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Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion

Summary
Price New Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion @ Musician's Friend
Manufacturer URL http://www.danelectro.com/
Ease of Use 9.3 (45 responses)
Sound Quality 7.0 (45 responses)
Reliability 7.0 (36 responses)
Customer Support 1.7 (3 responses)
Overall Rating 7.2 (43 responses)
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Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: USD 20
Submitted 07/08/2008 at 11:59am by Benjamin
Email: trowerpower<at>comcast dot net

Ease of Use : 10

Sound Quality : 10

Reliability : 10

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 10
I really don'y know why everyone tears these pedals apart so much! It's obvious that Danelectro wanted to designs these so that people with not a lot of money can afford a wide range of effects for their guitar rig. I have seven guitars including Strats, an '83 Explorer, and a Schecter. Plus, I have many amps including a few Marshalls. My pedals include: a Boss Blues Driver, Ibanez Tube Screamer, Line 6 POD, various Digitech pedals, an original USA Big Muff, and I can proudly say that I own, and play regulary, 10 of the Danelectro Mini Pedals with 2 cases/pedalboards. I think the pedals are really cool and I tour with them too! So, if you really don't have a lot of money, or you wanna try some pedals out for fun, go with the Danelectro mini pedals! =]


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: USD 10.00
Submitted 03/21/2008 at 09:21pm by Jim

Ease of Use : 9
Easy to use, yeah. 2 knobs. Level and a thing they refer to as 'Resonance'. The level isn't the level of distortion, it is an overall volume. More on that later... Easy to use only because lack of features, which is acceptable for a cheapy pedal.

Sound Quality : 1
The "Resonance" should be marked "Nasality". The 'Resonance' controls the nasal overtones of this pedal from Michael Jackson nose post 2002 plastic surgery to flat out Barbara Streisand. Terrible nasaly tone like a DOD "Grunge" pedal. Horrible, midrangy full tilt distortion. I don't know why it reminds me of scratching your fingernail on the bottom of a wax Dixie cup, but every time I hear it, it's what it reminds me of. Noisy even w/the Dano AC adapter. Even the noise is nasaly and hollow. No gain control, only overall volume level so from first stomp it's full on distortion. I can't even get it under control using my guitars volume controls to get a 'broken' distortion. Now, I DID only pay $10 for it used at Music Go Round, so it's okay, but if I paid even $30 list, I'd be pissed. Only good thing I can say is easy battery replacement.

Reliability : 5
Seems ok for plastic. Again, I know they're going on the cheap here. I wouldn't abuse it for a moment or it would crumble into dust. The removable battery access bottom is pot-metal and seems decent but the case is plastic.

Customer Support : 1
Ah, for the first time I can respond here. Evets Corp now owns/distributes Danelectro. I tried to contact them regarding their new Dano line of guitars - not once, not twice, not three but four times. No response. So, I just won't buy one. No contact phone in their (very thin, content-light) web site, no emails. I had to call information and called them. No response, nothing. Osama Bin Laden is easier to find than an Evets/Danelectro rep.

Overall Rating : 2
Rock, blues, pop, punk. I'm not afraid of someone stealing this pedal, I'm ASKING someone to. It's nasty. Not for me. I can't even imagine anybody who it's designed for. A metalhead maybe who likes noses and nasaly sounds coming from his ESP Explorer-style black monolith with dragon graphic. I'm giving it a 2 cause it's cheap, and Dano tried.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 08/04/2006 at 06:09am by grory
Email: dreamingalive<at>yahoo dot com

Ease of Use : 8
2 knobs and a button, doy. You need a child's fingers to turn the knobs though; they be tiny.

Sound Quality : 7
If this is the only distortion pedal you use, then you are going to cry. This thing's for flavor, not anyone's primary sound (I hope).

"The sound is pretty much a fixed-position wah over a solid-state saturated distortion", somebody wrote. Yeah, what he said. It basically takes a real spazzy nasty squeal and squelches it to where you want it, so long as it's between here and there.

Here's the thing: my rig is basically one guitar running a 3-way split chain to 2 amplifiers. Primary is Big Muff-to-Soda Meiser-to-A/B/Y box, splits from there and runs and MXR DynaComp to a Fender Twin and a simple RAT to an Ampeg 400w Bass Amp w/ 4x12. That's a lot of low-end buzz. The Grilled Cheese runs independently, followed by a Ranger treb. boost, to the Twin. I dial the volume on the Cheese waaay back, with option to boost it back up and brighter with the Ranger. This crazy semi-buried high end wail acts as a counterpoint to all that low-end. Turn on the comp., the sound gets all phased and weird, and the Grilled Cheese jumps out even more. I was never disappointed with the sound this pedal produces, but it took a lot of experimenting to find out how to make it be useful. As someone else mentioned, it could've used a gain control to make it more versatile.

