Keeley Electronics 4-in-1 Series #4 : Angry Orange - EHX '91 Civil War Muff x Boss '78 DS-1 Distortion
And so we’re onto the 4th and final variant in the current 4-in-1 series - there are of course some custom shop editions out there too which I may review in due time, while for now the roundup is complete, and my next article on this subject will be a comparative overview of all 4 - where I put my favourite combinations in order of overall preference, and select my pick of the bunch for the series!
For this latest dual circuit confection - I’m very used to the sound of Civil War Muffs - being a sizeable David Gilmour and of course overall Big Muff fan. And I’m incredibly familiar with the Boss DS-1 Distortion - owning no less than 9 versions of that pedal overall (10 including this one) - and of course including a version of Robert’s own ’Ultra’ Modded DS-1.
The MF / Muff side of the pedal has a Scooped Passive Tilt EQ to go with Soft Drive Clipping, while the the DS / DS-1 Distortion side has a Flat profile Passive Tilt EQ with Hard Drive Clipping. So in some sense reminiscent of the previous Super Rodent pedal in having two fairly similar EQ types. While the difference in Mid Scoop and Flat EQ can really be quite significant. Interestingly I mostly gravitate towards Muff pedals which have an additional Mids control - either as a fully variable 4th knob, or as Vick Audio does it - with a 3-way Mids Toggle-switch - Scooped / Flat / Humped.
The odd thing is that I mostly tend to like Muffs either in traditional scooped profile, or in more modern Mid Boosted mode - where I always thought the flat option sounded a little odd to me!
For the two circuits - the Muff EQ definitely seems to have more of an impact - it certainly fattens and makes the output a little better balanced and more rounded for me. Where my favourite combination here is the DS-1 Distortion Clipping - combined with the scooped Muff EQ - as we shall see a little later on in this article. Which is a little reminiscent of Robert’s own Ultra Mod!
All the 4-in-1 Series pedals are MAP / RRP priced at $199 in the US, €259 in the EU, and £199 in the UK, of course available direct from the Keeley Electronics Webstore, and at all leading dealers!
Controls : Tone, Tone Stack Switch : MF (Passive Scooped Tilt EQ) / DS (Passive Flat Profile Tilt EQ), Drive, Drive Clipping : MF (Soft) / DS (Hard), Level.
The 4-in-1 Options :
EQ + CLIP Variations
--------------------
MF + MF = EHX ’91 Civil War Muff Classic
DS + DS = Boss DS-1 Distortion Classic
DS + MF = Muff Soft Clipping with DS-1 Distortion Passive Flat Tilt EQ
MF + DS = DS-1 Distortion Hard Clipping with Muff style Passive Scooped Tilt EQ
As before you get 2 classic circuits for the price of one, but with 2 further enhanced / alternative / hybrid modes via mixing up those twin Tone Stack and Drive Clipping settings!
Trial Sessions and Test Results
EQ + CLIP
---------
MF + MF : Tone @ 3 o'c, Drive @ 3 o'c, Level @ 5 o'c
DS + DS : Tone @ 3 o'c, Drive @ 3 o'c, Level @ 3 o'c
DS + MF : Tone @ 3 o'c, Drive @ 3 o'c, Level @ 5 o'c
MF + DS : Tone @ 3 o'c, Drive @ 3 o'c, Level @ 3 o'c
As in some of the previous editions of this 4-in-1 series - there does seem to be a notable output difference between the Muff Soft Clipping and DS-1 Distortion Hard Clipping circuits. Such that for DS-1 Drive Clipping volume is set to 3 o'c typically, while for the Muff Clipping options - I feel I need to Max the volume out @ 5 o'c to compensate for lower output.
