Danelectro DC-1 Cool Cat Chorus

Rate and "Chill" (depth). Anyone can handle this one.

It sounds very nice. It's a very smooth sort of chorus. At 18 volts there is plenty of headroom. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of chorus effects, but I bought this for the pitch vibrato.

To get pitch vibrato, ala the Boss VB-2, just stick a "dummy" cable into the stereo out jack, a cable that leads nowhere. Now the mono output jack will be putting out pitch vibrato, 100% wet.

It doesn't have the smooth sine wave of the VB-2, but it's a reasonable approximation, and sounds quite nice.

The pedal seems to be free of noise, as well.

Danelectro pedals, in my experience, are very dependable.

For my purposes - pitch vibrato, this is very nice. As a bonus, it looks very cool, and it can be had cheaply on the used market.

Two dials, one switch...
Sounds great right away. Can't remember the manual, since i own the thing for several years now... But there was one in the box.
This is the original 18 volt version.

I'm using the Cool Cat on my effect board, before ditortion, but after the fuzz. Guitars are Fender American Standard Strat, Tokai Breezysound tele copy, Ibanez SA120. Amp is a Brunetti MC2 three channel all tube combo. It's not notacibly noisy, and i power it (and my other effects) with a voodoo lab pedal power 2 plus. This one eats batteries for breakfast. Have recorded with it. My favorite chorus sound is the sound john frusciante has on the chili peppers blood, sugar, sex, magic album and this one nails it, to my ears.
Nice and fat chorus. Like it!

I own it since it first came out, and has never failed on me. Also never had a backup.

Never dealt with them.

Playing in a cover band was the reason for buying a chorus. Does the thing i want it to do in a great way. Play since "88, but purchased the chorus in "99, i guess... Didn't want to spend too much money on it, because i did not care that much for chorus in the first place. So i got this one. As soon as i started using it, it grew on me. Still think that it doesn't have to be this large. Takes up a little more space on my pedal board, than i would like to spend. Never compared it to other choruses. Bypass sounds okay to me. This will stay with me as long as it keeps working.

I've read some reviews here complaining that the Cool Cat cuts off long sustaining tones and that it makes noise as it dies away.

This will only happen if there is too much gain AFTER the Cool Cat's place in the signal chain. I experienced this with mine, but the solution is easy...make sure that the gain comes before the Cool Cat and/or run the amp in clean mode with little or no gain at the amp.

Used this way it sounds great, and is totally noiseless and will not cut off long sustains.

A great sounding chorus. Wonderful for fattening up leads or rhythms.
Put your high gain or distortion before it in the signal chain and it is fabulous.

It's super easy to use! Nothing to it.

I love this device plugged into two amps. Spread them out a little and the stereo effect is HUGE! I use it with two Fender Deluxe Reverb amps.

Had mine for several years. Goes through batteries quickly but use it with the 18 volt adapter and your problems are over.

I play a little bit of everything: blues, rock, soul, jazz, folk...

I've compared this unit to my Boss Stereo Chorus and the Boss sounds weak compared to the Dano.

Only thing: I wish it wasn't made in China. I'm a member of the Colorado Friends of Tibet and I dislike supporting China because of the horrible things they have done to the people of Tibet.

Not impresssed at all with the sound. With speed on 0 and depth on 10 you'd expect a nice almost invisible shimmer. Not there. It is still pretty damp and there is an annoying swoosh almost flanger-like. Not chorusy at all, that.

Said it above. It's not really chorusy. It is colory in that it colors your sound with its sound. One good point is that there is no noticeable volume drop or boost when it is engaged.

If you want the spacey tripped out chorus sounds for cartoon or goofy music interludes you may be good to go with this one. All I want is the capability for a faint shimmer of two guitars beating as one. It's not here.

nice and heavy pedal. If I used it I would depend on it.

I test my chorus pedals playing the verse parts of Red Barchetta. Alex Lifeson's chorus sound is the elegant efficiency that I'm after. I don't care for swirly swishy sounds that this pedal has to offer.

Very easy to use. On/Off button and two dials. Effortless.

I have the 18v version. Chorus can be set from light and transparent to annoyingly warbly, spinning drunk and trippy-please-make-it-stop. Oh well, I suppose it is good to have the whole chorus range covered. As a note decays, there is a dead drop-off that is accompanied by a sound that reminds me of somebody choking on their own tongue. Other than that, I find this Cool Cat pretty good... I have had it for three years and I since tire of substandard gear quickly, I suppose that means me likey. In stereo mode, with two amps, this stereo-chorus pedal shines. The drunken warble in stereo is something that has to be experienced to be fully depreciated.
There is no noticable noise except for the 115v humbuzzing which seems to permeate through every piece of gear I have. The electro-magnetic noise on this planet is getting obnoxious.

