Danelectro DD-1 Fab Tone

Simple and elegant, "Vol", "Bass", "Treb", and "Fab" (distortion). Nice sensitive knobs, a little twist can bring you from heavy fuzz to earth-shattering crunch. A knob for the Mids would have been nice, but you can just adjust it on the amp EQ. Manual has some great suggestions, but use it only as a helpful starting point ... let your ears lead you to your tone.

I use an Ibanez JS100, and a Marshall VS100R, and the output is spectacular. The best thing about this pedal is its versatality - from blues to fuzz to metal, it handles all with ease. You can dial in Metallica's crushing palm-muted rhythms, then adjust to a Hammett-like searing lead tone that could cut through glass. It's difficult to stop playing once you get started with the Fab Tone! (I was looking into the Metal Zone, but after playing around with Fab Tone, it's sound and versatility put it ahead - no question)

Beautifully put together, this is best-looking pedal you can find. Rugged, heavy, and solid. Knobs are responsive, and just stiff enough so you don't lose your setting by bumping into it.

Haven't needed them. Don't think I ever will ...

The sounds you can generate range from rough barking to one that can peal paint off walls. For a versatile, beautiful, powerful tone, there's no need to look further. At its low price, it steals the thunder from more expensive pedals. An absolute beauty to look at and to play.

The Fab Tone is a breeze to use. Plug in and play. If youre too lazy to twirl knows all day, the manual comes with some nice sounding presets.

The Fab Tone is the best pedal Ive ever used. Its so versatile. You can go from low palm muted power chords (i.e. Metallica) to a fuzzy solos like Smashing Pumpkins. Get one.

Built like a tank, metal construction Even has rubber grippers on the bottom to prevent slipping.

Havent needed them yet and I dont think Ill need to.

I would buy it again in a heartbeat. Its a very versatile distortion pedal, its built solidly, it looks very cool, and its cheap too. What more do u want?

Lets just put it this way, if you dont understand knobs labeled VOL, BASS, TREB, or FAB (Gain) then you dont deserve to be called a guitar player. For once, the manual actually has some helpful diagrams of settings that really show the wide range of this pedal.

Originally, I was after the Metal Zone, for a great low end with great distortion. Then I tried the Fab Tone and was blown away. Its got just as much low end, and it is much warmer sounding then the Metal Zone. The only advantage of the Metal Zone is the Mid knob, but I use and EQ so its no big deal. This thing is loud too! The volume knob is very sensitive. Anything past a 1/4 and the neighbors will be calling. It sounds amazing, for what I thought was a Blues Pedal. Guess that cause it has such a warm sound. However if you turn the Fab knob all the way up you get some killer distortion. The first thing I played was For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica, and it sounded identical. I couldnt believe it. This distortion is very thick, saturated with great bass, while maintaing good highs, I have gotten great pinch harmonics like Zakk Wylde pulls off. While some distortion pedals have that "metallic" or "chainsaw" sound, this baby has a rich tone. And for the price you cant find a nicer pedal, period.

Its built from metal, and theres a button rather then a pedal to push so that cant get messed up like a pedal can. Id say its built better then any BOSS style pedal. Batteries go fast in this thing so make sure to stock up on em or get a plug.

Never had to deal with them yet

For 70 bucks you cant get any better then this. The tone is wonderful, if I had heard this I never would have guessed it was this pedal. Its unbeliveable. The sustain is great too. Id say its about the same as a Metal Zone, but maybe a bit warmer sounding, and like 30 bucks cheaper.

It has only four knobs, Volume, Bass, Trebble, and Fab (distortion) and when the trebble is up past mid-way it acts like a compressor.

It works great. I had used an Ibanez Thrash-metal (see my other review) and this just blopws it out of the water. I was saving up for a Boss Metal-Zone, but this is the best pedal for playing metal that i have found. it's a heavy Pantera sound, White Zombie sound.

It eats up the battery, but aside from that it works great.

N/A

It works great, i don't think i'll ever need antoher pedal, it's all metal case so you can stomp away and not worry. I use it and a dunlop Cry-Baby wah, and it works great.

