Danelectro DJ-13 French Toast Octave Overdrive

Not too hard to get a good sound. I'm using it as a cross between getting Jimi and Trower mayhem, and just flip the switch off on the octave for a more regular fuzz.

I've seen some here say it can't do this Jimi thing or that, that's nonsense. If you want to do all Jimi songs, then you can set your rig up using this pedal for sure. Of course if your amp and guitar suck,,and you suck,,,then you are S.O.L.

Don't buy this pedal if you want to make Nice Mellow quiet sounds,,,lol,,this pedal is for solos with giant balls,,Rock On!

Not overly "noisy", I have a 80's fender jap strat going into:
fulltone wah-dejavibe-french toast-fulltone ocd-artec delay (GOOD)-boss tuner-peavey classic 30 with matching ext cab

maybbbbeeeeee,,,,,it colors my fulltone ocd a tiny bit,,,just my first impression that maybe I heard just a little Octavia, after a few minutes,,a few adjustments,,everything was fine. So maybe I am wrong

I got this for Jimi solos,,,and early Robin Trower solos,,like from Trower's first live album,,,,this does the Jimi fine, and kinda makes my Trower sound more Jimi,,,lol,,does that make sense?

I'll bring my cheap backup fuzz just in case.
Heck,,they are so cheap, maybe I'll just buy a backup one.
no opinion for now. I'll hope for the best,,it's on a safe pedalboard, and I have that clear plastic protector thing on it

who knows?

great match for anything requiring fuzz with BALLS, and solos with Balls.

This is NOT a tubescreamer

Pretty easy to use. The treble can get a little bright on the octave settings.

I have owned a vintage Foxx Tone Machine. This sounds exactly like it. I sold the vintage one for $350 and kept the $35 French Toast.

Reliability is probably questionable, but if it breaks, I'll but a new one.

If you want to sound like you are playing through a Foxx Tone Machine, get this pedal.

hard to get a good sound out of it at first, because I started it out using cheap solid state practice amps, had to adjust the amps eq well enough to reach the well balanced tone for this pedal- but not a problem through a bigger/tube amps. Too bad this unit does not come with LED also

This pedal does not suck tone or maybe subtle not noticeable, it is also very quiet when bypassed and does not hum like other dano pedals when generic ac/dc adaptors are used.

Very warm and dynamic. tru-tones ring out when you find it's sweetest spot. BUT also had to compensate for the treble and take time to balance the amps and guitar tone as well.

I can say this is a tubescreamer-like tone but of the distortion zone. It's like MUFF.

Octave function is psychedelic/experimental and not too musical in my opinion

plasticky

gives me eric clapton tone in his song "cocaine" at the CROSSROADS concert way back 2004

overall im happy with it- it's worth every penny spent

easy as any other fuzz/overdrive pedal. 3 small pots
distortion/ output level and EQ for increasing and trimming high frequencies.
The octave up effect is switched in with a small toggle switch under the dials.
Easy peasy lemon....never mind!
Not a huge fan of the small push button switches danelectro pedals use but im lightfooted so no particular worries!
Could really do with a LED indicator so you know if its on or off without finding out the hard way in a live situation....

quick general set up break down.....
ibanez custom JS100 into pedal board-----vox wah - behringer dynamic compressor - Danelectro chilidog octave - Monte allums DS-1 Rectifier tri gain mod - stock Boss Ds-1 - (effects loop switch)danelectro frenchtoast oct/dist - Boss compressor - Boss Chorus - Digitech expression factory.
2 boss DD-3 Delays staggered in the effect loop of a laney GHL50 into a 4x12 crate blue voodoo Cab.

Well well i got this baby used off ebay for ??11.00 and its one of the best ??11.00 ive parted with.
Certainly its not a Fulltone octave/fuzz but im not one to shell out or do i have over a ??100 to throw at a boutique pedal. Let me say with this affordable/ and replacable if the worst happens, pedal you can instantly achieve a very close approximation to the higher end fuzz//octave boxes and other than cosmetic and true bypass features isnt that what we want. A cheap useable pedal that does what it says?
I use mine to get that fulltone ultimate octave sound that in particular Joe Satriani uses to great effect, and i get it!
The fuzz alone is very useable, nice full and warm.
I suppose it helps a lot being aware of what amps to put these pedals into.
Self contained gigs i send them all into a peavey envoy 110 and mic it up through my pa, lovely sound! and in a band set up i send them all into the clean channel on a Laney GHL50 into a 4x12 cab, again very low noise and very very useable!
You got 20 english pounds in you pocket and you want a fuzz/octave pedal......Get the FRENCH TOAST....now!

