Danelectro DJ-12 Chilidog Octave

Almost too easy.

First and foremost, I'm using this for my bass, because I was curious. It's kind of awful. Oh well, I took a gamble. Also I didn't feel like shelling out $150 for the MXR octave pedal. Whatever.

Made of plastic, but I'd use it without a backup. It's sturdy and I doubt it's going to fall apart unless I try to break it.

Not for me but I think it would be okay for its intended use.

OK, I've had this for 4 years and was running it on battery power, recently changed over to a Rocktron PSU for the entire pedalboard. This pedal only does one thing but it does it so well. It never tracked 100% perfect on battery power but using the PSU is a whole different ball game. Put before your dirt pedals in the chain and really beef up one note riffs and make solos shred. Seems to track all the way up and down with no issues except on long sustains but, hey, that breakup on sustains is part of the charm.
Rig:-
Strat -> Chili Dog -> Boss OS2 OD/Dist -> Big Muff -> EH Small Stone -> Dano Cool Cat Chorus -> Hotwire Audio Mig*Boost -> Ampeg VT22 (no master volume)

The 'user interface' part of it, i.e. the knobs and footswitch are a bit flimsy and you have to check the status LED every time you click it on or off as there is no 'click' to the footswitch.
Not great but I use it all the time without backup. It would be nice if you could see the knob positions without having to crouch over it and also to have a more robust and tactile switch..

I didn't have much time for this pedal before I started using it with a PSU, but now it's an integral part of my setup. Combine with dirt and phasing/chorus for a proper grinding overdriven tone with synth-like overtones. As stated above, I wish it had a more robust front panel but for the money paid for it, it's ok bang for the buck. It is completely transparent when bypassed and I'm really starting to find my own sound with this pedal in my rig. I would definitely replace it if lost or stolen.

Well, it's pretty easy to use. It's got three knobs, controlling the volume of the orginal signal, the volume of the 1 octave down tone, and the volume of the 2 octave down tone. The footswitch is tricky, you have to make sure you push it down far enough, and it comes with velcro on the bottom. That makes it rock under your foot and makes it hard to switch it on and off.

I mostly play a Squier Strat (with hot rails, a two-point trem, and a load of other features; it's a lot better than most Fenders) into:
Morley wah > ChiliDog > tuner > Behringer fuzz (bigmuff clone) > Digitech Hot Head distortion > Digitech Grunge fuzz distortion into whatever amp's around. It doesn't work after the distortion... supercompresses the signal.
On single-note lines on the middle range of the guitar it works fine. On the low end it's flabby, fluttery and weird; it has weird, unpredictable pitch shifts after you hit the note. On the very high notes, way up past the 16th fret on the E string and whatnot, it does nothing at all. It can't register the tones or something. On chords...urgh. It kind of hurts. Basically, if you play fast th flabbiness is okay, and if you play single notes it produces a nice bass sound from a guitar. If you play slow, or play chords, or go too high or too low, it just sucks.
If, like me, you play a very noisy variation on grunge...it's fun.

It doesn't look reliable. It's made of plastic, the switch is plastic, it's held together by a plastic bolt (the most idiotic thing since chocolate riot shields), and it's purple. Seriously. Purple. But I've been using this pedal for almost a year and it hasn't given me a problem.

Never dealt with 'em.

I play a grunge thing...a Nirvana/Mudhoney/Dinosaur Jr./Sonic Youth thing. I realize they're not all grunge. For that, I don't actually need an octave pedal. That makes everything easy. I mainly use it in combination with a couple screeching distortions and wah in fast, J Mascis-style solos. I didn't compare it to anything. It was an impulsive ebay buy. Basically, if you wanted a bassist in a box, this wouldn't do it. If you wanted more sonic presence for solos or something, this would do it. That's more or less it.

Manual has suggested settings - Octave 2 at 9 'o'clock, Octave 1 on full and your guitar signal on full. I've followed this setting to the letter and I'm totally happy with the sound it produces and this is how I usually st my knobs. Easy to use and get going on.

This is a great analogue octaver. It farts out on some notes like below the 5th on the low E and above the 15th on the high but most octave down pedals do this; except the EHX POG. The glitchiness is part of the charm of octave down units.

This pedal tracks double stops pretty well if you pick softly - you can get some hot, raunchy noises.

The ultimate test for any octave down pedal is to play it with fuzz, reverb and play along with Neil Young's "Hey, Hey, My, My" intro. This pedal nails that sound (note that passage has some full chords in it - like F maj 7 and A Minor).

Nice pedal for the cash spent and it's actually better than the DOD Octoplus I used to own. I use the Chilli mainly for greasy pentatonic licks/riffs and unusual solo passages. Good for classical sound arpeggios too.

I'm loving all my Dano gear. This thing comes with a stomp protector to stop you knocking the knobs off. Other than that just be nice to it and it will last.

N/A

I play blues, rockabilly, country, jazz, rock and fusion. I consider octave down pedals to be an essential, albeit occasional, sound for my playing styles. The Chilli Dog is way cool. You can even get an MXR Blue Box sound by dialing out octave 1 and diming your original guitar signal and octave 2. Play this with fuzz and your in the same sonic territory as the Blue Box: fuzz plus 2 octaves down and lots of sonic glitches. Cool!!!

The "manual" it has is really just a piece of paper with settings that danelectro thought sounded good. but thats about it, it's super simple to use, three knobs, obviously labeled, simple.

when i plugged this in i was expecting it to sound cheesy, but this pedal is awesome!, it sounds thick and real, the only time when it dies out is about the 3rd fret on the low e, but i think just about any octave pedal would. it also sounds really cool with vocals, just dont try to sing johnny chash with it lol.

this thing seems pretty solid, the knobs are kinda tiny, easily smashable, but they have a nice little plastic cover that keeps big feet from crushing them. When you pick it up it's not super light and plasticy (even though it is plastic), its got a good feel. The only chinsey thing is the switch, when you press it, it doesn't seem to press.

N/A

I say for the money, its awesome.

This review is focused to bass players. I play funk.

This is pretty darn easy to use. I took it out of the box, and it was set to the directions recommended setting. I plugged it in and got a very good sound out of my bass.
The only thing that makes it not easy to use is the footswitch protective cover. It slides over the knobs so you can see them, but they are almost impossible to turn when it's on. It's a good thing in the long run, but if you're at a gig and need to make a quick adjustment it would make it hard.
I played it through my American Jazz Bass and into a Trace Elliot SM7 EQ head. I ran it through the effects loop.