The manual is O.K, but the sound you get after messing with it rules!! you can get metal,punk,and some blues out of it..I also like cause you can get that bad-boy rock sound like Ac/Dc....although the batteries wear out fast, it's worth the 10 bucks for an adapter.

I used it with my friends Peavey Rage 158 and it sounded good. I used it with my friends marshall and it sounded good. I used it on my Fender amp, and it sound good..Point being, that it sounds good no matter what. All of these were with a 94 strat 40th anniversary.

I put my trust into this pedal for 2 months now, and it hasn't even scratched yet.....I play my gear hard,too. The heavy case IS a tank in disguise,and the powder coated paint(?) is as tough as bricks. The only thing that is touchy is the power issue..better get a bulk deal on 9-volt batteries.....

It is the greates pedal I've ever used. I would buy another on if it got stolen..but first I would use the pedal to beat the attacker over the head..I wish it came with a wall adapter so you don't kill batteries.

Having four knobs is a real advantage for this pedal. You can tweak around with each setting and discover some really damn good sounds. If you cant seem to find a certain sound you like, refer to the manual for some helpful DIAGRAMS! Want to play a Blues Solo and can't figure out what to set the pedal to? Refer to the MANUAL!

Well, I have a $350 Yamaha Pacifica (Plan to upgrade sometime soon), and a good Peavy Bandit 112. The Peavy's distortion was not so good, which compelled to me find the Fab Tone pedal in the first place. What a difference it made to when I plugged this cadillac-like retro pedal in. I can get a smooth bluesy sound, to a rough garage tone, to a crunchy Smashing-Pumpkinesque sound. This pedal is great for rhythm (especially with the bass pumped up to the max) and solos as well ( With less bass, less treble and the Feb about mid-way) I really can't see myself needing another fuzz pedal now, since I already own this and a TS-9. I tried this with a Crybaby Jim Hendrix Wah Wah as well. It didn't sound too decent when I had the Fab Tone BEFORE the wah wah. It sounded much better with the guitar plugged into the Crybaby first. Anyhow, this is a damn good pedal, it's built like a tank and it's definitely the only fuzz pedal I'll need for a long time. And it's quiet.

It's a tank. Really sleek. Looks as though it should be kept under a sheet and waxed every two weeks. I bet you can toss this baby around a while and still have it work perfectly. Looks like I'll have no problems (unless the button sticks...but I'm sure that has never happened.)

No need for customer support. I haven't had it too long.

I listen to lots of stuff. My favorite band's the Smashing Pumpkins and this pedal can really produce some Siamese Dream - era fuzz. But I also listen to the likes of Hendrix, Kenny Wayne Sheppard, Santana, Nine Inch Nails, Catherine, My Bloody Valentine, Pearl Jam and this pedal can help you produce any of these styles of playing. If you're looking for some heavy duty distortion with a wide variety of sounds, pick this pedal up. It's pretty cheap too

It is very easy to get a sound out. THe manual is good for a manual on a pedal. It has settings and is in like twenty different languages. THere are four knobs: volume, bass, treble and FAB.

I use a fender strat and a peavey transtube amp and it sounds awesome with it just on the lowest settings. THere is very little noise. Less noise really than the distortion channel on my amp. You can get a korn sound, a smashing pumpkins sound, an oasis sound, or a blues sound. You can get anything you want.

This things is very sturdy (and heavy for a pedal). There is like a 1/4 inch of metal all around it. I bet I could run a truck over it and it would still work. Heck, I could take a leak on it and it'd still work. I don't think a backup would be necessary unless somehow somone opened up the battery panel and poured water inside or somethig.

I never really had to deal with them but they gave me a sticker.

This is good for all styles of music esp. alterenative. I'd buy another if I lost it or if it were stolen. It even looks awesome (like a Cadilac). I compared it to some DOD stuff but Dod sucks compared to this.

Very easy, 4 knobs, high, low, volume, Fab (distortion), took me about a minute to get my sound. Manual has some suggestions on types of music than can be usefull.

This thing rocks hard, better than a Big Muff, Hyper Metal, or any other of those hardcore pedals. I'm not really into Metal, I'm more of an old Soundgarden guy, so halfway Metal, but that extra gain is there if i need it. I'm using it now with my Fender Strat, Guild, and PRS through a Mesa Trem-O-Verb and 4x10 cab. Great for anything from Aternative to Rock to Metal.

