KEELEY
ELECTRONICS
TONE
WORKSTATION
REVIEW BY PHILLIP DODGE
STREET PRICE $299.00
Is that a pedalboard in your
pocket or are you just happy
to see me? Today, we’re
digging into the new Keeley
Tone Workstation, an analog
multi-effects pedal that
combines four of Robert
Keeley’s classic circuits into
a single small and affordable
package. And all joking
aside, the Tone Workstation
really does put an entire
pedalboard’s worth of
power into a single four by
five-inch space and with a
current draw of less than
50 milliamps.
The original Tone
Workstations were built in
a limited run ten years ago.
John Mayer ended up with
a few of those, and he took
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them out on the road for
the Dead & Company tour.
This inspired Robert Keeley
to re-design and re-release
the Tone Workstation.
The pedal can cover the
majority of your “frontend” needs: compression,
tone shaping, overdrive
and distortion, and boost.
It contains the Keeley
Two Knob Compressor,
the 1962 Overdrive, the
Katana Boost, and the Red
Dirt Overdrive. Purchased
separately, those pedals
would cost north of
$600. At $299, the Tone
Workstation is a no-brainer
based on value alone.
option for the guitarist that
likes to just grab one pedal
a nd keep it in the gig bag.
But it’s also perfect for
adding a ton of functionality
to a crowded board, and
the top-mounted jacks make
for even more space saving.
I’ll admit that I was afraid
that three foot switches
on a pedal this size would
make for clumsy switching
with my size 14 feet. Luckily,
the switches are spaced
perfectly so that you can
engage each one without
misfires and they even
provide enough leeway at
the edges for neighboring
pedals.
The Tone Workstation is
obviously an excellent
Of course, size and
convenience would be
Keeley Electronics Tone Workstation