Danelectro DJ-1 Pastrami Mini Overdrive

Incredibly easy to use. Just two knobs: level and overdrive.

Overall the quality of the sound is good. This is a quiet pedal and even though it's not true bypass, I don't hear my tone changing much when the pedal is off. The tones are a little one-sided, and it's not particularly dynamic. Not necessarily great for someone with a light touch, but for power chords and big rock solos, it's darn good- ESPECIALLY for the price.

It's also worth noting that this pedal provides virtually no volume boost.

It's plastic, but it's pretty heavy duty. I don't think I would break the casing if I was using it normally. Broke the knobs off my first one, though.

My first one broke a few years after I bought it. I sent them an email. They told me to send it in. They sent me a BRAND NEW ONE in three weeks. They were prompt with all our email communication.

They. Are. Awesome.

If it was stolen, I'd absolutely buy a new one. It was $20! I don't need fancy sounds. I get most of the distortion I need from my amp and really digging in when I want my sound a little dirtier. But this little guy can really kick things into high gear when I need it. It's an integral part of my setup. And it was only $20!!

this couldnt be simpler, two knobs, level and drive.

hollowbody archtop w/ humbuckers chorus>pastrami>echo

slight hum with some power sources, none with bateries. sounds like a fuzz pedal. Theres effectively two settings on it, mild crunch, and heavy fuzz. Hard to get a good sound out of it with single coil pickups (it sounds a bit dry and weak). The higher gain and fatter tone from humbuckers works a treat. I only use it for noise ocasionally, not sure if its versatile enough for a main lead distortion.

its made of plastic, plastic<metal. dont throw it about and you'll be fine.

dont know, it cost 20e, Id probably either try to fix it if it broke or replace it and use the orriginal as a paperweight, the 50s styling is cheesely cute.

like everything you have to weigh up price vs quality, and figure what you plan to use it for. As a boost, for some pysch-y MC5-y tones, or for a bit of chaos at some point of song its fine, as a main pedal for a lead guitarist, probably not much so.

ive found that the danelecto mini pedals can be quite limited on their own, but combined with each other can give cool and unusual sounds. using the milkshake chorus before and the slap echo after this pedal can givea range of sounds, from some cool pink flyod lead sounds, to pyschobilly mayhem. All three for less than the price of a Boss blues driver! You really cant go too far wrong

2 knobs! piece of cake!

i didnt know what to expect from this thing, and then i turned it on and it sounded pretty damn good. but as the days and plays went by, i found that the only use for this petal is to utilize its fuzzy distortion when the overdrive knob is all the way up. it sounds like a fuzz pedal being played through an fm radio! very low-end bassy sound. like the beginning of "time is running out" by muse. ******* cool. and it reminds me of the strokes meets the smashing pumpkins or something. i found that with that setting, it is only good for bar-chord work, so avoid the bottom 3 strings...they'll sound very muddy and unintoned.

i also use this as a boost for my other pedals (after all this is an overdrive). combine this with a big muff and you have the wall of sound fuzz distortion you've been looking for all your life!!! so many tone possiblities when i have those two set up together.

this should not be your main distortion pedal though. i'd like to see someone pull that miracle off lol

i have a black russian big muff that i use with this pedal not to boost the output, but to add a different sound to the fuzz. so ofcourse i'd use a backup. this thing looks sturdy, but it feels as though if you add your front body weight on the stomp, maybe the plastic would crack. so far so good though, but i'd use a backup just because.

never had to deal with them yet, and i hope it stays that way. calling customer service for a $20.00 guitar pedal would be embarrassing.

my playing style is very inspired by the bands of the early 90's. the pumpkins, the peppers, nirvana, pearl jam, jane's addiction, soundgarden..that type of feel. this pedal alone is great for fuzzy bar chord work, but stay away from the lower 3 strings...it'll get ugly. i combine this and my big muff for a great fuzzed out distortion with tones of sustain. it sounds so fucking sweet. very unique, and unrippoffable <<that should be a word btw.

It is a piece of cake to use. Gain knob and overdrive knob. On/off button.

I can get a great ovderdriven distortion sound from this pedal. It's great. I was looking for a fuzz-sludge with grit and this is it. It sounds like a million different bands from the past 40 years. Particularly good for something like shoegazer, any kind of melodic indie dirt. The sound is very tasty. I use this with my Yamaha Pacifia through a Pignose practice amp, a Roland SH-101 through a 15" Crate bass amp or direct into a Fostex MR8HD, and various other instruments friends bring over. Also, I run drum mics through it from time to time.
It's a distortion pedal, so it gains up the nosie and adds noise. It's not very intrusive as distortion pedals go because it isn't designed to blow out the signal. The increase in noise and in distortion is very linear and gradual.
"10" here is "pristine sound quality." Well...if pristine is what you're after, don't use an overdrive pedal. But it is delicious distortion.

It's plastic, so a lot of people are wary about its strength. I have a variety of plastic gear, and none of it is delicate. Companies designed these objects with their intended uses in mind, so I never worry about ruining my stuff as long as I'm using it as intended (including live performances). I feel as comfortable gigging this as I do any of my metal-cased pedals. Danelectro's reputation gives me peace of mind that everything will be fine.

I've never dealt with Danelectro c/s.

I've been playing off and on for about 12 years, intensively for a total of 4. I play noise, from white noise to abstract cosmic patterns. This pedal works well for that. It pulls out, and gains up, all the subtle underlying electronic processes of my electronic instruments and lets me make noise that would be otherwise unobtainable. Many distortion pedals have this attribute. The linear nature of the distortion and gain knobs, and the delicious tone of the pedal, make it a good match for my taste.
If this were stolen or lost, I would get another one in an instant. In both absolute and relative terms, it's a steal.
I love that it sounds so good. I like that the in and out sockets are on the top-back rather than on the sides. I love the way it looks; much better in person than in pictures. I love than it is small yet heavy. I am not a big fan of the small button used to turn it on and off. A big, obvious platform pedal would be preferable. I usually turn my effects on with my hands, and it's still something of an inconvenience sometimes.
My favorite feature apart from the sound is the clipping LED in the case that glows in proportion to the intensity of the distortion. It was an unexpected treat.
I compared this to the Boss MT-2 and Metal Core, the Line6 Uber Metal, the Digitech XMM, various tubescreamer and big muff iterations, etc. etc. etc. This one was way cheaper than any of the others, and has a more subtle usable distortion, useful for topping of the kinds of sounds made by the others.
This pedal is not missing any features. It is what it is very well.
It quickly fit into its niche and became indispensable.

Two knobs. Or three, if you're the type who finds the first two difficult.

I got this last week off Ebay for pennies just to see what Dano mini-pedals are like before I got the more expensive ones I'm after.

It's plastic, Fire Engine Red and very cute.

This is a really nice sounding pedal! Use it as it was intended and you get warm, bright, responsive gain with no noise or messy artifacts.

Someone below compaired this to a DOD-250 so I was half expecting Yngwie-like tones, but its not like that at all. At least, not in front of a transistor amp. Put it through a nice valve amp and it would probably sound and act completely differently.

I was trying to get Bill Steer's tone (from his Firebird records, not Carcass) and it gets me about a third of the way there without having to buy a 50's Les Paul junior and a 70's 50w Marshall.

The pedal also does the early Judas Priest sound if you're that way inclined. Screaming distortion this is not. If you want that then buy a Fabtone (great metal pedal!).

I'm not going to bore you with a big long pointless list of what gear I have. For one thing it'd take too long. Suffice to say, I'm using this in front of a Rocktron Chameleon that goes into a Marshall valve power amp. On a guitar with hot humbuckers (Duncan Distortion, Dimarzio Super Distortion, or EMG) this pedal doesn't really sound that good. You get a small amount of clipping on the higher gain settings. Ugh!

