Keeley Tube Drive – Twin Triode Dual Overdrive
Real Tube Warmth Meets Legendary Keeley Drive
The Keeley Tube Drive combines genuine high-voltage tube warmth with Keeley’s legendary Phat Mod overdrive in one incredibly versatile pedal.
Unlike many “tube” overdrive pedals that run their tubes at starved voltages, the Tube Drive runs its 12AX7 tube at a genuine 168 V. This allows the tube to do what it was designed to do — delivering natural compression, dynamic touch response, rich harmonics, and that unmistakable tube feel.
Play softly and the Tube channel stays open, clear, and musical. Dig in and the tube responds like a pushed preamp, adding smooth compression and sustain. Roll back your guitar’s volume and the tone remains full and articulate.
Two Distinct Voices. One Powerful Pedal.
The Tube Drive features two independent channels, each with its own character.
Tube Channel
The high-voltage 12AX7 tube preamp delivers warm, organic tube response with plenty of headroom. It reacts naturally to your picking dynamics and guitar volume, giving you everything from subtle warmth to beautifully compressed tube overdrive.
Phat Mod Drive Channel
The Drive channel features Keeley’s legendary Phat Mod — the iconic modification that helped turn the classic BD-2 into one of the most sought-after overdrive circuits among players.
From warm, touch-sensitive grit to thick, powerful stacked overdrive, the Phat Mod channel delivers a huge range of tones while retaining excellent note definition.
Choose Your Signal Path
The Tube Drive lets you choose which channel comes first in the signal chain.
With a long press of the footswitch, you can switch between:
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Drive → Tube – Push the tube preamp with the Phat Mod for a fat, smooth and rounded overdrive.
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Tube → Drive – Push the Phat Mod with the tube channel for a more aggressive, focused and cutting drive tone.
This simple feature dramatically expands the pedal’s tonal range, making it easy to adapt to different guitars, amplifiers, and playing styles.
Genuine 12AX7 Tube Operation
At the heart of the Tube Drive is a Keeley-branded 12AX7 tube, carefully burned in and fully tested before leaving the factory.
The tube is mounted behind a custom-designed tube shield and is visible through the pedal’s enclosure.
Want to experiment with different tubes? The Tube Drive includes a removal tool, making it easy to swap in your favorite NOS 12AX7 without needing a soldering iron.
Key Features
- Dual-channel overdrive & tube preamp
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Genuine 12AX7 tube running at 168 V for authentic tube warmth, compression and touch response
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Keeley-branded 12AX7 tube, burned in and fully tested
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Legendary Phat Mod Drive channel – from warm grit to thick, powerful overdrive
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Selectable effect order – Drive → Tube or Tube → Drive
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Independent Level, Drive and Tone controls for each channel
- Selectable true bypass or silent buffered switching
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TRS remote input for external channel switching
- Hand-built in Oklahoma City, USA
- Standard 9 V DC power supply
- Center-negative, 2.1 mm
- 485 mA current draw
Designed for Real-World Rigs
The Tube Drive isn’t a tube pedal in name only. Its high-voltage design allows the 12AX7 to operate properly, giving you the headroom, compression and dynamic response you expect from a real tube preamp.
At the same time, the Phat Mod Drive provides the punch and definition needed to push your amplifier or stack gain stages without losing clarity.
Run the channels independently or stack them together for a huge, harmonically rich overdrive tone that remains articulate even at higher gain settings.
The pedal also gives you a choice between true bypass and Keeley’s renowned silent buffered switching, making it equally at home on compact pedalboards or larger professional rigs with long cable runs.
Hand-Built by Keeley Electronics
Built from start to finish at Keeley Electronics’ headquarters in Oklahoma City, USA, the Tube Drive combines genuine tube technology with one of Keeley’s most iconic overdrive circuits.
Real tube warmth. Legendary Phat Mod drive. Two channels. Endless possibilities.
Whether you’re looking for subtle tube coloration, dynamic low-gain crunch, a powerful standalone overdrive, or a massive stacked gain sound, the Keeley Tube Drive gives you all of it in one pedal.