Reliability : 5
So the anecdote goes: My friend saw mine one day and said 'I have one too, aren't they just great?'. Four months later she saw it again and said 'You still have that piece of junk? Mine broke a long time ago'. I've never been a fan of Danelectro, and of gear made of plastic in general. But this thing's almost entirely plastic, save for it's base plate. Definitely don't get drunk and fall on it. That being said, mine's holding up fine, but it's only 2 or 3 years old.

Customer Support : No Opinion
These things are still a dime-a-dozen. Would I buy another one if it broke? wouldn't I?

Overall Rating : 8
This pedal probably isn't for you. BUT...if you have an experimental nature, or just don't want to sound like everybody else, you might try one out. I don't know about '60's tone though, the only thing '60's this reminds me of are the plastic plates at my grandma's house.
The thing is, out of all the gear I use, this is the one pedal that makes my get-up sound like nobdy else's. And that's worth something.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: US $40
Submitted 06/02/2006 at 12:30pm by Mike
Email: sanityyy24 at att<dot>net

Ease of Use : 9
This pedal is quite easy to use. Two knobs and an on off switch. It is not easy to find good tones with this thing though. In fact, I have concluded that it is impossible.

Sound Quality : 2
This is by far the most terrible sounding distortion I have ever heard in my life. From what I understand, it's supposed to give "that cheesy 60's tone". They've got the cheesy part right at least. Cheesy is actually a great word to describe the sound of this pedal. It is VERY nasaly. It sounds like a wah pedal with a bunch of nasty distortion added. In fact, the Resonance knob is essentially a wah in a knob. The Resonance pot is almost exactly like a pot in a wah. If you move it while your playing, it sounds just like a wah with distortion. What a horrible concept! The product description is right, it sounds hollow and tunnely. VERY thin and TONELESS. I use a Barber Direct Drive for my distortion and it sounds like God. Very organic and thick and FULL of tone. Of course, it's totally handmade in the USA out of the best components. Certaintly, the Barber is out of the Danelectro's league, but even in the $30-$50 price range, there are better pedals (ex., Boss DS-1, Boss Overdrives, probably even any DOD, actually, anything else), otherwise I wouldn't be so hard on the Dano. So, summing up the sound quality: BAD BAD BAD!! Also, it sucks your tone. It kills your signal in the chain (my Barber is true bypass and does not have any effect on the signal when it is bypassed. True bypass is always better; go with it anytime you can).

Reliability : 3
This is a really cheap pedal. Plastic knobs, plastic casing. This pedal will break, I promise you. One of the knobs broke off of another Danelectro mini pedal I have. Neither of these have stopped working, but that's because I never touch them. They sound terrible. But anyone who looks at this thing or messes with can tell that it's a matter of time before it dies.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never contacted them, don't really want to waste my time. But from what I can tell, they are a fairly shady company and obviously (from my experience with their products) don't care about their customers, as they sell undeniably low quality products. If a company doesn't feel bad when customers by their cheap stuff that is sure to break, why would they care if they have a problem (and they will)? If they really cared, they could have at least ATTEMPTED to put some sort of quality element into this pedal.

Overall Rating : 1
This is a really junky pedal. Please, don't buy it. You and anyone whi hears you play will be greatful. Fork out at least another 10 bucks (I paid $40 when it first came out, but they are only $30 now) for a Boss DS-1. If you're serious, I'd look into paying at least $100 for a nice boutique pedal (like a Barber Direct Drive). Let's face it, boutique is where the tone is at, as well as the quality and customer service. I can understand how sometimes people who go on about their really expensive boutique pedals can get annoying, but they really do sound good and are built very well. They are frequently worth the money and there are plenty of logical reasons as to why they are superior to consumer Boss, Digitech, DOD, etc. pedals. Better components/design and better construction methods = better sound and better quality - it makes sense. So knowing this, don't buy this pedal and get something better. Maybe not boutique, but better. I would honestly say anything is better than this.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: US N/A
Submitted 02/13/2006 at 08:39pm by John

Ease of Use : 10
Easy to use, no manual or anything needed.

Sound Quality : 1
I just borrowed this from my friend.

Now, I am really confused by other people's reviews. The resonance control acts almost like the tone pot on a wah.

This thing sounds like I plugged in a crybaby and a cheap distortion in series, and left the wah on a single setting.

