Danelectro DJ-3 BLT Echo

two knobs for tweaking the sound and an on/off button, how much easier could it get?

Go Scotty Moore! go cat go. I love this thing. I play an old 60's 335 style hollowbody Harmony (with those great DeArmond pickups) and if you like the cramps, pretty things, howlin' wolf, and of course the main man Mr. Scotty Moore you owe it you yourself to buy this thing. I also have used it for harmonica playing and it gives a great sound that really makes the harmonica sound spooky and bluesy. right on. I bought this for around 25 bucks (I think they're around 29.99 or so at most places) and to get this good of a sound for so little cash makes me very happy. I can't imagine that anyone who plays Sun style rockabilly, surf, or 50's era Howlin' wolf style electric blues (back when blues music was so cool) would not totally dig this pedal. The Dan-Echo probably gives you a greater range of sound options but if you want that old school sun sound for a very small investment, here's your pedal.

I have 3 of these mini-pedals and I've never had any problems with them. They don't seem particularly heavy duty but I've used these things live, practiced on them a bunch and they still all work fine.

never dealt with 'em.

I tend to play mostly 60's and 70's style garage punk and primitive blues numbers. I use the BLT sparingly but there are times when I'd be lost without it. Great rockabilly pedal and and makes the harmonica sound so much cooler.

For an inexpensive pedal it's fine. The control dials are too small to calibrate to the fine degree I am normally used to (as in an old Premier Reverberation tank or, for a smaller comparative example, on a Boss pedal). Too much figeting needed to open and close the pedal to change the battery. (By the way: Nice battery design guys!)

For amplified harp (harmonica) this is a great little unit. I prefer it head and shoulders over by much beloved Boss DM-3 Analog Delay! This is more true, in sound quality, to the old echo/reverb effects of the Fifties. It sounds an awful lot like my '58 Premeir Reverberation tank! Nice, hollow echo. I use the pedal very subtly: Mix is on 11 o'clock and Repeat is on 11 o'clock --12 for more "romance". Amp: 1950s Newcomb M-5 guitar amp with a one 5x7; '59 Fender Bassman reissue.

I used this pedal in a 4th of July Parade with a battery-powered amp, WALKING down the center of Indian Hill Blvd. for a mile and a half in 97-degree heat! The pedal outlasted me. I have no reservations about taking this pedal to gig anywhere (It is replacing my '58 Premier tank for gigs!)

Never had the opportunity to engage Danelectro's customer support, but if their support is anything like their product and their pacjkaging, then you can expect superior service.

For blues, this is a great pedal. For harp, this is a great pedal. I think it would be dynamite for surf guitar! I've had it for three months and would replace it in a heartbeat if it were lost. Great, uncomplicated echo. Neat looks. I would like a quicker, easier way to get to the battery. Better than the more expensive Boss pedals, even the sought-after analogs. I am also going to try the Danelectro Tuna Melt tremolo or the Chicken Salad Vibrato to gain additional signal break up (used VERY subtly) for the old '50s Chicago blues harp sound. I've been playing music for 32 years and this gear really brings back the fun of it all!

Very simple. Adjust the knobs to taste and you're going. If I were to compare this to other delay pedals, I'd be tempted to describe it as restrictive (no delay time control) and useless; but I got this pedal to achieve a nice retro sound. It's all aces for that purpose!

Bear in mind that I use this pedal in the Dano mini pedalboard which comes with the AC adaptor. I read a review that it (as well as other Dano pedals) really eats batteries and that the sound becomes distorted as the battery grows weaker.

I have no such problem (since I use the adaptor)and the slap back is clean and bright if a bit hissy (the more pedals, the more hiss). Just the ticket for that Scotty Moore/Duane Eddy/Dick Dale feel.

You can also get a very Steely Dan-esque echo with this pedal (think Bohdisatva).

Any doubts I may have had about these mini-Dano's reliability are long gone. The mini-pedalboard/carry case was a wise investment: easy storage, convenient packaging that makes it ready to play & ready to carry, patch cords & AC adaptor included ...

It also protects the pedals and provides a stable base. Don't play soccer with the pedal, handle it with care and you will see it is very reliable.

As I've said in my other reviews, never had the need to!

Got this baby off of Ebay and I'm not disappointed. As I've mentioned on the effect pedal Forum, where were those guys back in the 80's when I was a student with little money? As far as bang for the buck, Danelectro hit the bulls eye when they created their mini pedal series.

I could have had a workable pedalboard that looked cool and sounds good - amazing even considering the price paid. I still kind of wish Danelectro had gone all the way and made the BLT with a bit more delay range, making it closer to the old Boss Analog Delay (a 30 to 300 ms range would have suited me fine), but for that pseudo-rockabilly echo, this pedal really delivers.

