Danelectro D-4 Fab Echo

Amazingly simple. In about 2 seconds I go from reverb to delay-esque sounds and it's great.

Really great for my bass. There's no tone suckage. Like I said I can get reverb or delay/reverb together. It sounds fine no matter what. I haven't found a tone I don't like or is too much. I'm very happy with it.

Made of plastic but I don't think I'd need a backup. Not like it'd cost me too much to get one though.

Very good. For the quality I doubt you can beat the price. I don't think I'd ever roll with any other pedal.

this pedal has 2 knobs one mix, one repeat. they are kinda tough to get dialed in at first but a few times messing around with it and you'll get it

right now im using a cheap behringer strat (junk) and the v tone amp. the echo sounds very clean (to me) the effects sound great. honestly. Especially when playing surf style guitar. on my junk strat i can almost sound like duane eddy with "rebel rouser"

i can def. depend on this pedal and i would use it on a gig without a backup, although at the price i paid for it $14.99 (musiciansfriend.com) i'm tempted to buy the whole line...2 of each

never dealt with them at all

i play all styles of music, and this is a good match for all of them. if it was lost or stolen i'd def buy another one. I also compared this to other pedals but for just a guy sitting at home in his guitar room i couldnt justify spending 60 bucks or more to get basically the same effect

So easy. From a mild slap back to the drippy water reverb/echo thing. Not having a speed knob is a plus as far as I'm concerned. I don't have to dial it in, it's already right there.

Sounds great. Keep in mind you don't buy this for a programmable digital delay. It's a cheap slap echo. What else do you want. Adds a nice sounds to a dry amp.

It's made of plastic. Be careful. If it breaks, buy a new one, they're $15. I also have a Fab distortion and I have a Fab overdrive. No problems with any. I baby my stuff anyway, even the stuff that's "built like a tank"

How can this not be a 10? Buy it for what it offers and you'll be happy. Don't buy it for U2 and then cry because you can do dotted eighth repeats at 1200 bpm.

Very easy to operate if you pay attention and understand WHAT this pedal is, since it's NOT a variable digital delay, not a tape echo simulator, not a reverb unit - it's something completely different. It has a "mix" (how much of the effected sound is injected into your signal) and "repeat" (how long it takes the echo's initial volume to fade to zero).

Read the "sound quality" section and you should understand it - many (if not most) of the reviews have completely missed the mark, as the reviewers seem to be reviewing a completely different pedal. Too many assumptions that this is a "normal" delay unit - it's NOT.

THIS IS NOT A DIGITAL OR ANALOG DELAY.

Please read that again. Reviews keep comparing it to other units - and there ARE no other units like this. It is a completely unique pedal, and an amazingly well thought-out one. It does not have a huge range of sounds; it does one thing, and does it very, very well. Had I known in advance about this one and not needed (or wanted to fool with) the other pedals in the 4-pedal set I bought, I would have been willing to spend the fifty bucks, keep this and throw the other ones out - put this in a metal case with a boutique brand name on it and you'd have no problem selling them for $150-200.

What this does is simple - it adds a fast, warm, analog-sounding (like an old analog delay or tape-based unit) slapback echo to your signal. You can vary the amount of echo you hear, and the number of repeats, which degrade in sound quality like a tape unit - a much warmer sound than a usual digital delay, which is completely clean in MOST cases (exceptions being pedals like the Ibanez EM-5, which is a digital delay with an added "crap factor" to make it sound more "analog" as the repeats fade).

BUT - Then comes the feature that makes this pedal completely different from anything else - it also adds a slight amount of something between a small-room and plate reverb to the mix. This feature is what makes this pedal unique, and what makes it really shine. The reverb is subtle, so it does not wash out or muddy your tone, and it is mixed in extremely well with the slapback echo. It's clear, warm, articulate and sounds "big", even through a smaller amp. I've run it through everything from a '64 Vibroverb, '69 Pro Reverb, Holland Little Jimi and other 35-50 watt tube units to a tweed Champ and a 1/2 watt ZVex Nano tube head - and it makes them all sound like there are speakers surrounding you - it just exapands the sound in an entirely unique way.

I've tried many combinations of delay and reverb units (I have digital, analog and tape delays and several types of reverb) and no combination sounds this good it is so well-integrated.

It makes absolutely NO noise run on good batteries or a high-quality power supply. If you buy a $9 adapter and get hum, you deserve it. Cheap adapters DO NOT work with effects pedals, and that's where 90% of the noise complaints come from. Most of the rest are related to house wiring (which is why serious players use line conditioners that are also voltage regulators AND hum eliminators - not $20 power strips that only stop damage from lightning strikes.)