It isn't desirable crappiness like fender blender where the insanity is what you want. It is just crap. Not good for any style of music.

Reliability : 7
I think you can depend on dano pedals.

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 2
The only reason for using this distortion is because you don't have anything else. Get a behringer VD-1 distortion, they are a similar price and sound a heck of a lot better. Or you could get a dano fab distortion or overdrive. Just don't get this.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: 20 (AU)
Submitted 11/20/2005 at 02:07am by luke baumer
Email: feel_the_groove<at>hotmail dot com

Ease of Use : 9
easy as making a grilled cheese sandwich, switch is a bit hard to find with a pair of size 15 shoes but other than that, E-Z

Sound Quality : 9
first i plugged this in to my SG copy into a clean 120watt combo, i love it, great for harmonics in the style of pantera. I want to convert one into a wah casing and use the wah pedal for the resonance control, could get interesting, i love effects like this, the distortion is good for the music i play (grunge/metal) not for a main distortion though

Reliability : 10
i would use this to gig without a back up, plastic but still tough as balls

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 10
i have so far only tried this pedal with my drummer not with my band, it think it would fit in very well, this was my 3rd distortion pedal after my rocktek metal worker, and behringer tube OD, as you might tell i cant afford much, i woul ddefinately replace it if lost or stolen, it is fun to use while playing with one hand and adjusting the resonance control with the picking hand, plus at 80% off the original price i doubt you can go wrong


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: 50 (NZ$) used
Submitted 05/03/2005 at 05:45am by B

Ease of Use : 10
level and resonance, its that simple. Instant sound no matter the setting and only a tiny amount of fiddling required to find your tone.

Sound Quality : 9
using this before a nobles chorus and cry baby wah. Peavy Raptor plus guitar and FENDER princeton Chorus amp.

little bit noisy but it is expected isn't it. With resonance set as far back as possible some really expansive and unique sounds will result. I see this pedal as something a little different, not the effect to use all the time but throw it in to give your solo or special riff a point of difference.

Reliability : 5
looks cool but is in a plastic case, if you got carried away with your playing its all over rover. I've never had problems myself but can see the potential. would gig without a backup as this is not the mainstay of my sound.

Will likely become a collectors item on 10 years if it manages to stay in tact.

Customer Support : No Opinion
never used

Overall Rating : 8
I play mostly funk, ska, and punk with a twist of reggae. This pedal, while not in the same leauge as big brand (and big dollar) dist. pedals it does offer its own unique sound. Try one and if it fits your style buy it. you wont look back, if it doesnt fit your style leave it, just leave it. Ive played for 10 years and in that time the most important thing ive learnt in guitar playing is that every part of your setup needs to reflect your personality and music.
love the resonance feature, wish it had effect level as well as volume level though.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: #25 (sterling) used
Submitted 02/28/2005 at 02:02am by Dee
Email: conversational_casualty<at>hotmail dot com

Ease of Use : 10
totally easy to use

Sound Quality : 8
the thing is,right,you do have to play these things first,and any guitar shop owner worth his salt will let you do this.i had a choice between this and the T-Bone and i chose this.It's both the best and worst pedal i've ever heard.It wont give you Steve Vai,man,but it will give you Joey Santiago,Thurston Moore,Kurt Cobain,Guy Picciotto,alongside its more retro benefits.

Reliability : 9
i trust it.

Customer Support : 3
nah.

Overall Rating : 10
i play a mixture beween total sonic noise (jesus and mary chain,sonic youth,fugazi) jazz (miles davis,john mclaughlin) and pop music (the beatles,the kinks) and i use it as my main disto.i love shitty pedals,my bassist plays through a rocktek for christ's sake. i run it through assloads of reverb and it gets everything i need. the thing is,this pedal isnt high on gain or whatever,its totally responsive to how you play,you'll be pretty surprised if you just ease off the attack how much it alters the sound. i'd say it's a noisenik's pedal as much as a retro distortion.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: $50 (Australian Dollars)
Submitted 09/25/2004 at 10:35pm by Liam Hanigan
Email: liamhanigan<at>inbox dot lv

Ease of Use : No Opinion
Easy as falling off a log. No instructions needed.

Sound Quality : No Opinion
'Quality' isn't really in this pedals dictionary. Distiotion past 1 o'clock brings the noise floor up to the roof, so a noise gate would be a good mate for this one.

Reliability : No Opinion
Plastic construction seems a bit arse, but it would probably live through gigging with a bit of T.L.C. I actually plugged in two power supplies of the wrong rating (1 amp and one with the wrong polarity) and it survived.

