Keeley Electronics Loomer

Straight out of the box it is solid, compact, black and purple, so it must sound fantastic. With seven control knobs and two mini toggle switches on the face, it is bound to attract shoegazers, which is after all who it is aimed at.

The pedal is essentially two pedals in one or perhaps even 3 with the fuzz side being the simplest to understand. The three knobs on the right-hand side only influence the fuzz effect. The tiny toggles offer a choice of ‘flat’ sound, ‘full’ is a darker sound with extra mids or a traditional ‘scooped’ rock sound with some mids removed. The three options are distinct different sounds which can be further modified by using the filter knob to give increased bass or increased treble. The fuzz knob increases or decreases the fuzz effect, as you would expect, with the level knob controlling the overall level. These are standard functions and the fuzz side alone will give more than enough choice of fuzz tones if this is all you need.

The left-hand side has three distinct different reverb modes on the toggle switch the full description of the heritage of these is set out on the technical leaflet. Focus mode (left) is a reverb with double delay plus four chorus voices, Reverse mode (centre) gives a delayed signal played back with a swelling echo and Hall mode (right) is a reverb effect with added octave ascending loop to produce a shimmer effect.

The centre knob is the modulator control which works in conjunction with the three reverb modes. In Focus mode it controls the depth of all four chorus voices. In Reverse mode it adds whammy bar style vibrato, turning the knob increases the depth of vibrato. In Hall mode the depth knob controls the degree of pitch shimmer (note- turning the warmth knob to bright will further increase the shimmer effect). The other three knobs include a Blend knob, which gives wet or dry mix, the Delay knob controls the rate of reverb fade time while Warmth is as labelled, bright to dark.

The foot switches are well spaced, and the mini toggles are protected from being accidentally caught by the foot but being very small they may be difficult to operate if you are equipped with big banana fingers. When used separately the fuzz side is straightforward but the reverb side will require a good deal more twiddling to explore the full range of complex and varied effects on offer, all of which tend to be dreamy atmospheric sounds.

Once the two sides of the unit have been explored then hit both pedals into operation and let the true shoegazing loveliness begin. As the pedal name suggests this enters the world of My Bloody Valentine and their swirling fuzz rich sound which this pedal gives you a good chance of recreating. This is why we have the two pedals in one, it gives the user the tools to replicate that loomer sound. It is not a pedal which will appeal to the rock shedders or blues players out there but if you are prepared to venture into the world of psychedelic, prog and shoegazing rock and pop then this double pedal will come into its own. Oh! I nearly missed it, just when you have got the hang of the fuzz into reverb combo there is a ‘bonkers button’ hidden away at the back of the pedal to reverse the order (reverb into fuzz). This should come with a health warning as it will convert your dreamy psychedelic tones into shambolic psychotic weirdness. I can’t immediately think why you would use this but it is there if you need it.

The combined cost of a separate fuzz pedal and a decent reverb pedal would be about the same as this double unit but probably not include the exact same features on the reverb side. RRP $299.00

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