Dano has made some awful pedals in the past (The Rocky Road one infamous dud) but this makes up for all of them in spades.

It's plastic, but very heavy and thick. It seems gig-worthy, but it's too early to tell if the switch will hold up. I have noted all the Fab pedals have a bit of an issue with One-Spot power supply plugs; the jacks are a hair on the loose side. Once it's inserted firmly it doesn't move unless you trip on a wire, though. However, if the power supply jack or switch failed I'd have no problem yanking all the guts and putting them in a different box with a new power jack. It's worth it, and I may just do that anyway.

Dano's service is nonexistent. I have never gotten a reply from a single email or phone message. I can do my own repairs, though, so it's not important to me. If you like wonderful company support more than good sound, don't buy one.

I play everything from hard rock to country, and almost every stringed instrument. This gadget works great with both 6-string and pedal steel (both normal country and rock steel), and is especially nice with distorted, violin-like lapsteel. If it broke I'd buy another instantly. As mentioned, I got it in a 4-pedal set for $49.95 - I bought it on a whim, actually looking for a particular type of distortion (which I got) and this was a "bonus" in the package that was totally unexpected. When you figure I spent about $12.50 for it, it's downright amazing. One last tech note - a few websites have posted instructions for replacing a resistor with a potentiometer and adding a variable speed control. It would be a fun idea for many players - personally, though, I like it exactly as-is.

Remember - this is NOT a "normal" delay unit. It is completely unique.

2 knobs, mix and repeat. You cant go wrong. No need for a manual..

The peddal sounds fine. It performed a little bit better than I expected. Easy to get a good old country sound or if you crank both knobs up you'll get a reggae type of sound. Its good for rockabilly and country. If you like Johnny Cash, Brian Setzer or Jon Spencer you may like it.

After about 20 hours it started to produce noice. When I hit the strings really hard it produces a loud feedback noice that doesn't stop until I unplugged it. It works if its feed with a small signal.

I dont know. I guess it's easier to buy a new pedal and keep the fingers crossed. If it was a more expensive product i would probably try to send it back for repair..

I will probably buy a nother one. Its a good product if you get one that works.

I dare to contest the bad reviews about this pedal-first of all try this on a real guitar amp with speakers of 12in. or better yet a tube amp, then you wouldn't compare the sound to a 2in. transistor AM radio, which is the same with a practice amp btw :-P. Secondly basic 101: use a no hum power supply to eliminate the noise.

I enjoy using this, its more of a delay/reverb type

of course it reliable- I gig with this every weekend

This pedal is great for the value. I bet the bad reviews given were of those kids who have only gig'd on a 2in AM transistor radio inside their heart-shaped bedroom. hahaha

Seriously. This is better than my amps reverb

2 knobs BUT gives you a wide array of delay/echo sound

First of all this unit is NOT noisy, just use a no hum power supply. I guess the review of this being noisy is of those who haven't done their homework, where in fact doesn't know how the way things work.

Second. the best setting is between 1:00-3:00 both in the mix and repeat knobs. any combination in between is great for soloing.

To make it short this is like delay&reverb with a time not greater than 200ms.

Pretty sturdy-nice metal base adds weight and stability- nice hard plastic casing-i would give it 9

I would give it 10 since for such an affordable price I could get the delay/reverb sound i want. This sounds very analog and warm. It can sounds like a part of the BOSS DD-3 on the 200ms time setting. Limited time on the delay? It still serves me well, who needs too much delay time anyway?

only has two knobs, very easyu to use right out of the box

this pedal had a good sound for the price you pay for it but besides that its not a very good sound, plus when u play with distortion, it completely drowns out

with a brand new 9 volt battery in it, it lasted one day, after that i went through three more 9 volts in a matter of days,
im not sure if it was the whole model or just my flawed pedal, after this outrage i was forced to buy the danelectro power supply and after a day, it began smoking and blew a capacitor

i enjoyed this pedal for the first hour after that the echoe wasnt good at all , it died on me several times so im not very impressed with this pedal

2 knobs - Repeat and Mix. Simple enough to dial in a great sounding slapback echo. The manual is minimalist and you don't really need it to get going. Like the other Fab pedals, it's a great shape that looks cool. Gotta give it high marks for its ease of use. I have mentioned the knobs in my Fab Chorus review and I'm used to them now.