Customer Support : No Opinion
N/A

Overall Rating : 8
I make industrial dance/electronica sort of stuff, and have a studio consisting of a few synths, sampler etc. I was looking for real cheap distortion with some kind of tone control to dirty up my Juno 106 keyboard independantly from the other gear, and this little cheesebox fits the bill. I can choose what frequencies I want to stand out so it fits in the mix better while still getting that biting distortion. It was exactly what I was looking for.
Only problem is the knobs are pretty small and there are no markings around them, and they aren't as heavy as I would like (but they still are heavier than thay look).


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: US $20 used
Submitted 06/09/2004 at 07:39am by Donny
Email: dfreyleue at comcast<dot>net

Ease of Use : 10
Since the sound of this pedal is so distinctive, you can really do whatever you want with the level and resonance knobs.

Sound Quality : 10
I play a standard MexiStrat through a 65 watt Peavey Classic VTX & a homemade 2x12 cabinet. "Pristine sound quality" does not exactly capture this pedal's sound. The Grilled Cheese is loud, extremely rude and obnoxious distortion. It is perfect for howling, screaming, nasty, dirty, undisciplined, balls to the wall solo work, a la live Link Wray. Great sustain and feedback. It'll shake the teeth out of your head, so use it sparingly. If you don't like the sound, it's because you don't like the sound. It's not the pedal's fault. It is what it is. As for me, I love this little yellow monster!

Reliability : 10
I have had no problems with any of my Dano minis. I treat them with respect and they respond in kind.

Customer Support : No Opinion
n/a

Overall Rating : 10
I like a rude, dirty, cutting sound. I love the fearless attack of players like Link Wray, Hendrix, John Lennon, Buddy Holly, etc. While my primary sound is loud tube overdrive, alternating between a TS7 Tubescreamer and a Dano Pastrami, the screeching, squawking bone-rattling Grilled Cheese is a great little sonic bomb to throw on occasion.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 04/15/2004 at 12:00pm by Anonymous

Ease of Use : 10
Two knobs, level and resonance.

Sound Quality : 8
This is definitely the most fascinating pedal i ever tried. When i first played it at the music shop i thought it was the most horrible thing ever created and i had to fake a smile when my cousin gave it to me for my birthday. But fooling around with it i didn't just starte appreciating it but actually loving it! The resonance can give a quite unique distortion if you find a setting that fits, plus it can do something cool if used cleverly. I still get asked by many hearing my band's demo what's that fucked up leslie sound i get on one solo, that the grilled cheese with my bassist fucking around with the resonance while i play. SWEET!

Reliability : 2
Too much plastic, i would keep it away from any heavy stomping feet

Customer Support : No Opinion
never dealt with em

Overall Rating : 7
Well if you look for a distortion with a cool gimmick, that's it. For anything else look elsewhere. But in the end it's so cheap that you could get it for fun (Plus it's so odd that many people return them cause they can't figure it out and you can get it super cheap used)


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: US $35 (ebay) used
Submitted 03/17/2004 at 06:45pm by Anonymous

Ease of Use : 9
Very easy, just 2 knobs. The level knob acts as a volume and you have to use guitar's volume as a gain. Other than that, pretty simple.

Sound Quality : 10
I'm using a Fender Fat Strat with a Princeton 65 amp. This pedal creates very little "noise" in that there are no irregularities. Of course, when switched on, that's all it is, and oh, what a beautiful bit of deliciously irritating static it is! This is a great pedal to experiment with, and the sound you get can vary from a mild texture to a full out scream. It also increases sustain. Fun to play with; a good vintage tone. If you're looking for a sound near to the Satisfation riff or any of Clarence White's far out work on The Byrds 1969 LP, Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde, this is the way to go. Fantastic!

Reliability : 7
Plastic, breakable, but I take good care. Haven't really put it to the test yet.

Customer Support : No Opinion
no idea

Overall Rating : 9
I tend to lean towards the 60s rock style, also country and folk rock. This is a great vintage style distortion that you either get or you don't. It doesn't work everywhere, but you'd be surprised at where it can work nicely. Overall, a great value for the price (long live ebay) I think Danelectro has a great variety of vintage style gear; just getting into it, really. It's not so much trying to sound like something that's already been done, but that a lot of those sweet tones of yesterday have vanashed, and it's refreshing to hear.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: US $20
Submitted 10/10/2003 at 05:43am by Horsehair

Ease of Use : 7
Ease of use for a two-knob, single-button stompbox is almost implicit. But if this topic were questioning how easy the Grilled Cheese is to use musically, that's a whole 'nother story. Right up front, folks ? this is a one-trick pony, relevant only to those who already have their signature distortion sound and want a brash, what-the-hell-is-that alternative to break things up a bit. Upon first hearing this pedal my initial thought was: here is a sound that could only work for the kind of sparse guitar parts you hear in techno and white-boy hip-hop (like Beck or Pop Will Eat Itself). And definitely only for recordings, not performance. It actually has a bit more breadth than that, though it will take some time experimenting as you try to figure out how to place it in a song.

