Keeley Electronics has launched an all-new analogue fuzz for players who are bored of fuzz pedals, seeking off-road electric guitar tones with inhumanely massive levels of sustain.
It is called the Octa Psi, and it is described as a “Transfigurating Fuzz”, and it took Robert Keeley and his team over three years to make it. This was a pedal that kept on evolving. Has all that R&D been worth it?
Judging by the demo, in which we are treated to some ripping fuzz tones, with octave-down sounds that would strong-arm the bass guitar out of the mix, and a performance-friendly, POG-alike pitch-shifting feature that is going to go down like mother’s milk acolytes of Jack White et al, we’d have to say that it has.
There are lots of features that makes this a maverick pick for the pedalboard. For a start you can easily change the order of the effects so that the octave/pitch comes before or after the fuzz stage. Simply hold down both footswitches to toggle the order around.
Similarly, you can switch the output between all wet or wet/dry blend by double-tapping the Blend knob, and the choice between using the octave/pitch in momentary or latching mode expands how you might want to use it even before you consider whether an external control pedal or footswitch is needed to get the most out of it.
There are all these options but the layout looks simple enough, with a footswitch for octave/pitch, another for fuzz. A three-way toggle switch selects between octave up, octave down or dual modes.
There is an adjustable ramp speed for the octave/pitch mode for sounds akin to an expression pedal; with the octave/pitch footswitch set to momentary, you can create dive-bombs and bends that span multi-octaves. The range of the Pitch dial spans two octaves up or down, with “nearly every harmonic interval” in between. Helpfully, the intervallic staging posts are emblazoned in red around the side of the dial.
On the fuzz side for the pedal, the Fuzz knob dials in the gain, Level adjusts output volume and Tone interacts with a three-way tone switch offering Punch, Psi and Scoop EQ profiles.
The fuzz circuit is all-analogue and transistor-driven. Jacks are all mounted on the top of the aluminium enclosure, and the pedal was designed and built in the USA.
Available now, the Octa Psi Transfigurating Fuzz is available now for an introductory price of $249, direct from Keeley Electronics. Expect to pay £265/$269 street.