But on a strat or mid-power humbuckers you get lovely super-warm, bright overdrive.

I've found modelling pre-amps a little cold when it comes to overdrive. They do clean and lead tones very well, but that middle ground? Nothing beats a good valve amp driven hard. This pedal can give you a warm, bright front end to your Pod, V-amp etc, for about the same money as 3 packs of strings.

phhhhhhh I wouldn't gig with this unless it was securely in a pedalboard. If you're the kind of guitarist who thinks stamping on pedals makes them sound better (like Yngwie...) steer clear of these. Buy a RAT.

Saying that, provided it was safely tucked into a pedal board I'd gig with this without a backup.

This thing looks a bit daft next to all my other pro-gear. Plasticy and mickey-mouse with that 50's Cadallac styling. But: it sounds SO good! So, ten for sound with five points deducted for the styling, but four added back on because actually I think I like it oh I don't know...

One cool feature is that whether the effect is on or not, the internal LED lights up whenever you play anything. The harder you play the brighter it gets. Since the plastic is not all that thick you can just about see it. Very nice.

Based on how well this pedal sounded I bought several other Danelectro mini-pedals on Ebay, and out of the bunch I can strongly recommend the Pastrami Phaser.

volume, gain. watch the volume. it has a good amount of output.

In my opinion the people who would like this are the people who will never even try it. Pro blues, jazz, indie and country players. I do not think beginners are going to get much out of it.

I would compare it to the black ROSS distortion, and DOD 250 preamp. Just like those classic two knobers the dj-1 starts out clean then gets a slight crunchy, tubey vibe but turns into more of a fuzz tone than an overdrive at higher gain.

It does great clean and dirty boost. Very balanced, neutral and open. The perfect thing for goosing a tube amp. This is a great poor mans Klon.

On Ulysses .010 Robert Schneider plays this pedal into a Vox Berkeley II for the entire album.

If it breaks buy another for $10!!!!!

My ratings are based on price, but regardless of money this is worth checking out.

Using the unit is very simple: Connect cables, push button, adjust volume, there it goes ;) There is a sheet with a suggested sound setting for the two knobs, and if you put them as suggested, you will have a good sound - at least I have one.

So why only a "7" ? There was no manual with the unit, which is sad because neither I nor my brother achieved to open the battery deposal without damaging it. And we both play in Bands for more than 15 years and have seen a lot of pedals ... So I could not insert a battery so far . Guess I'll need to send email to Danelectro to ask them how this works.

I play in a Band doing Surf an Beat, using a real old Fender Twin Teverb and a Fender Jazzmaster. This is it - the amp sounds perfect by itself and only needs a little kick-in-the-ass when I play Lead or need a more crunchy sound, as it has no lead channel switch.

This kick-in-the-ass kann be done perfectly with the Pastrami. If I put the Gain on 13.00, I have the original Kinks-Rythm-Sound, if I turn it a little lower, I get my Dick Dale sound ... perfect for me. A tone knob is not needed in my opinion, because what the pedal does not at the useful settings is to change the frequency spectrum of the guitar - it sounds just as the guitar sounds. For me, this is perfect. I used overdrive pedals before that tried and failed to make the Jazzmaster sound like a Strat or even a Les Paul, and this is something the Pastrami does not.

So why not "10"? With my equipment, the sound variety of the Pastrani is a little limited. No humbuckers mean not too much crunch, and sometimes, I I want more distortion, I have to use another pedal. Because if you put the gain to maximum, it sounds as if you play over a cheap transistor radio instead of a vintage amp. So don't do that. Better get a distortion pedal for this.

I don not intend to jump on it. It comes with a knob protection, and maybe it is not the worst idea to use this protection on stage, as the knobs are no really rock solid. But for this little money ...

Compared to the old Dallas Arbiter Fuzz I once had, it seems very reliable (the effect comes every time I push the button, and I had no radio frwequency caught up so far), and yes, I would depend on it. I never had any pedal broken on stage, so I haven't thought of a backup so far.

Don't know, but I will see how they react if I tell them about my battery deposal problem ;)

??s I said I use the pastrami to achieve 60ties sounds, and this works very well with this little unit. I am thinking about combinig it with a pure non-overdrive booster pedal to add a little more variety to the sound, but so far I am glad with the little Danelectro. I guess I would buy it again if it were stolen.

I love the sound it makes together with my old amp and that it brings out the character of my guitar, which is something a lot of other pedals could not do. So, it helps me a lot. I had a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz, two Boss Distortions, a Nobels Overdrive, and all these pedals did not sound that good with my gear. I tried a Marshall BB2, and this is not bad as a Lead Channel, but the Pastrami has more kick and character, for a third of the price. So, it's a "10" in overall value.

2 fricking knobs

It is a decent warm sounding overdrive. It uses an LED to clip it, sort of fun to look at, heh. Kind of gritty. Different sounding, but not in a bad way.

Don't be fooled by the plastic, I've owned quite a few Danos and have had very little problems

Dano customer support is great, they'll send you a new pedal for free if you have a broken one. Anyone who says anything bad about their customer support has obviously never dealt with them and don't know what they are talking about.

To comment on the last reply: it sounds better than the DS-1 and is more usable in my opinion, although the DS-1 is in a completely different ballpark (it is a modern distortion, where this is sort of a vintage garagey sort of OD.)

I just picked one up the other day, and it obviously isn't one of Dano's gems (like the Fabs, the french toast, the chicken salad, the tuna melt, their delays, etc.) but it is still a cool little unit.

makes a good amp and guitar sound bad !!!! Sorry people, but this thing just sucks the tone outta anything
Has your unit been upgraded? God... I tried giving it away to a 12 year old, and the kid brought it back and told me it sucked !!!!!

Can you get the sound of your favorite artists? Who are they? Not with this hunk of JUNK

What setup (i.e. what guitars and amps) are you using this with? Peavey Wolfie and a kramer focus 1000 with an emg thru a Randall rg75g3. This pedal sounds like a CCRRAAPPP !!!!

Knobs fall off very easily CRAP

Buy a Boss ds-1 for like $20 bucks more and atleast you will have some usable tones

Won't want to waste my time on the call for this pos

What style of music do you play? Classic Rock Is this a good match? Nope

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else? I would feel Sorry for the sucker who stole it !!!!!

Are you kidding me? It's got 2 knobs!
Balance the 2 knobs with the volume of your amp and you're good to go (DON'T TURN THE FRIGGIN DISTORION KNOB ALL THE WAY UP AND EXPECT IT SOUND LIKE A DISTORTION PEDAL).

Here's the story. I've had this thing for over 2 years and never really used it. FYI, I'm not an effects guy at all - I HATE having anything between my guitar and my amp besides a cord, because it changes your sound... I don't care if it's true bypass or whatever - it changes the sound - which I personally do not like.

So, I busted this thing out the other night for shits and giggles while I was playing my little Kay amp (tube w/6 inch speaker) and recorded it as well to see what the deal was. Wow! I got some incredible overdriven sounds with this thing - like early cream.

Here's a link to a recording I did with this pedal, an '05 Heritage H150 (les Paul) and that Kay with the volume at like 4, and the amp is only 5 watts:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=578168
Song entitled "Cream Tribute" - My playing/arrangement is not up to par/crap. BUT the tones are impressive IMO.

Also, I think this pedal works better with old-school tube amps that do not naturally have a bright, biting vioce.

One more thing. This should be obvious:

THIS IS NOT A DISTORTION PEDAL!!!

I've owned it for over a couple years and it still works.

I've been playing for over 15 years. I have a roadhouse (USA) strat, a Heritage H150 and a Peavey T-160 (don't laugh, this guitar will rock your world). I play out at local jams every week and at other get-togethers and so forth. My main amp is a Silvertone 1335 - 6L6s and 15" speaker really sounds incredible. My style is blues, classic rock and funk.