Sound Quality : 9
As noted by many other reviewers, the sound is pretty much a fixed-position wah over a solid-state saturated distortion. The Resonance knob determines the range of the enhanced or notch-filtered frequencies. The 12:00 position or nearabouts can give a fairly sane-sounding distortion, allowing for an equal range of more extreme tones that tend toward more dull or more shrill. There's no knob to alter the Gain ? you'll have to use your guitar's volume, but altering its gain wouldn't be necessary for just a quick riff or a lead, which is how this sound works best. Given the relatively low self-noise, and a variable output level that can easily match or boost the unaffected signal, I'd say the quality of sound is excellent, obviously taking into account that it's supposed to sound snotty. Those that think of this as a specialty pedal, and don't try to make it a core component of their sound, are going to be much happier with the cacophony it creates.

Reliability : 5
Don't get me wrong ? I love these little Dano pedals, and most of them sound good enough to deserve careful handling. But I'll always be skeptical of their funky footswitch, the tiny knobs and plastic In/Out jacks. For me, these minis will just be stay-at-home gear ? for live playing I'll stick with Boss, MXR and other types of stompboxes that are designed to stand a bit of accidental abuse. Ironically, these minis will command more value in the years to come if they DON'T hold up well to a bit of kicking around.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Others' experiences with customer support indicates a mixed bag. In general, Danelectro seems to just replace any pedal deemed to be defective, no questions asked - that's a good sign. Personally, I have not had the pleasure, and I hope I never do.

Overall Rating : 9
When I first saw the composite Sound Quality score of 7 here for this pedal, I figured it must be cheap-sounding and pretty much unusable. In contrast, once I got to try one I realized that here was a distortion pedal designed to sound quite unique with no apologies. It's kind of like having a spice on hand that you wouldn't want to use every time you cook, only when you want a really different flavor. I suppose the GC might be hard to control in a live situation but it's just the ticket when recording a series of songs where you don't want all guitar parts to have exactly the same "perfect" distortion. Think about it ? many memorable classic guitar parts really stand out because they were recorded with a purposely imperfect tone. The Grilled Cheese doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is, a specialty distortion. If your main sound is still a work-in-progress, I don't think the GC will be much help to you. It's a steaming heap of fun only when you're ready for something different, and then the dirt-floor price makes it a no-regrets decision.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 09/05/2003 at 06:01am by Anonymous

Ease of Use : 10
You must be in serious mental trouble if you can not operate this pedal!

Sound Quality : 10
This thing sounds AMAZING ! Yes absolutely amazing and EXACTLY as it is advertised! You must be crazy if you buy this pedal for a full,fat and warm overdrive sound.This pedal sounds horrible and cheezy but in a GREAT way.LOADS of personality and cheeze tone.LOADS of output too.
SOME PEOPLE NEVER SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT SOME PEDALS ARE MADE FOR SPECIAL EFFECTS,not NICE but SPECIAL like this one.
But than again SOME PEOPLE......

Reliability : 10
I've had two other mini pedals in my heavily toured pedalboard for 2 years now and they still operate with ABSOLUTELY NO PROBLEMS.Yes they are plastic but they have metal bottoms and are built VERY well.
Just don't crash on the whole pedal wearing vermaht boots with steel soles you baboon!!

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 10
If you want to cover a very hard to reach distortion tone zone buy this pedal.You will love it.
If you want a vintage ,warm sounding pedal buy another one and stop whinning!!


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: N/A
Submitted 06/01/2003 at 01:24pm by Jared J
Email: siamesedream49 at hotmail<dot>com

Ease of Use : 10
Two simple knobs. If you can't use this then...ahem, um...yeah.

Sound Quality : 3
blah. I tried this out in a music store once and to tell you the truth it was the worst sounding distortion I have EVER heard. It's so bad that it hurt my ears. I had to turn the damn thing off...it was making a bit of noise in the pedal chain too. It seems to "squawk" rather than growl. It sounds like a chicken on a short-circuted PA with an injured wing or something.. I gave it a second chance though, just to make sure. I gave the pedal a rest and tried out some others...and I happened to like some of the other dano pedals. When I turned this one on again, I had to ask the store for some asprin, because one of their pedals had given me a migraine.

