Horizon Devices Apex Preamp vs Keeley Filaments

The Horizon Devices Apex Preamp and the Keeley Filaments are both pedals sharing tight, high gain, transparent. The Keeley Filaments leans mid-forward and saturated. Current prices: $139 vs $189.

Similarity
citedBlended from circuit-archetype lineage, dynamic feel, tone-signal overlap and tone-vector distance — the tone vector itself is derived from editorial description text, not a measured acoustic signal, so this reflects how similarly the catalog copy describes the two, not a lab measurement. Shown only within a gear class, and only where there's enough evidence to be meaningful.

51% moderately similar

Shared genres
citedGenres both listings are associated with.
  • Metal
Shared tone character
citedDerived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.
  • tight
  • high gain
  • transparent
Citation fame
citedCitation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.
0%
0%
Price

$139via Reverb

$189via Reverb

Description

The Horizon Devices Apex Preamp is a Misha Mansoor-designed high-gain preamp/distortion (built by MXR) that works in front of amps, into power amps, or direct to a board or interface. It delivers tight, aggressive, modern metal gain with a flexible EQ and an Attack control to tighten low end for down-tuned, djent-style playing. It suits progressive and modern metal players wanting amp-like high gain from a pedal.

The Keeley Filaments is a high-gain distortion pedal from Keeley Electronics delivering tight, focused, harmonically rich saturation suited to modern rock and metal applications. The circuit provides powerful gain with controlled low-end tightness and mid-presence for note definition in dense playing contexts. The Filaments is positioned as Keeley's primary high-gain distortion offering, providing the saturated, cutting character needed for modern heavy music without the loose, unfocused quality of some fuzz-based high-gain designs.

Genres
citedGenres this gear is documented as being used in.
  • Djent
  • Electronic
  • Rock
Tonal lean
  • mid-forward
  • saturated

Related searches

Horizon Devices Apex Preamp vs Keeley Filaments — Shared Character & Differences — NodeTone