You can get one of these things for cheap, so check 'em out.

Very Simpl 2 knobs

Excellent mild overdrive/distortion for Blues. Quiet operation. I use it as basically a Lead channel because my amp has only 1 channel. It works perfectly to enhance blues lead work. Wonderful, warm tones.

Looks tough. I do not abuse my pedals.

This pedal is aperfect match for someone needing a bluesy, mild overdriven sound. Very nice, warm, tubey sound. In 30 years of playing I've learned that you have to coax pedals, not crank them full out, until you find the sound that's yours. This is true for ALL pedals and this one's no exception. Most guitarists today want a pedal that when cranked will make them sound better. Not going to happen! If you want a pedal that will enhance your already good playing then look at this one.

Very simple unit to set up. I got a good useable sound in less then one minute

Good basic overdrive sound. Turned up it gets a little fuzzy.

I have it attached to a pedal board, so it isn't just "under foot".
I had never had problems with any Danelectro mini pedal.
Having said that this unit is not bullet proof, by any means

Never dealt with Danelectro. I deal with Kevin, Zach, Jim, or any other employee of Uncle Ike's here in Dub town.
They have always helped me with any gear problems I have ever had.

I bought the pedal based on cost, first and sound, second.
I noticed some reviewers stated that their units had a buzz/hum problem.
I actually took some REAL duct tape (the kind made out of aluminum stock) and covered the base plate of the unit. I have no hum/buzz problems.

Not an issue at all.

I have a MexiStrat with 3 single coils, including a noiseless in the bridge position. I play through an old 65 watt Peavey Classic VTX (solid state preamp and 2 6L6 power tubes) with two Madison Minstrel 12" speakers in a separate homemade cabinet. The Pastrami does a fine job of pushing the 6L6s. I have no problem at all with excessive fuzz. I only notice this when playing through small, solid state practice amps, such as a Fender Frontman 15R. I go back and forth between the Pastrami and a TS7 Tubescreamer. The Pastrami has more low end, and has more warmth and punch. It really needs to be used with a good tube amp, however.

No problems. When I'm moved to Flamenco, I try to avoid it.

The Pastrami is a really good, simple, effective overdrive, when used to drive power tubes. It will not transform your solid state practice amp into a Marshall stack. It is certainly worth the ridiculously low price.

Two knobs, drive and lever. THAT MEANS SIMPLE!

Well it's a cheap pedal and it's so tiny, so don't expect the holy grail of overdrive. I usually set it low on drive so it gives me a good kick on the distortion and a dirtier clean sound without much time wasted tweaking. But if you want an overdrive to crank up look somewhere else (Tubescreamer anyone?), unless you are a beginner and want an entry level OD since this is cheap and simple.

Not the sturdiest pedal i got, too much plastic. I wouldn't recomend kicking it

never tried

Well i like it for a distortion booster and for some color on my clean sound, it's simple and it works. Cranked at full distortion it doesn't sound great but not even that horrible. Considering everything it's not that bad, if you want a cheap distortion booster, a replacement overdrive to use live instead of an expensive one or simply need your first overdrive give it a shot. Personally i love it

its not even easy its so easy

sounds pretty good for 20 bucks.its not very heavy so i set it with a rocktek compressor.that gives a pretty good sound with the compressor but a lot of hiss

i can depend on it with what i play, its pretty much on the whole time so i dont really need to stomp on it

never dealt with 'em

i play pretty techie stuff with single note riffs (cky) but it doesnt work great for that. but i did find it sounds pretty awsome with deep purples smoke on the water and sabbaths iron man. i love that it so small.i compared this to the rocktek overdrive,much better than that.i wish it had a heavier overdrive. it doesnt help me make music becuase every time i stop that anoying hiss. some times it picks up the radio and shit.

Danelectro, as far as I've seen, keeps their stuff as easy as possible.

As far as the sound goes, it's alright for an overdrive - nothing like AC/DC or something - I've noticed it reacts well with power chords. LOUD, with little sustain.

I don't use this in my current setup, because of the fact that I can get better pedals that won't slip'n'slide all over my board.
It isn't very noisy - one of the quietest Dano's I've had.
The effect is somewhat weak, but is good for gradual picking intensity.
I used a small-but-tough amp to use the Pastrami.
I don't know anyone who plays with this little of overdrive.

Apart from the fact that the activation switches on Dano's Mini-Pedals are extremely weak, they're fairly dependable. I would use it on a gig without a backup, if I ever used it.

Never had to deal with the company, the thing always worked.
Never had to get it repaired, either - worked/works just fine.

I play metal/funk/whatever, and this isn't a good pedal to use for that genre of music. I've been playing for about a year and a half, and I own three other Dano pedals, as well as 2 Ibanez Tone-Lok pedals [very nice], and a Mister Crybaby Wah/Volume pedal that doesn't work. BE WARY OF BUYING WAH PEDALS ON EBAY. I chose to buy this pedal because I had little money, and I wanted to see what pedals were like.

omg if you can't settup a lil pedal like this, there is something wrong...

crap crap crap crap crap... Well if i turn it on, i get a VERY annoying RAIDO???? freaking fm radio... it picks up a radio station where ever i am...i can't stand it. it does it in the recording studio too..hahahaha. there isn't any good warm tone, just bright, ugly, useless distortion, for a lot of styles. I mean a fender amp is more verstaille..come on now..how did they manage that? I got a marshall avt 50 stack so this pedal doesn't do any justice to the amp.. so i smashed the pedal to smitherines..hahaha good times

plastic? radio? smashed in smitherines? no

hahahaha i am too embarrassed that i bought this that i don't even want to talk to them

i really don't recomend this...there is like better pedals out there...like all them except this brand. danelectro sucks and they should quit making these pedals.

Like most of the Danelectro mini-pedals, this unit is minimalist; just the basic Level and Overdrive controls. It's intended to be a low-budget entry level option I guess.
Sounds okay - doesn't take more then a minute to tweak a few good sounds out of it. Could of used a tone control though. That and it's too damn light. Everytime you tap the footswitch, the pedal moves around slightly, and that's with a soft tap.

The sound is ....... hazy...... for the most part. It's not so much overdrive as it is just a lot of fuzz. Mine tends to have a slight hiss to it when it's plugged it, but nothing major.
The higher you crank the Overdrive control, the scratchier the tone gets, but it doesn't break up - there's still a bit of bass and mids in there somewhere. That's probably been it's saving grace for me - I'm so sick of trebbly distortion.
I've used it with a variety of amps (Marshall, Peavey, Fender) and guitars (Telecaster, Strat, SG, Les Paul) belonging to myself and my bandmates and there's been little difference across the board. Ironically, it actually sounded quite good with our bassist's Karina 4-string and Peavey amp!
This pedal works best if you have a good EQ on your amp or responsive tone controls on your guitar.

It's dubious as to if this would be reliable or not. The basic footswitch principle is good, but lack of weight in the unit means it moves around a lot and although that plastic casing is thick, it's not metal a-la most other pedals.
I would never gig without a backup, but I have another overdrive and a distortion pedal so that's not a issue. They are also very good on batteries - I'm still on the orginal one I got with it nearly three months ago.

Never dealt with them. The Danelectro website was reasonably helpful though.