Reliability : 8
well, actually I think dano pedals are cute. they're so small...I can't believe how reliable some of them are though. As long as you don't STOMP on the things, I'm sure they'll be okay, but they make you feel uncomfortable nonetheless.

Customer Support : No Opinion
don't own one, so I don't know.

Overall Rating : 5
like I said, some dano pedals are great, but some...like this certain one, just aren't worth buying. If you're looking for distortion, go with something from Boss or get any other pedal. This thing is horrid in my opinion. If you want danelectro distortion, the T-Bone is slightly better, but almost anything is better than this box.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: US $18.75
Submitted 02/24/2003 at 02:15pm by Chris

Ease of Use : 10
Level and Resonance are the knobs on there, easy to use like any Danelectro Mini Pedal

Sound Quality : 10
I use this on my JB Player Les Paul copy with a crate GX 15. With a noise supressor you won't have to worry about noise. All my high gains leave a hum with the amp. I can play alot of kewl tunes with this pedal. It's great. Mix it with Chili Dog Octave and it's a killer 60's retro sound.

Reliability : 10
Everything Dano holds up for me, nuff said.

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 9
I would have given a 10 if it were cheaper by a few bucks, I've been playing goin on 2 years now. I love the sound it gives. Put Resonance on 1 o'clock. Dano stuff is simple to use. I love it. It helps me make music easily since I can do harmonics easier.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: US $12 used
Submitted 11/16/2002 at 04:37pm by aw

Ease of Use : 9
Easy -- two pots, a switch. In and out jacks
are clearly marked, and are mounted at the front
of the unit. The resonance control determines
the frequency range being emphasized.
Changing the battery requires removal of the unit's
bottom, so I need to dock it 1 point.

Sound Quality : 7
I use Strats and Fender tube amps, usually with nothing between
them except for a cord. I dabble in overdrives and fuzzes.

My impression of the aptly named Grilled Cheese?

Yeeek! I was expecting something a little bit more
straightforward. Admittedly, I hadn't read much about the
pedal's design philosophy -- the catalog blurbs just call it
"classic '60's fuzz" or something, which to me suggests, say,
a Fuzz Face. Not even close. It's actually the single-pedal equivalent
of a fuzz running into a Wah set to a particular frequency (hence the "resonance" control.) The fuzz itself most resembles a DOD FX55
distortion -- one of the nastiest, cruddiest pedals ever built.
If I'd known that, I wouldn't have bought it -- my distortion
needs are limited, and this one doesn't make much sense for me.
It does what it was designed to do, though (very in-your-face,
nasty, cheap-ass fuzzcrud through a frequency filter) so my
bad for not having understood that. It's also noisy, though
you're unlikely to be able to pick out the noise from the
by-design caterwaul of this little yellow monstrosity.
So the long and short of it is that, as for usefulness to
me personally, it's a zero. For meeting its design philosophy,
I'll give it a seven. Its design philosophy is not, however,
very well explained in the product's promotional blurb. I only
spent twelve bucks on the thing, so I'm not crying. And if
you're looking for what it does, then the price is sure right.
Just be prepared -- it ain't no sonic beauty queen.

Reliability : 5
It looks pretty, ahem, cheesy. I'll have mine forever (my stuff
stays home, and this won't get used much anyway) but as far
as road-readiness? No way. Let's face it -- it's a $20 pedal
brand new, and is built by slaves from correspondingly cruddy
parts.
It is not, in other words, an heirloom...

Customer Support : No Opinion
Hee hee.

Overall Rating : 5
I was looking for something more straightforward, and
just hadn't done my homework (tho the product lit was not
very helpful.)
If you're into really trashy-sounding fuzz, then you may like
it. Mine simply adds a splash of color to the room.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: US $19.99
Submitted 04/15/2002 at 09:45pm by tyrone reazin
Email: BrotherAbel<at>yahoo dot com

Ease of Use : 9
Pretty easy to use. Basically, this pedal imitates a fixed-position wah with distortion. The level knob is just what it says. The resonance knob is basically the position of the wah. I give this a 9 because the level always seems to be obnoxiously high and because of the high tones, it's hard to get a sound out of it that will be pleasing to the ear.

Sound Quality : 5
Like I said above, this is a very loud pedal. The level seems to be obnoxious. There is a tremendous boost to any signal that goes into it. Other that the loudness, it's a pretty neat sounding pedal that imitates a fixed-position wah. For many people, this isn't a very useful sound, but those who do the 60's retro-rock, classic/psychedelic/experimental stuff, it's right on.