I was suspicious about how good this pedal would be, as reviews are mixed. But I got it for just $20 Australian on eBay and wasn't too concerned if I didn't like it. Well, my concerns were unfounded, as this pedal sounds pretty good. I use a lot of spring reverb in my sound anyway and this gives me more when I want it. (I use a decent Tele copy [GFS vintage single coils] with a Peavey Studio Pro 112). It makes you sound like you're in a medium sized tiled room when you max out the repeats. Turning up the mix knob to maximum sounds pretty harsh and digital though, so I run my mix knob on a bit over half and just keep the repeat knob dimed. It's a retro-type of sound that evokes early rock'n'roll and surf tones - think Dick Dale of even Robbie Robertson on Mystery Train. Good for spacey minor-key blues too. I have to give it pretty high marks, although it doesn't have a lot of sounds out of the box - it's pretty much a one trick wonder. Modders have found ways to remove the resistors that limit the delay time and wet mix and have attached 100-500K pots to control the delay time. Sounds intriguing, but these chips in the Fab Echo are pretty lo-fi, apparently, and delay longer times will reveal this. Some sonic experimentalists might like this though.

I've got 4 of these pedals now and I think even though the top is plastic and the pots and jacks are soldered onto the board they feel solid to me. The base is very solid metal and the pedal has a very good weight to it. If you don't jump on it they should hold up okay. I gave a 7 for the Fab Chorus and No Opinion for the Fab Overdrive, so I'm a bit inconsistent here. Should just stick with no opinion, as it's early days, although I think they seem strong enough if you don't get out of control with your stomping

Just buy another one if it dies. They're cheap. Support isn't needed.

I play blues and some harder rock, folk-rock and semi-distorted-jazz-type stuff and this pedal is cool for me. I leave it on a lot. It has a very cool retro sound to it that isn't over the top. It's great for melancholic minor blues, ala Peter Green, and just thickens things up a bit. It doesn't have lots of variety unless you're prepared to pull out the soldering iron, but it delivers a great slapback that's heaps of fun to play with. Considering the price though this pedal is awesome. I'm a fan of these Fab pedals and have to give it high marks, as they're cheap and sound great.

Way to easy to use. Manual is pretty simple: 2 knobs. Turn either one either way.

I did my research, including on this forum, and came up with inconclusive opinions on whether or not this thing sucks tone. So I figured for 25 bones, why not solve the riddle?

To qualify this, in my day-time life, I work in the nuclear energy industry, so I like hard, scientific, repeatable experiments to provide evidence. To do this, I put my guitar directly into my amp, lined out to a 4-track with neutral eq, into my computer and recorded the Tennessee Flattop Box riff 6 times, paying careful attention to playing with the same dynamic level each time, and each on a different track:
1)bridge pickup /wo pedal
2)neck pickup /wo pedal,
3)bridge pickup /w pedal, turned off,
4)neck pickup /w pedal, turned off,
5)bridge pickup /w pedal, turned on,
6)neck pickup /w pedal turned on

Toggling back and forth between tracks, the results showed no evidence of tone sucking, neither by listening closely, nor by observing the resulting recorded waveform. Rather, I observed a very slight boost in volume in the neck pickup settings when the pedal was added, both turned on and turned off. Also, I recorded no notable evidence of 60 cycle hum nor other noise.

I would suggest that if people are experiencing tone suckage, it is not solely the pedal's fault, but rather the cumulative combination of the entire rig. Therefore, shell out the initial costof the pedal with the intention to audition it first, or simply bring your rig to the store and try it out before you $h!t on the pedal.

I'm putting an Epiphone Les Paul Classic through it into a Vox AD30VT on the 4x10 Tweed setting. Nice and fat. I'm looking forward to getting the pedal mod done to it, too.

It's not the best sounding echo or delay available, but considering what it delivers compared to what it costs, this thing gets a 9.

This rig (without pedal) has not let me down, EVER, in a year of gigging. Adding the pedal, I would still see cables as the weak link. Granted, it's not metal, but it IS a fairly hefty hunk of plastic, so as long as you treat it like it's made of plastic, I'm sure it would be fine. After all, I've used $1400 plastic office chairs with 20 year warrantees.

I would, however, be concerned with battery power, as I am with ALL batteries, in pedals, my acoustic's preamp, whatever...

?

Played for almost 20 years. Right now, I play everything from 60's folk to 21st century metal. The pedal's sound has it's place SOMEWHERE along that timeline. I've been doing effects research trying to get some good insight into adding to my rig. I picked this pedal up because 1) it was cheap-o, 2) there were mixed reviews on tone suckage, and 3) I wanted to settle that debate. I believe my recommendations speak for themselves.

For what you pay for this pedal, you get boatloads, really. Like ALL pedals, they have their place. For example, I don't use a metal fuzz box to play Van Morrison's "Domino". Before you crap on a product, try it to figure out if you have anything in your repertoire to suit it. If not, don't buy it, but don't slag it, because I'm sure someone else does.