This tracks very well for the bass. I tried the Boss OC-3, both new and old versions, and there was obvious tracking, plus distortion.

I didn't want an octave pedal that added distortion. I like my pedals to do their job. If I want fuzz or distortion with it, I'll hit that pedal, too.

The octave tone is very tight, with little tracking. It's only noticable on the lower notes, but I turned back the second octave and it sounds very good now. It might struggle with very powerful active electronics or the B string on a 5 string bass.

Up high, the sound is really nice and funky.

I haven't gigged with it yet, but I'm going to. I have it in a powered pedal board.

The case is typical plastic Danelectro, but it's a pretty hardy little pedal. I don't forsee any problems. But at $30 new, it's easy enough to replace.

Haven't dealt with them.

Really, really good pedal for the price. It wrecks pedals three times its cost.

If you are looking for a clean sounding, basic octave pedal, this could be a good choice for you.

Three volumeknobs, one on/off button.

The direct sound is transparent. i was amazed.
Octave 2 is two octaves below fundamental.
Octave 1 is one octave below fundamental.
No noticeable noise from this unit. sweet.
This is not a polyphonic device. That's okay, i wasn't expecting it to be. Maybe down the line i will spend 500$ and get an EH H.O.G.
This thing is fun and it sounds great. I tried it both before and after distortion, which sounded very different..
It tracks really well on both, although you can hear it breathing harder trying to keep up with a distorted input.
Of note: it really doesn't matter which pickup you use (neck or bridge) it tracks fine either way.
I have tried all the expensive fuzz octaves and i find its easier to get an octave sound by putting the chili dog first in the chain, and then the fuzz.

I tried this with a od808 and a RAT Deucetone and the sound was freakin awesome. like a one man band. (i do wish you could play chords through this, the sound would be huge)
It has a distorted synth character to it, which is understandable since its generated harmonic synthisis based on the fundamental of the note you play. it sounds like the even order harmonics are used, so the sound is pleasant and never farty. The sound is a unified whole compared to when you put the octave after the fuzz in the chain.

With the octave recieving a distorted input there are some artifacts here and there as it tracks (which it does admirably). The sound is more like the distortion effect in character, and choice of pickup makes more of a difference is the tone (but not the tracking). For instance, i liked the od808 in the neck position, with overdrive at 2:00. I dialed in the octaves as desired (no shortage of bass!). i tend to use more direct volume and octave 1 full up, with octave 2 fairly low in this set up. Really full sounding lead sounds depending how you do it.

I would be careful using this unit by itself the first time on a loud amp. There is so much bass from the octaves that i was stressing the speaker (which were designed for guitar and not bass). i have no doubt it is possible to destroy speakers at loud volumes they way it would sound if you tried to play bass through a guitar cab at loud volumes. There's no dual out for high and low frequencies, but i can see recording songs at low volumes through guitar speakers and this being a non issue.

For me this is more of a toy than anything else. its use is limited as the mix would turn to mud if you try to compete with a bass player and would probably piss him/her off. i will use it recording random songs and when a bass player isn't necessary. Try imagining a bassplayer who wants to match every nuance of a guitar solo.

Hey, BTW if you are the bass player then you are in luck because this is the ticket for detuned sounds. Get a detuned (without the floppy out-of-tune string) E sound on a 4 string, (but turn it off at the 12 fret because it will generate enough bass on octave 2 to sound like the 1st.) Put it before some fuzz or overdrive and you are manna from hardcore heaven.

This is the weak link in the chain. The components are good enough where they sound good. Modern circuit board saves construction costs. i don't mind the plastic body so much. The circuit board means if any components burn out they would be hard to replace, and it probably wouldn't be worth it.

I now appreciate the merits of point to point construction. If a component wears out, just pull it out and sub a new one, too easy, not to mention modifyable.

The input jack sleeves are plastic, meaning if they break they could be a hassle. The knobs are plastic, and aren't really attatched even. Pull on one and it will come off (it goes on easy too, but if you lose it in transit then you will be adjusting your tone with a philips head screwdriver) The weakest part is the foot switch. it gets the most wear, and the switching mechanism is plastic as well. Eventually it will wear out and i will have a new paperweight. The really sad thing is that this is more reliable than the older generation of metal bodied danelectro pedals that cost $100 or more. If and when this pedal fails, a will likely have gotten my thirty dollars worth, and so far this is more of a fun addition than a necessary part of my guitar sound.

i don't expect anything from them, but thats based on word of mouth and not personal experience.

disposable, affordable, and great sounding. if it breaks will i spend more than 20X the cost on something more features and better costruction? probably.

3 knobs; Original Signal, 1 octave down and 2 octaves down.
The button to activate the effect isn't the greatest, which can be a problem sometimes when you're trying to turn it on and off at certain exact times during a song.

Ibanez GAX30 or Epi Les Paul Classic Plus - Dano Octave - Distort - Delay - Kustom KGA65

Definately not perfect. Works pretty well on single notes. Forget about doing chords.

The 2 octave down setting is pretty worthless in my opinion. But I also own a Boss PS5 super shifter, and a Digitech whammy, and 2 octaves down tends to go to crap in most cases. Could be my amp, but I doubt it.
I generally set the original signal all the way up, the 1 octave set to about the 11 o'clock, and the 2 octave set all the way down.
It sounds better than my boss PS5's Harmonizer.

This effect works best if set before distortion. It's not the greatest on clean but it works.

It's plastic, and the knobs are weak. 2 of the three knobs on mine have broken off. Fortunately I can still manipulate them.

Pretty wimpy. But I've had it for about 5 years now and it still works.

Never dealt with them. I think it had a 1 year warranty though

I've used this for gigging a few times, especially to thicken up my sound back when my band was a 2 piece. I still use it now that we have a bassist, but not as much. If you want to use it to get a good bass sound, you might want to look somewhere else.

If this thing crapped out on me or got lost, I'd probably buy a Boss OC-2.

Ok, this is pretty easy to use, the knobs control the volumes of the 1 octave down, 2 octaves down and the guitar signal. Very very simple to use.