Anyway, I play a mexican made Fender Strat through it, into a Peavey KB60 Keyboard amp or a Vox Pathfinder. I've only used it a couple times, but felt the need to experiment with different combinations. All were loud. I also used it with a Dano Pepperoni Phaser, Dano Surf & Turf Compressor, Dano Fish & Chips EQ, an Akai Intelliphase, and a Vox wah. All were loud. On higher notes, there was almost always a nasty, high-pitched feedback. Not good if you're just practicing and not gigging.

In the end, I've decided that if I want the fixed wah sound, I'll just use one of my other distortion pedals (Dano Pastrami Overdrive, Big Muff, Rat2, Dano FabTone) through the Vox Wah. I'm currently selling the Grilled Cheese on eBay.

Reliability : 10
Never gigged with these, but the plastic is pretty thick. If you take care of it, it shouldn't break. I don't know too many stories of these breaking.

Customer Support : No Opinion
I e-mailed them once about something relatively unimportant and never heard back from them. Never dealt with them otherwise. I'll just withhold my opinion here.

Overall Rating : 5
Basically, I summed everything up about in the Sound Quality section. I'll review:
*loud
*fixed-position wah sound
*works for 60's/retro/classic/psychedelic/progressive rock
*I'd rather use another distortion through an actual wah and do things manually. Guess I just prefer a long string of analog effects to something that tries to do shortcuts.
*Don't try to eat it...it'll break your teeth.
*You can't steal mine, but if you want to bid for it on eBay, it'll be there until 4/20/02.
*I wish it had less volume.
*I wish it could grant wishes.
*I wish it was an MXR Flanger...okay maybe not.

In summation: not the worst, not the best, could be better.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: US $29.99
Submitted 03/31/2002 at 12:21am by Anonymous

Ease of Use : 10
How freakin hard can it be... level, resonance, and a big button right in the middle... it's not neuro surgery...

Sound Quality : 3
This was my first pedal, and i still could tell it sucked ass... it hums really freakin loud in my fav. pickup settings (i.e. bridge), i could get the sound of my favorite band if my favorite band was Captain Schlorb and the Mighty Defenders of Justice, otherwise, no such luck. Overall the sound sucked.

Reliability : 4
You can't really depend on it, i don't think... mine gave out for no reason at all, then came back one day. it's a little plastic p.o.s. what do u expect.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never dealt with 'em, no upgrade/repair or anything

Overall Rating : 4
While this piece of shit is easy to use, it sounds like it was built by retarded monkees and sent to the U.S. for people to buy and get pissed that they ever wasted money on such a little travesty of sound.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: 70 (Canadian)
Submitted 03/12/2002 at 07:25pm by Anonymous

Ease of Use : 10
takes about 2 seconds to figure out

Sound Quality : 1
you either get quiet or loud, and both sound like crap

Reliability : 1
this thing lokks like it'll fall apart any second. One drop and boom! Play live? yea right.

Customer Support : No Opinion
never dealt with them

Overall Rating : 3
i was thinking this would be just a cheap little pedal to fool around with. It's cheap, but you can't fool around cuz there's nothing to fool around with


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: US $29.00
Submitted 03/02/2002 at 04:39pm by Anonymous

Ease of Use : 10
Too simple to use.

Sound Quality : 9
I read a whole bunch of reviews on this little beastie, and I honestly don't know what the heck anyone's talking about. Anyway, I tried this little pedal with a Les Paul and a Strat, both through a Mesa Rectoverb and an old Silvertone 5-watt tube amp. In any configuration, it yielded what I consider to be many variations on 80's metal. There is NO muddines in the distortion, and there is clearly a midrange peak that sounds like a wah pedal. The "Resonance" control adjusts the vowel of the wah. Excellent for palm-muting stuff. Played through my little Silvertone amp, it sounded great. Played through my Mesa's clean channel, it had one hell of a kickin' sound, because the Mesa allows for more low-end. Damn it's fun to play with!

Reliability : 7
I think they'd be very reliable if you took care of them and didn't drop them. Not tough like Boss, so minus a few points here for the plastic, but still pretty good

Customer Support : No Opinion
N/A

Overall Rating : 9
I really only bought this pedal to play through my little Silvertone amp. I just ditched a new Boss MT-2 Metal Zone the other day becaise I hated it. It too had a similar "wah in the middle postion" sound to it, but NO character. I like this little alot pedal better. Is the 'wah' sound overbearing? Yes. Is this pedal a 'one-trick pony'? Yes, except for the adjustable 'Resonance'. Will it make smokin' 80's metal riffs pour out of any amp? Yes- infact that's all it does. If some fat bastard stepped on it and crushed it, would I buy another? Yes. Not for professional use, but a hell of a lot of fun! P.S. The distortion is adjustable via your guitar's volume knob.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: US $25
Submitted 02/07/2002 at 05:47pm by Randy

Ease of Use : 9
This pedal is very easy to use, and easy to get the sound you know you want from it. (raunchy 60's fuzz!) with just 2 knobs to control it, you can't really go wrong.