as stated i got mine used ive been using it 18months and i record, gig solo and with bands......NO TROUBLE.
My experiences problems if you are the noob who likes to take jumps onto his/her pedalboard.
As mentioned also it really could do with a on/off light.
I run it through a fxloop footswitch with a indicator so i get by!

never had to deal with them!
website is a little cakka though....

i play a whole array of popular music styles, i heavy amount of rock/blues/pop and instrumental guitar based music.
The pedal does what it says to a above average quality.
Anyone who wants this effect....the french toast for the money and certainly worth it....i thoroughly recommend it!

fairly easy to use if you tinker with it. I give it a 9 because of the octave up switch.

All of my pedals are danelectro's, including the mini amp pedal and the Milkshake chorus pedal. by itself, it has a thick high pitched sound that is not easily described. with octave off, it is a basic fuzz pedal. the sound does imitate any artists that I know of and is original. with chorus it sounds very sonic and glitsy

so far, so good, and yes I would use it without backup.

never had to deal with them but would if I had to.

I play slow paced Black metal with Blues and Classical thrown in for good measure. it brings originality to my sound very much.

Fairly easy to use, especially if you're used to fuzz and other dirt boxes. And actually, surprisingly, there aren't many bad sounds in this little thing. There is no manual, per se, but there is a one-sheet containing a single setting suggestion, which I suppose is a good start, but I quickly moved on from there.

There is all sorts of Mudhoney in here. For the money (and even disregarding the money), this is a spectacular fuzz pedal. By switching pickups and adjusting volume at the guitar, you can get a wide range of fuzz tones, from a dynamic dirty-clean to splattery crunch to endless, singing Big Muff-style rubber.

The octave up effect is pronounced and a lot of fun. You can definitely get Hendrix/SRV-type tones, or you can mess around in near ring modulator territory. This is my first octave-up pedal (which is what prompted me to buy the pedal), and I'm definitely enjoying it.

I've been through a lot of fuzzes (currently own a Skreddy Mayo, Tone Factor Ultra-Lord, Everman Fuzz-Drive and Sovtek Green Big Muff Pi), and the French Toast stands up to my lineup. Does it *replace* any of the other pedals? Probably not. But I could see buying the same pedal in a boutique package and still being thrilled with the sounds.

The French Toast is not particularly noisy for a fuzz. There is noise of course, but nothing you wouldn't expect. The octave effect actually seems to make the pedal *less* noisy in my setup, which was a surprise.

I'm using medium-hot humbuckers (Gibson L6-S) into a very-slightly dirty tube amp (Ampeg VL-502).

It's a lot more solid than I was expecting, especially the footswitch. I think the pedal in general is probably going to be fairly reliable. The knobs are definitely the weak point. They feel weak and flexible when you adjust the. I'm running the French Toast through a true-bypass box, so I don't have to worry about stomping on it too hard or anything. Once I find a "set it and forget it" setting, I'm not worried about it breaking unless something falls on it, etc.

I would definitely use it at a gig without a backup, for the reasons mentioned above. Plus, I have a bunch of other fuzz pedals, so unless the octave effect was *crucial*, having it not work for some reason wouldn't really be that big of a deal.

Haven't needed them yet.

I play noisy rock. This is a perfect match for what I like to do.
I've been playing for many years now. Most of the gear I use daily is listed above.

If the French Toast were stolen or lost, I'd probably get another one. It was only $30, and I really enjoy how it sounds. It's much more flexible and useful than I was expecting.

I do wish it had an on/off status LED, but my bypass box has one for it, so no problem for me specifically. It would still be a good idea in general.

The French Toast definitely helps me make music. The first couple of hours I had it I came up with 3 riffs that were worth recording for later use. That alone was worth the $30.

I like this thick, booming sound from the bass, but the pickups needed adjusted to get much sound from the highs. The highs are terrible.

I use a roland amp with my guitar, And the bass is great.

I've had mine for a few months and it's working fine.

I play alot of different styles, but usually the heavy metal. It looks awesome. If it was stolen, I would definately get another BC Rich. I think I'd go for the Tribal. I chose this guitar the minute I saw it- I love how it looks. I hate the trebles, and I love the bass and that it has the extra frets. I really, really wish this had a whammy bar, that would definately make it perfect.

