Pricing and availability
We compare 600+ stores and found this item at 7 stores. Prices updated .
Store
Reviews
Price
Average Price: $196
Standard/Professional
$50
$201+
Price Tier
Budget
Standard
High-end
Price History
Based on price data from 4 merchants for "Keeley Aria". Prices shown reflect NEW condition. Tracking began Apr 2, 2026.
* Product prices and availability are updated by Equipboard every 24hrs and are subject to change. Equipboard may receive compensation for purchases made at participating retailers linked on this site. This compensation does not affect what products or prices are displayed, or the order of prices listed. For more information, please refer to our affiliate disclosure.
Description
Keeley Aria is a versatile and compact pedal that combines the power of two iconic effects: Compressor and Overdrive. This powerful stomp box features the acclaimed Keeley Compressor circuit and Red Dirt Overdrive, delivering a robust, transparent, and touch-sensitive drive.
Keeley Aria’s innovative design allows you to switch the order of the compressor and overdrive for a unique sonic experience. It boasts a perfectly voiced treble recovery circuit and blend control, providing a tonal palette that ranges from clean and bold to high gain and smooth saturation.
The Aria's compressor provides beautiful sustain and bloom, while the redesigned tube-style overdrive circuit offers a broad gain range. This makes it an essential tool for recording and performing guitarists, offering tons of sustain, a warm and rounded tone profile, and a consistent output volume and gain level.
The Aria also features TRS insert jacks, which allow you to insert any number of effects between the Compressor and Drive circuits for added flexibility. Not to be overlooked, these two foundational tones are now together in one easy-to-use pedal that's full of features for laying down your core tone.
Key Features:
- Combines Keeley's acclaimed Compressor and Red Dirt Overdrive in one stompbox
- Switchable order of effects for unique tonal possibilities
- Perfectly voiced treble recovery circuit and blend control
- Compressor and overdrive channels can be used separately or together
- TRS insert jacks for added flexibility
- Preserves your guitar's natural tone
- Extremely dynamic, touch-sensitive gain at both low- and high-gain settings
- High-quality components used throughout
- Made in USA
- Current consumption: 50 mA
- Power supply via 9 V DC power supply (not included)
Videos
Reverb
Keeley Electronics Aria Compressor Drive | Reverb Tone Report
Reviews
PROS
-
Adds detail and growl to clean and distorted tones
-
Offers smooth to squishy compression
-
Versatile overdrive with low and high gain settings
-
High-quality build and design
-
Can split compressor and gain sections for signal chain flexibility
-
Famous compressor circuit with natural-sounding sustain
-
Easy to use with fewer knobs
-
Allows for external control of effect order
-
Compressor and overdrive can be used to enhance other pedals or amps
-
Attractive and space-saving on pedalboards
CONS
-
Compression may limit dynamics, not suitable for all playing styles
-
Some users find the overdrive tone harsh compared to other pedals
-
Lack of adjustable attack time in compressor
-
Overdrive section described as noisy by some users
-
External switches may confuse some users regarding their function
Owner Insights
We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Keeley Aria.
Features and functionality
Comparisons
-
The Keeley Aria's overdrive is compared to a Tubescreamer variant, with high gain settings noted for their effectiveness.
Source -
Users compare the Keeley Aria's functionality to the Tone Workstation, noting the Aria as a more streamlined but less feature-rich option.
Source -
The Keeley Aria's overdrive is based on the Keeley RedDirt pedal, offering a distinctive sound profile.
Source -
The Keeley Aria's drive mode may not be ideal as the sole drive on a board, especially when used with high-output pickups and high-headroom clean amps.
Source -
Combining the Keeley Aria with a Tumnus might result in too much midrange emphasis, similar to stacking Klon and Tubescreamer pedals.
Source
User experience
Use cases and applications
-
The compressor in the Keeley Aria is praised for always being on, especially by strat players using single coils for genres like blues, jazz, rock, and shoegaze.
Source -
The built-in overdrive in the Keeley Aria helps manage signal chain arrangements, especially when alternating effects like delay and pitch-shift with pedals like the Boss PS-2.
Source -
The Aria might perform better with edge-of-breakup channels or vintage-style pickups for more nuanced drive tones.
Source
Critic Reviews
4.0 out of 5
Based on 3 Reviews and 5 Ratings
182
Simple - High End - Versatile Pedal
Let's go in order. Your Guitar: Humbucker or Single coils? No Problem! Unscrew the bottom plate and select your fav option with those little switches. Compressor side: It goes from a medium/High squishing funk compression, to a subtle sustainer to push your crunch and solo tones. Drive side: Basically a Keeley "Red Dirt". So it goes from a heavy crunch to a nice mellow mid boost.
If you like the Keeley compressor and the Keleey Red Dirt, buy this and you'll basically have both in one pedal. Ps: You can run them in different order thanks to the central switch. Ps2: You can place the drive and compressor anywhere in the signal chain by using stereo cables on the Imput and Output.
305
Agree with the other comments: drive is horrible
The compressor is good. Noisy, but good. JHS Pulp n Peel does the same without the noise, so I'm keeping JHS instead. The Red Dirt side, oh my, I had many many tubescreamers, but none as bad as this and depending on the order you choose to stack with the compressor, the noise will be so evident that whatever the space you save having a 2x1 on your board is not worth: you'll need more space for a decent drive plus a noise gate. 3 stars for the compressor only.
838
Overdrive part is bad
The worst sounding overdrive I (or anybody) have ever heard. Compressor is pretty good though
40
Horrible, i think the same like you
Artist usage
Add artist
Per Brian Fallon's Instagram post: WARNING - this post is for the nerds - like me. For anyone who asked me how I got the rhythm tone on 59 Sound and every other record - this pedal combined my whole guitar world into one. Oh, yeah and it does some other clowns named Mike Campbell, and John Frusciante, and Mark Knopfler too. Never heard of ‘em though. Hear they’re coming up. @keeleyelectronics
Album Usage
The Keeley Aria has been featured on the following albums:
Genre Usage
Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.
Similar
Add recommendation2 alternative and related items for Keeley Aria, curated by the Equipboard community.
$150.00 - $359.00
More Keeley Compressor Effects Pedals
Accessories & Related Items
Community setups
Gear Guides
Most Popular Compressor Effects Pedals
Most Popular Brands
-
Added to Equipboard on by
blakeindisguiseGear IQ 2036
-