitar player, vocalist, songwriter, recording

This is one cool pedal. I didn't need this, it was a whim to have a fun toy for my little practice amp while recovering from surgery, which made it difficult to traverse stairs to my performance gear. I've had more fun with this pedal on that little practice amp than I have in years. Its variety of modulation, delay and a very versatile fuzz, offers many combinations of creative vibes. With the addition of the Mission Engineering expression pedal, I can't stop grabbing my guitar to play with this thing. It's becoming a problem, oh no.
Yes there are limitations to its versatility. Specifically, you can't use the delay with the modulation effects simultaneously. So it nice if you have an extra delay or reverb coming out from the Dark Side to add some sweetness to the modulations. My practice amp lacks any reverb or other effects, so I added a EH Canyon delay for this purpose. The delay in the Dark Side is very cool too. Again, add that expression pedal to it and it's some serious psychedelic fun. I do hope they offer a deluxe version of this some day that gives the delay its own switch. Maybe also an output for the fuzz and modulation for a front end delivery to the amp input, with an additional in and out jack for using the delay in an effects loop. Perhaps Stereo outs, and a switchable mods to go to either the amp input or the effects loop would be even cooler.
While I intended this for use with my guitar gear, Bass is my primary instrument of choice, so I had to give it a go. It sounds freaking awesome. I run my main bass rig with a dual amp setup in wet/dry/wet, and there was no discernible cut to the lower frequencies, but the dry amp holds up the lows anyway. So I tried it briefly in a small bass combo amp to see if I was loosing any bottom end. I didn't feel like I was missing anything, but I will need to explore this a bit more.
Over all, the Dark Side is Great fun for the guitar or bass, and it will inspire and motivate you to new musical adventures. Thanks Keeley and Sweetwater for providing me with a fun distraction from my surgery recovery time.

Pretty Much Gilmour In A box

By Sweetwater Customer from FL on March 13, 2022

Give you alot of great effects in a 2 pedal platform. Vibe, Chorus, Phaser, Flanger, Rotary Tape Echo is great and fuzz circuit with 3 settings. Sounds like Big Muff. You can not use say vibe w tape delay at the same time but I find that no hassle. I have a phase 90,e lady, and a flashback set for same effect so I can do whatever. The fuxx is ok. My first Keely pedal and it is very nice

Instant Pink Floyd and more!

By Lasergoon from California on March 11, 2022

This is one amazing pedal. Every effect is great and I wouldn't change the sound of any of them.
Super price for what you get!

This is a great pedal!!

By Mike V. from Enjoying the Gulf Coast on December 18, 2021 Music Background: I play, write, record, tour, learn…been around a bit

I love this pedal, takes a minute to dive in deep, but worth the effort. So much variety, so many options and that classic Keeley vibe, tone for days. There is a reason why Keeley seems to always get 5 star ratings, they earn them. And, as always, thanks to my long-time sales engineer Matt Alexander, good guy who knows his stuff!!

Keeley Dark Side!

By Bruce Kerr from Southern Illinois on July 14, 2021 Music Background: Guitar player

I like it! I've never had rotary or uni vibe pedals so that's great! Never had fuzz either. I was under the false impression that the blend knob was circled by leds but that's not the case. It's painted dots. No biggie! I will say that it will take me a while to discover all the sounds in this pedal. I bought to have some fun with and it's definitely a blast and sounds great! It's essentially a pedal board in one pedal. I have three pedal boards I use but thought this would be great for a simple setup and it really is! I believe I can use this and have fun too! Thanks to Nate Barringer for hooking me up!

Fantastic Pedal!

By Josue from Brownsville TX on June 17, 2021 Music Background: intermediate guitar player .... Just for the FUN OF IT!!!!!

I recently purchase this pedal and I am very satisfied with it; I own a reissue of the original 77 Op-Amp fuzz and adding the toggle for additional tone modes makes this version very versatile.