I play rhythm and sing in a five piece indie/dark rock band. We're part Black Rebel Motorcylce Club, White Stripes, Strokes and Pixies.
This pedal is limited in its applications, but works quite well if coupled with either an EQ or another distortion/overdrive pedal with
better tonal control. It's biggest asset is that it's not a high-end screamer, probably sits in the middle catergory of tone.
I got a Boss BD-2 Bluesdriver a week or so after I got the Pastrami and it's much more suited to the sound I want. However, I still like the Pastrami despite its shortcomings. We have a couple of more punky, garage numbers that this pedal sounds mean on - I'd say it's good for all those playing punk/emo/ska and even nu-metal.
Just remember, this is not really comparable to other more expensive pedals like a Big Muff, DS-1, Tubescreamer or Fab Tone.
However, if you like a bit of oldschool fuzz, you'll like this unit. I've found it sounds best with single coils rather then humbuckers so a Strat or Tele gets a wicked tone out it.
If it were stolen, I wouldn't rush out and buy another one, but they're cheap enough 2nd hand to make it reasonable to justify repurchasing.

well, two knobs, volume and drive, as for application, that might be tricky for some...

i found that it sounded good it was more a distortion than overdrive, but it sounded better than any of the proclaimed distortions by danelectro(mini any ways)... but that was before i went mod crazy... it no longer has a volume knob, but rather a color knob and drive knob... i disconnected the blue wire that was connected to the white socket and connected it directly to R101 with a 10k resistor (point to point). then i exchanged the volume knob for a 500k pot and the drive for a 50k pot. with "volume" all the way down it sounds like harsh hendrix fuzz and all the way up it is muddy fuzz. the drive knob acts the same ijust changed it to accomodate a new case (the new "volume" knob was too big for dano case, drive was too small for new case... this thing is loud and harsh, so i wouldnt recomend it to any one that has ever complained about either of these in a distotion pedal.... harmonics are great. levels equally with bybass volume( gets louder, but in my opinion if as distortion unit doesnt get louder than the clean signal i take it apart and then mod the hell out of it( id rather not have to do this all the time, though it is funn)

though its plastic and ive cracked a few of these in half, it never affects the sound, so i say they are pretty reliable.. dont like the knobs though, super glue phillips heads interchangeable screw driver bits and you have some heavy duty knobs...

f@ck them... if you have a problem fix it yourself...

it was good left alone, but got boring and now it is great

Very easy to use. Just two knobs. A level and a distortion knob.

All the Danelectro mini pedals are a little noisy, but they are a great value for the money.

Since I started playing out again, I really wanted a simple foot switch able overdrive unit. This fills the bill.

I had the French Toast Octave distortion, but it was too much fuzz for what I needed and just too much in general for Jazz and blues.

The mini overdrive works perfect for what I need it to do. You can dial it up to just where it is starting to break up. Very nice, but it does have a tendency to lean on the fuzz side of distortion.

New so far. As long as you use an AC adapter, I don't see a problem with it. Because it is an over drive unit, I always have a backup, the amp itself.

Very good. I did not have to contact them on this pedal, but I did on another one. I sent an e-mail out at 10:15PM and got a reply by 10:30PM. Wow, that was fast.

This is a great little unit. You can really adjust it the way you want. Great Blues / Jazz pedal. Will work great for rock also. Versatile.

I can live without it, but why would you at that price?
So if you are low on cash, but still want a decent sounding / quality overdrive pedal, then this is it.

The only down sides are that it boarders on fuzz, and the are a little noisy.

Very simple, two knobs (level and overdrive)...doesn't get much easier. There was a manual that had sample settings, etc, but I didn't need it. Getting a desired sound was easy.

I am running an Ibanez GAX70 or Samick strat copy into a Morley Mark tremonti Power wah, then this, then the French Toast Octave Fuzz, then Cool Cat Chorus, then Zoom 505ii into a cheapo Matrix M10 or a Peavy Blazer 15 watt. The pedal was noisy when I put it before the wah. The pedal cannot produce the down and dirty distortion sound that I sometimes crave, but it is, after all, overdrive, not distortion. I think it is a great overdrive pedal. I like it just as much as the new DIgitech X-series one.

Although it is plastic, its HARD plastic. I could depend on it.

I really like it, especially for 20 bucks. I play Creed, Metallica, Zeppelin, the Foos, anything rock basically. If it were lost or stolen, I'd buy another in a heartbeat. I compared it to other overdrive pedals, and this one really stood out.

Plug it in... Turn a couple knobs, push the footswitch... couldn't be much easier..

I'm surprised to see all the 10 sound quality reviews... Given, this pedal is SUPER cheaply priced, it actually impressed me for what I paid... I bought it a while back when I just wanted to mess around wtih distortion for as cheap as possible.. It did the job.. but now when I compare it to many much better pedals, I honestly never want to use the thing again. Way too much FUZZ and lack of tone. Don't expect to be amazed, but at the price it isn't too bad if you like fuzz.

Built like a tank. Oh, wait... It's plastic. Danelectro has never been much for high quality, long lasting pedals.. These little guys probably wouldn't last too long out on the road.. But, honestly, would YOU take it on the road??

I gotta give 'em credit for making such an incredibly inexpensive pedal.. It worked for me when I was younger.. so hey, if you want something cheap, go for it.

Two knobs...Level & Distortion
Pretty easy!!

Alot Better than I expected!!! I play an Epiphone Les Paul Jr with Gibson P-94 pick-ups in it, and I use an 73 Ampeg VT-40
The ONLY reason I bought it was because it was only $20, I figured what the hell...I was pleasantly suprised!! It sounds to me like an old school fuzz

So far so good....

Dunno !

Overall it is a great pedal to have...AND its ONLY $20!!
Not for Metal, Rock-n-Roll, AC-DC, Johnny Thunders, Mudhoney, etc..
I never really cared for Danelectro...but this really is a good pedal!

This is very easy to use, only a couple of knobs. they're labelled, but i don't think they do exactly what they're supposed to.

Oh yeah! This little bitch sounded great when i hooked it up to my Fender Champion 15! Here's my setup Hohner HAG-250 (the bomb with a Dean Markley pickup!)>Boss MT2>Line6 POD (I got it from my uncle, one of the knobs is twisted off, but it is ok because I still have the Modern High Gain setting)>Snarling Dog Mold Spore>Fender Champion 15. I think I need a Klon boost and a nice warm analog delay. It makes this already tight rig sound like Brian May and his Vox amps!

Not very reliable. One day my dog got into my pedals (he's a big dog) so i tried to fight him off, but not before he bite my Dano Pastrami in half. It is ok, though. I put some scotch tape around it and put it back together, now it sound more like a Slipknot distortion, but if I tweak it just right, I can nail EVH's "Eruption" (only a few more bars to go).

I have never needed to talk to them. One time I emailed them a joke, but they didn't say whether or not they thought it was funny. Cool website, though.

I bought this pedal used from my older brother who plays in a metal band. He said this was crucial to his sound and that if I wanted to sound like anybody totally sweet, I had to use this. Boy, was he right! I love it! I practically stole it from him. I am trying to start my own punk band and the guys I have been practicing with play trumpet in the school band. Even they say it is killer!

2 knobs - Level and Overdrive. Danelectro makes it simple enough

I'm using this with a Crate GX-15 with my JB Player Les Paul cut. Sounds great! A very hot pedal, great for lead. I only have my overdrive set to about 6 and it is perfect.

Danelectro has never failed me. If I were good enough, I would take this on a world tour if I had one. Very awesome pedal

Never dealt with Dano.