This works best with single notes. On the low E string the tracking can skip around a bit, but that is to be expected from most octave effects. I bought this thinking I could put my clean guitar signal to an EQ, cut the highs, feed it through this, and pump it into a bass amp. I guess if I wanted a pulsing bass noise I could do that, but that is not really where this shines.

This shines in experimental music. It is cool hearing the tracking bounce around when playing chords, and using it with other pitch changing effects confuses them in turn and creates more interesting sounds.

You could technically turn your guitar into a 70's synthy sounding bass with this.

If you use it with some modulation and some reverb, you can get a creepy old organ playing single notes sound with it too.

It is not the ultimate in octave effects, but for 15 bucks, I don't really care.

Also, if you are into the 70's sort of rock, it really fattens up solos.

It is plastic, but I don't use it often enough to destroy it.

I don't expect to deal with them.

It is pretty good, I play shoegazer/gothic/post-punk/post-hardcore. This effect is best for noisier ventures.

If it were lost, I wouldn't worry too much about replacing it.

It is helpful for making music sometimes.

Super easy. One on/off footswich. Three knobs. 'nuff said.

I'm able to get a lot of cool sounds out of it. The blending knob is a nice feature, where you can dial in more or less of the unaffected guitar sound.

I'm using the pedal on a cleaner type setting of a low wattage tube amp. Sounds great with clean guitar lines. Almost like a bass is in the background. I didn't get it to "play bass lines" though, as some people seem to do when getting octave pedals. I don't think octave pedals are meant for replacing a bass - they are just fun to play with.

The two different octaves enable a multitude of great options.

The Danelectro mini pedals are very "cute." They're small, made of plastic, and look cool. They are fairly well built, but they aren't tanks like some stompboxes, the battery compartment is a little awkward, and the top of the screw to it strips easily, so be careful.

I wouldn't really gig heavily with it, but it could likely be used for light gigging. Definitely cool with the home studio type set up. I've built pedals, and for the money, the mini pedals a good value for what they can do, especially if you get one used.

I don't usually call up the president of guitar effect companies like most gear heads and chew them out when their pedals don't make me sound like Eddie Van Halen.

I play a type of bluesy jazz that's like Slayer on sedatives. Going on 15 years now. I'd grab another if it were lost.

It'd be cool if it had a switch that engaged a fuzz or overdrive with the octave, but I guess they have that in their other octave/fuzz pedal.

Again, the size is cool. It's just not all that tough. Eight for not being made entirely of metal.

very very easy to use. doesnt come with manual. Doesnt need, though.

I am using the following setup: Yamaha RGX121D -> Onerr Wah -> Boss DS1 -> GT2 -> AMP Send -> Danelectro chilidog -> Boss PS5 -> DOD FX75 -> Boss CE5 -> Boss DD20 -> AMP return. The amp I am using is a Warm Music 112gt. There is no noise coming out of it.

It doesnt sound very good. Sometimes it doesnt it sounds very strange to tell the truth. I will give a 7 because an octaver is not something to use all the time and it is impossible to sound as a real bass.

The quality is very poor. In the first day one of the knobs pulled off it. But I tried to push it inside the hole and it worked... maybe it will break in a few months.

I play blues, rock and metal. Maybe I wouldn't buy again if it were stolen. By looking at the reviews here, this is one of the bests octavers in the market... very good for the price.

VERY EASY TO USE.

NOT PRISTINE, BUT I LOVE IT. THIS PEDAL IS INSPIRING FOR ITS CRAZY TONES AND RUMBLING. IT TRACKS DOWN TO THE LOW E IF YOU PICK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STRING AND USE THE NECK PICKUP, TONE ROLLED DOWN. ITS STILL A BIT UNRELIABLE, EVEN WITH THOSE MEASURES, BUT BY NO MEANS UNUSABLE DOWN THERE. BASICALLY, I THINK IT HEARS THE SECOND HARMONIC OF THE STRING MORE THAN THE FIRST, AND JUMPS UP AN OCTAVE FROM TIME TO TIME. THERE IS NO LAG TIME FOR THE OCTAVES TO COME IN. ITS THE GNARLIEST PEDAL I HAVE. I HAVE AN EH HOT TUBES, BASSBALLS, TUBE SCREAMER, DOD DELAY, SOVTEK HEAD, MARSHALL 212 CAB. SOUNDS AWESOME WITH ALL THAT. MY NEW FAVORITE SETTING IS WITH ALL THE PEDALS ON.

UH, I DON'T KNOW.

DON'T KNOW DON'T CARE.

I'M TRYING TO START A BAND WITH A PUNK-INFLUENCED FEEL, BUT WITH SOPHISTICATION. I LOVE INTERESTING NOISE. BEEN PLAYING TEN YEARS. I REALLY LOVE FUGAZI, AT THE DRIVE IN, RADIOHEAD, CAFE TACUBA. The pedal is awesome. Price is right.

What's here to confuse anyone? About as simple as it gets!

This thing ain't so hi-fi, but it works. I got it for curiousity, but I really found a lot of places for it on recordings, so much so I'm thinking about an upgrade to Electro-Harmonix stuff, microsynth or pog maybe. They are exponentially more expensive though, so this was a good place to start. Turned out to be a good fit, well worth the price.

I found it suffers a lot when moved in between other effects. Still works, but with some iffy results. Use it alone with no other pedals or at the very front of the chain and you're good to go.

Anyone who gets this to track bass lines with a guitar is mostly missing the point. It can be done, but that's not how it's best used. You're mileage may vary.

Not perfect but the price is 'pristine!'

I doubt I'll be passing it on to my grandkids, but the danos I've had hadve held in there without incident, and that's enough for me.

Never rang them.

Cool octave. Great price. Not too hi-fi though, like I said. But I find myself keeping it on for exploring melodies, which means I like it for sure.

Like any synth'ing pedal, it's no good on chords, unless you have a way with sonic noise, which I'll admit to. If you can get with noise, then you'll probably like it too. Just watch your speakers.

Just about easy as pie to use. It's got volume knobs for unaltered tone, -1 octave and -2 octaves. Adjust it untill you like the way it sounds.

I play an SG, I've used this sucker through a crappy old crate amp and a marshall valvestate half-stack. It pretty good on it's own though you would be very hard pressed to try to use it as a replacement for a bass by turning the -1 octave all the way up and the other too zero. Really, the clean sound is kind of neat but with some fuzz or heavy distortion, it takes on a really awesome analogue synth sound.

