Danelectro Coolcat CT-1 Tremolo

Very simple settings - mostly, speed and depth (unless you switch to the square wave ('hard') mode in which case you just adjust the speed...). The manual is fun and clear but close to useless - if you can't manage to correctly set-up this thing then you do have a serious problem !-)

Using it with either a Vox Standard 25 or a Vox Custom 24, a couple OD (ts-09 and dano CTO-1) and a Fender Blues Junior. The trem is not noisy by itself (nothing you would care about), but being at the end of the pedals chain it turns the hiss of the previous pedals into a kind of an helicopter sound when switched on !-) (but you'd have the same problem with any other trem anyway).

The (true ?) bypass seems very effective. When turned on, there's a bit of a mid boost/hi cut coloration but it sounds nice and is more or less part of the vintage feel of this effect. The effect by itself is, well, a tremolo. Works just fine, nice vintage tone, even if it doesn't have the mojo of a good old Fender or Vox amp's builtin trem. It's probably not the best stomp-box trem around neither, but you just won't find anything better for this price (and might even find way worse for twice the price).

Seems reliable. Metal box, metal jacks, no problems so far...

Playing anything from blues to garage to punk rock to indie to noise. I'll probably buy a more sophisticated trem/vibrato some day, but I'll still keep this one around because it does a good job - but if stolen, I'd probably first get the more sophisticated one (depending on my budget). Once again, it's not (and doesn't pretend to be) the ultimate trem box, but for 33??? it's well worth it's price - and more than it's price IMHO.

Super straight-forward. Depth, Speed, and shape. The depth and speed both have good range. The "hard" setting makes the depth control inactive, but this is no huge problem as 99% of players will find all they need on the "soft" side. True bypass in this price range is unheard of and it really is excellent. The 3PDT appears to be a non-branded version of the switch Fulltone uses. Getting a good sound takes just a few seconds. The blue LED is BLINDING.

I use this with an original Danelectro U-1, a Fender Mustang, and a 335. My amps are an Orange Crush (for practice) and an Ampeg Reverbojet. I play mostly jazz, folk, and oldies. I've noticed no noise with the pedal on, just a slight pop from the true-bypass which is to be expected. Depending on the amp, I've noticed a slight boost in the high-end and volume with the effect on. This isn't a problem for me and seems to help the tremolo cut through a bit better. As far as copping "famous" sounds, the CC-T sounds a lot like the trem on a Fender Twin. It's more symmetrical, but very close overall. It's the cheapest trem you can buy, and it sounds excellent.

The switch, case, and plugs are metal and very good quality. Pots seem a little iffy, but I'm not overly concerned. I'm sure it would be fine without a backup. Of course, you could buy 2 of these for less then 1 BOSS (and they would sound better).

Dano has appointed a "Customer Service Tsar" according to their site. I've never had a problem with any of their products, so I can't comment.

I've been playing for 13 years. This is my favorite trem. It's not a stop-gap to tide you over until you can get something better; it is really a great sounding effect. I would definitely buy it again, and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for tremolo. I wish there was a control for wave symmetry, but as-is it has everything most players need.