Metal housing goes a long way and this Cool Cat can't be destroyed. Personally, it has been outstanding thus far. Like most boxes, this thing is a battery guzzler, so I use the adapter whenever possible, which is always.
I noticed that if you play with one amp, you must pay attention not to plug into the stereo-out plug, lest you think that the pedal has ceased to function. I have read a few reviews concerning the suddeness of this non-function issue and wonder if this has been the fate of these misunderstood pedals. The stereo-out is reserved exclusively for the second amp.

n/a

I play anything and everything. I am an old geezer, so now I play more self-inflicted psychops and experimental stuff. This chorus pedal covers it all for me, except for the extreme warbley end of it, which makes me wanna heave. For the price, this is a very good stereo chorus pedal.

ez enough to use with 2 knobs but still was confused when REALLY finding out all the sounds I can get from it, manual is helpful and nice cause it gives advice for different sounds

This is OK chorus but for me im not really into it I dont know why maybe its my gear or maybe im not into the retro sound or somthing but its really aggravating sounding to me I dont know why but its better than other pedals so i give it a 7 -I should also note that one of the reasons I bought this pedal was because it got good reviews here and like the digitech 'bad monkey' I wasnt that impressed upon testing it out-(so it may or may not have an effect)

this thing needs an adapter because it doesnt do well on a battery for very long but its tough steel except for maybe cheap knobs

Im into mellow rock like beatles, nirvana, radiohead, minus the bear, interpol, etc. been playing 11 years (I own fender hrd and american tele and epiphone sheraton 2) and so far ive tried dano milkshake chorus and boss chorus ensemble and amp chorus cause im not really into chorus but i guess im still on the search for a better chorus pedal to suit my taste because this pedal was just something to try out really but its not bad sounding but I know its not for me because of the overall Tone of the pedal is not natural or lush enough or something I dunno it sounds harsh and not punchy at the same time

So simple to dial in and get the sound you want. Can't get much easier than that!

The Manual was fine, suggested settings etc...

I use with a Gibson SG, Ibanez Jem and also tried my girlfriends Daisyrock heartbreaker (sounded breath-takingly lovely through the lipstick pickup!) Used through a Vox ad50vt and various other amps through out the years!

I have the 18v version and have been told it has a much better sound, although i don't know. I know people comlained about it sucking up the two batteries and that it was hard to find an adapter but i bought one of those multi adapters for it and it has never failed me!

I don't find this pedal noisy in the slightest, the chorus is really great! I believe it's the best chorus pedal I have ever played in my honest opinion!

I can get it on the nail or close enough to any chorus effect used by my favourite artists!

SOLID! It was actually the first pedal i bought when i started playing 8 years ago. I have used it a lot since then and I have never needed it fixed... it hasn't even lost any of it's paint work!

never had to deal with them so i don't know... The pedal is just that solid!!!

I play loads of styles of music and I have jumped from grunge to metal to punk through out the years. Now I am more laid back and play Vai and Satriani type stuff. This pedal has been a great match for my styles and playing from the very begining.

I am a compulsive buyer who loves to get new effects and I'm never 100% happy with my sound! I have never left this pedal out of my effects chain... the fact that i have never even considered buying a new chorus pedal in 8 years just blows me away! IT IS THAT GOOD!!!... If you haven't got one buy it now!

If you can't operate this thing you really shouldn't be near anything sharp..

I bought this fella(the 18-volt version)brand new when they first came out; I was looking for a back-up for my old blue Boss chorus, tried this out, and the next day it became the #1 chorus, not the back-up. In my opinion, it is a much thicker, richer and fatter-sounding chorus than the Boss, and is extremely versatile. Andy Summers is my favorite player and this box can really get that old Police tone, with some echo and compression. Very nice. It does great rotary sounds, and some real subtle chorus/doubling stuff too. This is an excellent chorus for the bucks, don't let anyone tell you differently. I stowed it away in the last couple years, when I went to using a multi-effects unit live, but I still play it at home, and I still love it. Lush!! Great job on this one, Danelectro.

Very reliable, I never have had a problem with it, with the exception of my own stupidity resulting in destroying the original 18-volt adapter cord. As you know, the first issue of Danelectro pedals were built very sturdy, and can be used as weapons on a dark stage.

I've used this unit playing in bands that play classic rock, 60s and 70s, newer stuff and some chick rock and I could always get great usable sounds out of it. I'm an old bastard, and I've used and heard quite a few choruses, and this one really stands out. Sure, you can spend your paycheck on somebody's boutique chorus if you want, that's your right. However, I think the Danelectro, the EH PolyChorus and Small Clone, as well as the old Ibanez CS-series chorus are just as darn good as anything out there. Just my opinion, I don't mean to offend anyone. I just love effects and tone, and I really love the aforementioned choruses. Anyway, buy one of these Danelectros! They sound great and can even dent a drummer's skull if thrown properly!

as straightforward as every other chorus pedal out there, two knobs and a foot button

i own two other good chorus pedals (Ibanez CS9 and EHX Polychorus), so i'm aware of the range of chorus sounds out there at various price points. and i've always liked the Cool Cat a lot, it's quiet, sounded good, and it always stood up pretty well against my more expensive pedals...

...until one night this week, when a girl i was trying to impress came over to hear me play guitar, and the thing crapped out for no reason. i mean, i've used this pedal regularly with no problem since i bought it new six years ago. and on this night, when it actually mattered...nothing. (yes, this was with a fresh battery AND an adapter.) piece of crap.

i've had enough Danelectro products over the past six or seven years to know that some are great, some stink, and the company is utterly indifferent. i'm not even going to bother trying to reach them.

what can i say? it was a fine enough pedal, but it has s****** timing.