Made out of metal and nice switch button on it too. Wouldn't need a backup, i don't abuse my equipment.

Great pedal, nice price, and cool shape of it too. I think these things are better than Boss and will be wider known soon too. This is the only distortion device in my rig so i totally depend on it, i could use the TremoVerb distortion but i dont. I'd defenatly buy it again, it is the best for distortion.

It's very easy to use.... You just need 5 minutes to get the sound you want.. It has a bass, treble, volume and distortion controls... It's very simple to use

It's the best dist pedal I've ever had in a long long time cuz I'm always trying to get a better sound.. It doesn't makes any noise but the only problem with it is that if you put the pedal near your amp it will get some radio signals.. The sound is great and it's great for heavy metal and alternative tones... I use a peavy studio pro 112 that gives me a great sound with it but I'm planing to get a marshall or a randall amp... I can get any sound I want even a Pantera sound or Metallica...

I always use this pedal for my gigs it's the best pedal I have right now and i haven't finded a better one... I think it's even better than the boss metal zone!.. and when I finish playing every one askes me about it and the can't belive the price of it

no experience and I am sure I will never have to try it

I play heavy metal music and the pedal matches it. I have been playing with it for 7 months and I wont change that pedal for anything else... I would buy that pedal again and again and again till another company could do a better pedal but I don't think so!.... I love it's sound it distords all the clean guitar sound and it sounds like a truck!! I have tried the boss metal zone, boss super distortion, Ibanez metal charger and marshall shred master but none of those pedals can sound like this one! the sound of this pedal makes me play some powerfull reefs that maybe with another pedal they wouldn't even cross my mind!

DON'T BE FOOLED. This is a very heavy metal chunk distortion box. There is nothing "retro" about it, unless you consider "Master of Puppets" Retro. My opinion: no self-respecting metal-head who doesn't want his buddies to kick his ass for a "weird looking" pedal should use this. Otherwise, if you don't want to use a Boss Hyper Metal or other Metal-scooped-mid distortion, go for it. Nuff said.

It`s really easy to use. It has four knobs: Vol,Bass,Treb and Fab.It took me 10 min to get the sound I liked.I`ve had this pedal for 4 months now.

The sound on this thing is EXTREME!! I couldn't believe the distortion on this thing!When i went to the store to buy it, I had originally planned to buy a Big Muff and i tried it just for fun and it litterally crushed the Big Muff.It does make a little noise.I use it with an USA Stat and an old Boss amp.It really rips on any amp i`ve ever tried it on.A odd thing i noticed is that if you put it close to your amp at loud volumes you pick up radio channels.It really sounds good with a flanger.

The thing is a Dinosaur!!It'll be around forever!!

THE BEST distortion to ever come on the market for that price!!I strongly recommend it for alternative music like SIlverchair, Foo Fighters and the Smashing Pumpkins.I'd buy this thing over and over again if I could

This pedal is a piece of cake to use - but then again, how complex do distortion pedals usually get? There's not much of a manual - but it's not like you really need one. It does have a useful warning in it though..."Caution: This is a high gain device. Start with the VOL control at 25% and then advance as needed." They're not kidding. I never have it above about 9 o'clock, and that balances perfectly with my clean tone.

This thing sounds GREAT! I plugged my Epi SG-400 into it and it just SMOKES. I've tried a few distortions, but nothing could come close to this thing in the price range. This thing kicks a strong vintage tube-like distortion. Even at the lowest drive level, it's still pretty dirty - kinda like those really old Laney stacks sound. The bass & treb are actually useful - especially the treb. It can get pretty damn crunchy for a pedal. And the bonus is that it's REALLY QUIET - even at full gain (if you ever wanted to use it), it's not that noisy. Mind you, I have humbuckers in both my axes, so I don't know what it's like with a single-coil.

Kinda hard to say about reliability. It's built like a tank though - literally. The case is metal, and it weighs a ton. You could probably run over it with a tour bus and not seriously damage it. The base is completely covered in a rubber pad - it ain't gonna slip. The switch itself is nice - no junky feel to it at all. And it's one of those touch switches and has a firm return spring.