The biggest problem is it doesn't track the low notes well and chords are out of the question. It's also not very good for playing with a band sice you don't cut through the mix well with octaves going. A volume boost would make this much more usefull.

Mine never broke but I've had other Danno pedal break so I don't trust it. I've gigged with it without a backup but, really, I don't hardly use it live so it wouldn't be an issue if it broke. It's just not a critical element of my sound.

When I played in a noisy improvisation mess of a band, this was good fun. It would be good too for some stoner-rock, Clutch-style rifage I think but you'd want to boost the volume somehow and that might be hard on your speakers. It's an interesting and fun effect to have. It makes cool sounds but it doesn't end up being too useful.

Quite easy to use if you know what you doing. Easy to get the hang of if you fiddle with it a bit.

Great sound. I even managed to play chords without it sounding crap which you can't do with most octave pedals. Sounds like a really cool bass.

I'm not too sure about the plastic case, that looks like it could break easily. I got a free pedal protector with mine which is quite handy because I've heard the knobs fall off easily.

Haven't dealt with the company.

This pedal is great for me because i don't know many other musicians so i can get a bass sound without shelling out #200 for a bass thats going to fall apart.

Easy. Three controls - one for direct, one for -1 octave, one for -2 octave.

Octave pedals are weird things, and I've never really found them to be that useful. However this was a cheap purchase on E-bay, and I've usually found the Dano pedals to have a grin-inducing sound in there somewhere...

For those moments when you need an analogue synth style sound, this works very nicely. Best sound for lead is from a guitar's neck pickup, tone wound right down, light distortion, -1 octave full up, direct about 75%. Lovely synth style sound. Very retro, very 70's, but fun.

Tracking is good, but it won't handle the lowest or highest notes on the E strings, neither will it do chords. Think of it as a monophonic synth, and pick cleanly, and it's good fun: try and do anything else with it and all kinds of weird, bad noises result.

The same applies for bass use: lowest notes are more of a problem here, and obviously the -2 octave option is going to give your speakers a problem...

It's plastic, with a pegged in PCB. Don't throw it about, don't jump up and down on it, and it'll be fine. Mister Clumsy might have a problem with the battery terminals (which are a bit exposed), but guitar players shouldn't have any problem with a bit of delicate fingerwork, should they?

Never had to deal with them.

Dano Pedals are named after foods for a reason! They tend to do one flavour of effect well, and if you like it, then you'll like the pedal. If you're after something ultra well built and versatile, that'll last you a lifetime, buy a Boss or something.... don't expect to get it on the cheap.

I like this pedal - it's an effect I'd use occasionally, so I'm not to worried about the plastic build or the cheaply assembled components. Good value for the price.

easy to use if you know what you're doing. octave down 1 and 2 should be used sparingly to avoid punishing your speakers.

i think this is the best mini pedal dano ever made. set the oct2 at nine and the oct1 at noon, you will get a cool "speaker sliding" effect that sounds like your speakers are warping loose from the cab and that the damn thing is "walking" away from you. no you are not on acid! sounds good with tube or solid state, i use a gibson sg.

use a 9v power pack and battery backup.

n/a

i don't use this live or for recording, just like how cool it sounds. would use it if i had no bass player to pull a "white stripes" of local h deal. maybe some day i'll find a use for it. great tone tho.

It is real easy.

I think for the price it is really good. I think the best setting is octave 2 all the way down direct all the way up and octave 1 all the way up. It fits with my hole set up. I use 5 pedal's a dunlop orignal crybaby wah-wah>danelectro octave>boss BD-2 blues driver>boss PH-3 phase shifter>danelectro delay into a peavy clasic 50. Really a great tone from this pedal.Im sure there is better but, I don't need it that much

I have about 15 dano's all still working after 2 years.

Don't know.

I play blues and rock music. I do gig with this pedal. It does what it needs 2 I love it.

Direct leval,Oct 1 leval,Oct 2 leval don't get easier than this.

Well to start off I have no clue as to why I bought this.I think it was one of those times you visit the music store just to BS and have to buy something out of curtisy and you allread have 8 packs of extra strings and 4 gross of picks.Evan the guys at the store were breaking my balls cause they knew I only bought it for amusement.I didn't evan try it in the store.Anyway it seems to sound OK for a cheap pedal,although it tends to sound like the other Octaves are not in perfect time with the original signal when they are turned up high.I don't really know hat to use an Octave pedal on and bought it as a spur of the moment "Why did I buy this and what the hell am I gonna use it on" kinda thing but its OK.I'm not a big effects guy but I may throw it on a solo live sometime at a gig just for the hell of it,thats if it fits.

Like I said about my chorus its plastic and its cheap but don't beat the hell out of it and it will be OK for a while.

Not bad for what it is.Would prolly work on Hendrix stuff.Or maybe for fattening a song were one guitar has to play a part that a guitar and B3 organ play along together on the record.

It's Danelectro! Very easy to use - 3 knobs - Oct 2 - Direct -Oct 1. No manual came with it, don't need one.

Great sound, for Hendrix's Fire. On my JB Player JB-150 Les Paul copy. The pedal always sounds great unless of course the 9V is weak. My amp is a Crate GX-15. Light to Mid-range distortion sounds great with it to get Jimi's sound.

This pedal rocks, very reliable, tough as nails as long as you jump purposely jump on it.

Dunno, never dealt with Danelectro

I bought this pedal cuz I like the deep sound it gives, I play blues and somehow this baby does blues good. Don't do chords with this pedal, it's made just for lead licks. I love the value it has and how reliable Danelectro has been to me over the past year. It helps me make more music. It rocks! A must have

too easy.
Knobs a little small thought (not mine, the pedals..)

Don't approach this pedal with high hopes of accurate digital tracking like those clinical boss octave pedals from the 80's.
This baby is definetly an early 70's sound grit and all.

Unless you jump up and down on your pedals you should be o.k

not as yet

I play experimental psychedelic music and this pedal has found a home.

Most of the negative reviews are from 80's children who expect prisine generic sounds..samey..dull..clinical.
You can't expect great sounds from an octave pedal if you don't know how to play WITH an octave pedal.

