The Keeley Compressor Plus is a Keeley compressor pedal. Close alternatives include the Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer and the MXR Custom Shop CSP028 Vintage Dyna Comp. It pairs well with the Fender Prosonic and the Dumble Steel String Singer.
Keeley Compressor Plus
Keeley · pedal
The Keeley Compressor Plus is a highly regarded four-knob optical-style compressor that builds on Keeley's earlier designs with a wet/dry blend, a post-compression tone control, and a single-coil/humbucker toggle. Rather than reproducing a perfectly clean version of the signal, it inflects the tone with its own full, sparkly, slick personality, and players often notice how dull and loose their bypass tone sounds once it is engaged. It functions as both a compressor and an expander/sustainer, limiting peaks while adding gain as notes fade for increased sustain, and the blend control preserves strong pick attack alongside that sustain. The tone control restores high-frequency shimmer often lost when attacks are flattened, while the pickup toggle optimizes the input. Praised for an outstanding price-to-quality ratio, it suits country, funk, pop, blues, and rock players wanting versatile, musical compression and sustain.
What stands out
“Limitations include an unnatural thumpy effect on transient peaks when the sustain is pushed too far, a voicing that imparts its own coloration , and a four-knob interface that takes more setup than a simp…”
— from the reviews
“Praised for an outstanding price-to-quality ratio, it suits country, funk, pop, blues, and rock players wanting versatile, musical compression and sustain”
— from the listing
“Players note it has its own full, sparkly, slick personality , and that switching it off makes the dry tone sound dull by comparison”
— from the community notes
“The tone control restores high-end shimmer often lost when attacks are flattened”
— from the reviews
“It functions as both a compressor and an expander/sustainer, limiting peaks while adding gain as notes fade for increased sustain, and the blend control preserves strong pick attack alongside that sustain”
— from the listing
Trade-offs
“, it inflects the tone with its own full, sparkly, slick personality, and players often notice how dull and loose their bypass tone sounds once it is engaged”
— from the listing
- compressor
- compression
- musical
- dry
- shimmer
- pick attack
- peak
- sustainer
Genres the Keeley Compressor Plus is commonly used in
Amps that pair well with the Keeley Compressor Plus
Fender Prosonic
amplifier
28% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)
Fender Prosonic's own warm character is the real reason this is worth trying
Comes later in the signal chain
Dumble Steel String Singer
Dumble
28% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)
Push the Compressor Plus' dry, shimmering squash into the Steel String Singer's liquid, organic Dumble tone and the dynamics stay musical.
Comes later in the signal chain
Friedman JJ Junior (Jerry Cantrell Signature) 20W Head
Friedman
18% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
What Keeley Compressor Plus brings here leans toward compressed — that's worth building a pairing around
Comes later in the signal chain
Marshall DSL1
Marshall
15% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
Keeley Compressor Plus's own compressed character is the real reason this is worth trying
Comes later in the signal chain
Laney UK TI100-LTD Limited Edition Tony Iommi
Laney
15% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
Keeley Compressor Plus's own compressed character is the real reason this is worth trying
Comes later in the signal chain
Orange Rockerverb 50 MkIII NEO 50W 2x12 Combo
Orange
15% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
What Keeley Compressor Plus brings here leans toward compressed — that's worth building a pairing around
Comes later in the signal chain
Orange Rockerverb 50 MkIII 50W 2x12 Combo
Orange
13% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
Keeley Compressor Plus leans toward compressed, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes later in the signal chain
Laney Digbeth Foundry DBF50 Bass Combo
Laney
8% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (warm → bright)
Keeley Compressor Plus's own compressed character is the real reason this is worth trying
Comes later in the signal chain
Pedals that stack with the Keeley Compressor Plus
Fuzzrocious Dark Driving V3
Fuzzrocious
21% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
Keeley Compressor Plus leans toward compressed, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes later in the signal chain
Joyo dark flame
Joyo
21% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
What Keeley Compressor Plus brings here leans toward compressed — that's worth building a pairing around
Comes later in the signal chain
Greer Mizuki blue
Greer
21% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)
Greer Mizuki blue leans toward harmonically rich, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes later in the signal chain
Walrus Audio Fable
Walrus Audio
20% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Fable's glitchy, granular reverb closes out Compressor Plus's shimmering, sustained signal with texture and space. — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
Ibanez Tube Screamer
Ibanez
19% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)
Compressor Plus's shimmering sustain and pick-attack control ahead of the Tube Screamer keeps its own midrange boost consistent note to note.
Comes later in the signal chain
EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker V1
EarthQuaker Devices
19% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
What Keeley Compressor Plus brings here leans toward compressed — that's worth building a pairing around
Comes later in the signal chain
T-Rex Junior Roomate
T Rex
17% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Keep T-Rex Junior Roomate after Keeley Compressor Plus in the signal chain, where it won't crowd Keeley Compressor Plus — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
DOD Chthonic Fuzz
Dod
14% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
Keeley Compressor Plus's own compressed character is the real reason this is worth trying
Comes later in the signal chain
See all 9 pedals that pair with the Keeley Compressor Plus →
Alternatives
Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer
Boss
60% similarityShared character: sustain, peak, signal
MXR Custom Shop CSP028 Vintage Dyna Comp
pedal
57% similarityShared character: sustain, peak, signal
Analog Man Comprossor
Analog Man
53% similarityShared character: sustain, signal, compressor
Jackson Audio Bloom EQ Boost Compression
Jackson Audio
53% similarityShared character: compressor, compression, simple
Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone Germanium Gold Ltd.
Pigtronix
53% similarityShared character: sustain, blend, compressor
Artec Turbo Compressor
Artec
52% similarityShared character: peak, compressor, sustain
JHS 3 Series Compressor
JHS Pedals
51% similarityShared character: sustain, peak, high end
Cordovox CO-8
Cordovox
51% similarityShared character: signal, compressor, true bypass
Electro-Harmonix Nano Tone Corset
Electro-Harmonix
49% similarityShared character: sustain, blend, compressor
Whirlwind Rochester Red Box
Whirlwind
48% similarityShared character: compressor, true bypass, compression
Mad Professor Forest Green Compressor
Mad Professor
47% similarityShared character: sustain, compressor, pick attack
Orange Sustain
Orange
47% similarityShared character: sustain, compressor, compression
See all alternatives to the Keeley Compressor Plus (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Keeley Compressor Plus?+
The closest matches in character are the Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer, the MXR Custom Shop CSP028 Vintage Dyna Comp, the Analog Man Comprossor.
What pairs well with the Keeley Compressor Plus?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Fender Prosonic, Dumble Steel String Singer, Friedman JJ Junior (Jerry Cantrell Signature) 20W Head — Fender Prosonic's own warm character is the real reason this is worth trying.