I managed to land a Limited Dealer Edition Keeley 12AT7WC Twin Triode Tube Drive Dual Channel Overdrive, courtesy of Andertons in the UK

I happen to prefer the 'gold' colourway, and obviously desired a high fidelity tube onboard - which the 12AT7WC is too. It's not quite as rarefied as the Sylvania variety, but it's still powered by a fantastic rare NOS Philips Tube type.

The key cosmetic differences are that on the 100 Limited Run - the 'K' Tube-Guard / Shield / Cover / Shroud is Black, with Black Knob Legends, while on the Dealer Edition - the 'K' Tube-Guard is Gold, and the labels are in White!

Controls - TUBE DRIVE } Level, Gain, Tone, Tube Footswitch; SUPER PHAT MOD } Level, Gain, Tone, Drive Footswitch.

I actually managed to snap up a 12AT7WA Sylvania Tube on Ebay too - it set me back £20 including delivery. So I can essentially have the same experience as the 100 Limited Edition Run - and if I really wanted to (which I don't!) I could also spray-paint the 'K' Tube-Guard Black.

I really like the look of the Dealer Edition as is, and I have the option now to sub in the more rarefied Sylvania 12AT7WA too - so I can report on that later as to how much different that sounds / feels.

Essentially the hierarchy of Tubes here is Sylvania 12AT7WA > Philips 12AT7WC > Factory Branded Stock 12AX7. The Crazy Tube Circuits Venus Tube Driver features 12DW7 / ECC832 Tube - which is half 12AX7 and half 12AU7 - so I might try that one too at some stage. While for the most part I should be fine with just my 12AT7WA and 12AT7WC varieties. We'll see how much difference each individual tube makes!

The Dealer Edition Run is a little larger than the 100 Unit Pre-Release, but I don't have the exact numbers for that. I believe only 20 Units or so were allocated to the UK - and I think most of those went to Andertons - where indeed I snapped up mine from. I believe a couple of other UK dealers were supposed to get some of those gold editions in too - but I've not seen evidence of that yet! I paid £429 for my Tube Drive - from Andertons. (I think there are still a few left! - but not for long!)

Actually I saw that the Dealer Release was supposed to be around 150 Units, where Robert has enough of the 12AT7WC's to do 300 of them supposedly. So likely we will see those later as different colour variants! We always end up with a Plasmaetic Purple edition eventually too!

I held back on doing a feature yesterday - as I wanted to be able to give a first impressions reaction to the Dealer Edition - which has indeed just landed shortly before this feature went live!

"Indeed this was well worth acquiring - it sounds fantastic - and particularly when the two channels are combined - absolutely blisteringly good with incredible rich harmonics"

I'm not sure I even need the Sylvania Tube - it sounds brilliant as is! And the Tube Channel pairs really nicely with all the other gain pedals. My Tube Drive sits in the middle of the chain - and I could not be happier with it! It might even be my favourite Tube Overdrive to-date. That 2-Channel Combination has so much range - and the pedal sounds already fantastic just with everything at noon,

The Soft Gold of the Limited Editions is the perfect colourway - it evokes the warmth and the richness of the pedal's output. It's a fairly pricey acquisition - but so worth it.

Robert Keeley has definitely hit this one out of the park!