I can't get a good sound with this pedal. I use a Roland amp, and a BC Rich guitar most often. The strings on the guitar depend a lot, I noticed, for more feedback and squeals I use Guitar Boomers. I really liked this pedal at first, but I crave a different one now.

Just recently it wouldn't work right, then all the sudden it worked again, I had good batteries too.

Easy enough: a stompbox with Level, Distortion, EQ and Octave On/Off toggle switch. Points deducted because there's no LED to tell you whether the octave is on or off (you'll hear it, though).

Wild 70's fuzz. Instant sonic deconstruction, in fact. The French Toast is erratic, noisy and brilliant fun; don't look for smooth or subtle fuzz tones here, as there are better pedals available. This green meanie will cheerfully wreck any combination of high brow amps and guitars; what it does it to turn every set up into a plywood guitar and a cheapo amp in meltdown. This - as everyone should remember - is what rock'n'roll is about.

With the octave function off, the French Toast delivers ludicrous quantities of fuzz. The EQ knob is vital here - you can dial in beeswarm treble if you wish, or roll it back for a more useable tone. There are no subtle settings - even at low distortion levels this pedal is aggressive and mean.

Toggling the Octave to "on" takes you into guitar funland. The French Toast's octave tracking is erratic, doesn't like chords or double stops, and can be made to make the most bizarre ring-modulated type noise. This is not unusual for octave-fuzzes (even Roger Meyer's Octavia does this), but whether you enjoy this lunacy depends on your sense of fun. If you want to get serious and Hendrix-y, you'll need to use the neck pickup with the distortion and tone rolled back, and stick to cleanly picked single note lines. Otherwise there's enormous fun to be had in exploring the noises that can be extracted from various diads and triads, all of which have their particular fuzz-blasted intermodulations. In this respect the French Toast punches way above its weight - it makes the kind of free-form noise that people associate with Ampeg Scramblers and Fender Blenders, pedals that cost hundreds of pounds more.

This is not a pedal that you'd want to use as a main tone - but for those moments where something off the wall is needed, the French Toast is the real deal.

Danelectro provide cute little plastic shields to stop the control knobs being kicked off, but otherwise this is a plastic pedal and should be treated as such. It will break if you jump up and down on it, so don't.

Great fun. Boutique makers will charge three to four times the RRP price for effects that are neither as convincing or as much fun as the French Toast. This pedal is a grin-inducing monster, and entirely in keeping with Danelectro's cheap-and-cheerful ethos. A good job all round.

Dead simple - like the rest of the 'mini-dano' range. Guitar in one end, amp in the other, fire it up and play with the controls until it sounds right.

I'm really only using this as an octave-upper. My setup is a Telecaster into a Crybaby - French Toast, Tuna Melt, Arion DDS-1 - Peavey Classic 30. There's enough drive to make a difference to the sound of the amp - and also to stand alone as a fuzz / overdirve unit. Metallica / Sepultura it is not, but it doesn't pretend to be.
What it is, is a Fuzz / Octave pedal that sounds great with everything (except drive) set to about 1 o'clock with the octave switched on.
Other people have spoken of background noise - I don't have any I'm pleased to say.

I will definately gig with this unit.
I've owned (and gigged) a mini-dano Tuna Melt (tremolo) for about 7 years now and it's never failed (really!).
Maybe the better you look after your Gear, the longer it lasts.
Dunno - other people complain about the cases being plastic - yes, they are - so don't jump on them! If the plastic case is an issue, re-fit it in a cast box - the sounds are certainly worth it.
Like I've said, I've already had 7 years of hassle-free performance from other Pedals in this range.

Hmm - thankfully I've never had to call them.
There's not much information on the Dano Website, so I would imagine they're fairly difficult to get hold of (also not much contact info supplied with the pedals...)

Soo, for the style of music my band plays (RHCP / Rock / ambient originals) this is perfect. I'm really looking forward to the next rehearsal (or Gig!) to use this pedal at a loud volume.
All this for less than ?20 - I'm a fan of these pedals (can you tell?) - and while it's certainly true that you *do* get what you pay for, these little pedals stand out as being a great way to play with new sounds without bankrupting yourself.

Very easy to understand, since there are only 3 knobs. However, some tweaking is required to really appreciate this pedal. Never just crank the distortion and the tone and expect a pedal to sound awesome. I know some players tend to do this.

I noticed also that the lowest distortion settings (9 o'clock and less) are a little useless. The effect seems to dissappear here.

My settings are pretty much around 12 o'clock for all 3 knobs. This works well with my set-up.