Delay is excellent, can dial in classic delay sounds very easily even tough there is no tap tempo option.

Modulation combinations are excellent allowing you to run to effects at once!!!

I will like to give a a shoutout to James Lorann; he is an excellent sales engineer, always on top following up on my orders and keeping in touch to check on my gear!.

So glad I bought this

By Max from New York on December 29, 2020

I saw some YouTube vids on this pedal and had to try it out for myself. The fuzz is better than any of my other fuzz pedals. The modulation effects are fantastic and the delay/echo settings can get you into the Pink Floyd zone. So glad I bought this.
Thank you Nick Beach

Fantastic pedal great overall for 70s tone

By Sweetwater Customer on September 14, 2020

The Keeley Dark Side is amazing it gets David Gilmour Tones pretty spot on if you add a boost pedal, reverb, compressor pedal and another tape delay (because you can't use the delay at the same time at the modulations) you can get pretty much all of his tones. It also does Hendrix really well the fuzz with the univibe or phaser screams Hendrix. There's a option to put a expression pedal As well and you can increase and decrease the univibe like in Jimi Hendrix's machine gun. $... for this is a great deal you get 6 pedals in 1 and each effect sounds amazing.

Pink Floyd all night long!

By Ted Loughry from Englewood, CO on August 9, 2020

There is a guy who plays in a taproom where I play who does a Led Zeppelin night every December. The brewery even brews a special triple IPA called Stairway to Heaven for those gigs. Let me tell you he is great! But I got jealous, and I convinced the brewery to let me do a Pink Floyd night, all acoustic! They even brewed a beer for Pink Floyd night, Dark Side of the Beer! I was angling for Wish You Were Beer, but they wanted people to drink the beer and that name is not really screaming drink me. Anyway I think that I am qualified to review a Pink Floyd in a box pedal having done Pink Floyd night 4 years running. This thing is outstanding! It has earned a permanent spot on my acoustic pedalboard! The delays alone are worth the price, the Fuzz is just the right amount of fuzzy and the filters are top notch. It is literally on all night long! The learning curve is a bit steep because of the color coded delay settings so I keep the one page manual on the floor to remind me but Dang! I love this thing!

Keeley Dark Side Workstation

By JampacJ from Monterey County on June 21, 2020 Music Background: Studio Musician

I am amazed at all the tone's and capabilities in one pedal. When I add other pedals before and after, this workstation becomes a workhorse of awesome! Keeley knocked it out of the park again! Running this pedal into my Fender Pro Jr. IV brings characteristics that are extremely pleasing to my ear and creates dynamics that enhance my playing capabilities so much more. Excellent work of art Mr. Keeley!

"If only you knew the power of the Dark Side"

By J. Robison from Fort Worth, TX on June 17, 2020

What a fantastic pedal from Keeley Electronics. I bought this for the modulation and tape delay but ended up really digging the fuzz side. I've sold every fuzz pedal I've tried and this one has something special. It goes without saying that the Dark Side can do a lot of signature Gilmour sounds but that is just scratching the surface. I'm not a fan of complicated knob turning but don't let the controls scare you as it is very user friendly once you understand the creative layout. Tone for days and tons of inspiration to be found in this little black pedal (it's much smaller than I anticipated). Thanks to Sweetwater for delivering exceptional customer service and speedy shipping. If you are on the fence, listen to the Dark Side of the force and snag one of these.

killer pedal

By Chad McIntosh on March 16, 2020 Music Background: drums - 10 years. bass/guitar - 8 years.

this pedal is literally everything i needed to complete my pedal board. also, steele was very helpful by hooking me up with a discount, n keeping up with us all day. i had a great experience going to sweetwater and i will be back!!

dark side pedal

By Peter from Hammond IN on February 3, 2020 Music Background: Rythm guitar

Sweet sounds. This pedal is fantastic.