If you want the crowd to go "WOW" go for dano.(just don't jump on them from a great height)

Shame about the tiny plastic knobs though.

The manual stinks, frankly. It's a sheet of suggested settings for several Dan-o pedals. This pedal gives you your original sound (effected slghtly as it's not true bypass, but it sounds OK to me), one octave down and two octaves down. Each of these three sounds has its own level control. And there's a red LED telling you (if you can't hear LOL) you have it switched on. It *does* take a while to balance the three sounds, but it's definitely worth it.

I use six different guitars with this unit, from expensive homemade to cheap Squier. It's in a chain including CryBaby, Ultimate Octave, DS1, DSD2, Whammy Reissue, cheap Compressor. Behringer V-Amp2, and more, all into a mixing desk. There's NO noise, despite reviews to the contrary, and the effect is always very very good. I have an Electro Harmonix Octave Multiplexor and this pedal is way better than it. Tracking is fine if you know how to play cleanly, and it tracks all notes on the neck equally well.

i can jump on this thing and it's just fine.

Not needed them.

I play instrumental guitar music (Satriani, Vai, etc) and so when I use an effect it's got to be good - there's no way it can hide in the mix! This pedal is used sparingly (like most effects should be) and it's not let me down. I've been playing for many many years, and find this particular pedal sometimes quite inspiring. It's great!

Without a manual it took a bit of experimentation to figure what "direct" means, tho a monkey could prolly have guessed. Three knobs, three separate octaves (including the original) couldn't be much simpler to begin with. It takes a bit of fiddling to get great sounds [that it is capable of] out of it tho.

My setup: ESP Viper 301 > Danelecto Tuner > Boss Volume Pedal > Marshall AVT50H Amp head > Marshall AVT412B Speaker cabinet
I use the fx loop from the amp head into a Boss NS2 Noise suppressor and i use the NS2 loop for my FX... At the moment [Chilidog][Boss PH3][Boss CS3][Boss DS2]
The noise is not a problem with my setup (the NS2 takes care of that] but it does produce some hiss when used "raw".This pedal is capable of producing some nice octave effects, great for fattening up riffs and the tracking is good as long as you use it first in your FX chain so you dont track harmonics and overdrive...
Overall the sound quality is sweet as long as you take a bit of time to find a balance between the octaves [mine is set at O(100%) O-1(50%) O-2(20%). I give it 7 because the O-2 sounds hideous with anything above about 30%.

Ive gigged with this [remeber the name Ticketless Fans for when were famous] and I can saftely say it wont break if you treat it right. If you stomp on the plastic knobs it will snap (and the actual STOMP looks a tiny bit shaky) but I feel that I can trust it.

God knows, never had the need, but I was pissed that they didnt supply a manual with "suggested settings" like Boss Pedals do.

Its good for rock/punk/metal styles if used in moderation, but you might have to sack your bassist if you get to addicted to the pedal. I think its a great item for creating a bit more variety and has certainly made a differece in our bands sound. I tried the boss pedal but this one is PINK! how much cooler can you get! Anyway they sound identical (maybe this sounds slightly more "electronic") and the Danelectro was #15 cheaper so... a great 8 out of ten.

Very easy to use. It's a very straightforward design. It gets a 10 because a monkey could use it. Only because of that.

This pedal is awful. The octaves are out of tune, and cut in and out when they want to. Sounds like a child's toy. I paid 40 bucks for it and can't even find a use for it in my daisy chain. I am posting it up on ebay as soon as possible, and buying the Boss Octave pedal. I tried to save a buck and got ripped off.

It's made of plastic. But the switch works well.

No use.

UGH. I would use it to hold open doors but its made of plastic and would break in no time. It does give an octave, of sorts, so I'll give it a 2.

I've been playing with it a while and have finally found a good sound. It took a while to get used to the way the knobs really effect the parameters.

I have a les paul copy to the danelectro to the boss bass overdrive(awesome sound on guitar) to a boss noise supressor. I use my bridge pickup which is a Seymour Duncan JB. It has some trouble with tracking but with a little work you can learn how hard to pick and adjust the tone on your guitar to make it sound its best. HINT turn tone down on guitar for best tracking. I usually dont even use the 2nd octave but use the 1st octave at about 9 oclock and the mix at 3 oclock. This really thickens my leads and riffs. I can get the Tim Mahoney sound dead on.(TIm mahoney of 311) overall i give this an 8 b/c you have to learn how to use it to get the sounds you want.

the 2nd octabe knob broke off but the 2nd octave is garbage anyway
i would gig with it

no

i like it, you just gotta learn how to use it like any other pedal. GIve it some time and don't get frustrated like others have. Just remember you won't get the Boss sound from this.

very simple controls

I have to concur with one of the other reviewers here.... sorry, but the people who are giving this a good review do not know what a good octaver sounds like. Really bad warbling decay (much worse than others I've tried) with a very high signal to noise ratio. Not warm sounding at all. Obviously cheap components. Maybe it's a "great deal for $30" but I don't want my guitar to sound like this. The only way you're going to get any semi-decent sound is if you have the gain on your amp absolutely peaked. Only then, and i emphasize that the result will be semi-decent.

tried it in store, did not buy.

This was the second Danelectro pedal i tried in a week, the other being the even more horrific Sitar Swami pedal. I suppose you can't expect much for $30 but this really does not qualify as remotely cool at all in terms of sound. Reminds me of the equally pathetic pedals DOD produced in the 80's when i was growing up. If you're going to spend $30, wait two weeks, get $60 together and buy something used from your local guitar shop which will sound 10 times better. There's no excuse for this kind of worksmanship at any price. Kept hearing great things about Danelectro. After this experience and the 'swami' I will never try or buy anything danelectro ever again.

THis is to add to my review below... I have found with this pedal that if you pick double stop chords VERY lightly, this unit WILL track them! I run my unit first in the effects chain and then into a Dnaelectro Fabtone. The gain from that sucker is WAY up there with the guitar's volume maxed, so light picking will not drop your volume level much. With practice, I am now able to use the Chilidog in conjunction with palm muted "chunka chunka" scooped mid riffing and it sounds so brutally heavy it's sick!!!!! I'm am now even more impressed with this pedal! If you know how to use picking dynamics, this sucker will sing for you!

3 knobs that's it!