I like this pedal paired with single coil equipped guitars, especially my MIM Strat. Like others have noted, it sounds best with the neck pickup, with the tone rolled back slightly.

Try it first WITHOUT THE OCTAVE SWITCH ENGAGED.

If you don't like the first impression of this pedal, just play with the controls and tweak them very slightly in every way. I promise...you will find a sound that you really like. I was blown away from the start when I played through this thing. It is like the fuzz that I always wanted, but didn't know existed...at least not for 30 bucks.

This pedal has a sweet, heavy, scooped sound that I love. On chords it sounds thick and full. On single notes it sounds grindy and "chewy".

Now that you love the regular fuzz sounds, engage the octave. This to me is just an added bonus that can be used for really adding cool emphasis to a solo. Throw another fuzz pedal in front of the French Toast with the octave on, and you really get a great effect.

I've never used a Foxx Tone Machine, but I find it VERY hard to believe that this isn't a darn good clone. In other words, I don't think the Foxx can be much better than this, just way more expensive.

Good so far. Seems solid for being plastic.

Obviously, if you slam down on plastic, it will break.

One day I might buy another French Toast and re-house it in something metal. Just for fun.

N/A

I love 90's Grunge-era stuff, as well as jazz and reggae. I can use this pedal for all of it.

The first sound I noticed with this pedal was very similar to Iommi's "Paranoid" tone. From there it was easy to find a Smashing Pumpkins sound and even a Hendrix tone.

Paired with the Big Muff, I can get different fuzzes with different characteristics. If I tweak them just right, they can achieve the same signal boosts and clarity. The Big Muff does a better job at sounding big and loud, but the French Toast has a better overall sound in my opinion.

Very easy to get a good sound out of the French Toast. Mine came out of the box almost perfectly set-up already. No Manual, I guess none is needed.

This is a Fuzz most certainly, with a choice of octave via the toggle switch. I play Fender, Danelectro and Gibson guitars with fender twin reverb. This sounds great fuzz of the mid to late 60's, sounds almost like the Mosrite Fuzzrite in a way. You can play mid sixties Garage rock with the French toast. I figured out today if you match the Frech Toast with the FAB Overdrive you can get quite a warm sounding fuzz, by itself the French Toast is Treble/Nasal Fuzz killer for those bottom end scales like it should be. People say it's modeled after the Foxx Tone Machine, I wouldn't no what one sounds like, but this is awesome.

Dependable, Yes. This is a pedal not a stompbox, so it should hold up if you press on it and not stomp.

Don't Know

I Play Rock, Punk, 60's/Garage, Surf, Rockabilly etc...
Like I said earlier this is great for 60's Garage stuff and some punk. I would replace it, but would not be heart broken, cause I got such a good deal. I like the color sea foam green, real 40's or 50's style. I'm into the switch that lets you decide from fuzz to fuzz w/octave.

I found it gets the best tones when the EQ knob is at 7 or 8 o'clock. The octave switch is a little small, but that can be a good thing. Various gain settings are easy to dail in.

I've used it with a Stat HH and a Fender jazz bass. Sounds AMAZING through both. It really shines with a bass, however. I've never heard such a smashed out, thick tone before. It tends to cut off bass frequencies, so an EQ is usually necessary to make up for that. Pedal is rather noisy when the gain is up all the way, but totally worth it for the tones you get. Octave off is just as exciting as ocatave on!

I bought it second hand, and it hasn't caused me any problems yet. Haven't played with it live yet.

I play lots of heavy rock. Not metal, more stoner rock. I suits classic rock style also. Overall, this is a beast of a pedal, ESPECIALLY ON BASS!!!!!

Super easy to use, but the battery compartment is a little weird. It's still pretty boneheaded simple which is good.

It's noisy as just the fuzz, but with the octave it's fairly quiet-I expected the opposite. The octave effect is very good for the price. It's not as good as the Fulltone Octafuzz, but what is.
This is a great pedal to introduce you to vintage tones such as Hendrix's fuzz/octave fuzz tones. You have to know how to use this...the octave fuzz works best when used on a strat neck pickup. It sounds best on single coil neck pickups, but it does sound fine with bass and any other guitar. I own some nice amps/guitars/pedals. I mainly use fulltone and maxon pedals and this Dan-o pedal is fun for the price and inspired me to sit down and play more than I have in a while. Well worth the money I spent so far.

I don't know yet. I can't imagine it would be dependable and I wouldn't gig with it. It must be a tone-sucker.