I play classic rock like .38 Special and Van Halen. Pedal does it great, especially for Van Halen, even if I dont have a 5150, I can get a great "EVH" sound, sounds awesome when you play "Little Dreamer" and "You Really Got Me"

Ok...2 knobs...level & drive...how hard is that?...get the amount of drive you want and then either optimise your level or boost it...i guess you could cut it if you want, but that is tonally degredating

I use this to boost the gain on my Marshall VS65R. I use this amp as my rhythm amp (lead is a Peavey Classic 30) and I only use the overdrive channel because I don't use pristine clean...just drop the gain down on the drive channel for semi-clean/lightly overdriven and then kick in the pastrami crunchy rhythm tones and power chords. This works well enough in that it boosts the gain just a little, not too much and doesn't sound like crap as long as the gain on the pedal is below 12 o'clock. The cool thing is that, since this pedal is a little bright (compared to boss) it keeps the marshall from being muddy with the gain boost. If I need any more gain than the pedal at 12 o'clock then I boost it from the amp to keep the tone smooth and decent cause this pedal will sound like crap at higher gain levels. So, 9 for gain boosting (for me anyway)-6 for anything any gainier than that.

Yeah...its plastic...I will only use soft velvit gloves on my hands and press the footswitch with my index finger. Well...not likely in a gigging situation, I think as long as I don't actually stomp on it I will be ok...I don't really need a backup because I can always bust out the channel switcher and use that...I just hate the pristiness of the clean channel...but I can live with it if I had to.

Right...don't know, don't care

Playing 8 1/2 years, classic rock and blues based rock. This gets me the crunch rhythm tones that I need for most of the stuff on the set list without making the tone crappy thin or muddy, so it works for me...plus...I only paid $20, I can live with that. Replaced? like I said I can live without it, but I might get it again seeing as its cheap.

It has two knobs and a footswitch... ummm... pretty easy to figure out

First, I paid a measely, lousy $10.00 for this thing "used" it still had the "Editors Pick" label from GP on it, it looked like it was used maybe once...its not all that noisy, I use it in front of my Fender Champ 12 tube amp, with a frankenstein style tele with a vintage noiseless bridge pup and a texas spec. rythym pup, its a fuzz box / Semi-clean boost pedal as far as I am concerned. Fuzz tones are hard edged and mid-rangey, and this I like alot. To my ears, its Jimmy Page-ish all the way. As a boost (with little drive added) its well suited to use with my Champ, like a third channel almost. At one time I owned a Vox Cambridge 15, and for reasons I cannot explain, This pedal warmed up the Hybrid Vox very nicely when used as a "clean Boost" I am partial to this pedal, At times it can sound harsh and edgy, but again, I like that, you may not.

Its plastic, but its heavy plastic and all things considered, fairly well built and solid... for living room use that is.. the the controls are tiny, and the foot switch is suspect... My plan is to (someday...) gut it and stick it in a more suitable ie. rugged housing, or i could just go buy a couple more of them and keep them as backups.. Hell for $10 or even $20 apeice who cares.

? dont know

Hell its a $10 pedal, cant think of a better or cooler gizmo for that much... I happen to like it alot, If i gigged (I dont) I would either buy a backup or rehouse it and upgrade the footswitch. I think at this point it may become a keeper and a permenant part of "my tone" I play a bit of everything from Zep to the replacements and everything between. for some tones its not the tool for others it is... I wont part with mine... could become a "Pawn Shop Prize in ten years..." Try it, you may like it and as I have stated over and over its CHEAP!

Actually, folks, this thing requires a little fiddling to get it to sound good, all over my rig. Of course, the pedal itself is only two knobs. If you can't figure out two knobs, you are at least one knob...

I use an Epiphone Special with PAF style humbuckers into a Fish N Chips, then into a Milkshake set low to emulate something between a reverb and a tremolo, and then into a Pastrami. Then I send it all through a Beringer Firebird 15 Watt retro-style amp.
If you play with all of your knobs, you will discover that the Pastrami Overdrive is the absolute God's truth COOLEST overdrive you could possibly have a la "Spirit in the Sky". Oh, man, does this thing kick some lovely juices into my joints. I may get evicted over it, but darnit it's so freaking cool! Use your Fish N Chips to pump up your tremolo and bass and cut out some middle, then give it just a hint of swelling with the chorus. Then crank up your guitar to about six or seven. Then keep your amp sound crisp and clean (because the Pastrami will handle all the dirty). Play your clean, crisp chords, then during your heavy riffs, kick your sound into the killzone with the Pastrami. Man, what a great sound. It is a dead solid "Spirit in the Sky", and I was born to be wild, folks.

Yes, it is plastic. So don't jump on it, punky. Of course, the jumpers probably are going for something less hipcat, and more slipknot. So don't jump on your Licorice either, kiddies. Still, it ain't broke yet...

Haven't dealt with them.

I call what I play neo-retro. I don't necessarily dress in bowling shirts and wear Buddy Holly glasses, but I like to connect with the clean sounds and powerful playing of the late sixties, and early seventies. Something about that period was so pure, and wonderful. I am also very poor, and cannot afford vintage equipment. Thus, I play Danelectro pedals, and dig them, daddio. Man, if you want the real thing, and not the eighties hair band, wanking wunderkinds, but the real God's Socks Goodness, this is the pedal for you. And what a price! I get the best pedal I can get for my sound, and I get it so cheap! I feel like I'm stealing beauty, without having to sit through that long movie again!

Two knobs, Level and Overdrive. Easy to get sounds from it.

This baby runs almost on any guitar and amps, I compared it with a Boss Super Overdrive and I think this pastrami thing its way much better. It has a brighter sound, and you can set it up quickly than the other. Brighter sound is not always the best but the Boss was too warm and dark for me.

This is maybe the best pedal made by Danelectro, and maybe it will become a classic, It is has a lots of uses, first you get warm sounds wich open chords have good sounds, blues and funky solos are great too. And with the full settings you get a fuzz box, a little shy but a decent fuzz. Some classic rock I get from it.

I use this pedal with songs with open chords, I try not use it for heavy stuff or punk, it doesn't work for it, it's only an overdrive pedal. If you think that you will get a distortion from this pedal you will be dissapointed.

It's a 10, it makes me play more inspired and confident. It does it job well on stage, zero noise, zero headaches. Try to use it with choruses, reverbs and delays, it gets much better. However it is still great working alone.

This is the "but" part. It's plastic, and I had it repaired two times. I would buy another if it breaks on gigs.

I live far from the USA, they wont assist me

Great, for everything that requires overdrive. I would buy another and would kick ass if it's stolen, it has a wide range of overdrive sounds, and it works perfectly for me.

Listen to it live in www.geocities.com/billysefue

I have a very brainless dog who could probably operate it.

At first I like d it, but then realised it's quite crap. Its just fuzz with no tone, rather like my old squire amp that came with first guitar. Not nice. On lower overdrive levels its quite good for blues but you can't get a decent rock n roll sound.

Seems quite tough, but its plastic so i dunno.

I'm a student, and it was cheap, so I bought! Thing is, with guitars, amps, and fx pedals, you get what you pay for. A good pedal for a beginner, but for not much more you can get a much juicier RAT pedal, which I plan to purchase soon.

After doing some research on the Internet to find out how to get "that sound" (the dirty Chicago Blues sound) out of my harmonica/condenser/solid state amp setup, I found out I could go two ways: a real tube mic preamp or its solid state counterpart. The tube mic preamps are expensive for what they do and I don't need studio quality, so I went the other route. As it turns out, the non-linear characteristics of diodes/leds in the feedback loop of an op-amp (low-voltage, solid-state) spectrally produce the sound of an overdriven preamp tube in the 12A*7 family. Circuits for the Tube Screamer, Blues Breaker and others abound on the 'Net. The Danelectro Pastrami Overdrive falls into this class of circuit. Many published schematics show germanium or silicon diodes used to reproduce the sound, but also suggest that LEDs (a specialty diode that has a higher forward voltage drop and produces visible light) can be used. While I didn't take my Pastrami apart, I've been able to determine (by the led lighting behind the plastic case when this unit is driven) that it probably uses a hybrid approach - signal diodes and leds in combination. This design approach tends to spice up the overdrive and when used in combination with a tie-clip condenser mic and driven into my solid-state Behringer KX-1200 keyboard amp is hard to tell this from the real McCoy!

