Keeley Caverns V2 Settings Guide
The Keeley Caverns V2 is a combined reverb and delay pedal designed specifically for ambient, shoegaze, and atmospheric applications — spring reverb, modulated delay, and an effects loop allow complex layering in a compact enclosure. The modulation on the delay circuit produces the classic shimmer and warble of tape echo without using actual tape.
The best Keeley Caverns V2 settings start with: Time at 5/10, Repeats at 4/10, Mix at 5/10, Verb at 4/10, Mod at 3/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Shoegaze: Time 6/10, Repeats 6/10, Mix 7/10, Verb 6/10, Mod 5/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Time | 5/10 | Short → Long |
| Repeats | 4/10 | Single → Self-Osc |
| Mix | 5/10 | Dry → Wet |
| Verb | 4/10 | Dry → Wet |
| Mod | 3/10 | None → Deep |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Higher Mix, Verb, and Mod — the Caverns for shoegaze wall-of-sound. The combination of modulated delay and spring reverb at high levels produces the dense, atmospheric texture of shoegaze guitar. Mod at 5 adds tape-like instability to the delay repeats.
Short delay as slapback, modest reverb — the Caverns in a practical single-player blues setting. Short Time with minimal Repeats produces slapback. Verb 4 adds spring reverb character like a vintage Fender. Mod minimal to keep the blues tone natural.
Long Time, high Repeats and Verb — full ambient character from the Caverns. Long delay time with high Repeats builds a dense, evolving texture. Verb 7 adds substantial spring reverb on top of the delay. Mod 4 adds modulation instability that evolves the texture over time.
A moderate setting across all controls adds dimension to jangly rhythm playing without the more extreme wash of the shoegaze or ambient presets, keeping chord definition clear.
Long Time with generous Verb builds the spacious, swelling character common in post-rock crescendos, while moderate Repeats keep the delay from overwhelming a build that needs to keep growing.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The spring reverb on this pedal is voiced to sound particularly good behind a slapback delay — set Time short (2-3) with Repeats low (2) and Verb at 5-6 for the classic Texas or country echo-and-spring combination that defined 1950s and 1960s Fender-amp guitar tone.
- The Mod control is what separates this from a conventional delay-plus-reverb pairing — even a small amount adds the pitch-unstable character associated with real tape echo, worth including even in otherwise conservative settings.
- The effects loop allows inserting an external pedal between the delay and reverb stages, a genuinely useful routing option for players who want to place a modulation or filter effect specifically between those two blocks rather than before or after both.
- Because Verb and Mix are independent, a fully dry delay signal with a prominent reverb tail (or the reverse) is achievable — do not assume the two need to move together for a balanced sound.
- For players new to combined delay-reverb pedals, starting with Verb at zero and dialing in the delay character alone first, then adding reverb gradually, makes it easier to understand each block contribution to the final texture.
FAQ
Keeley Caverns V2 — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Keeley Caverns V2: Time at 5/10, Repeats at 4/10, Mix at 5/10, Verb at 4/10, Mod at 3/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Shoegaze: Time 6/10, Repeats 6/10, Mix 7/10, Verb 6/10, Mod 5/10. Higher Mix, Verb, and Mod — the Caverns for shoegaze wall-of-sound. The combination of modulated delay and spring reverb at high levels produces the dense, atmospheric texture of shoegaze guitar. Mod at 5 adds tape-like instability to the delay repeats.
For Blues: Time 3/10, Repeats 2/10, Mix 3/10, Verb 4/10, Mod 1/10. Short delay as slapback, modest reverb — the Caverns in a practical single-player blues setting. Short Time with minimal Repeats produces slapback. Verb 4 adds spring reverb character like a vintage Fender. Mod minimal to keep the blues tone natural.
Time: Delay time — spans slapback through long ambient. (Short to Long). Repeats: Delay feedback. (Single to Self-Osc). Mix: Delay wet/dry. (Dry to Wet). Verb: Spring reverb level — independent from delay Mix. (Dry to Wet). Mod: Modulation depth on the delay — warble and chorus character. (None to Deep)
The spring reverb on this pedal is voiced to sound particularly good behind a slapback delay — set Time short (2-3) with Repeats low (2) and Verb at 5-6 for the classic Texas or country echo-and-spring combination that defined 1950s and 1960s Fender-amp guitar tone. The Mod control is what separates this from a conventional delay-plus-reverb pairing — even a small amount adds the pitch-unstable character associated with real tape echo, worth including even in otherwise conservative settings. The effects loop allows inserting an external pedal between the delay and reverb stages, a genuinely useful routing option for players who want to place a modulation or filter effect specifically between those two blocks rather than before or after both. Because Verb and Mix are independent, a fully dry delay signal with a prominent reverb tail (or the reverse) is achievable — do not assume the two need to move together for a balanced sound. For players new to combined delay-reverb pedals, starting with Verb at zero and dialing in the delay character alone first, then adding reverb gradually, makes it easier to understand each block contribution to the final texture.
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