Great gear

By Mr Bill Degroot from MB on December 12, 2019

Amazing lots of tonal options

Keeley Dark Side

By Ronald Leger from Massachusetts on December 9, 2019 Music Background: Blues, Rock

Amazing Pedal, does more than clip Pink Floyd, can even get Dire Straights tone , very versatile pedal

Keeley dark side pedal

By William from Green, ohio on July 2, 2019 Music Background: Average Recreational player

I'm a huge pink floyd enthusiast! I've only had my pedal for about a week, maybe have 5 hours invested, and I am completely satisfied. I'm sure there is a lot more I can get out of the pedal over time, but I've been able to get some great floydish sounds going. I'm looking forward to opening the full potential of this pedal. Thank you sweet water. Fyi..if you order this amazing pedal, make sure you order the power cord with it. It comes seperate. Sweetwater was somehow able to get it to me the following day of receiving my pedal. Thank you

Absolutely amazing.

By Chris Ebbecke from New Jersey on April 13, 2019

This petal has absolutely exceeded my expectations. I'm playing on a Gibson les paul limited edition on a simple fender champion amp. I never knew that this amp could sound so astounding. Buy this, buy this, buy this.

The Pedal That Completes my Board!

By Chris from Ohio on February 20, 2019

I initially visited Sweetwater to check out another Keeley pedal with a rotary-flange effect (Dino my Roto) as it is a cheaper pedal. I was aware of this pedal, and decided to try it out as well, and while I did really like the Dino my Roto pedal, I couldn"t help myself and caved on this one instead.
It"s rotary-flange effect is flawless, as was the DMR pedal"s - very clean and not much "swishy" noise - but it"s other effects are sweet too, and definitely worth the extra cost. The U-vibe is pretty legit, you can definitely get a Hendrix tone out of it. I can see why not being able to use delay with the modulation effects would be a bummer, but I particularly don"t mind as I have a decent delay pedal on my board anyway. I do think I like it"s delay better though, to be honest.
A big seller for me as well was the fuzz. I was never into fuzz, but I knew I couldn"t get a true 70"s tone without just a little of it, but I never wanted to buy a fuzz pedal just to keep it"s settings super low all the time. Problem solved. The fuzz on this pedal is top notch, there"s a lot of options for control, and you can get a pretty good variety of fuzz tones out of it. I can even get an Eric Johnson-like tone.
The pedal also works great with some of my other pedals; my overdrive pedal can add some character to the modulation, and my Keeley 30ms Double Tracker blends with the rotary-flange mod beautifully. As of now, my pedal board should be complete for quite some time. Awesome pedal, Mr Keeley, you deserve these 5 stars.

Not perfect, but worth the $$ anyway

By Jon from TX on September 10, 2018 Music Background: Compulsive Noodler / Old Fart

Like the Tone Workstation, this pedal is simply amazing and offers tremendous value for the money. If you're wondering whether or not it'll produce Gilmour's tones, the answer is an unequivocal YES.
As for the effects themselves, my take on them is as follows:
Fuzz-I've never really liked fuzz until I got this pedal. This is a great sounding fuzz, and it can be tweaked for a multitude of different tones.
Delay-It was kind of difficult to read the chart that explains the settings, but there are some impressive old-school tape delay sounds in there.
Flange-Great.
U-Vibe-Best I've ever heard.
Phase-Very Good.
Rotary-Adequate.

Not all of the effects can be used at the same time, but the Dark Side can create that Gilmour ambiance with ease. To be honest, I bought it for that reason alone. The fact that it's exceptionally useful for other things is a bonus.