This is not a metal distortion unit so if that's what you want check out some of the other effects by Danelectro such as the Black Coffee, T-Bone or Grilled Cheese. The Pastrami is all about simulating overdriven tube distortion and it does this very well. Simply dial in the amount of drive using the overdrive control, and set the output level with the "Level" control. It doesn't get much easier than this. Although the unit came with a "suggested settings" sheet, if you know why you are buying this unit, you'll control it beyond the "starter" position.

The only way I could get more authentic with the sound is a bullet mic which typified the '40s and '50s Chicago Blues sound, and pipe it into a Twin Reverb. I've got a bullet coming in the mail thanks to a vintage mic collector on eBay, but why bother with the Twin? I've got an amp and setup now that works great.

As I mentioned, this is a simulation of tube overdrive and it does it in probably the best way you can with a solid state device. There is no audible hiss characteristic of op-amp and other solid-state effects, even with high volume settings. I'm a keyboard and harmonica player and getting that Paul Butterfield or Little Walter sound is a piece of cake. This is the most cost-effective effect that I need to get the sound I want.

As I just bought it, I don't know about reliability. Numerous complaints in this department abound, but Danelectro has been providing effects, amplification, and pickups to the music industry since 1947. These are inexpensive effects! You won't find a better bang for your buck. These are not for "stompers", I will be switching mine by hand when it's sitting on top of my amp. The case is plastic, but Danelectro is shipping these with a "knob guard" which is removable, to prevent "foot damage". I'd feel comfortable using it on a gig without a backup, but for $20 (list $29.99), why not have a backup, just in case? I'll rate this an 8 because of the "no experience" factor.

I have no input for this area, as mine worked fine out of the box, and it came with a battery included - not bad for a company who is already hitting rock-bottom in the price-point department. Why not throw in a battery to get you started? It makes great business sense.

I have no complaints with this unit. I tried out one in the store with my one of my blues harps, my mic and one of the store's amps with all the controls set flat. I've got tube overdrive sound out of a solid-state setup for $20. I was going to build my own from plans I found on the Internet, being an electronic/computer engineer as a career, but the price of this unit was so low, I couldn't have built it for less. My time to buy components, assemble, test, etc. just didn't make sense if I could buy it ready to use for the $20 I spent. When I can cough up another $20, I'll get a backup just to insure I can get "that sound", when I need it. 'Nuff said.

Easiest thing in the world. There are 2 knobs, one adjusts the gain and the other one does nothing. You just press the button and thats it, you can play it straight out of the box without touching it.

If you want total fuzz, where the audience doesn't know what you're playing this is for you. Turning the knobs changes the volume, but not the sound. So you get mute or incredibly loud. However, if you like fuzz and your into playing toneless noise then this will be the greatest pedal ever for you.

If you step on the pedal it turns to dust. It's made of plastic so it takes no punishment at all. however, I'm sure the circuits are very nice. Never gig with this thing, you'll be so very sorry.

Never talked to danelectro

The horror....thr horror.....

i give this pedal a 10 cuz its totally simple only 2 knobs and a button

i use this discontinued version of the squier stagemaster which sounds awsome with it and an ibanez gio but i dont like the way they sound together and i run this all through a marshall mg15ms (very cool amp)

i got this pedal for christmas and by new years it wasnt working it was like one day it worked then the next it stoped hasnt worked since but so im told danelectro is very reliable with customer service so i sent it back and got a complet new pedal it was some sort of a mal function but i would definatly have a back up on stage with me

i heard that danelectro is awsome with their costumer support the people are very easy to talk to

i play punk so the overdrive gives it a good distortion punch but not over powering great soundive been playing for three years i also own a boss overdrive belive me i prefer the danelectro the boos is to over powering

Pretty easy - Drive and Level. Didn't come with a manual, but there are some suggested settings on the Danelectro website.

I'm using this with a Gibson Les Paul Gem Series, '78 Fender Strat, and Jimi Hendrix Strat through a Peavey Delta Blues. I really only use this as a clean boost. It works great for me. I would recommend it to other tube amp users. I have used it like a normal distortion, though, but found that it starts to sound like more like a cheap stomp box when you turn up the gain. I'll give it an 8 because it gives me the sound I'm going for when I use it with my amp.

Well, it's never given me any trouble, but it doesn't look too reliable to me. Wish it had a metal case, but I trust it enough to use without a backup.

Never dealt with them, although they have a pretty helpful web site.

I've been playing or around 4 years and play classic rock and blues. I use my amp's tube overdrive (Peavey Delta Blues, check out my review), so I only use this pedal as as clean boost. I think it is a bit more harsh than a tubescreamer, but I think for the money, this is a fantastic value.

2 knobs...duh

This is perfect for what is supposed to do. Its not meant for a triple rectifier sound, but a chunky fat overdrive. Its sounds like a cheap fuzz box when overdrive is put past 2'o clock

Its small and flimsy but i don't stomp on it, you cant its too small. Good as a boost for solo's but danelectro could've added more protection, I don't use back ups at gigs.

Their website kinda sucks but haven't dealt with them.

I use my metal zone for the sound I usually want, but this is great for a fat and chunky overdrive that just adds some personality to your guitar

2 knobs:level and overdrive. Use the level to match your signal when the overdrive is off and when its on. (overall volume, not overdrive). Use the overdrive knob to add more or less overdrive...duh

For what it is, it actually sounds pretty good. I was expecting a more distorted sound, so I was let down at first. I know it says overdrive, but I can hope cant I? After giving it a second try and listening to it with an open mind, I was impressed. With the o.d.knob 1/2 way or a little more, it does a damn good "overdriven amp sound", but past that level it turns to fuzz. The fuzz-side of the pedal is great for that beatles/revolution or chuck berry/jonny b. good sound. I use it with a les paul copy going straight to a 100 watt stereo. (i recently lost ALL my gear, and am starting from scratch. Dont expect monster metal, but if you want a good o.d., then check this out. Not noisy at all. And your origanal signal really comes through, it does not muddy up your tone. I'm guessing with sounds like that, it probably sounds pretty damn good as a second o.d. used for solo boost.

I dont slam my stuff around, so I trust it. It also came with a see-thru plastic case to fit over it to protect the knobs. I'd go gigging but since I play rock I'd take some kinda backup no matter what pedal i had

Dano is the mother of all gentlemen when it comes to customer service. I've sent them a different mini-and got it back 3 weeks later (a new one)

It sounds great for overdrive, just don't go expecting Pantera or something heavy. It's helped me cause now I'm jammin on older stuff (60's & 70's) and it's helped broaden my musical vocabulary. If I had metal-dist, I'd just be wailing on the same shit I've been playin all my life

Danelectros are fairly easy,knobs are nice to turn and the button is cheap feeling in a good way

i use Session Strat > Boss MT-2 > Dan Pastrami > Rocktek EQ-7 > Boss NS - 2 > DOD FX76 > Crate Limo Amp. My band plays punk - This is an essential pedal to my songs. Lemme show you how a song goes...

starts with guitar doing power chords with MT-2
bass plays simple riffs with an EQ
then goes into vocals, wich is when i tone down to Pastrami turning MT-2 off.
this is the "breakdown" that i play to compliment my backing vocals.
When we get into chorus, MT - 2 switches on Pastrami Off
I play more power chords and then riffs.
Near the middle of the song is when the pastrami really Shines.
I play solo with bass, we both play into same 2-channel amp trough channel switcher and the pastrami. I play call-and-answer chords with my bassist constantly switching channels. This works out well, and because the overdrive is so versitile, the overdriven guitar/bass solo
is purley magnificent and will surley get us somewhere in this business. The song ends with a MT-2 BreakUp and the bassist just slaps his strings until its over.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this unit as it is my workhorse to my band and worth every pennie spent(wich isnt much). Works well with chorus wich i use in only one song (try a milkshake). Theres a reason why this pedal won many awards such as the Guitar Player:Editor's Picks

Danelectro's mini's arent very dependable. Apparently Danelectro doesnt think their pedals will be played by punks, they would of made them a metal or at least diecast.
They're made of plastic and you cant jump on one - its not really because of its casing, its the size, try landing on one of these minis.... slip!
As for gigs - we take 3(total) with us as backup. Very light, good for travel, bad for setup when it moves around to much.

