Robert Keeley keeps making great effects, it’s no secret, and the White Sands Luxe Drive is yet another shining example. This is Keeley’s take on a low-gain overdrive, and it really makes your guitar sing and sparkle with ease. Not too pushy, not too mild, the Luxe Drive is a perfect compliment to any rig.
Let’s start with the basics: Drive, Tone and Level. Standard fare for most overdrive pedals, yet a surprisingly good amount of range in all the knobs. I dig that the Level actually plays well with the other knobs, too, it’s not just a basic output control. The more Drive you dial in, the more the mood of the entire pedal changes as you adjust the Level, which makes for some super-interesting and exciting combinations. Add in a Tone control that goes from a really nice, responsive lows, with no muddiness or muck, all the way up to a brilliant high-end that opens up your pickups and pushes them beautifully through your amp, and you’ve got a ton of tones to choose from.
There’s also a toggle switch thrown in for good measure, going from Clean to Sandy. The Clean setting is just the normal low-drive, but if you need a little boost, just flip the switch. Sandy Mode punches the Luxe Drive up a notch, giving it that extra little bit of grit that you need to get mildly down and dirty – in a good way. This pedal also utilizes a JFET input buffer to retain your pickups’ sound, without coloration or distortion of any kind, which is key to a good boost/low OD pedal like this one.
Overall, the White Sands Luxe Drive add just the right amount of boost, kick and oomph to make your tone really shine, and with a flick of a switch, can push it into a nice overdrive with gorgeous tonal retention and sweeping high frequencies. Thanks to Robert and everyone at Keeley Electronics for letting me demo this awesome low drive – make sure to check out their gear if you for some reason haven’t already!
Submitted by Mike B, Website