Never had a prob with it.

Would I buy it again? In a second. At this price (and I probably could have done better but there's only 1 local dealer), it can't be beat IMHO. It sounds great, it looks cool (bloss burgundy finish with a neat chrome retro-style Danelectro logo - kinda looks like it belongs on a 56 Cadillac), neat body shape, metal construction, etc, etc. I also tried a re-issue Tubescreamer, a couple of DOD jobs (a waste of time might I add), several BOSS pedals (Metal Zone, Blues Driver, etc - all too damn pricy), and the Danelectro Daddy-O (more of an overdrive than a distortion). If I'd had the bucks, I might have bought the Metal Zone, but only because I'm into Metal primarily. I can do it with the Fab Tone anyway though, and it's quite a bit cheaper. I didn't try any "tube" pedals for the simple fact that it's too much to pay for a pedal. For that price I could have traded in my Peavey and bought a low wattage Marshall or something.
The only thing I wish it had is a mid control. It just has level, bass, treb, and "fab" (drive). That would make it perfect. However, I have no problem getting a wide variety of tones I like out of it - no matter what I happen to be playing (metal, rock, blues, alternative).

Pretty easy to get some happening tones--how much harder could it be?!?

Yeah, a somewhat noisy at higher gain settings, and of course with the amp volume factored in. The distortion is smooth, yet has a definitive edge; no mush, nor is it a "metallic-sounding" distorted tone like that of the BOSS DS-1 or Metal Zone. The unit is voiced kinda nasaly though, so if you're a "V-shaped" EQ (no mids) kinda player, this may not be the unit for you. However, I can attest to this voicing being particularly well-suited for leads that will cut the tops of their heads off! I use it as a supplemental "Lead Smoother" to my Rivera Knucklehead's more vintagey voicing when I need that "..little extra push over the cliff" on our tunes that require a heavier solo edge. Rhythm-wise I use it very sparsely as needed on those parts that require more "dramatic" (e.g., Zakk Wylde-style) harmonic pinches. Like I eluded to before--this pedal's voicing may not be for everybody, but it's undoubtedly one of the best "Bang-for-your-Buck" stomp units to come around in AGES!

Built like a brick sh*thouse, this suprisingly heavy-for-it's-size beastie would *DEMOLISH* a crappy DOD pedal if dropped on it (from high enough up, of course). ;-) Haven't had it all that long yet, but the unit seems as if it could take a knockin' and keep on rockin'!

Dunno...

If it somehow crapped out on me, yeah, I probably would buy it again for the simple fact that it sounds great and has such a great low price! "Bang-for-the-Buck" always hits home with me for some reason. If I were to continue with this Dan-trend (which I probably will), I'd definitely get the Daddy-O overdrive unit--it's 3-band EQ makes it a tonally flexible motherscratcher! I opted for the Fab since our music requires a more intense tone, but I could see me someday incorporating a Daddy-O in the chain as well. Tonally, I feel the Daddy-O is more impressive, but drive-wise the Fab tone is "The Sh*t"!

Man, you can set the imputs in any position and still get a good distortion sound. It's very simple to use and the manual is helpful if you need it. It gives you informative info if you want to get certain types of sounds such as blues, fuzz, rock, metal, british, or anything.

It's a tiny bit noisy, but tell me a distortion pedal that isn't. The noise is bearable and it doesn't bother me. When I went to the shop to pick this up, I plugged it into a simple epiphone les paul and it blew the whole store away. I only played it for 20 seconds and then I knew that I was going to buy this pedal. I usually like to play classic rock like some hendrix and this pedal really fits the bill. It's so versatile that it could match anyone's playing style. On some settings, it sounds richer than the richest tube amps. When I got hope with the pedal I plugged it into my Gibson hollow body and it rocked. I looked down at my guitar and to my surprise it was only set on rythym. I switched it over to treble ( I have a 498T humbucker) and it rocked even more. There are some settings on this pedal to get a good cleaner distortion noise for a melo solo. This is where the pedal can produce some pretty fat and thick sounds that will warm your heart.This is the greatest distortion pedal I have ever laid my hands on and I recommend it to anyone.