For 30 bucks it's great! Octave 2 is useless for my style of playing. it only muddies up the sound and won't track right. Octave 1 works well. It will even track the low A on my Drop-A tuned 7 string guitar as long as it's slightly palm muted! It will start to mis-track if it's a ringing note lower than low E. You MUST learn good muting of non played strings!!! it will try to track everything it hears so any string noise and it will start to warble and buzz. As long as your notes are clean it works great, though it will have problems tracking if you try to throw in a slew of 32nd or 64th notes! When I play it with a brutal distortion going, it sounds like there is a bass playing with my note for note. You MUST run this thing first in the signal chain! if you put it after anything else (like a distortion or chorus) it will try to track the overtones and harmonics generated by the other effects. The Boss OC-2 has the same problems, by the way! The sound of the chilidog is a bit more processed than the OC-2, and the OC-2 tracks faster. The OC-2 costs 3 times the price too!

only had it for one month, but it's plastic and it's small. it's about what you'd expect for 30 bucks!

never had a problem to bring up to them.

I use this thing for beefing up single note lines and to add a "sitar" like drone when used in conjunction with a phaser. For 30 bucks, I didn't think it would work as well as it does. If it got stolen I would buy another one. I have been playing for 12 years and am an effects junkie! This is one of the best bang for the buck stomp boxes I have!

Self explanatory

This pedal is the poorest piece of equiptment I've purchased... I returned it after one day of use. Here's why:

The problem with this pedal is that the tracking goes to crap once you get below the 4th fret of the E string. It jumps up the octave most of the time, but other times it bobbles and gargles. Either way, it renders itself completely useless for playing basslines on the guitar. Everytime I got down to a G#, G, F#, F or E, I was basically rolling the dice as to what note would emerge from my amp. Higher notes all translate fine, although the tone is very muffled and it does not track more than one note at a time... nonetheless, it would at least be a semi-useful tool had it been designed to track well for the entire sonic range of a standard guitar tuning. I mean, that seems like a no brainer on the design spec... come on, Danelectro.

I only had it for a day, but you can tell it's made with cheap materials. Plastic casing, and poor wiring on the inside... it's Danelectro, so what do you expect. If you take care of it, you'd probably be okay... but it's no Boss.

N/A

The real travesty is that I bought this pedal based on the reviews below. I was absolutely amazed at the pedal's poor performance given the syndication you'll find further down on this page. Unfortunately, you never know who's writing these reviews, and from time to time, you get great reviews from amateurs who just don't know any better.

PLEASE LISTEN TO ME AND DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS PEDAL. Danelectro is infamous for poor quality, but I was fooled by these reviews and attracted by the price. If you want good a effect, you won't find them for 35 bucks... that principle holds true for anything you buy. Lesson learned again:

cheap price=cheap product

3 knobs. level for signal, octave 1, octave 2. Need a while to get the right sound though.

Great!
My setup:
ESP MH-300 --> Crybaby 535 Q --> BOSS DS-1--> Octave --> BOSS NS-2 --> BOSS DD-5 --> Marshall Amp
It makes ths dist. sound so full. When turn up the octave a little, it is like a bassist jamming along with you.

This one is defective. I tried to open the back one day but the screw
just kept skipping and I couldn't open the back. Beside that, everything is fine.

It sucks!!!

I bought it on clearance from Marsmusic. Since it's a defective one so I took it to Mars and asked for a exchange. At first they just wanted to show me the "right" way to open the back (Well, I play 10 years and don't know how to do that??? ). Of course, they failed and agreed to give me another one. There wasn't a same one in the store so I asked whether I could get another same price Danelectro mini pedal on clearance instead. (I knew my octave is a clearance item so I did not ask for a refund.) The answer is NO! I am really upset about this. Does clearance mean that you can sell defective products without notifing the customer? It is a ripping off.

Well, I thought, I aslo had a factory warranty anyway. So I sent the warranty and a email to Danelectro. NO A SINGLE REPLY! It really pissed me off.

These two damn companies are the good examples of the two-faces companies. They just want to get money from you and do not stand behind their products.

If Mars and Danelectro do not treat a customer like that. I can give this product a 9...

simple. level for signal, octave 1, octave 2.

pretty good. i run a mandolin and violin through this, and this only tracks the note up through the high e string. after that, it can't track anymore. kind of annoying. can't blame it though, it was made for guitar, and what person would be playing on the 15th fret and still need an octaver for? i guess then you could get a pitch shift... anyway, when running my guitar through it, it sounds great. everything from bass sounds to satanic growling.

plastic housing, have to take care of it. i take good care tho, so i gig without a backup.

no idea.

i play blues/rock/bluegrass. it works for me as a cello sim/bass sim. i want to try out the boss, but i've heard that this is just as good. if lost, i probably wouldn't replace it, just cause i don't use it all that often. wish the switch was true bypass, perhaps a metal casing, but this is cheap and light, and i like it that way.

Just a bunch of knobs- turn em to control the dry and octaved levels.
Knobs are a little small and close together, but Id rather have that than a bigger box. At least it has a dc in jack.

Hey, for as cheap as it was it works and sounds great. I use it as part of a rig to get an analog synth thing with my guitar, and it tracks and sounds great. What more can you say about an octave pedal? Maybe not the best, most natural sounding octaver around, but for my needs it is perfect.

I'm not gonna stick it on a pedalboard, but in a rack so it should be fine. Looking inside it seems like things are pretty solidly stuck together, but I'm gonna treat it gently. I have definitely seen tougher units, and going into a music store you are guaranteed gonna find at least one of these minipedals with a knob broken off, so take that into consideration when you jump up and down on one.

N/A

I got this, the french toast, tuna melt, and tuner mini pedals for $69 in a package deal, so this was a great value. This and the french toast are so great for sonic mayhem, I can;t believe how lucky i am to find have found them for so cheap. The store where i got em, west LA music, didn't even have the tuna melt and tuner in stock, but i didn't care cuz this and the french toast are so cool Im happy to wait til the other comes in on special order.

you are not going to get much easier....

Outstanding! Especially when you consider the low cost. I've read a couple of complaints from people who are attempting to play chords. This is not an effect for use with chords. Get something else if that is what you have in mind. Maybe a nice overdrive like the pastrami. Using almost subliminal levels on the 2 octaves below can really fatten up a wimpy sound on a lead, but once again stay to single notes.

don't break your unit...and I don't mean maybe

Dare to compare! Too much fun for the money. Maybe you can't use it for everything, but when used in moderation it will impress.