Otherwise I felt fine to leave the other Dials in the same position - with both Tone and Drive @ 1-3 o'c - that's what sounded best to me! I always start with all dials in the middle / noon position and then adjust to taste from there. It really was as simple as bumping up the volume for the Muff Clipping. Other than that both sides sounded really rich and beautifully balanced on mostly the same settings. On the previous pedals I've generally settled with Gain around Noon - with some exceptions - but on this occasion - to get that fuller flavour I so like - I felt the need to bump up the Drive to 3 o'c - that delivered the perfect textures for me!
Favourite Modes in Order
EQ + CLIP
---------
MF + DS : A more rounded DS-1 Distortion with extra low end punch (a little like the Ultra Mod)
DS + DS : Well balanced DS-1 Distortion profile - more neutral than the favourite combination
MF + MF : Great sounding classic Muff - beautifully textured
DS + MF : Somewhat 'flatter' sounding in the real meaning of that word - the Muff voicing becomes a touch 'anaemic' for me
This is another one which underlines the magic of hybrid Tone Stack combinations - as my favourite combination here is the DS-1 Distortion Clipping with the Scooped Muff Tone Stack - that nicely rounds out the bottom end of the DS-1 Distortion profile - giving it more punch and weight - that variant very much my favourite here. As the Keeley Ultra Mod is typically my favourite of the DS-1 variants!
Next came the standard configuration DS-1 Distortion with its regular Tone Stack - still pretty nicely textured and well balanced - but sounds better to me with the extra heft generated by the Muff Scoop EQ!
Next is the Classic Civil War voicing - with its own default scooped Tone Stack - it's very authentic to that variant - and immediately evokes tones from Pink Floyd circa mid 90's era onwards - where David switched across from his earlier Ram's head variant. This was also mirrored by his transition from Pete Cornish P1 to P2 Muff takes. The core classic Civil War Muff voicing is pretty much spot on!
We do have a weakest link here though - which is Muff Clipping combined with DS-1 Distortion Flat Profile EQ - that just doesn't sound quite right to me - it oddly kind of hollows out that core classic Civil War sound - and makes it sound a little anaemic to me, or slightly lesser. That pretty much matches my experience with the 110+ Muffs I already have in my Reference Collection - where I most always tend to prefer those either in classic Vintage Mids-Scooped Mode or Modern Mids-Boosted Mode - seems like I'm a man of extremes therefore!
The significant task now remains to evaluate each of these 4 : 4-in-1 Series pedals in comparison to each other!
If I was a gambling man - I would say that the Super Rodent looks the likeliest overall winner - by dint of it having consistently great outputs across all 4 variations - while for each of the others there are 3 strong combinations, and one sort of weakest link. I will start off that process by ranking my favourite output combinations across all those pedals - i.e. based on the relative merits of my favourite combination of each. In practical terms it will probably mostly mean rationalising the 2 favourite settings from each pedal - and then declaring the overall winner. So the Super Rodent will still be the most accomplished in its consistency of output, while there may be another edition whose combined impact of top two combinations brings it to the top of my list - where at this precise moment I can't really say which one will win that contest. Whatever decision I make - you can bet it will be thoroughly contextualised, rationalised, and wholly substantiated!
All 4-in-1 Series pedals are MAP / RRP priced at $199 in the US, €259 in the EU, and £199 in the UK, of course available direct from the Keeley Electronics Webstore, and at all leading dealers.
Bonus Round!
Fun Fact!
Interestingly - back in 2021, and in the wake of Boss's JHS Collaboration - JB-2 Angry Driver, I made some recommendations and mockups for how Boss could further expand that format - with further Dual circuit collaborations.
One of the ones I recommended and did a mockup for (as above) was the combination of DS-1 with a Big Muff - the original Triangle variety on that occasion - but surely the concept is the same!
I feel that I subconsciously at the very least had some influence in making the Muff / DS-1 combination happen.
If I were to do my mockup over again - I would probably go with the OpAmp variant this time around - and call it the Double Orange!
And Boss's loss - is obviously Keeley's gain here!
Demos
