The second installment in the company’s new line of overdrives—and the latest collaboration with guitarist Andy Timmons—shows evolution on multiple fronts.
Asked to describe his new Muse Driver pedal, Robert Keeley keeps coming back to a single theme: versatility.
Based on Keeley’s much-admired Blues Driver-inspired circuit, and designed in collaboration with Andy Timmons, the Muse Driver features two different selectable overdrive voices and a pair of tone stack options. The result: a highly flexible and responsive pedal that’s likely to appeal to a broad range of players.
Keeley even came up with a new phrase, calling the pedal a “drive workstation” as a shorthand way to convey the Muse Driver’s versatility. “I was trying to say that it could do everything from a clean boost to distortion and overdrive and even fuzz,” he says. “The drive control is so dynamic that it offers incredible range.” That phrase wasn’t meant to be boastful; it simply seems like an accurate, compact way of getting the point across. “It becomes a workstation because you can get so much out of it. In my mind it qualifies as a workstation of drive pedals.”
Brandishing its myriad tones, the Muse Driver, with a street price of $199, is the second pedal in Keeley’s new line of sleek, seductive overdrives. It follows the Noble Screamer, a potent mash-up of the beloved Tube Screamer and Nobels ODR-1, which Keeley released in late 2023 to broad acclaim. The Muse Driver continues the Noble Screamer’s form factor, with dual toggle switches for modifying the circuit, and points the way for three more overdrives coming in 2024. (More on that shortly).
Tapping Into Timmons' Tone
Importantly, the Muse Driver represents the latest chapter in Keeley’s ongoing collaboration with Andy Timmons (known for his solo work and touring/recording with Danger Danger, Olivia Newton-John, Kip Winger, and many more). They first began working together in early 2020, when Timmons and Keeley teamed up on the wildly successful Halo dual echo pedal, and the creative partnership continued with the 2023 release of Timmons’ signature Keeley Super AT MOD overdrive.
For their newest collaboration, Keeley and Timmons once again used a modified Blues Driver circuit as the foundation of the tone. But this time around, the goal was to provide even more sonic options—enough to satisfy Timmons’ most expansive creative urges.
“The Muse Driver name is a play on words with the Blues Driver,” Timmons notes, “and Muse Driver really is an accurate term for the pedal because it reflects how inspiring it is. The core of both the Super AT Mod pedal and the Muse Driver were designed to capture the modded Blues Driver, but could really get those notes to speak and articulate in a certain way. The circuit gives me that clarity on the top end. With the Muse Driver pedal I feel like I’ve truly arrived. I can plug this into any nice, flat amp. It retains the clear top end and it speaks well. And it has a surprising amount of gain, that’s really usable. It doesn’t get too tubby or floppy in the low end. It’s very carveable. I started the search with the Keeley Blues Driver, and now I feel that it’s really there.”
“The gloves come off when we’re working with Andy,” Keeley adds with a laugh. “We’ll try almost anything to create something that’s going to be inspiring for him. I know my job is done when he gets excited and starts writing musical parts with it.”
Keeley Electronics - Muse Driver Overdrive and Distortion with Andy Timmons
Cracking the Diode Code
But it wasn’t easy getting there. “We had three different sessions for the Muse Driver,” says Timmons. “The key was Aaron Pierce [a core member of the Keeley creative team], Robert, and I being in the same room. At one point we thought we were really close,” Timmons admits, “and I’m driving back to Oklahoma. About an hour into the drive, I get a call from Robert. He had an epiphany: ‘We should try germanium diodes!’ Going from silicone to germanium diodes, you’re going from asymmetrical to symmetrical clipping, and it’s going to be a little less compressed. And it turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. The germanium turned it into an ideal pedal for full-on gain and lead tones. Now the pedal is capable of a huge range of tones.”