The people at Danelectro are nice and gave me ALOT of product information during my time as an ametuer punk looking for the right distortion. Gotta give em a 9 for their horrible website.

This pedal is ideal for punk. If your a starting guitarist (or bassist) who wants to play punk but have no money for those expensive tube amps or mxr's. Danelectro offers all you need for any type of music.

I don't remember if it had a manual or not, but it doesn't matter, because it's as simple as a pedal gets.

I have played a 67 Guild X175 Archtop, Fender Strat with a Dimarzio Fast Track 2 pickup in the neck, an electric/acoustic Yamaha, and a great new Jay Turser Custom Pro SG(this deserves a review of it's own). For $20 this little pedal is awesome. I own a Peavey Ultra 212 combo, and at clubs I've played it through some Marshall stacks. This pedal definitely enters the fuzz realm when you crank the overdrive knob. It isn't very noisy either. One night after a band practice I accidentally kicked it and knocked off the volume knob. Luckily it didn't even snap off the inner knob arm(whatever it's called) all I had to do was put the outer casing back on. It does a good hard rock sound, and a great early punk/hardcore sound as another reviewer mentioned.

I own a Metal Zone but it doesn't fit the songs that I pay with my band right now. The Pastrami is a cheap effective pedal. I've gigged with it about a dozen times and I've been using for 5 months steady. I will probably get another as a backup since it's so inexpensive. But yes I've used it without a backup. It's the only thing I've brought to gigs so far as well as band practice.

Never had to.

If this were broken, lost or stolen you're damn right I'd buy another. At $20, why not? It's the only pedal in my signal chain at this point, though that will change shortly. Obviously it would be nice if it wasn't constructed with a plastic casing, but for $20 something has to give.

Easy as pie.

I look for an overdrive/boost pedal to add a very smooth, creamy low level distortion to the input signal. Not crunch or fuzz, let alone metal-land. This is NOT an easy task for a pedal to achieve ... and very, very, very few overdrives have pleased my old ears. My verdict - *IF* you feed this pedal with a low gain pickup(s) (single coil) you can achieve a decent overdrive boost with the pedal's "overdrive" knob set between zero (7 o'clock) and maybe 8 o'clock, with the appropriate amount of "level" knob dialed in to avoid clipping. In that case, it works quite well. Other than that, this is a fuzzy crunch box and not an overdrive/boost. 'Nuff said.

Not to be used as a stomp box, should be used as a set-and-forget pedal. I'd never gig without pedal backups.

Whatever.

Playing fretted instruments since '55 - gigged out for 11 years - use Strats and Teles and old tube amps - this pedal is useful as a true overdrive/boost ONLY under certain conditions (read above), and when those conditions are met it'll do the job.

This is so simple! Two knobs: level & overdrive. One on/off button. Small unit!

This pedal gets a pretty decent sound. When I bought it, I was impressed with how such a small and inexpensive pedal could work so well. I've noticed very little excess noise coming from the unit.

The biggest problem I've had is that the level is very sensitive. I rarely turn the level knob very far (only 9 o'clock or so). The overdrive is kept in the opposite direction (3:00 or so). With the overdrive down and level up, it works nicely as a boost. The guitar volume and strength of your playing greatly effects the sound that comes out of the pedal (though I haven't tried it with a compressor yet). I'm no pro on tube amps, but to my ear, it sounds like a pretty decent simulation of overdriven tubes.

I've been able to pull everything from a hot boost, to warm distortion, to tight fuzz. However, if you want harmonics, they're not going to be there. The sound is warmer and cleaner/nicer than that of the Big Muff or Rat.

I use a Mexican-made Fender Stratocaster and a Peavey KB-80 Keyboard amp. The other effects I use vary (DOD FX85 Harmonic Enhancer, Dano PB&J Delay, Dano BLT Slap Echo, Dano Chicken Salad Vibrato). I haven't yet used it in conjunction with any other distortion pedal (I also own a Big Muff (Russian) and a Rat2).

I've used it with a Fender Jazz Bass and it's worked pretty decently. I haven't used it in any live settings yet, so I don't know how well it'll work in a group.

Also, I've used it mainly with a 9V battery and that's lasted quite awhile!

Pretty dependable. Haven't had a problems with it yet. I haven't read all the reviews on this, but I've never heard of one breaking. The plastic is pretty thick. I wouldn't play baseball with it or anything like that. Maybe shuffleboard...

I e-mailed them with a question once and never heard back. Haven't had any urgent concerns requiring customer support.

I play a lot of my own original work (modern rock, blues, etc.) as well as covers of Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Smashing Pumpkins, and other similar artists. I've been playing 5 or 6 years.

With as inexpensive as it is, if it were lost or stolen, I'd just buy another. However, my ownership of other fairly reliable distortions makes it sort of an extra. It's small and light, so that makes it easy to tote around (I've carried it in the pocket of my flannel shirt).

I love that this inexpensive pedal sounds so good and is so versatile, but I hate that the level is so sensitive! I haven't used it in any groups, so in a practice setting, it can make things pretty loud!

As I said earlier, it has a fairly nice/clean sound with few harmonics. If you want a nastier sound, with harmonics, and good fuzz at a low volume, try the classics like the ElectroHarmonix Big Muff, ProCo Rat, etc.

Not much else to say. As inexpensive as it is, it can't hurt anyone to give it a try!

Very very simple to use... only a couple nobs.

I am playing a B.C. Rich Platinum series Warlock through a Peavey Envoy 110. This pedal sounds incredible on the clean setting on my amp... but when I play with any distortion at all on my amp all it does is make it louder. But if you have no gain or anything coming out of your amp it will sound great for a lot of different types of rock and such.

It's solid.

never dealt with them.

I play mostly classic rock ranging from Zeppelin to Van Halen to Sabbath and stuff like that. I have only been playing for 2 to 3 years now. It sounds great especially for the price.

No manual, but I got one of the later ones with the invaluable foot shield. Very easy- two knobs, one volume, one fuzz. Takes 15 seconds to adjust.

It's not an overdrive. It's a fuzz box. I was originally getting this (mail order) to round out the fuzz off of my ProCo Rat with some warm overdrive, having heard the nice tones coming out of the 'overdrive' on a Dano mini amp. But this is really fuzzy, and not a lot better. It's still nice, I use it with the Rat as a limiter for a nice kick of distrotion on solos and such.

My rig:
Dano 56-U2 --> Snarling Dogs Very Tone Dog --> Boss Flanger --> Dano Pastrami --> Proco Rat --> Dano Tremolo --> Boss analog Delay --> Cheap Peavey amp.

This thing is useful $20 worth, but not a lot more. A very predictable and uninteresting overdrive.

It's made of plastic, don't drive over it with your SUV. But with the foot shield it stands up well from my use. Had it 6 months, no issues.

I've talked to them with my Tuna Melt Tremolo, and they sent out a replacement free of charge...

Overall it's a nice cheap additive to a better distortion pedal, the Rat. If you want this kind of sound, get a ProCo Rat. They're wonderful, and only about 3 times as much used... If you want an extra button ot push which will make your solos scream with fuzzy distortion, get one of these. I wish it had a limiter, or a 'warmer' setting, but I'll eventually get a Blues Driver or Tubescreamer to replace it.