I don't think you could go wrong buying used like I did. I wouldn't buy it new because I don't support buying things made overseas when I can. These pedals are sweatshop toys. Don't buy these new if you can help it. I don't care what your opinion is regarding my "buying" opinions, but they use these hokey diner-style American-a names and slap these together in China. Screw Dan-o...buy used.

Dead easy. Turn it all the way up and put on the octave switch for that chewy, upper-octave enriched fuzz tone popularized by Adrian Belew. One footswitch.

I only give it an 8 because we are rating so many different kinds of devices here. Considering what the French Toast is -- a copy of the vintage Foxx Tone Machine octave distortion pedal, in an economical package -- I think it's reasonable to expect a good deal of background noise. This is not your grandpa's fuzz pedal, but it is a reproduction of grandpa's pedal -- so you get grandpa's noise along with it.

The fuzz tone works best when you play from the neck pickup, giving the pedal a warm, bassy sound to work with. The tone you *hear* is a thin, violin-like razor-edged fuzz with an extra upper octave overtone, on most notes. Not every note on the guitar, mind you, but most of the ones you'd want. It's the tone you hear all over Adrian Belew's work, so if you want to jam on "Elephant Talk" or "Paint The Road", this is your pedal. It just feels like you're playing glowing, high-tension wires. Hot. Zingy.

Chords will sound totally weird -- this is a FUZZ pedal -- and doing a double-stop bend will give you some totally sick ring-modulator-esque tones. It can be interesting to turn down the "Dist" knob sometimes to get a barely distorted, crackling, raw sound with that upper octave sizzling on top of a metallic, ring-modulated clang.

Cheap as these things go for, I think I'd buy a couple extras if I were gigging with it. I don't gig with it.

It's made of plastic, and it looks and feels cheap and fragile. Although it's a footswitch, I try not to step on it much, or very firmly.

Never yet had a reason. Doubt I can imagine bothering for a $30 pedal.

It's an unbelievable value! Here you get the til now rare or expensive Foxx Tone octave distortion, for pocket money. Bless Danelectro for having the guts to make one this cheap for us. Even if you only play it for a few songs, or just a few afternoons, it's worth the price. Copping the exact sound on the rideout solo of "Purple Haze"? You tell me your price. I'm glad I found this pedal for so little cash.

Pretty simple

I run this pedal with a Rhoades 73 electric piano with a RotoVibe through an Ampeg bass amp (RotoVibe first). I hated this pedal with my guitar rig but tried it just for fun with the Rhoades and found a great sound. The sound is really grindy, good for open and 7th chords, but noisy as hell. It has lots of hiss and sometimes picks up FM radio. The amount of hiss seems to depend on the power supply, and this weekend the venue's supply is really bad. It sounds like a waterfall when I'm not playing. I dig the sound in the studio but wish for less noise. With the Rhoades I would give the sound quality an 8 on a good day. With guitar it would be 0. If it could do its thing with the Rhoades without all the interference from neon beer signs and flourescent lights it would be perfect.

It has worked perfectly for two years with no problems.

Don't want to deal with them.

The style of music played with this pedal is Floyd, Can, Pixies, Velvet Underground things. This pedal works well for the style but the crappy nature of the pedal sometimes gets in the way of good sound. When the crowd complains about the hiss from the pedal you know it's time for something better. If it was stolen I would move on. I think I will try something else, maybe a Keeley mod Blues Driver. I want the grind but with less noise from the Toast.

Pretty dirt simple. The only controls are Level, Distortion, octave on/off switch and EQ. I got it used, no manual.

So far the sound I'm most liking it just the fuzz sound without the octave up. It's not pristine or smooth like a big muff. It's kind of ratty, but in a good way, if you EQ it right (if you EQ it too far to the treble side, it will sound like crispy crap). It's not something you're going to use all the time, but it's okay.

The octave up sounds is a bit brittle for my tastes. I get the feeling that it would sound awesome with a bass guitar though. Power chords are interesting with this thing. It will track them in a freaky kind of way.

It is noisy, and sometimes picks up radio stations.

Seems fairly reliable.

I wouldn't pay full price for this, but if you could get it extremely cheap, it might be worth checking out. Dano has other, much better mini pedals though (The Fish n Chips and Tuna Melt spring instantly to mind).

easy to use. 3 clearly labeled knobs, one switch. The switch doesn't have on/off labeled, but it's pretty clear when it's in octave mode or not.

