Keeley Electronics Manis Overdrive

Keeley Electronics Manis Overdrive – Classic Klone Soul with a Modern Roar

The Keeley Manis Overdrive isn’t content to rest in the shadow of the mythical Klon—it carves its own legend. Designed by Robert Keeley to elevate and refine one of the most revered circuits in guitar history, the Manis delivers the shimmering boost and smooth drive you expect, then opens up entirely new tonal dimensions with smart, player-focused innovations.

At its heart, the Manis features vintage-spec germanium diodes for the creamy overdrive and harmonic richness that made the original famous. But here’s where it breaks away: a switchable germanium transistor mode—using cold-war era NOS parts—adds a whole new level of saturation, compression, and tube-like feel that you can literally play into. Want the “classic Klone” tone? Flip to the Ge Diode setting. Want more sustain, touch sensitivity, and chewy mid push? Engage Ge Transistor mode and let it rip.

Single coil players and low-end lovers rejoice: the Bass+ switch restores low-end heft, drops the frequency response an octave, and adds a tasteful 3dB bump to round out your tone—especially valuable when pushing clean amps or playing in trio settings where your guitar needs to hold more weight.

And for the pedalboard power perfectionists, Keeley built the Manis to run at 9V or 18V, giving you the option of more headroom and dynamic range. Toss in switchable true or buffered bypass, and you’ve got a studio-grade overdrive that’s equally at home on stage or in the studio.

How It Sounds

• Classic Klone Mode (Ge Diode + Stock): Transparent, responsive, and rich. Great for stacking or pushing your amp’s natural breakup.

• Ge Transistor Mode: Adds a warmer, more compressed feel—perfect for expressive lead tones and thick rhythm sounds.

• Bass+ Mode: Restores low-end punch, making single coils sound huge and giving humbuckers an almost fuzz-like presence when pushed.

• 18V Power: More headroom, more articulation, more everything. Excellent for cleaner boosts or players with heavy pick dynamics.

If you’re after the dynamic clarity of John Mayer, the bite of The Edge, or the harmonic complexity of Jeff Beck, the Manis puts that tonal DNA at your fingertips—with more tweakability than ever before.

Suggested Settings

• Classic Klone – Ge Diode / Stock Mode

• Single Coil Beefy – Ge Transistor / Bass+ Mode

• Evo-Klone – Ge Diode / Bass+ Mode

• G-Sus-tain – Ge Transistor / Stock Mode

Features & Specs

• Voltage-Doubled Hard Clipping Design – Delivers a clean yet powerful boost and smooth clipping

• Switchable Clipping Options

   

  • Ge Diode: Classic Klone character

  • Ge Transistor: Adds compression, saturation, and tube-like dynamics

   

• Bass+ Switch – Lowers frequency response by one octave and adds 3dB for low-end fullness

• True Bypass or Silent Buffered Bypass – Toggle to fit your rig and pedalboard needs

• Runs on 9V or 18V DC – Standard 2.1mm center-negative jack

• Hand-built in the USA – Boutique-grade quality with Keeley’s signature precision