Keeley’s Dark Side

By Bashar Arafat from Torrance CA on August 11, 2018 Music Background: A Serious Hobbyist and a Guitar Lover

Got mine at last. Gilmour is one of Guitar Heroes of all Times. This Pedal Nails All Floyd"s Tunes hands down.
The Dark Side replaced a host of pedals and Workstations on my floor it"s all I need really.
I run it through my Avalon Design U5 DI for Bold and Vibrant Sounds especially when using the clean settings. I recommend this Pedal to everyone who wants to enjoy the genuine (Fuzz Guitar Sound) Of Classic And 70s Rock. Sweetwater Service is unquestionably unmatchable, Been a customer since 2005. Thank you my Rep Tad Shaffer for your great friendly customer service and solid support.

Great pedal period!

By Nathan Lomax from Lake city, AR on May 6, 2018 Music Background: Singer/songwriter- amateur recording engineer

I have a black strat much life David Gilmour"s. I"ve been searching for that guitar tone for years! I was gonna get the caitlan bread echoric tape delay machine based on the Binson tape delay machine ( early 70s ). This nails the delay, and also has the modulation effects. Plus beautiful fuzz distortion with a filter for tone. Great buy!

Worth every Penney - in fact, but two

By Doc Tari on April 27, 2018 Music Background: 50 years of serious playing from the time I could hold a guitar

I can finally mothball about 30 lbs of big old pedals that still couldn" Recreate that signature Gilmour tone and effects. Now you get everything you want in the palm of your hand (not kidding, you"ll be shocked how small this pedal really is. I thought is was expensive and was dubious of what I would get. Within half an hour of experimentation I bought a second as a backup. Then I stripped a number of pedals off my pedalboard and shelf a lot of 70"s weight. Totally worth the money. Don"t even question it like I did.

Gilmour envy...uh, yeah!

By Don R. from Oklahoma City on April 9, 2018 Music Background: Guitar player/enthusiast for over 50 years.

If you"ve tried to dial in that "Gilmour" sound, and just can"t seem to dial it in, then this is the pedal for you.
Unbelievable effect!

Very Versatile Pedal

By Eric from MN on December 26, 2017 Music Background: Novice

Of course I bought this pedal to try to get as close as I can to Gilmour's tone, and it does a fantastic job of that. But I have also found this pedal does Smashing Pumpkins and Tool tones with pretty good accuracy as well. I'm sure I'll find some more gems in this pedal the more I use it, but for somebody looking for a multi-dimensional pedal look no further than this little black box. Robert Keeley has done a fantastic job with this pedal. The only complaint I have, like everybody else, is that I wish the delay wasn't combined with the modulation section of the pedal. It would be really nice to have that used in addition to fuzz and flanger/rotary or phaser/uvibe. This is my first Keeley pedal, and I will be buying more.

Dark Side + Monterey= Mojo Majic

By Ken from USA on September 20, 2017 Music Background: Decades Playing and Recording

I've been running a Monterey on my pedal board for over a year now, including a busy live gig schedule and an easy 100 hrs of studio time. Spectacular pedal on every level, but I eventually came to the conclusion I needed two, eliminating 3 other pedals in the process, leaving only the delay. I was about to order another one when bass player said "don't be an idiot,get the Dark Side, it has a delay". For reals, the combo of these two pedals, along with a compressor and a Moog expression pedal(highly recommended btw), is all I need to compliment my 100w BOSS Katana head. As far as the Dark Side itself, a game changer for me. I love the delay, the phaser is a favorite. Keeley! Every guitar player should give one a try, it's pure joy. If I was to recommend one pedal, it's this one. Also, the 3 times I have needed to contact Keeley for tech support have been a true testament to customer service. These guys love their jobs and I love the big 'ol pot of Mojo Stew they brew to create their unique pedals. I'm not buying the criticism I've read on this pedal, it doesn't match up with the pedal I own. This is pro-level,studio-grade Mojo In A Box. Buy one... Then get a Monterey. Then get your mind blown!

