In 1967, Jimi Hendrix performed at the Monterey Pop Festival, where he created one of the defining moments of rock ‘n’ roll history by setting his hand-painted 1965 Strat ablaze. Fast forward to 2019, when Fender commemorated this legendary moment and the guitar itself by releasing the limited edition Monterey Strat which featured a recreation of his iconic design.
While I do love Strats, they aren’t usually my go-to. However, during the limited run of the Monterey Strat guitar I became obsessed with owning one. Sadly, I ended up missing out, but my love of Jimi’s hand-painted design remained. Therefore, any gear I spot that sports this design will immediately catch my interest. Enter the Keeley Monterey Workstation.
What Was I Looking For?
Beyond searching for gear sporting that beautiful Monterey Pop design, I was also in the market for a vintage style fuzz-octave pedal. I typically go for more aggressive modern fuzz, so I wanted to find something with vintage inspiration. At face value, the Monterey Workstation seemed like it would fit the bill with the type of fuzz it offered, but what about all the other-on board effects?
What is the Keeley Monterey Workstation?
The Keeley Monterey Workstation is a multi-effects pedal with vintage psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll flavor. It houses a fuzz circuit that can act independently or in conjunction with the “mod” circuit which houses the rotary, vibe and wah effects — in addition to an octave up or sub octave setting. These effects on their own are reminiscent of the psychedelic sounds that define records like Are You Experienced, but when combined together, they transcend their vintage inspiration into something otherworldly.
Vibing Out With The Effects:
Fuzz:
Ranging from subtle grit to searing, sweet growl, the fuzz circuit has serious dynamic range that retains articulation even when pushed to the max. Here are my ’round the clock findings (based on adjusting the top right fuzz setting):
9 o’clock: Subtle fuzz, adds a slight amount of “hair” to single notes and injects a bit of “juice” to chords.
12 o’clock: Still subtle but slightly more aggressive. At this point, the fuzz becomes reactive, allowing for dynamic use of the effect based on play style. I also noticed that pushing it to around 1 o’clock allows for the sweetness hidden within the tone of the fuzz to shine through.
Full throttle: The tonal character of the fuzz at this point can be best described as a “sweet burn”. The nearly overpowering grit melds with the brightness it holds to create something that feels like a true challenge to tame. It toes the line between holding on to articulation and being completely lost in the sauce, or fuzz in this case.
Mod Effects
Rotary:
Authentically emulates that coveted vintage Leslie sound. It also has a surprising amount of depth allowing for a deep level of expression. Here are my findings (based on adjusting the rate and depth settings):
Rate at 9 o’clock/Depth at 10 o’clock: Classic rotary sound — adds nice vintage color to tone.
Full throttle: When used with cleans, pushing the rate to full throttle creates a glassy, cagey effect reminiscent of the primary guitar part from “Back to the Moment” by Slash’s Snakepit.
Wah:
As someone who prefers manual wah, the auto-wah on this pedal pleasantly surprised me with how expressive it felt. It features a bright tonal characteristic that retains its clarity even when shifting to emulate wah in a closed postion. This wah has the ability to blend in or cut through depending on how you play. Here are my findings (Based on adjusting the rate and depth settings together):
Depth at 1 o’clock – The tonal sweet spot! At around 1 o’clock, the depth allows the wah’s bright tonality to shine through without it being too shrill.
Rate at 10 o’clock – Classic wah sound/rate I would use in a live setting.
Vibe:
The most psychedelic offering in the workstation, the vibe effect has a range of wobble sounds that will send you to another dimension. From a slow head spinning wobble to an eccentric choppiness that emulates an aggressive tremolo, this effect has serious vibes. Here are my findings (based on adjusting the rate and depth settings):
9 o’clock/depth at 1 o’clock – slow wobble, gives chords and single notes a spatial effect.
12 o’clock – Signal begins to become choppy and individual notes begin to lose their distinction
Full throttle – Becomes a tremolo-like effect where the signal does not cut in and out but retains its choppiness.
My Favorite Monterey Multi-Effects Pedal Combos
When the mod effects (vibe, wah rotary) are engaged, using the level knob will allow you to determine how blended the effect is with your signal. You can make the effect have a subtle presence or have it define your signal entirely. Plus, you can blend the mod effects with the on-board fuzz for some truly far-out combinations. Here are some of my favorite combos:
Wah with Sub Octave: Gritty Hard-hitting funk!
When I want to dig in with some funky baselines on guitar, this combo lays it down heavy!
Vibe with Octave Up: Psychadelic Shimmer!
This combo is great for playing chords with space between them. This configuration adds a wobbly shimmer not only to the chord itself, but to the space between the chords as well.
Rotary with Octave Up and added depth: “Back to the Moment” effect.
This is a sound that is bursting with emotion, like it could be the missing piece in a ’90s alt rock song about heartbreak.
Fuzz First or Fuzz Second?
Just to the right of the expression input is the fuzz first/second switch. When in the fuzz first position, the mod effects are more pronounced. When in the fuzz second position, the mod effects and fuzz are more evenly blended and the effects take on an entirely new personality!
Fuzz first:
Fuzz second:
These configurations give you the ability to decide how you want these effects blended, and can be useful to help you configure the overall sound of the workstation to your liking. Check out the image below for a breakdown of the settings I used for this comparison:
The Verdict
At first, I was looking for a vintage style fuzz pedal with an octave setting that happened to have Jimi’s Monterey Pop design on it — what I got was something that took my expectations and brought them into another dimension. If you’re looking for fuzz tone that is on the sweeter, brighter side, this is the pedal for you. The more you push it, the better it gets, as it still manages to retain great articulation with incredible tone at full throttle. The mod effects provide a range of psychedelic flavors — featuring an expressive auto wah, vintage Leslie sounds and head spinning vibe effects.
When combining the mod effects with the fuzz circuit, and pushing it even further with the fuzz first/second settings, you can create truly out-of-this-world sounds. I can confidently say, that the Keeley Monterey Workstation Multi-Effects pedal is a one of a kind stomp box that will take you to places you couldn’t have imagined!