Andy Timmons Reacts to Germanium Mode
Keeley elaborates about the Timmons’ “AT” Drive mode: “In Andy’s mode there are a pair of diodes—one is a regular silicon diode and one is an LED. They have two different rates at which they start to conduct and it creates this asymmetrical clipping that I think kinda sounds like a tube. When you go to the RK mode [Robert Keeley’s original mode], that engages two back-to-back germanium diodes, which have a much lower voltage that they turn on. They also have an extra bit of capacitance which rounds off the highs. Because the Blues Driver is such a dynamic circuit, when you make a change there it’s going to be amplified and distorted further. These little differences between the silicon and germanium diodes are really amplified.”
The Human Factor ... Blended with Science
Another important current in the development of the Muse Driver: the increased use of advanced scientific tools at the Keeley shop, part of the company’s continuing evolution since it relocated to its new factory in 2021.
“We began using Audio Precision Analyzers starting in around May 2023,” Keeley explains. “We now have several of them so we can test every unit and make sure each unit is spot on, beyond the scope of human hearing. Every pedal gets a ‘birth certificate’ when it passes the analyzer test. I think that when we acquired those analyzers, Keeley Electronics went ‘professional audio,’ because now whenever we’re studying a rare vintage circuit of any kind, I can really see what it sounds like. And if Andy says, ‘I want less compression,’ I can huddle with the engineers and see how each stage of a circuit responds. It’s an amazing way to look at audio. It helps during the design phase and it helps during production. I now have a repeatable product that’s rock solid.”
Timmons lauds the scientific strides, but admits that the ultimate vindication arrives in your gut: “When you hit the ‘eureka’ moment and get it right, you can’t verbalize it. You feel it. Whether it’s the hair on your arms raising, or a smile on your face, you just know it’s there. That’s the only way to know. Sure, you can look at it on scopes and measure it on graphs—and those scientific measurements are certainly valuable—but the real test is how it makes you feel on a molecular level.”
Keeley agrees with a laugh: “The major benefit of working with a guy like Andy—and not just relying on a bunch of expensive analyzers and measurement tools—is that he really cares about all the nuances and dynamics! He’s an incredible player that LIVES in the world of dynamics and will explore the entire range. He shows how these circuits actually work for players, instead of machines.”
“The new era of Keeley is really a dream come true for me.” Keeley continues. “For 20 years I would look at other people’s equipment and how they progressed, and I finally feel like I’m at the point where I can take information from artists and their desires, and I can mix it with some of the great people and equipment that we have at the shop. We can study the circuits and listen to them in ways that we’ve never been able to do before.”
Keeley Factory Tour Drone Video
04 10 2023 Drone VideoMore Drives To Come!
The Muse Driver’s flexibility, with its two toggle switches for selecting overdrive voicing and tone stacks, is a hallmark of Keeley’s new series, which debuted with the Muse Driver’s predecessor, the Noble Screamer.
This powerful, versatile approach will culminate in spring 2024 with the release of three more overdrives in the series. Each will feature a pair of overdrive options based on iconic circuits—ranging from soft-clipping favorites to brawny, hard-clipping stalwarts—along with extra tone-shaping capabilities.
But in the meantime, Robert Keeley and his team are savoring the results of the rigorous-but-enjoyable process that yielded the new Muse Driver. “These signature pedals with Andy Timmons are really special,” Keeley says. “They have to be dynamic, expressive instruments in their own right. I know it might sound old-fashioned and quirky, but Andy’s name doesn’t go onto these pedals until he’s satisfied. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also so much fun.”
An Austin guitar legend in the making shares her rare Gibson, custom-built amp, ferocious fingerpicking style, and passion for bringing fire to the blues.
Austin, Texas, has been a fertile proving ground for legendary blues guitarists. Some, most notably Stevie Ray Vaughan, have emerged to international acclaim. Others, like Derek O'Brien, make a living and earn the respect of their peers while mostly playing in the city's many clubs and studios. In recent years, Carolyn Wonderland—a revered player on the local scene since her arrival in 2001—has become a rising global star in the genre.
In 2018, this incandescent electric fingerstyle guitarist became the first woman to play lead guitar in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, following such luminary musicians as Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, and Buddy Whittington in that role. And while she's made more than a dozen albums under her own name and with collaborators over the years, her next album, slated for early fall release, will be issued by Alligator Records, the world's largest indie blues label, and was produced by the brilliant songwriter and 6-string deadeye Dave Alvin.