Very simple, only 2 knobs (level and drive). Because it's very small, the input/output are very close to each other.

WOW!!!! My search is over! I was looking for that early eighties punk/hardcore sound (think Negative Approach, Minor Threat, Black Flag etc.) and this pedal is perfect for that. Other pedals I tested were always missing something; overdrives were missing dirt, fuzz boxes were ehhh too fuzzy, distortions were too metallic sounding. The pastrami is overdrive with a little bit of fuzz (just the right amount for me). I play a telecaster and epiphone les paul through a Fender sidekick reverb (solid state). I once tried it during a band practice through my soundcity head (tubes), sounded also great!
It's a bit noisy, but who cares, I play punk!
I never use it for other music styles, so I don't know if it's versatile. If you won't a nice warm, smooth overdrive I think you better look somewhere else.

I don't know. It's from plastic......But I never had any problems thus far (6 months). I have not used it during shows.

It's totally perfect for old punk/hardcore. Very dirty, raw overdrive (NOT for blink 182 stuff!!!!!!!) with a little bit of fuzz. I only wish that they made it in a metal box instead of a plastic one!
I also have other overdrives/distortions, like the MXR distortion +, danelectro daddy's, Turbo Rat, metal zone and they are great pedals but just not it for the sound I was looking for. They should call the pedal "Punk Overdrive"

It's got 2 knobs Level and overdrive. No manual needed, just a good set of ears. lol

I'm using an Epiphone Les Paul not sure what model it's got the open humbuckers with a Rocktron Rampage R50C (must review this amp soon)...It rocks with this amp!I sometimes use it with a Yahaha bass.
Very versitile stomp box.

People say that it's made of plastic, well it's pretty thick plastic & it arrived with a protector for the knobs! It feels EXTREMELY solid almost a metalic feel to it. I don't gig but I wouldn't need to gig with a back-up since if it fails I'd just kick in the crunch from the Rocktron, or mabey dig out the vintage electro harmonix big muff Pi.

Never delt with Dano customer service, I'm sure it's good or word would get out that it's bad.

I play classic rock and some new stuff. I hook this up to the guitar and amp on the clean setting on my amp so that I don't need to switch from 'clean' to 'crunch' on the amp. That saves me changing the settings and that is fantastic...I don't like to keep dialing in a sound.
Where can you get this much for so little $$? What are you sitting her looking at this review..Go out and get you a Dano DJ-1!

2 knobs, 1 button. Level and OD. Quite simple to dial in a light fuzz or crank some crunch out.

Ok, this pedal has it's applications - all I can say is if your in need of your first distortion pedal, this could be the way to go if you like to play multiple styles. I'm not guitar guru, but I do enjoy tweaking my sound (I'm a solo industrial recording artist). You can get a great bark out of the tiny little pedal, but of course the highs seem to leave a bit to be desired IMHO. Tested it out on my Ibanez GRX20Z bargain bin and a buds Ibanez Ghostrider. Ghostrider obviously sounded better, but with this Dano pedal the crunchy bark comes out naturally on my GRX20Z.

Reason for the "8" rating is the fact that mine seems to be picking up radio stations, unless I position it in a area of low interference (which happens to be my dorm roommate's bed, top bunk).

Overall, not bad, but certainly not something you'd want to use the rest of your life.

I've chipped chunks of plastic off, and sometimes the nobs will come off easy. Other than that, yeah, no prob.

Never had to, never want to. My mother does tech support back home, and I don't want to frustrate someone like her over a stupid pedal :)

I play Industrial rock, jazz, blues, and a little metal. This pedal helped me out by being nice, cheap, and reliable to get me started. I understand you can wrap the inner casing with tin foil to reduce the radio frequencies, but I never tried.

If it was stolen... I don't know. I think I'd use it as an excuse to bug parents to get me a new pedal since I'm a broke college student :) (hey, there's an idea...)

Been playing for 5 months guitar, 8 months bass, and I've been in the music industry in general for about 8 years. I'm a musician, but not quite a guitarist yet - most of my friends say I've evolved quite a bit more than they did after 5 months. I spend my life with my guitar though, so I guess I should :)

Kinda wish Dano wouldput the buttons at more of an angle and more sensitive to the press, it'd be easier to use it that way for me at least.

nuff sed

I have scads of Dano effects, both mini and maxi. This may be my favorite or very close. It is certainly applicable to a wide range of music, so I wouldn't say it is ultra-specialty. The crunch sound is very high quality. Furthermore, it excels when used in conjuction with other pedals.

bad. don't break a Dano item

I play punk, classical, new wave, classic rock, blues, avant-garde, ALT-country, you name it. This pedal helps out. Think about the cost! It ain't much....

Very easy. Two dials and a button.

This overdrive has a really nice fuzz, crunch sound that I love. I can get the same sound as areosmith "Walk this Way." I chose this pedal over all the other dan electro pedals that were twice as much as this.

Also the type of amp can change the sound to it.

I have stepped on it, dropped it, overload it and much more, and it still holds up. Yes, this little cheap plastic thing! I am so amazed that it has lasted this long.

N/A

I have been playing for over 3 years. I play rock, classic rock, a little bit of metal and rhythm. And it happens that this pedal fits in every category. If this was lost or stolen, I wouldn't be too upset because its only $25, then I would buy it again in a heart beat.

Well, its got two knobs, level and distortion. I can handle that. they are kinda teeny tiny knobs, but i can forgive it.

I love this pedal. Especially for the price! I use it a lot on my bass and I really like the sound it gets. It doesn't overpower the bass like some of the other distortion type pedals I have. It makes it sit nicely behind the guitars on recordings, but yet stand out somehow. I don't use it much for my guitar, but also use it on very low settings on a pos drumkit I record with to hide their hideousness.

I havent had a problem with it, but I would be gentle with it. It's got to be so cheap for some reason.

It probly sucks, but who knows.

I'm very happy with this pedal. Ive bought other dan pedals since and Ive been pretty happy with most of them. The only one I have a beef with is the octave pedal, it really struggles, but thats for another review. I recommend this pedal if you're looking for a nice, not over the top, nicely priced overdrive pedal.

Plug it in and stomp on it.

I use a 68 SG and a 75 LesPaul Black Beauty through a Boogie .22t or
an old Beltone tube amp. It's great alone or as a second overdrive to boost your lead over the mix. It sounds like an old overdriven Fender tweed to me..

As long as you don't stomp it with army boots I believe it should stand up. I've used it on many gigs and had no problems.

I'm sure if it's a company fault they would replace no problem.

I love the sound of this thing either alone or as a second boost. I've been playing for 33 years and tried them all. I can put my old TS-808 Tube Screamer away from the road now. I don't really care for the input output jacks being so close but it's a mini.. one on either side would be better.When in doubt..Duct tape! I have a few other mini Dan pedals and they all have been great..the Surf and turf is great especially with a bass. Well worth the bucks.

Two knobs.

A real nice sounding unit for the money. Gets a slight to medium amount of gain (no metal here). Sounds more like a dist. than an overdrive. Not very noisy at all, and doesn't load down your signal. I use mine with a Mesa Maverick a 1991 Les Paul Standard, 1995 Explorer, and a 2001 Fender American Hardtail Strat. A good 70's + 80's style rock tone (again, no metal).

Plastic construction, not too overwhelmingly sturdy. I keep mine in the pedalboard, if you don't kick it around it should be fine. Plastic PC mounted jacks and knobs stink but, for 20 bucks what do ya' expect.

For under $20.00 it's the best overdrive out there (not that there are many if any to compare it with). It provides a good useful sound. Worth looking in to. Great "Bang for the Buck"!