Very intuitive

I like the way it sounds when it works correctly. But sometimes, especially if playing any chords the pedal seems to get confused and jumps between different notes, giving a strange, unpleasent warbling sound. I wish I'd sprung for a more expensive ocatve pedal when this happens.

Haven't had a problem, but I dont use it terribly often.

i'd probly just get a new one (different brand) if something happened to it

I really like the sound octave pedals give you, I just wish this one was more consistant

Very easy, three buttons one for each octave down and one for natural tone,

Simply the best octave effect. When used in lower frets, it is sounding like a electric piano. Higher tones sound very good. You can't use the effect from fret 18 and up, however, because, it can not detect the highigst tones.
Unfortunately there's a lot of hiss and hum, even when not turned on (but connected, of course).

Because of the hiss and hum, it won't work for you. It will simply get you very frustrated.

Have to return the unit. Let us see, if I can get my money back.

Best octaveeffect in the world, if it just didn't have the hiss and hum.

easy enough. only three knobs: ocatve up, octave down and mix (volume).

i got the danelctro chili dog because i was in desperate need for an octave pedal but had limited funds. i can't complain too much for a $35 stomp box. it's no BOSS OC-2, but it sounds decent, especially the ocatave up effect. however the effect is attack sensitive and if you use an aggressive picking technique the effect cuts out. but a light touch and it sings. when i use it with my fuzz face i can get som real otherworldly sounds.

the dependability of the chili dog is questionable, only a plastic casing with a rubbery bottom, cheap plastic knobs, and a pretty weak feeling switch.

haven't had contact yet

i play acid blues and blues rock (buddy Guy, Jimi hendrix, Stevie Ray and stuff). If you want a cheap octave pedal this will give you your fix, but if you need the best sound and reliability I'd go with a BOSS OC-2 octave or the ultimate octave pedal...the roger mayer octavia. (mayer was the man who modified Jimi Hendrix's pedals in the 60's, but he now has is own line of effect pedals.)

It's very simple. Three knobs, one for direct and tone for each sub-octave. There's no manual, but there's no need for one either.

This is quite an impressive pedal for its size. I ran it past an Epiphone Sheraton (humbuckers) on either pickup. I've heard the Boss OC-2 live and it just rots compared to this. The Chili Dog's tracking is dead on so it doesn't peter out as the note decays as the Boss does. And the sound is big. VERY BIG. Like analog synthesizer big. I've so far only tried it with some light distortion and it sound fab. Just be very careful not to let a string keep buzzing while you trigger the next note, cause it'll muck up the sound. So palm muting and tic-tac picking are the advised ways of using it.

Umm... the casing is plastic, but it seems a bit more sturdy than the flimsy DOD pedals. Though I'd still be careful about stomping on it too hard. Plus the knobs are tiny and a little loose.

N/A

I like to play the guitar as a sort-of signal controller, so my setup consists of all sorts of effects that twist and bash the tone, e.g. the Boss Xtortion, E-H Bassballs, Mu-tron filter, compressors, flanger, E-Bow, etc. This is my first Dano pedal, it's a real winner. It's great for getting that buzzsaw synth sound or bass simulation. I'd definitely replace it if I lost it or broke it. And you can't beat the price.

Very easy to use. Could have used a manual to begin with, but quickly became self-evident. Three volume knobs - direct, 2 octave drop, and 1 octave drop. You can adjust your mix as you wish.

I wanted this for adding a bass line when I play with another guitarist or making home demo recordings. I tried out several of the digital octave pedals - e.g., Boss Octave 2, and they sucked compared with this. Didn't sound real, delay in tracking, etc. This little Danelectro pedal sounds great and tracks great!! You need to put a strong signal through it to get the best results, so I boost the guitar signal with a preamp. Put the 2-octave and guitar signals on zero and the octave sound on 10 (actually, there are no numbers) and boost your signal going into this thing and it sounds great! Hardly a glitch. Sometimes the note will jump an actave as it decays, but this is rare. For $29 this beats everything, including the Harmonix micro-synthesizer (which was pretty good). I wrote to Danelectro and they said that the ChiliDog (dumb name, if you ask me) was analog, not digital. Perhaps this explains why it sounds so much better.

Haven't had it long enough to tell.

Got an answer back immedately on email, if that means anything. Never went for repairs.

I use this with either jazz archtop or thinline (335-type) into an Evans Custom Jazz Enclosure 150 watt amp (or to a Peavey class 30 tube amp). I play straight-ahead jazz - blues, bebop, bossa, with few effects - a little compression and reverb, sometimes a little delay or chorus added. I have been playing 37 years (hobbyist, sometimes gigs for money) and am very tone conscious. I'm even thinking of buying two, just because I'm afraid that these will go out of production someday and I'll need a backup! Have not gigged with it yet.

Easy to use. The buttons are a little small, especially for bass players with normal bass player hands. But is very self explanatory and clearly labeled. No mystery box here !

Very quiet box. Smooth response, adds a nice depth to your playing if set right. Especially effective when playing above the 7th fret.

Very dependable. I would gig without a back up. I use a second box that can add the octave if I need it - but it does not have near the quality this little gem does. I have heard people complain about the plastic case but it is fine unless you play in a drunken stupor and trash things to cover up poor playing.

No need to contact them.

I have been playing professionally in the studio and live for 17 year. I primarily use a Fender Precision Bass. I have a Biscayne Miami Four, Aria Pro 2 xrb. Tacoma acoustic/electric, and a Russian made Bass ( don't ask me to even try to spell the crazy name on that one.) that I use for specific styles. The Fender is the all around go to bass for everyone. This little pedal beats out even the most expensive ones on the market. It tracks very with no delay and give quite a bit of flexability in adjusting your tones. If it broke I would run ( not walk, stroll, amble or mosey ) to the nearest music store and pay whatever the going price was. You need to have one of these in your arsenal.

easy, 3 knobs, direct, oct1, oct2

anything that sounds good at that price is something but this beats the big boys. great sound, sounds like a bass following your guitar not synthy or fuzzy and THE TRACKING IS AMAZING!!! Try out the big names and you still find poor tracking, that sick delay between note and octave, but this is tight. sounds great before a distortion but bad after. Octavers don't read a dirty signal well.

plug in an adapter and i haven't had a problem

great, but don't put it after a fuzz and remeber that no step down octavers deal with chords well

This is a very easy pedal. Very straight-forward. It is easy to make quick changes.