At Nashville's City Winery, Wonderland demoed and talked about her main guitar, Patty the Blueshawk, an Austin-built Tone I/O amp, her approach to lap steel, the genesis behind her aggressive fingerstyle approach, and much more. Take a look.
[Brought to you by D'Addario Auto-Lock Straps: https://ddar.io/AutoLockRR]
Gibson Blueshawk
Say hello to Patty the Blueshawk, a Gibson model that was made from 1996 to 2006. If you've seen Wonderland with John Mayall, you've seen Patty. It has a Fender-like 25 1/2"-scale neck, a through-body bridge, distinctive Blues 90 pickups, and a 6-way Varitone. Plus, it weighs only 7 pounds—packing plenty of sonic muscle for its class. Wonderland swapped a Tele for Patty and she loves the way its P-90s cut through in the Bluesbreakers.
1954 Gibson ES-125
This 1954 ES-125 full-sized hollowbody still has its original P-90. The model debuted in 1941 as an entry-level archtop. Later, some ES-125s also got a lower-bout cutaway. For a close-up look at Wonderland playing some old-school blues on this axe, check out her "#quarantunes" video performance of Muddy Waters' "Champagne and Reefer." It's excellent, and also provides a literal living-room listen to her powerful singing.
Lappy
This is Lappy, named for obvious reasons. It's tuned in G and has Elixir strings, .014 to .046. "I keep 'em until they're about to turn into barbed wire," she quips. And yes, that's a standard two-octave neck.
Here's a close-up of Lappy's pickup: a Kent Armstrong Spitfire. As its name implies, this single-coil is loud and furious.
Tone I/O Amp
Built in Austin by Adrian Goepferich, this Tone I/O amp has a hand-crafted point-to-point circuit, a barking 20-watts output, a 12AX7-driven preamp, 6V6 power tubes, a pine cabinet with a stainless steel chassis, spring reverb, and a Weber 12" 50-watt speaker. The control set recalls vintage Fenders: volume, treble, bass, reverb, speed, and intensity. Wonderland loves its sound, which she describes as a "classic American voice." And she runs it paired with a Fender Blues Junior—A/B/Y style for maximum tonal options.
Fender Pro Junior
Here's her Pro Junior—perhaps the definition of a small-club workhorse amp. In true Junior fashion, it's got a 12AX7 preamp section, two EL84 power tubes, and a 10" driver. Watch that EQ, because even at only 15 watts the high end on these amps can shred yer eardrums if you're not careful. The sole mod: a sock monkey.
Carolyn Wonderland's Stage Setup
Here's both of Wonderland's amps, miked and ready for the show, along with her three guitars—a succinct, efficient setup.
Carolyn Wonderland's Pedalboard
Wonderland's pedalboard is simple. There's an Electro-Harmonix Cathedral Stereo Reverb, which she mostly uses in place of amp reverb when she's playing on a bouncy stage. Her Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer is a 30th anniversary model, and she's got a Sex Drive by Durham Electronics out of Austin. The latter's a pedal developed with Charlie Sexton. Finally, there's a Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner. PS: Her slide is a unique glass piece given to her by a fan years ago at a show in Eugene, Oregon.
The father of the Tube Screamer dishes a refined take on the pedal that propelled an overdrive revolution with the Apex 808.
Fender Telecaster > black panel Fender Tremolux > Universal Audio OX with AC30 cabinet simulation > Apple Logic.
Rhythm track is Maxon with drive at 11 o'clock, level at 1 o'clock, and tone at one o'clock.
Lead guitar retains level at one o' clock, but cycles through drive levels at 7 o'clock, noon. 3 o'clock, and maximum gain.
Tone adjustments range from 11 o'clock to maximum.
RatingsPros:Does all the things a great TS does with warmth and detail. Not overly compressed or nasal-sounding. Nice range in controls. Cons: Pricey. Still very midrange focused, if that’s not your thing. Street: $300 Maxon Apex 808 maxonfx.com | Tones: Ease of Use: Build/Design: Value: |
It would be silly to call the Tube Screamer underrated. But the ubiquity of TS circuits—and the periodic rise of super-hyped, flavor-of-the-month rivals—sometimes seems to conspire to make this pedal the Honda Accord of overdrives: reliable, readily available, a known quantity that, just perhaps, doesn’t get the respect it deserves.