Great value

By Joe from OH on September 2, 2017

Haven't had much time to really get to know it yet, but after an hour of playing last night I'm going to say that this thing will never leave my board. Modulations, the delay, and fuzz are all great. The Dark Side even stacks really well with my MojoHand Odessa and J Rockett Flex Drive. I occasionally play a Pink Floyd song in a set or some just for fun on my own, but I got this as an overall tone shaping tool. It's got quite a bit more going on than just being a Gilmour inspired pedal. This is my first Keeley pedal.... seriously impressed.

KEELEY DARK SIDE - CHANNELING MY INNER GILMOUR

By Doug from Shadows of Lake Tahoe on July 7, 2017 Music Background: two years

I wish Sweetwater could send me David Gilmour's fingers and mind.... sweet piece of equipment.

Surprisingly Versatile

By D.R.Bass on July 3, 2017 Music Background: Blues with Fender guitars and amps

Unquestionably well made but most important, quality sound. Rich tone and plenty of sound shaping, it can stand alone as a single gig pedal.
The Fuzz is wonderfully tasty and throw in Uvibe and you've got Hendrix with voluminous sustain.
The 'back in the day' Delay is all one could want.

A very satisfying pedal that certainly deserves 5 Stars.

Really fun

By Jeffrey from Kalamazoo, MI on June 18, 2017 Music Background: Weekend gigger/pedal junkie

I love Keeley pedals, and use a Tone Workstation in the front of my chain. It's so good I wish I'd bought one sooner, but that's a different review.
Based on the quality of that one I wanted some modulation and got the Dark Side. I don't need to play any Gilmour stuff in our sets but the components of this pedal are all useful to me, and the order button is a great addition to this pedal.
After playing live a few times I can say a few things: For context, this is with an hss strat and a custom deluxe reverb amp.
The fuzz is very useful and smooth. It sounds like a vintage fuzz and isn't super high gain or spitty. It fits well with the 60s and 70s covers we do.
The modulation effects are rich and sound great. They aren't over top and also sound very vintage and blend with the signal really well.
The delay, for me, is a really great part of this pedal. It can go from subtle to complex with multi head options that do sounds like Gilmour but can do a hundred other amazing things. It handles Hendrix, Trower, and a hundred one hit 60's bands amazingly well.
If you want to do the Gilmour thing, it will do that eerily well, but the effects in this thing are all very high quality and can make some awesome sounds , either alone or combined. Some people have mentioned that you can't combine the delay with modulation but that's okay for me. I have a supa puss in the chain if I ever need to do that. Like the Tone Workstation, it seems pricey until you realize how many pedals in can replace and how many things it can do really well. Love it and it sounds great in my rig. I'm definitely a Keeley fan.

Fantastic

By Jeff from NW Indiana on March 31, 2017 Music Background: 40 years guitar/bass

Just got this pedal 3 days ago and it is possibly the best pedal I have ever owned. I own pedals by Wampler, Earthquaker Devices, JHS, MoJo Hand, Catalinbread and EHX. So many possibilities with this one. Would I buy it again, ABSOFREAKING Lutely!

Sounds just like Gilmour

By Sweetwater Customer on March 20, 2017

I have tried finding pedals to sound like Gilmour because in my opinion there's no one that has that sound , this pedal does it . Put On the dark side album and you can't hear a difference between Gilmour and yourself sound wise , definitely worth the money

Dark Side workstation

By Robert Schaefer on December 23, 2016

Another fantastic Kealey pedal,get it you will thoroughly enjoy everything you can pull from this one pedal love Pink Floyd? Need I say more? I also have to recommend the Wolff pedal by keeley just been three great hits

It is what you make it

By Terry from USA on November 25, 2016 Music Background: Love music

I think it sounds beautiful. It would be nice to use delay separate. But , I am not complaining. It doesn't take a lot to get something dialed in and your off!!!! Very inspiring with open minded musicians. Would buy again. I love it !!!!

A Pink Floyd Fan's Dream

By Jeremy Spevack from Brewster, MA on May 17, 2020 Music Background: College Musician

Pink Floyd has always been one of my favorite bands and I love playing their stuff on guitar. I was never much of a pedal guy, but the Dark Side Pedal seemed to offer all of those epic Gilmour tones. I ordered one and it did not disappoint.