This thing really surprised me. I was thinking of building an octave fuzz, but This thing was about as cheap as building a FOXX tone Machine clone. I was looking for an octave fuzz and had heard good things about this little guy, so why not? I tried it out and was amazed. with the octave off, the thing is a BMP, but crisper if you know what I mean, less muddy and more defined. I was surprised such a cute little box can create such bassy distortion/fuzz. Pure awesome. The octave on was pure gritty heaven. Excellent octave effect, it rips things up. It works well with other pedals and is nice and small. Responsive pots, good eq, not much bad to say about the sound.

thick plastic casing, mine came with a control protector. I can't see any reliability issues. I use a few pedal boards, It'll hold up fine. Seriously, don't abuse stompboxes by jumping on them, it's not necessary. If you gig, use a pedal board to protect your gear while travelling. There is no reason for this thing to break besides an idiot band member.

website is not so good. Like most effects manufacturs. I heard someone found the contact info for them.

I probably paid too much for it, but it's an excellent fuzz pedal that can easily compare to boutique octave fuzz clones. This little guy really surprised me, I'm questioning what to do with my Big muff after years of it's loyal service. If you're going for octave fuzz, definatly check this pedal out. You can mod it to FOXX tone machine specs very easily. Don't pay for a Fender Blender while this thing is still in production. Not a normal fuzz liek a fuzz face, but a very good octave fuzz that can compete with the Tone Machine, the Blender and the Ampeg Scrambler. Awesome value.

This has three knobs, one switch and a stomp switch. Easy enough to plug in and play, but enough control.

This is not an overdrive as it says on the box. It's a FUZZ. I've heard that this is a clone of the foxx tone machine. I have not tried the original so I can't comment.

This is a nice evil fuzz sound. The EQ knob can go from scorching to bassy. Lots of nice sounds, and it can give you a smooth sustain if you want it to. The octave up gives you some ringmodulator sounds or some clanging sounds if you play chords. The octave is quite discordent and only of interest to experimentalists.

Plastic pedal so you wouldn't want to stomp on it.

No opinion.

This is a great fuzzbox. It's got some nice smooth sustain for classic rockers, or some nice noisy sounds and interesting overtones for experimental players. Turn the octave off if you want to play Hendrix, turn it on if you want Sonic Youth.
Fuzzes really are a very personal taste - there's such a huge variety you have to keep trying them and find one you like.
This pedal is great value for money. I wouldn't use it live due to its reliability but it's great to keep handy in the studio or when writing. I can't believe that something so cheap sounds so good and its definitely worth a tenner of anyone's money.

As other reveiwers have already mention this can be a tricky little bugger to get the hang of, but with some fiddling you can get a some glorious fuzz tones.

I'm a vintage fan and use a '61 Burns Vibra artist and a 64'Harmony Rocket, through either a Traynor 100w all valve head and 2x10 or 4x10 Fender cab, or a Vox AC50 head and cab or Fender Twin. Through all set ups and with different guitars this thing sounds great. It really does depend on your set up if you have a 10w practice amp (which I do) and a cheap guitar it will probably sound terrible as with most effects pedals. With the valve amps overdriven a bit it warms up the fuzz sound a lot.
Is it noisy??? Of course its noisy its a bloody fuzz pedal, and not a nice clean modern version either it has a hint of that uncontrolabilty of the old (Maestro) fuzzes but this one can be tamed! This is not for everyone but a lot of good sounds can be got from this little box. I managed to re-create (as near as dammit) Count Fives Psychotic Reaction, plus the sound of Music Machine/Seeds fuzz and a multitude of 60's garage bands, although you cant get that (Maestro) 'Satisfaction' sound its as near as you'll get for $30.
As far as fuzz pedals go they all vary so you really have to hear it first before buying, but if you dig that raw buzzy out'a'control 60's fuzz tone than you'll like this pedal, as it has the sound without the humming, feedback and reliabilty problems, so good for live stuff.

Well it doesnt look the strongest pedal in the world, its a bit plasticy and the knobs are a bit fragile so cant go kicking it about, but other than that its been very releable not had a problem with any Dano gear.

Never dealt with em, probably never will.

I play 60's Garage Punk/Surf and primitve rock'n'roll, through beaten up vintage equipment for 15 years and this little pedal works a treat. It aint exactly the same as a vintage fuzz, but as they all vary greatly that doesnt matter, the only thing that gives it away as a modern pedal is its quiet when switching in/out and doesnt feedback no where near as bad. Ive not compared to other new fuzz pedals only vitage ones and this compares pretty well.
Buy this pedal its only $26 for gods sake, everybody needs a little fuzz in thier lives.

