Keeley's Fuzz Bender Ghost Prism Custom Shop Edition is a rare object of beauty!

I’ve always admired Robert Keeley’s Fuzz credentials, while his Hybrid Transistor Fuzz Bender did not fully appeal to me until this superb shiny metallic edition with sparkling holographic finish caught my eye.

We pedal fans are often led by our eyes - and for whatever reason the stock white version with orange graphics just never particularly resonated with me. Readers will know that this is my least favourite format of Medium enclosure (Medium-Stout!) - where I much prefer the vertical orientation of Keeley’s D&M Drive for instance. So there were various reasons why I did not hit the trigger back then.

While the Ghost Prism edition is really special - one of the most ’bling’ pedals I’ve ever come across - it’s the Platinum equivalent of precious metals - in particular with those cool knobs. For sure a design classic in the making - where I was very lucky to snag one of just 45 created - and made available at an incredible price really - $179, vs the $149 of the stock edition. I was obviously in the right place at the right time as these all went very quickly.

Controls - Level, Bass, Bias, Treble, Fuzz.

You really could not ask for better controls on a fuzz - a perfect mix of Bias and ±20dB Active 2-Band EQ. As this is a reverse board build I cannot easily see what transistors are onboard - we know it’s a hybrid arrangement of 3 - 1 Germanium and 2 Silicon - but not sure of the exact ones. It sounds pretty much as fantastic as it looks. This is for sure another great Multi-Bender.

So you get a vast range of tones and textures - while I feel that the ThorpyFX Boneyard is a touch more visceral overall - and generally slightly fatter and more textured. There is a degree of overlap here but each of these is their own thing really - and certain players may gravitate towards one or the other - while I love them both pretty much equally. The Boneyard also has the advantage of more pedalboard-friendly form factor. While the Tone-Shaping on the Fuzz Bender is superior.

I would of course have preferred it in vertical BB-format - but you can’t really quibble when it looks and sounds this good. Would have been nice to have a few more of these out there, while I feel privileged to have managed to secure one.

You can see the original listing on the Keeley Webstore - of course long since sold out!

Now if only we could get a D&M in a similar treatment!

Any Keeley Fuzz Bender Fans here?