Sound Quality : 9
I've seen reviews of this pedal that miss the point entirely. For what the Grilled Cheese pedal is supposed to do, it does it WELL. Like I said, it's raunchy, ugly fuzz. Very 60's garage/psychadelic sounding. On my amp (solid state) it nailed the lead riff to Satisfaction. Nice!

Reliability : 8
It's a little bit flimsy . It's not a metal covered tank. Simple plastic covering, that will treat you well if you don't abuse it. I'm careful with my stuff, so this pedal will last a while.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never had to deal with Danelectro.

Overall Rating : 9
I play in a psychadelic, new wave type band. For an awesome 60's fuzz sound, this pedal nails all of that. Also, just hearing the kind of sound the pedal makes is really fun in itself.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: US $20.00 used
Submitted 01/19/2002 at 08:05pm by Dave Fultz, Jr.
Email: gitarzan<at>mindless dot com

Ease of Use : 9
Plug yer guitar into one hole and the amp into another, twiddle a few knobs and there you are. It's about as easy as they get.

Sound Quality : 5
I did not like it. It wasn't what I expected. It sounds a like a distortion pedal played thru a fixed WAH. Think of the solo on Rocky Mountain Way by Joe Walsh. That's the sound. I guess I wanted that Cream or American Woman kind of sound. I did buy it unheard over the net. I sold it for what I paid for it on eBay.

If this is the sound you want, it DID have a quality sound. I just did not want or ness. like it. I did get a T-Bone to replace it and LOVE it.

Reliability : No Opinion
It ought to be OK as long as you don't drop on a hard surface. It has a heavy plastic shell with a steel base. Treat it with the respect any musical device or instrument deserves and it sould last forever.

Customer Support : No Opinion
I wouldn't even bother for the price I paid. The web site at Dano is slick but spartan. I get the best support right here at HC in these blessed reviews.

Overall Rating : 1
Style of Music: Blues/Folk/Roots/Alt.Country/Old Timey.
Playing for 32 yrs, sounds like 2.
I sold it after 2 months.
Sounds like a fixed wah.



Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: 550 (mexican pesos(about 55 dollars))
Submitted 12/27/2001 at 07:56pm by Ricardo
Email: yo_0<at>email dot com

Ease of Use : 10
It is really easy to learn how to use it as it only has 2 knobs (level and resonance). The resonance knob is function is a little bit weird, but once you understand what it does, you can get a really cool sound.

Sound Quality : 8
I am using it with my American Standard Strat, and it's followed by my Zoom GFX-707 and a Boss FV-50L volume pedal all run to a Crate GX-30 amp. With the resonance knob set around the leftmost point it can get a little noisy, but not too much. I like using it with the resonance knob around the middle, a little turned to the right.

Reliability : 8
Although it has a plastic cover, the plastic seems to be durable, so I think It is reliable for a gig. I would use it in a gig without a backup, but I would be more confident with one.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never needed them, but the fact that it came with one of their batteries was a good detail.

Overall Rating : 8
I play a lot of Satriani like stuff. I use it with a wah and a compressor (both in the ZOOM), and it works fine, but I'm thinking seriously of changing it for another pedal.

If it was lost, I maybe would replace it, but I'd rather buy a better one.

I love the high ended distortion it gives me, but I hate that I don't have much control of the distortion. I wish it had a knob to control the level of distortion.

I compared it to a friend's Ibanez Mostortion. I liked the Mostortion a lot more.

I think now it gets in the way for me to make music, because of the lack of distortion control, though it's good to make experiments.


Product: Danelectro DJ-10 Grilled Cheese Distortion
Price Paid: 40 (#)
Submitted 12/07/2001 at 11:55am by James Hetfield
Email: Deckywiththefood<at>hotmail dot com

Ease of Use : 10
Super easy, u'd have to be a dumb ass not to know how to use it

Sound Quality : 10
superb quality, but no for you if u are looking for some seriously heavy distortion. It's great for putting an edge on light rock

Reliability : 8
Bit small, looks as if it could break easy, but it hasn't for me yet

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never needed any

Overall Rating : 10
Needed one, got one, it was perfect, i recommend it for all types of decent rock.

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