Very easy to use...on/off switch for octave up sound...level, distortion and eq controls as well.

My main reason for submitting a review here: there's an effect called the Ampeg Scrambler which fetches entirely too much money retail or on eBay; probably because it's a cool pedal to have. This $30 pedal produces basically the same sound. Down the neck with octave up on it sounds like trash can lids smashing together (in a good way, of course)..up the neck you can really hear the second ocatve...nice ping to it...with the octave up switch off, it's a nice warm fuzz pedal...as said earlier, controls give you a wide range of tone...but KEEP IN MIND, this is JUST AS GOOD as the Ampeg Scrambler...don't fall into the cool pedal trap.

I would recommend highly one of the hard polymer knob "Protectors" as I've broken the cheap plastic knobs off of one of their pedals before...I don't gig but I probably wouldn't expect this to take much of a beating...that said, it's a $30 pedal so, buy another if need be.

Bottom line here is: it's cheap as hell, it sounds pretty good (no way you'd want it as a primary distortion pedal but for fun/change of pace it's solid) and you can do some cools things with it. I'd recommend it if you like Jimi, stoner rock, Sabbath or just want to irritate someone (the sound can get quite trashy).

Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Don't play chords with the octave effect. Also use the neck pickup it will track much better, especially around the 12th fret.

Yeah I can see how it might sound crap, but I got some very nice sounds out of it. And you know how? EQ! Yeah as with most dirtboxes, you can tailor any tone you want if you change the eq on your amp or on a pedal or soemthing. That said the EQ on the French Toast is very good too, it's more like a low pass filter in my opinion, so you're cutting off the higher frequencies the more you turn it down. I'll give it a 5 because it depends on so many factors. The upper octave is good, but not as good as other upper octaves I've tried. It doesn't track well, but the sound is the same on any upper octave really, just soiunds like controlled feedback.

Hmm dunno, it's mostly plastic and surface mount and stuff, but I've never had a Dano pedal crap out on me so who knows.

I'm sure they'd be helpful. I hear a lot of people just get new pedals sent out to them if they break under warranty. Thats the benefit of cheap pedals.

I suppose it depends on what you're expecting to sound like when you get this bad boy. I have a thing for fuzzes/octaving etc, but I don't own a Jimmy album so I have no expectations.

As at least one reviewer has already pointed out, it is much easier to get a good sound out of this pedal with good equipment. Any pedal is going to sound like #### playing through a 15 watt transistor practice amp. Also, a little goes a long way with this pedal as far as the settings. Keep your tone down around 9 to 10:00. The gain is most useful at the lower settings as well. Use your ears. Keeping the gain low on your amp is critical as well. It should be remembered that Jimi Hendrix kept his amps in a lower gain structure, and colored that basic tone with his pedals.

I use this pedal with a USA Hamer Studio with Seymour Duncan P90 pickups into a Crate V5212 tube amp. At present, this is the only pedal I use other than a Buddha wah. At lower settings I find it to be as quiet as you can expect from a distortion pedal. I use it primarily for solos with the octave off. Through this rig, I am very pleased with the sound. I would like to compare it with a fuzz factory, rat, big muff, or fulldrive. For the money, I think this is a very entertaining effect.

Although the construction of this thing is far from robust, I have had no problems with to date. it has actually held up better than other more expensive pedals I have used in the past.

I have never dealt with the company after five years of use.

I use this as a significant part of my sound playing blues/rock/alternative country etc. If it were stolen I would be tempted to try other fuzz pedals as well, but for the money, it would be difficult to find its equal.

3 knobs (gain, level, eq) plus small toggle for octave. not hard if you're experienced with tones, setups, effects, etc....

using different guitars(strats, dan dc , dano u2,i'm primarily a sc player), variety of distortions/ od's into a peavey classic 50.i tried it out in the store with a gretsch import with a single pickup into an old vox ss twin 'verb...you could get the jimi sound, no probs..

took it home, and i love it even more...using the octave in the lower position it nails the solo from "little sister" from queens of the stone age.
i leave the eq at about 5, distorion varies from 3-8(it varies, has a lot of gain)...
bottom line: for the bucks, it's great. i paid 20 for it new (didn't have a box)..you can dial in some good classic fuzz/ jimi etc sounds, but you can also get heavier, modern tones ala muse, some radiohead stuff,etc....if you're into metal you can also make this thing get nasty as well!

yes, it's plastic. but, i've got a 5 year old dano "black coffee" that's still going..on the other hand i've got pedals i paid 140 for that are already going bad in less time....same as everything, hit or miss.

most of the dano stuff, either you love it or hate it. for the bucks, you generally get some good sounding stuff. i paid 20 for it, it's fun, has lots of useable tone.....it's certainly going to make some unique tones for me!