I just got it, but I could hit my dad, my sister, my brother, my sister, and my mother on the head with this thing and they'd be dead on the floor in an instant. It does come with a receipt so there are no worries here.

I probably won't ever need to deal with them

I would definitely buy this again even though I wouldn't need to. I love to wail on my guitar with this pedal and I recommend it to everyone and anyone any style

At last I got it!! Easy?? Extremely!!! There are four knobs: volume, bass, treble and Fab. Extremely versatile. Very good range of distortion. The manual, like the Cool Cat's and the Daddy-O's comes with factory suggestions. Let me tell you, if you can't manage to get a sound you like from this box, there is something wrong with you.

This box can shred, dice, cut and julienne vegetables if you place them in front of your amp's speakers. Noisy you ask??? Definitely. Unless you want to be sued by some idiot over ear damage, you will try to not pass the volume from the half-way position. Actually you don't have to crank the volume all the way up to get a good sound. I bet if you want you can play a hall with a 30 watt amp and the volume in the box all the way up and cause some temporary deafness without cranking the amp's volume halfway. The distortion, well it's f*cking great. It just begs you to turn the Fab all the way up and power chord your way to heaven. You should listen to this thing. It beats most distortion pedals twice as expensive out there hands down. Only problem, well actually it's no problem, to get good tone the treble should be lowered and the bass turned all the way up. Otherwise, this is one of the best deals in the world.

Are you kidding??? This thing is undestructible. I use the Daddy-O, and the Cool Cat without backup. Planning to do the same thing with this one. No problem with the others. I don't see why this one should be an exception.

Haven't had to deal with them.

Love everything hate nothing. In fact I'm making room for it in my bed between my wife and I. Maybe not. I'll just stash it under my pillow for protection. Nope, I'll take it in the car just in case some clown wants to carjack me, I'll crack his skull open with this thing. Anyway, you just know you have to go and try it and I'm sure you will just want to take it home. This is the most amazing distortion box ever. Kudos to Danelectro, their three pedals are just f*cking awesome. I can't wait for new boxes from them to fool around with. Get it, you'll just have an orgasm when you plug it in!!!!!!! Later!!

It is very easy to get a great heavy distortion out of this box.

Great for heavy distortion! BAD FOR LIGHT TO MILD DISTORTION! If you are in a punk band, this is the pedal for you! If you are in a steady rock band, forget about it! This pedal is not for use with individual notes. Its great for chords, but dont even think about plaing staiway on it, you wont hear one note. But that is what i was looking for anyway, so i give it a 10. GREAT FOR PUNK!!!!!

dont leave it plugged in, and once you get it, get about 5 batteries with it, or you wont be playin on it much.

I have no idea, i think there is an 800 number.

Great distortion pedal. The only bad thing is, it picks up radio really loud. But that pretty cool. Somtimes it picks it up just before we start a song and it sounds like a sample, if you move it, the radio goes away though. GREAT VALUE!!! ONLY $70! GET IT if you are in a band that wants a nice punk distortion. Does ok with metal, but i would only use it for punk, not bassy enough for metal. GREAT PEDAL!

It's pretty easy to get a good sound out of it, the manual has a bunch of settings that sound good if you tweak em a bit. There is a volume knob, a bass, a treble, and a fab (level of distortion).

It is noisy if you put the "fab" (distortion) high, but you wont notice it when you're playing, if you're really anal about noise put a noise gate at the end of your effects chain. I tried various distortion pedals on a tube amp at the store before I decided on the Fab Tone, though I have a solid state at home. I'm considering buying a tube amp now because it sounds so much better on those, however it's still very good on the solid state.

I've only had it about a week so I dunno, but it's build very sturdy. I don't know if I would use it on a gig without a backup because I don't really trust anything that much. Though I must say, I would trust it more than my Boss Pedals. (That's saying a LOT)

N/A

I would definitely buy it again, it can go from light distortion to really heavy stuff, and I need that because I play such a great range of music. I compared it to a few Boss pedals, but I chose this one cause it was cheaper, built more sturdy, and it sounds great.