The Maxon Apex 808, however, is a reminder of all that’s distinctive—even sorta swaggeringly cool—about the Tube Screamer circuit. It highlights the most famous and useful attributes: strong midrange and that touch of compression that glues everything together. But unlike lesser, inexpensive variations of the TS that can turn that recipe thin and harsh sounding, the Maxon Apex 808 leaves room for notes and chords to breathe, accenting the virtues of its soft, symmetric clipping circuit.
Meet Your Father, Mr. Green
The Apex 808 design was shepherded by Susumu Tamura, the father of the Ibanez TS808. Tamura says that much of the magic in the vintage TS808s he used for reference is attributable to a specific op amp that appeared in the best of those reference pedals. NOS versions of this op amp also drive the Apex 808, though we weren’t able to easily remove the back of the pedal to confirm its identity.
It’s difficult to say precisely how much effect a specific op amp has on the overall sound of a TS circuit, unless it’s a really bad one. And many TS spotters insist that the clipping diodes and the way they are situated in the negative feedback circuit is the more critical part of the TS formula. That said, a pedal’s sound is very much the sum of its parts, and you get the distinct sense that Tamura and his team considered every component with care. It feels like a very high-quality pedal, which helps justify the high $300 asking price—not too bad when you consider that good vintage Ibanez TS808s are climbing ever closer to the thousand-dollar mark.
A More Magical Middle
Discerning the qualities that make a good TS pedal can take concentration at times. In certain situations, like playing a simple first-position A chord, for instance, the differences are more apparent. Compared to a 1981 Ibanez TS9—a very similar, but more mid-forward and compressed circuit—the Maxon sounds much more open and less cluttered with fizzy, harsh overtones in the upper-midrange. And while it’s still very mid-focused, the Maxon seems to nudge the high-mids less aggressively than the TS9, leaving more room for the very warm and growly low-mid sections of the spectrum to breathe and snarl, and for the top end to sing a bit more distinctly and smoothly.
The profile makes chords sound much more like the product of natural amp gain, and give leads a rounder, warmer, less metallic edge. That may make the Apex a little less appealing to some shredders and metal players that use TS pedals to make already-screaming tube amps screamier for leads. But rootsier players trying to goose a Fender combo at lower volumes are likely to love the more spacious and airy distortion. This tone profile also gives you more leeway to shape output with the tone control, which is not only sensitive, but has lots of range and is a lot less sizzly at maxed-out settings than a TS9.
The TS’s capabilities as a near-clean boost have been largely overshadowed since the widespread emergence of Klon clones, which excel at that task. But while the Maxon is discernibly more compressed and dirtier than a Klon at the lowest gain settings, the balance of transparency, midrange color, compression, and grit can really thicken up a signal without teetering too completely over into the full-on overdrive zone. The extra midrange and lower midrange body will likely delight players that like more color and tone variation when moving between clean and near-clean tones.
The Maxon’s midrange focus—which isn’t nearly as intense as the Tube Screamer legend might lead you to expect—obviously makes it better suited for certain amp and speaker types. Mid-scooped, black-panel Fenders tend to love the extra mid energy, of course. Tweed-style circuits, with their bright and compressed qualities, are a less ideal fit, to my ear. But I also found that higher-wattage speakers with a little more headroom, as well as Celestion-type speakers with smooth, detailed top end, flatter the ringing high-mids that the Maxon coaxes from an amp.
The Verdict
The Apex 808 is a first-class TS-style pedal. And depending on what you’re looking for, it might be a top-of-the-heap contender. It’s still very much a TS, and that midrange focus might not be the right fit for your style. But with its capacity for adding body, energy, and beautiful, purring mid-gain overdrive texture, it’s a pedal worth auditioning if you want to see what a good TS can really do. Just don’t be surprised if you have a hard time settling for anything less once you’ve heard it.