This is my first Dano pedal. I was very impressed with the sound for the price. I bought it to use on just a couple of songs in our setlist. I found I use it to get different sounds and feels on other songs. It wasn't noisy at all in my setup of Tele's or Strats. I don't use the second octave very much, as it is very low, but it is fun to mess around with. I'm very happy with the sound of it.

I, like everyone, was skeptical of the plastic case. So far, so good. And for the price, what do you expect! It has the sound, and that's most important. Because this pedal is not "essential" to my sound, I gig without a backup. It is not something I use constantly, just as a good effect on certain songs. It seems to be holding up just fine so far.

Never dealt with them.

I'm having fun with it. It is better than most other octave pedals I have used. It's easy, cheap, and has great sound. Not too many other pedals can say that. I would get another one if it were lost or stolen. Although it isn't essential, it adds some great effect. My basic rig is a guitar to an amp. Any effects I use are to add a different sonic quality. This pedal will be in the chain for a long time. Again, where else can you get sound like this for the price!

Very Easy to use. Three knobs: 1) volume output for 2 octaves down, 2) blend of wet vs. dry signal, and 3) volume output for 1 octave down. Pretty simple!

I was very surprised by how cook this pedal sounds. I ordered up a bunch of the Mini Dano pedals just so I could experiment with them, and quite frankly, I didn't expect this pedal to be anything special. BOY WAS I WRONG!!!

This is probably the best sub-octave pedal I've encountered. I own a fender custom shop strat played into a Mesa/Boogie Mk IV with 15-inch speakers. Incredible bass tone. In comparison to other octave pedals, this one appears to track low frequencies more accurately than the BOSS or DOD products. Even so, once you get to the low notes, tracking becomes a little unstable. That's just the nature of the octave pedal beast. This pedal really shines up high on the neck when you're blending in 2 octaves down. Playing this with high lead riffs makes me think of Return to Forever -- Stanley Clarke matching Al DeMiola's chops note for note!! With a little twisting, you can blend the signals to make your guitar sound like Rick Wakeman & Steve Howe trading chops -- almost a pipe organ type of sound. Very cool. If I could give such a high score, this pedal would get a 20. Its that good.

Just got it. Too early to tell about reliability, although the Dano track record for their stuff is excellent.

I've had one problem with a Dano product, and they sent me a brand new pedal, no questions asked.

Effects come and go. There are alot of them that are handy to have, but few of them come along that really make you step back and take a refreshing look at how you're playing. Its a rare effect that can make you step back, and open your mind up to new ideas. Plugging in this pedal was like plugging in creativity for me. Grab one and play something new. An incredible value.

I'll be rating all of the Dano pedals, so check my other reviews. I won't hesitate to tell you if a pedal sucks.

Three knobs and a footswitch, simple operation. Never a manual with this series. Knobs are for Octave 2, Direct, and Octave 1. The usual small knobs with this series.

Another cool box from Dano, I'm happy to say! I like it best with Direct up all the way, Octave 2 at halfway and Octave 1 at three-fourths. I run it between the Compressor and Tube Screamer in my pedalboard. Kicking on one of those has a dramatic effect on the Chili Dog too. I can get sounds that are straight out of old horror movies!

Another thing I like about it is that it doesn't change your basic guitar tone. By that I mean, the sound that comes from the Direct setting is YOUR EXACT guitar sound, undistorted and pure. I use two Les Pauls (one with P90s) and a Strat, and each guitar sounds like itself through this pedal.

Best sound comes from treble strings. The sound is too muddy on the wrapped strings, especially A and low E. You can't play real fast stuff, or it won't track very well, but on bluesy solos it sounds great.

Like the chili dogs they serve at Atlanta's Varsity restaurant, this pedal's tone is thick, meaty, greasy, and if enjoyed enough could move your - well, use your imagination there!

I have a bunch of pedals from this series, and haven't had a problem yet. I'm still skeptical about the construction of plastic pedals, but so far, so good. If I were gigging I would get a backup.

I have had good response from Dano via e-mail in the past. I was disappointed that it took them FOREVER to update their web site and include info on the new pedals.

I have never had an octave pedal before, never thought I would need one. But I love this line from Dano, so I gave this pedal a try. Now I wonder how I got by without one all these years. Every guitarist should have a diverse pallet of sounds, and the Chili Dog adds a very useful option. Enough talk - gotta RUN!

Very good. Best octave-pedal I ever heard, it sounds professional anywhere the knobs are at, unlike other pedals. The BOSS octave tracks bad, sounds like a toy to me. DOD is just one octave, better to have an Arion than that. Arion was my fave, the knobs at a lower setting will not sound too great, its best cranked, so don't expect any good-sounding subtle sounds. The Danelectro does everything well. And its cheap.

Anything else this good is at least 200 dollars. And I'm not paying that.

pretty easy..3 nobs -direct,oct.1,oct2., .oct1 is 1 octave below fundemental.oct2 is 2 octaves below fundemental.direct is your fundemental

I use a Fender Jazz special fretless(with EMG's)and I think it sounds as good as the boss and better than the DOD(especially for $39.99), but like ALL octavers you can only go so low before the tracking gets unstable.Up high is where you can really have fun(especially on a fretless)oct.1 produces a nice thick sub-octave that can be blended with your dry signal via the direct nob.oct.2 is useless on a bass(unless maybe you have a 6 string and play way up high on the board)...did I mention it's only $40.00...thats why I give it a 10

Can't say.....only had it a short while..don't look as tough as a boss though.I don't have a back-up for anything but my bass so why start now..I would just have to go without

can't say....this is my first Danelectro product ever

I play all kinds of stuff..playin 20 years now and and have never really been big on effects(had'em all...sold'em all)but this one is pretty cool and it don't squash your sound(something I dislike about effects)I also run a boss odb3 and a E-H bassballs (black box-reissue)neither of which squash my sound and it sounds great.at $40.00 I would replace it twice if I lost it or it got stolen(half the cost of a boss)a real good value indeed