Pros:
- Modulation effects are excellent: the uni-vibe, phaser, and rotary are incredible and really dial in those Dark Side of the Moon sounds. The flanger is fine, but did not impress me as much.
- The delay feature takes a different approach than most delay pedals I have worked with. I actually like this style a lot better, I found the tape-head delay layout requires less knob adjusting and creates more inspiration.
- The build quality is solid. I am careful with my equipment, but I don't think I would have to worry about this one. It feels like a little tank.

Cons:
- More expensive than your average pedal (as of May 2020)

*I personally do not like fuzz and I rarely use it. I prefer a mellow, psychedelic sound, That being said, there are definitely some tonal varieties to be found within the fuzz half the pedal.

Overall opinion: I don't usually go for pedals, but this one completely blew me away. It is expensive, but much more powerful than an average guitar pedal. If you like Pink Floyd or want something psychedelic, this is THE pedal to own.

Keeley Dark Side

By Salvatore Grado II from Bowling Green, Kentucky on March 18, 2019 Music Background: Guitarist, singer/songwriter

No user guide for settings provided and no 9v power supply provided. Lots of YouTube videos cover the operation of this great pedal, but very few provide the amps that are used in their demos and the amp settings used to get the tone right.

I use a DT50 head and 412 stereo Fender Mustang cabinet two using Eminence The Governor and two Eminence Man O War speakers in a cross pattern.

I am running HiWay 100 and emulated HiWay 412 on the DT50.

Its close, but dialing in the amp tone would go a long way with my strat to duplicate the tone presented in most video reviews of this pedal.

I have no regrets getting this pedal.

I just have to spend some time with it.

Oustanding

By Zam from Nashville on January 5, 2018

I find its sound very 70's retro ..Can dial in anything from Hendrix to the Eagles and most everything in between ..Great lil box of tricks with a sweet sound ..Would be nice unit for cover bands with a wide range of tones ..My Strat loves it

Gilmour and More!

By Alex from Austin TX on December 19, 2017

This thing is so much fun! I"ve had it for two months and I keep finding new ways to utilize it. The fuzz is so amazing on it that it made me actually like fuzz! The half a star I took off was for the delay. It"s freaking amazing, but you can"t use it together with the The other effects. It"s a simple fix since I have a Keeley Caverns V2 (another Keeley pedal that continues to impress) but if you don"t have another delay pedal that"s going to be a disappointment.


My favorite effect is easily the univibe. While he didn"t use it for long, when he did it was memorable, and the univibe effect on here is heavily customizable and fun. This pedal has made me more creative and given me the ability to find unique tones I wouldn"t have found otherwise. I don"t know if it"s for everyone, but it"s Definitely for me!

Very versatile pedal

By Jeff from NW Indiana on April 23, 2017 Music Background: 35+ years guitar and bass

The last thing I needed was another pedal. Sweetwater offered this for slightly over $ for a very short time so I said why not? I love this pedal. So inspiring, makes me want to write and play. The fuzz is outstanding. The delay, phaser, vibe, flanger all slung great. There is nothing about this pedal that I don't like. It stacks well with my other pedals too. I salut Bob Kelley, he really hit this one out of the park.

Love it

By Jeff from NW Indiana on March 30, 2017 Music Background: 40 years guitar and bass

My wife and my son gave me Sweetwater gift certificates for my birthday and I bought this pedal. I received it 2 days ago and while I'm still learning to create the sounds in my head with it I can say it is a phenomenal pedal. On my main board I have 14 pedals from Wampler, Catalina Bread, Mojo Hand, etc. This is one of the best I've ever used.