You have four degrees of freedom on that pedal. Level, Drive, Eq and Octave-Switch, which alters the tonal quality of the effect quite drastically. Basically, it is rather a fuzz, not a dostortion. Getting a good sound out of it is hard, but once you have understood the trick, it
is a source of fun. It can produce some fairly disgusting tones. Think of mosquito nest in a beer can. If you want to play guitar weirdo, simply dial in the most disgusting sound you can imagine (it's easy, trust me, tip: eq far right!) and let your friends doubt your mental sanity.

Ease of use if you want to hurt your ears: 9.
Ease of use, if you want to get some usable sound out of it, that is somehow pleasing: 5. Excellent sounds are there, but well, the pedal has a wide range of tones and interacts heavily with your equipment, so there are no general rules. Steep learning curve, but the magic is there.

I give it a solid 7. No manual included by the way. Would not make sense anyway.

This little thing is a disgusting monster, but if you treat it right, it will treat you right.

My first approach: Epi Les Paul->Toast-> Vox Pathfinder 10. Sheer horror. Buzz, squeak, hum, fizzle. A very harsh sound. But there is a lot to be explored. I think it's essential to set the output level that way, that your (cheap transistor) amp can hadle it without getting into ugly distortion itself, but of course, you can have that if you want, up to the point, that all harmonics are swallowed. I think this thing is good for driving tube amps. So my Vox, which has a _really_ nice clean sound, is no good for that application.

Next Setup: Epi->Kampo 901 Tube Overdrive->Toast->Vox Pathfinder 10.
Well, useless. The toast renders the EQ-Knobs of the tube overdrive useless. Everything is mudd.

Next try: Epi-> Toast -> Kampo 901 -> Vox Pathfinder 10.
Nice! In addition to the different sounds the Toast can produce (in combination with the guitars volume knob!) I haven an additional three band EQ on the tube pedal to shape the fuzz to my hearts desire. Too much "icepick"? Eq low on toast or heights down on the EQ. More mids? No problem! Ok, your amp can do that too, but-> kick in the tube distortion and have some extra fatness. Hit the octave in and well, good! Power chords work well with added octave!

Ok now, what about adding a Wah and trying it with a Pod, for the VOX is not really made for that impact.

Epi-> Cry Baby Wah -> Toast - > Kampo Overdrive -> POD Brit Classic
Bad, bad, bad! Wah? What Wah?

Next try:
Epi-> Toast -> Cry Baby Wah-> Kampo Overdrive -> POD Brit Classic
Damn! This is crazy! The wah really shines with the octave hit in! And the overdrive adds some additional fatness to the sound and there is much more to be explored! This is where I stopped last night after 6 or 7 hours of fun and frustration, so beware!

After all, this pedal is difficult. It adds quite a variety of tonal possibilities to the rig if used right. It's definately not a plug and play device! Care for it, and it cares for you. Know, that you have a volume knob on your guitar, and that you can use that to fuzz or unfuzz the sound. Set the levels in your effect chain right. Don't overdo with cheap low wattage amps. Experiment, take some time, take a trip to fuzzland.

If you want something, that makes you sound good: 0 Points.
If you want to make something sound good: 10 Points.

So I give a solid 5.

Plastic housing. Wiggly kobs. Nasty, shocking look. If I giged with it I would be in a mode of "I don't care, if you care" so it would not be a problem, if it broke. ;-)

A really nice feature would be an appropriate metal housing with a footswitch for the octave effect.

After all I would give it a 5.

Don't know. Never talked to them. But if you send in a registration card, you get 1 year warranty. Never used anything from danelectro before.

For now, I really like that thing, because it added quite a lot of tonal flexibility to my setup. It was not build to sound good out of the box. You decide how to use it, and it can really spice up some things. It's quite good for solos, and with the right settings, you can get some really nice, fuzzy sounds, and interesting power chords with added octave up and possibly more. It really shines in combination with a wah, if you are into that. But you can also wreak tonal havoc easily.

In my opinion either you hate that thing, or you love it. It reminds me of an ugly doll. So as always: your mileage may vary.

For me, the overall rating is 7 because of the cheap housing. But the fun factor is a good 10.