NEW PRICE! Robert Keeley “Freak of the Week #2” Maxon TS9 Mod – Very Limited Run Custom Shop– Hand Signed Pedal

A Quick Note on Pricing & Provenance: When I initially posted this item, I relied on an overly aggressive ChatGPT market valuation that suggested listing this pedal closer to $2,500 (importantly, ChatGPT did not include an assessment of comparable pedals). After taking a step back and consulting Gemini for a more grounded, realistic analysis against historical boutique comps, it became clear that the original figure was highly inflated. Please accept my apologies for this newbie AI error—my goal at Sterno's STRATosphere & Pedal Emporium is to share genuine, rare pieces of pedal history (and sell great Strats, of course) at a fair market value, not to appear greedy. This "Freak of the Week #2" is a spectacular, museum-grade prototype complete with Robert Keeley's hand-signed original circuit documentation. I have adjusted the price to $1,199.95 OBO, which accurately reflects its true rarity while respecting the actual collector market. I hope you will give it your serious consideration.

Aggressively modified Maxon TS9 with six modes and hand signed by Robert Keeley.  The unit comes with signed docs, hand-drawn switch map, and original box candy.

• Ultra-rare early Robert Keeley custom build
• Based on a genuine Maxon TS9 Tube Screamer
• The pedal is hand-signed by the “King of Compressors” himself
• Includes original Maxon manual + warranty card
• Includes Keeley’s original 2-page typed circuit/tone guide
• Includes hand-drawn and signed toggle-switch diagram by Keeley
• 6 distinct clipping/EQ modes
• Germanium transistor clipping (“60s mode”) + asymmetrical “70s mode”
• Mint condition / collector-grade example

The price for this pedal rarity is REAL! This is a serious piece for players, collectors, and Keeley historians alike.

This pedal, titled “Freak of the Week #2.” This is NOT simply a modified Tube Screamer. It began life as a Maxon TS9 and was transformed by Robert Keeley into something far more radical, expressive, and tonally diverseThis is an early-era Robert Keeley experimental custom build, limited run pedal from the formative years of the modern boutique pedal movement—handcrafted circa Spring 2003, when Keeley was still personally creating highly customized, small-run modded pedals long before his name became legendary.

“The FUZZ DUMP.” IN THIS LISTING BELOW, SEE THE ORIGINAL PEDAL DESCRIPTION FROM MR. KEELEY HIMSELF.  Honestly… this description fits perfectly. 

Here are some sample settings as described by Keeley himself.  These samples are just ones that Robert Keeley personally enjoyed. In his own words, “they are not meant to imitate anyone's sound because I really hope you find your own!”

• “All Controls set at 1+/- O'clock, nice starting position, good biting drive and gain.
• “Set the Level to 3 O'clock, Drive at 9 O'clock, tone anywhere that sounds good to you. This is a good clean boost and great for distorting the input of a tube amp.
• “Set the Level to 4 O'clock, Drive off, this is a SUPER clean boost with my More/Less mod.
• “Set Drive to 4 O'clock and the Level to 12 O'clock. This is a super sustain setting. Great for lead work that is very saturated yet retains the essence of your guitar!”

PROVENANCE & INCLUDED MATERIALS: This pedal comes with an extraordinary amount of original documentation and ephemera, including:

• Original Maxon box
• Original Maxon user manual
• Original Maxon warranty registration card
• Keeley’s original multi-page typed description of the custom circuitry and settings
• Hand-drawn switch/effects diagram by Robert Keeley himself
• Hand-signed materials from Keeley

These materials are the original documents that accompanied the pedal when delivered in 2003. There are very few pedals where the documentation itself materially increases the value of the piece. This is one of them!

THE CIRCUIT: WHERE A TS9 MEETS A FUZZ FACE Keeley started with his famous TS808-style upgrades:

• TS808 resistor values
• Metal film coupling caps for improved transparency
• Expanded bass response
• “More/Less” gain modification
• Silver-solder construction

But then things got weird—in the best possible way.  The diversity of tonal possibilities comes from the six distinct modes that the Keeley Freak #2 offers:

The pedal combines:

• A CLIPPING SWITCH W/ TWO clipping structures (“60s” and “70s”) (switch is on the left side of the pedal)
• THREE DISTINCTIVE EQ VOICINGS via the Dump switch (switch is on the right side of the pedal)
• Resulting in SIX unique tonal personalities.

CONDITION

• Mint condition
• Fully functional
• Includes all original materials and paperwork
• Collector-grade example

A FINAL WORD from Sterno’s STRATosphere. Pedals like this simply are not being made anymore. This comes from a moment in time when boutique builders were still experimenting by hand, modifying circuits one-by-one, writing notes to customers, and inventing tones in real time

IN THE WORDS OF ROBERT KEELEY HIMSELF (CIRCA 2002)

“THE FUZZ DUMP” in Robert Keeley’s own words:

• “As the starting point I did all of the regular mods to the Maxon TS9 circuit such as the TS808 resistors, the metal film coupling caps for added transparency, More/Less mod for a wider range of distortion from the Drive Control, and increased bass response. All using silver solder or course.
• “The 60's/70's Switch - this switch controls what type of diode is in the clipping part of the circuit. This week's freak has a neat twist. For the 60's side you get 2 of the 3 legs of a 1960's Germanium Transistor, yes, you read right! The base-emitter junction of a transistor is used as the diode in the clipping circuit. This is where a TS9 meets a smooth and fuzzy fuzz face! This is a sputtering high distortion setting. The volume is a bit reduced because the signal is squared off, yet has the creaminess of a TS9. Sweet chocolate! The 70's mode is nearly back to stock TSnineville.  This time a regular diode and the germanium diode are used in series for a nid3, subtle asymmetrical clipping  Very tudge-like. Very meat and potatoes!
• “The Dump Switch – is a  sweet little fix for the midrange boost that makes the TS9 famous or maybe infamous! A three position switch lets you control the amount of midrange that is dumped from the signal. Actually it's not that at all! Ha ha ha! What the switch does is ADD two levels of bass and treble at the same. When the switch is all of the way DOWN, there is a subtle amount of low end and high frequency add to the response of the pedal. (Do you see the sun setting on the stock TS9 sound?) The center position is very close to a stock TS9, but has my mod with an evened bass response. The UP position is like an EQ set to a smiley face! ;-) The bass and treble have a kick that is very different from a stock TS9. You will love the tonal possibilities! For the techguys out there, we switch in capacitors and resistors with one switch DPDT switch to control the frequency response curves, on-off-on variety.
• “6 MODES! Yep, 1960's with threeEQ curves; and then l970's with the three EQ responses.”

NOTE:  This description is hand signed by Robert Keeley.