A lot of sounds in a little box…

By dan Peabody from Mesa az on November 10, 2023 Music Background: Lead guitar brotherhood of blues for the last 20 years

Generally, I'm not into wobbly effects. I mean sure in the 1980s I was using course like everyone else but these days I am playing more vintage or 70s style music and I always feel out of place using courses or flanges in phase shift or something to that nature which is actually is very useful tool, and get some excellent sounds, and the fact that it has the first and the other side is a bonus, try it you just won't like it. It may have her in the place of my board.

Had about a month now

By Jocko Angle from LONG BEACH, MS on October 8, 2021

Love this pedal, it is DG in a box for sure. Add a Strat Styled guitar and a open back amp and your ready for pure Floyd tones. Adding a expression pedal opens up on the fly changes in tempo or expression depending on the effect you choose. Love the fuzz at lower levels, not at the extreme levels and dang sure not the scooped version. Add reverb to the chain and its pure bliss.

Classic Keeley

By Sweetwater Customer on May 25, 2021

I'm a Keeley fan my pedalboard is mainly Keeley. The delay is fantastic and different than Eccos or Caverns especially if you're copping Gilmore the Univibe and Fuzz are awesome separate and together you need to be careful changing the settings and you have to move the toggle (bend over) to switch settings overall I like it a lot. Keeley stuff is awesome!

Dark Side of the room...

By Rich Martin from MI on December 2, 2019 Music Background: Rock Ninja (; 3=

Pretty cool box! Covers all the DSOTM sounds, and more. Modulations are warm and can go deep. Delays are the same.
The fuzz section is something I use pretty sparingly, but as far as fuzzs go it's better than expected. Overall, a welcome addition to my pedalboard. Try one!

Dark Side ~ Exceptional

By Croz' on November 6, 2017

Fabulous effects, true and beautifully variable. I find the Fuzz section very, very powerful. Consequently I have the level at a very low setting. Otherwise this effect does exactly what it says with astonishing tone and balance.

4 Stars because!!!

By J from Florida on November 28, 2016 Music Background: Studio musician.

I own well over 300 pedals n this is the closest "Gilmour" in a box type pedal I ve ever heard. Now, even though I m giving the Dark Side 4 Stars, it would have been 5 stars if the delay could be run continuously when needed with the other Mods. It can t (I knew this before I bought it).The delay, which sounds incredible, only runs with the Fuzz or by itself. The other mods are Superb. I ran the Dark Side through a Mesa Boogie Mark V Combo. There was no "swishy" type sounds with the other mods. I own Keeley s Monterey n although it's a great pedal it can get a bit "swishy." Overall the Dark Side is a terrific pedal, especially if your looking to cover some Floyd, or create your own cool sounds. Just be aware that ya can t run the Delay with the ex:Flange etc...but with a TRS cable you can insert your own fav mod pedal before the delay. Peace.

Not worth the money

By Michael Mattera from Tiverton, RI on September 29, 2022

I had high hopes for this but it was a pain to operate and the sound quality wasn't very good. I returned it and

was not the deal for me

By Paul from N Dallas on July 17, 2020 Music Background: heavy fusion

While I do understand everyone loves this pedal and it is capable of rendering some good tones. I wanted to like it and I tried to get into the fuzz as it can be hard to find a fuzz that works. I have a Deva Vibe, a EVH Phase 90 and a Collider delay/reverb, plus other stuff.
While the digital mimic side of the pedal is capable of producing some good tones, having other pedals that are just better did not help my pursuit to use it. The Vibe and Phase sound reasonable for digital but just no way approach the photo cell organic tone of my Deja nor the modified EVH Phase 90.
The delays were novel and you can find some patterns that work, all in all it was not my cup of tea. If you do not have other pedals this might do it for you. I have never been much of a fuzz user and the various impedance issues some have so I struggled to use the fuzz, seems like a pretty good one but at the end of the day I had to decide to keep the pedal basically on the worth of the fuzz as the digital side of things, well it "ain't no Strymon". I could not justify keeping a $300+ fuzz it was just not that ground breaking a tone. So I sent it back. It is is cool pedal and it might be your deal but for me my array board was just too populated and the over all unit was not blowing me away.