Easy to use. I got great sounds out of it right away. I was never one for manuals, but there was one (useless).

I use two amps. I plugged this pedal into a HotRod DeVille 212 first, plugged in my strat with TX Specials flicked the toggle switch to bridge, then fell over cuz I got blown away by how good it sounded. When I recovered, I proceeded to plug the FabTone into my Marshall JCM 900. All I have to say is that I'm glad I plugged into the HR first. It was kind of trebly and thin sounding coming from the Marshall. Now, I know its not the amp because I can produce "THUNDERING RIFFS" ;) to scare off the stray cats outside, but this pedal and amp combo doesn't work too well. It does have some background noise, ie hiss, but it is acceptable. It is not any worse than the more drive channel on the Fender. The distortion is excellent and smooth. It sounds completely natural with the HR. This is probably one of the best distortions I acquired, and I have gone through a lot of distortion pedals. I luuuuuuvvvv distortion. Any ways I would recommend you trying it out first on your setup to make sure that it will sound good, otherwise it may be a disappointment for you.

Heavy, casing and the switch seem durable, but those plastic knobs will go flying if you mis-stomp on them. I just got it so I have no idea.

I would buy this one again fer sure. I like the looks of the pedal, very chic. I was suprised by this one. It had loads more distortion than I was expecting. Me happy.

Super easy. Volume, bass, treble (two tone controls! luxurious!), and fab(distortion) controls, and a cool little switch. With the exception of the "fab" distortion control, the knobs are labeled for what they do. The manual is simple and easy to read, with nice illustrations and translations in several languages. The controls are very subtle, and while all settings are cool sounding, it's worth trying the sample settings in the manual because they represent a good cross-section of the range of sounds available.

Great sound if you mess with it. It is very versatile, which means you can get a crappy sound if you really try. The bass can get muddy at the last 10% of the knob's rotation, but I'd rather have too much bass than too little. It has insane amounts of gain and distortion, but I prefer the lower half of the distortion knob. At it's lowest point, it sounds like the most distorted settings of most overdrives. When it's off, it's silent and transparent, and the switch is very nice with no audible click. When it's on, it can be noisy, but it's a distortion pedal, what did you expect? At higher distortion settings, it produces lots of feedback, but again, it's a distortion pedal, it comes with the territory. Overall, the sound quality is great.

I've only had it for a few hours, but the switch, knobs, battery compartment, and casing are all tank-like. I can't imagine ever breaking it. Even if I had money to buy a backup with, I wouldn't.

Never dealt with 'em.

My first distortion pedal. The price and the cool looks snagged my attention, but the sound and construction are better than pedals I've played that are similarly priced. I wish it had a midrange control like the Daddy-o, but if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Two tone controls is plenty. It's great and well priced, and it looks damn cool.

This is a extremely easy pedal to use. You just plug it in an play. You have to tweek with it a little to get a good low end sound. The bass has to be turned almost all the way up, but its worth it. The manual tells the beginners how to make it work. It gives some factory presets which I think are useless because most of them sound like crap. It also sounds best on mid or neck pickups. I usually use these anyway. They do sound the best you know.

This is the best sounding distortion pedal ever. The distortion is very fast and raunchy (just the way I like it). You should be able to pull off the best sounding blues solo you ever imagined you could. The bottom end sounds incredible when you're using a single coil at the neck position. I was getting smooth tube feedback out of my transtube which barely competes with a tube amp.

I've had it for three days. I predict that the knobs will get knocked loose if you don't take care of them.

I would but ten of them. It blew my boss ds-1 out of the water. The user of the pedal has a bass and a treble knob to create the perfect sound. It has the heaviest distortion I've ever heard (even more heavy than the electro-harmonics BIG MUFF). It helps my solos by giving me more of a heavily distorted tube sound. The tonal quality of this pedal amazed me. As soon as I get more money, I'm going to go and get the Daddy'O overdrive. When I played on it it reminded me of a twin reverb turned all the way up on clean channel. Anyone who buys a overdrive pedal and expects it to preform like a distortion pedal is stupid. It is designed to make your amp sound like it is tube amp turned all the way up. The Daddy'O does just that.