Danelectro D-1 Fab Distortion

Three knobs: gain, level and tone. Pretty simple stuff. It's very easy to operate, and has a really cool high-intensity blue LED indicator.

Let's be honest, this thing costs $14.99 new. So, it seems like it should be a piece of crap. Oh, how you are wrong. Guitar Player and Guitar World magazines have given this pedal great reviews, and it's true, you can get a high-quality distortion pedal for the price of a pizza. The D-1 has all sorts of possiblities. You can use it as a clean boost or just add a little grit to your sound or really fire it up to some high-gain crunch. I've been very impressed with this pedal, it's pretty transparent to your tone. This thing sounds MUCH better than a Boss DS-1. No comparison. The sound you get from it rivals pedals in the $100 range. No kidding.

It's made of plastic, but doesn't feel cheap at all. It seems like I could stomp on it all day and be alright

I've never dealt with Danelectro's support.

Like I said, $14.99. This is a no-brainer. Run out and get this one, there's also an overdrive and a ultra-high-gain metal fab pedal. The distortion is a best of both worlds pedal.

Extremely easy to use. Three knobs, OD, Tone and Output. It's really been designed for plug and play. And play it does.

Bang on! I've owned a Zakk Wylde Overdrive pedal from MXR, that cost me ?70. This pedal is just as good if not better, oh yeah and it only cost ?20. I'm serious this pedal could stand its own against anything from Boss or MXR, its really cool. Perhaps the tone knob isn't as responsive as i'd like but thats minor.

It's not made from seriously robust material (just plastic). It's tough and could withstand a good kicking before any real damage was made. It could be used for gigging but I havn't.

Who cares it cost ?20.

Well, well, well finally an effects pedal manufacturer realises that it doesn't cost all that much to make a decent pedal. I hope this scares the pants off MXR, Boss, digitech etc. They really should reduce their prices. Pedals that cost you ?150+ are simply not worth your money.
My hat goes off to Danelectro for embracing a new market of budget pedals with what is essentially an extremely well made pedal that sounds to good to be true.
Put simply, for ?20 you'd be a mug not to. Go get yourself one and let there be rock.

This is a followup to my review right below. I forgot to add that I'm using a Visual Sounds 1-Spot to power all of my pedals and this one adds no noise when turned off, and only a little hiss when on with the gain cranked.

Easy to use. Tone, Distortion, and level controls. Play with em till you find a sound you like.

I'm running my Washburn X40 (H/S/H)>Dano D2 Fab Overdrive>Dano D1 Fab Distortion>Dano Fish'n'Chips EQ>Boss CH 1 Super Chorus>Kustom Dual 35 DFX (solid state amp).

I really like this little pedal. It gives such a wide pallette of tones that I really can't complain. Its fat with good bass repsonse. As the review below states, it will give you almost any common pedal sound you are looking for.

As a bonus, it feeds back nicely when using the D2 Fab OD as a boost, and the Fish'n'Chips takes both to a whole new level of tone shaping.

I got these three pedals to upgrade from Digitech RP amp modeling, and I very much prefer these tones.

Because of versatility for $15, an 8.

I don't see why not to depend on it. Its made of plastic, sure, but its heavy and the way its made you would really have to try to damage it with your foot. Don't throw it, and don't leave it alone in a board full of Bosses and it should be ok. I'd gig it for sure, if I got a gig!

I play rock, I don't what else to say...I like it all except for metal. This pedal delivers all the distortion tones I need for now. If it was lost or stolen, I'd order another.

I don't know what else to say about it. Its the cheapest distortion pedal on the market, but it doesn't sound like it is. Get it!

3 knobs. If you can play guitar, you can figure it out

Distortion knob: Very high gain, if you want it to be. Hell, Im pretty happy with the distortion at about "2". Any more and it begins to get real fuzzy, which is fine if your into Big Muff type tone. One can get a DS-1 or MXR + tone out of this unit without much effort as well. Dano also has a Metal model, and Id be afraid to even turn it on! I cant believe that they needed to make a pedal with any more gain than this D-1.

Tone Knob: great range of tone is available to mold your desired sound. I think the high/low range is actually wider than the DS-1 and OS-2 (Boss)that I own. Higher highs, lower lows.

Volume Knob: well, its a volume knob.

The knobs are tricky in that you turn them counter-clockwise to increase the function; opposite of any other pedal Ive used, including other Dano pedals.

Put into a chain with a Dano Daddy-O overdrive, I used the O-drive for a basic, dirty rhythm and used the D-1 as a lead boost with good result. I also played the unit by itself, and while I liked the rhythm, the lead was lacking in sustain. Played by itself, I found that stomping the 6db boost on my ampeg added some sustain and allowed for creating some decent controllable feedback.

Most surprising is how quiet this unit is. Granted, I ordered the Dano hum-free wall wort to power this puppy. Nice blue LED lets you know its on, though if you cant tell its on without the light, you need to pick your ears.

Construction is my only concern. It has a metal base, but the housing is plastic. Still, it has a 1 year warrenty. Im sure it will be ok as long as you dont abuse it

never used it

Been playing music for 10 years, guitar for about 6. Play garage/early punk type rock. Think The Clash/Ramones/Rolling Stones all mixed up. Gear: Tele w/ P-90 bridge and a Vintage+ neck p/u through an Ampeg SJ-12R. Other pedals include a Dano Daddy-O and a Fender tuner pedal.

I was in the market for a new distortion pedal, and at $15 I didnt even try it out, just ordered it online. Hell, for that price, its worth having even if its just used as a backup and is left in the gig bag.

The two things I wish it had are: more sustain at lower volume/distortion levels, and a metal housing. Id be willing to pay an extra 10-15 bucks for a better housing.

I find great satisfaction in getting good sounds from cheap gear. Its what rock-n-roll is all about; the average Joe playing average gear (and in my case having average ability! I own a Dano Hodad w/ the "bigsby" and a Dano Daddy-O and have never had a problem with those products.
Im pretty happy with this unit considering I paid $15 for it.