It's a cool pedal, but not without issues.

By Jeff from Irving, TX on October 14, 2017 Music Background: Professional sound engineer for 30+ years.

The first Dark Side I purchased (most recent version) was microphonic, even without a cable plugged into the input jack. Tap on the pedal and hear a thump through the amp even at low volume. The issue seemed to be worse when tapping on the pedal near the power supply input. I tried several power supplies (1 Spot, T Rex & Vodoo Labs) in hope that one of them would solve the issue, but no luck. In typical Sweetwater tier one customer first fashion, I was immediately sent an advanced replacement as well as a return label for the defective one. The second one I received is usable but it is a bit noisy and the pedal will create feedback with the fuzz dial full tilt even with the volume turned all the way down on the guitar. I experience this with the level control at 9 to 12 o'clock so it's not like I'm hitting hard. I use Mogami Platinum cables, but I tried a few other cables to ensure the problem was not outside of the pedal. My cable runs are short. 12' from guitar to input and 6' from output to the amp. None of these issue make the pedal unusable, but I have to monkey a bit with the controls to find a clean enough sweet spot to use it in recording which I then further clean up with plugins. I also have the Keeley Delay Workstation and the Compressor Pro and I've been satisfied with both. With that being said. I would think that a all three would pedals be a bit quieter at $300 a pop. The bottom line, I would still recommend the Dark Side for it's unique wash of sounds. In a live gig environment I wouldn't have as many concerns due to room noise floor, but in the studio I'll have to continue to fix the noise in the mix.

multiple Dark Sides?

By Paul from IL on January 14, 2017 Music Background: hobbiest

Apparently you have to buy more than one dark side to be able to use more than 2 features at a time. Seems like the unit could be redesigned so that you can use more than 2 features at a time. My Boss ME50 work station allows you to use 4 features at a time and comjes with a wah and expression pedal built in. That thing is a bargain. The Dark Side is good for what it does though.

This one just wasn't for me.

By Jakal from SEATTLE, WA on January 10, 2022

So after watching several demo videos I thought I would give this pedal a try. I mean Keeley is a tried-and-true company and I've owned several of their pedals and loved them. This one though, it just did not vibe with me at all. I should have noticed when I purchased it that it wasn't stereo, I just guessed that it was and I guessed wrong. That was a big deal for me being that this is a high-ticket item. The sound qualities were just fair in my opinion. The echo/delay function was great but the modulation section left a lot to be desired in my opinion. It was just a real letdown being that it is a Keeley pedal I was hoping for much more and got less than what I was hoping for so I ended up returning it. I'm just saying it wasn't for me, you may love it and good on you if you do!

Better óptions for the same money

By Sweetwater Customer on December 24, 2017

I think it perhaps works fine, as seen on videos, but I could not find a good tone (did not insiist much)

Returned it

By Dean from Phoenix on November 23, 2016 Music Background: About 8 years of rocking spare room.

Delay was good, very useable dirty or clean, fuzz was ok but amps natural overdrive sounds better, modulation clean was ok but if you use fuzz it boosts modulation to unusable, then your just turning everything low as you can to avoid annoying jet wash noise. cable included to reverse this overload and smooth effects..I'm sure it works but I never figured it out, just killed signal. Can't use delay with modulation either so I'm sure Mr Keeley will shake his head at me but I just didn't like it, returned it, stick to individual pedals workstations are very hit and miss as was this for me. Try it before you buy it, saves time and money.

SUCKS!!

By Will from BREEZY POINT, NY on October 25, 2023

Sounds horrible and hard to use

It doesn’t sound like it’s advertised

By david fitzpatrick from shrewsbury, WV on May 15, 2023

I play it through a Marshall dsl 40cr. I hate it. Big waste of money

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