I just bought one of these a couple days ago- waiting for it to arrive. I wanted to simplify my board and reduce the number of pedals I had, without giving up fx- and I ended up actually gaining fx. The Aria gives you compression and overdrive, the Dark Side gives you fuzz, rotary, flanger, u-vibe, and phaser, and the Parallax gives you 3 different reverbs and a modulated delay. Stick a UAfx Lion 68 in there- and that's my rig now. It sounds amazing- using a different overdrive until the Aria arrives, I can't wait until it gets here, and I can finish this board. So far, it's 1 of the best I've ever put together and I think the Aria will be the icing on the cake- perfect. The Dark Side not only has rotary and flanger independently, but you can blend the two together - just like you can blend the U-vibe and phaser together. Then you can blend in dry signal to make it as subtle or extreme as you want. And there's a delay in it as well, and a fuzz- it's nuts.
Love your channel! Great no b.s. videos! According to Keeley one gain setting is the Red Dirt, and the other is the White Sands Luxe :) Keep doing your thing! I picked up the nux Atlantic on based on your vid and I couldn't be happier
Way back when Keeley was only making a compressor and modding, he was pushing the idea of Keeley 4 Knob + Keeley Blues Driver as the perfect tone. This seems to be a refinement of that idea. It is the reason I got the BD and still have it
Great reviews. I found your Keeley Compressor Plus review yesterday and was about to buy one. Now I find the Aria and wonder should I just go for it. I have what I consider an excellent low-OD pedal, the Barber LTD, so may not need the Aria's Drive function. So many choices.
I've been eyeing this pedal ever since it was announced at Winter NAMM. Burgs, does the overdrive side truly behave like the Red Dirt? That is, is it basically a Tubescreamer? Because that's what I want, haha.
Tried a Duncan 805, with my compressor it almost had enough gain and sounded great. If I am correct the Aria is also Germanium drive. I'm very interested, just hope it has enough saturation for smooth shred...?
Then boost the drive with the compressor. That is, unless you're looking for high gain chug- it's not going to do that. It has the wrong input cap in it, it won't let enough bass into the circuit to chug.
Did you get the order switch backwards? I thought the toggle was supposed to “point” toward the direction of the signal? I thought I’ve seen it used that way on other demos...
Neil Aspinall it’s an odd thing. Some say it sustains. I say it limits yet in a distortion pedal it makes it feel spongey. Yet alone it makes playing funk lead lines much easier. Confusing.
I just bought one of these a couple days ago- waiting for it to arrive. I wanted to simplify my board and reduce the number of pedals I had, without giving up fx- and I ended up actually gaining fx. The Aria gives you compression and overdrive, the Dark Side gives you fuzz, rotary, flanger, u-vibe, and phaser, and the Parallax gives you 3 different reverbs and a modulated delay. Stick a UAfx Lion 68 in there- and that's my rig now. It sounds amazing- using a different overdrive until the Aria arrives, I can't wait until it gets here, and I can finish this board. So far, it's 1 of the best I've ever put together and I think the Aria will be the icing on the cake- perfect. The Dark Side not only has rotary and flanger independently, but you can blend the two together - just like you can blend the U-vibe and phaser together. Then you can blend in dry signal to make it as subtle or extreme as you want. And there's a delay in it as well, and a fuzz- it's nuts.
Love your channel! Great no b.s. videos! According to Keeley one gain setting is the Red Dirt, and the other is the White Sands Luxe :)
Keep doing your thing! I picked up the nux Atlantic on based on your vid and I couldn't be happier
Nice sounding pedal. I feel this would definitely get used on smaller boards, where you need to get the most out of your stompboxes.
Way back when Keeley was only making a compressor and modding, he was pushing the idea of Keeley 4 Knob + Keeley Blues Driver as the perfect tone. This seems to be a refinement of that idea. It is the reason I got the BD and still have it
Great reviews. I found your Keeley Compressor Plus review yesterday and was about to buy one. Now I find the Aria and wonder should I just go for it. I have what I consider an excellent low-OD pedal, the Barber LTD, so may not need the Aria's Drive function. So many choices.
The blend control is a sweet feature on that box.
Burgs! You didn't even mention that little tone control for the compressor side, which I'm sure would come in handy! Me likeee!
Do you notice any noise introduced with the compressor on?
what delay is that it sounds amazing? you said in the video plexi delay, not sure what that is?
Will this work for bass??
I've been eyeing this pedal ever since it was announced at Winter NAMM.
Burgs, does the overdrive side truly behave like the Red Dirt? That is, is it basically a Tubescreamer? Because that's what I want, haha.
Tried a Duncan 805, with my compressor it almost had enough gain and sounded great. If I am correct the Aria is also Germanium drive. I'm very interested, just hope it has enough saturation for smooth shred...?
I need to get another squishy comp!
Great demo! can i also use this to boost any distortion pedal on my board?
Sure. Just watch how much you use it, so you don’t lose clarity and definition.
Is this medium gain burgs? I need a bit more gain.
Yes, this is medium gain Burgs. High gain Burgs is out of the office until Monday.
Sorry! Couldn't help myself... Yes, medium gain. :)
Brett Kingman 😂good one. That’s my lack of writing properly.
Then boost the drive with the compressor. That is, unless you're looking for high gain chug- it's not going to do that. It has the wrong input cap in it, it won't let enough bass into the circuit to chug.
i'm curious how (if) this differs from the JHS/Keeley Steak & Eggs? sounds great either way.
The steak & eggs has a Morning Glory side (Blues Breaker style, flat response) while the Aria has a Red Dirt side (TS style, mid push)
ah, nice! that explains it. thanks!
Did you get the order switch backwards? I thought the toggle was supposed to “point” toward the direction of the signal? I thought I’ve seen it used that way on other demos...
Compressors for guitarists are a hard sell. They are such a subtle sound that many can't actually hear what the do.
Compressors are a no go for me at all - want as much dynamic range as possible. Only watching 'cos I enjoy Burgs' mighty playing. :D
Neil Aspinall it’s an odd thing. Some say it sustains. I say it limits yet in a distortion pedal it makes it feel spongey. Yet alone it makes playing funk lead lines much easier. Confusing.