The Danelectro minis seem somehow to agree better with my Mexican Fender Stratocaster than they do with my Epiphone Les Paul (except for the French Toast Octave Fuzz), but that's fine as my other effect pedals (Boss, Guyatone, Ibanez, Zoom & Dunlop) seem to agree more with my Les Paul!

Altogether , great value for the money!

Pretty easy to use. Battery compartment needs a screwdriver or a dime to open though. That's what kinda irks me.

It sounds really hokey. It's not a very fluid delay type sound, but more like a really played up echo spacey type one. But that's why it says echo on the package and not delay.
The battery tends to drain quick and you start getting a buzz-tone rather than echo. It almost turns into a distortion pedal.

I use this pedal with a Les Paul or Strat into a Fender Vibrolux tube amp. It gives a distorted guitar sound that rockin' arena sound, but sounds really crummy clean. Like I said sounds to fake.

Not too reliable with batteries, but other than that this baby has been kicked around a stage like you wouldn't beleive and it still looks new after a year.

Yeah right who ever goes to the customer support people?

Overall rating I would give it a 7. Not a real winner in my book. I wish I would have held out for a delay.

Easy after a few minutes of twiddling. As others have said, easy to get a subtle reverb-small room setting to warm up a 'verbless amp.

Some metallic transients with an acoustic on high settings (my rackmount Ibanez AD199 does the same except on stereo). For live performance it's certainly more than adequate, and people are favourably impressed by it.

Peole make an unnecessary issue over the plastic. It's profile with the ribs and thickness plus the metal baseplate make it a non-issue. Drop an amp on your pot-metal Danos or stamped steel Boss pedals and see what happens. It's very small size and egg-shape mean it'll withstand any reasonable abuse. Too new for long-term, but the zero-force switch and good design minimise any concerns. Plus, it's cheap to buy! Everything else is three times the price!

Rock, acoustic, Blues, Jazz. Great for rockabilly. Gives some spacy Pink-Floydish but no extreme delays. Great for reverb substitute. I give it a nine, for great value-for-money. Nothing's perfect so ten would be wrong, but there's not too much wrong with this little unit, for an infrequent delay user.

Two buttons easy to use.

I have a strat and a 335, sounds great through this little pedal. You can get some really nice early Elvis, Sun Records sounds from this thing when you are doing that finger picking Mystery Train or That's all right mama kind of thing. Strumming or playing chords have a nice full sound. Great for playing rhythm/accompaniment. Adds a lot of nice echoy sound to your guitar. Doesnt add much to single note soloing though, actually a bit annoying with the "Repeat" effect, but to add a nice Scotty Moore touch when playing rhythm its the best. Tonewise it does take a little bit from your guitar .. tend to keep your guitar a little bit trebly but not too bad. I really love this effect pedal, it is very unique and have such a nice sound. Maybe not for everyone but if you are after that early Elvis , rockabilly sound its pretty good. I give it a 9 because it does seem to take away a bit of the tone of the guitar but it is a 10 for the cool effect it produces.

Looks a bit fragile with the plastic case but I only use it at home. Can probably be used in a gig with no problem but I dont know for how long. The knobs are tiny too. Pretty cheap construction but it does bring the price down.

I like all variety of music jazz, blues, hard rock, Brit rock, rockabilly stuff. This is a great pedal to get that early rockabilly sound!! It just adds more authenticity when you are playing in that style. Also good for adding a bit more atmosphere when you are strumming along playing rhythm guitar. Make a nice clean guitar sound sparkle a little more. I like it a lot.

The manual is most comprehensive, it perfectly describes the adjustment of the rotary selector dials. It was quite easy to read the manual for long periods of time.

Not too noisy, run single coils and fender amps also musicman. Can easily get the sound of Eddie Arnold.

I jumped up and down on it and now it broke.

The are still in business, not like those vintage companies!

Actually, this is a great pedal for $30.00, easy, fun. Don't get too serious to have fun!

Very easy to get vintage slap back echo like Scotty Moore(Elvis' guitar player), Duane Eddy and Brian Setzer's Stray Cat tone. You can also get a killer spaghetti western type "Good, Bad and the Ugly" type of thing. Very cool. Just twiddle with the two knobs and you can get some kind of classy rootsy sound from this thing.

Use a tele, a strat, a Dano U2, and a DeArmond Starfire special. I have two Fender Blues Jr's. The fender guitars all have Van Zandt pickups. The amps have new old stock tubes and Weber speakers. I'm in a blues/rockabilly/surf band. This thing works great. It's quiet and for 30 bucks you might as go try one out. If you looking for a rockabilly slap back this has great tone for that. I've used an old DOD analog delay, a Roland Space Echo and recently a Boss RV-3 and none of them except the expensive Space Echo have as warm of a tone as this little pedal. It was a very pleasant find for 30 bucks.

I'm not sure. If you don't stomp on it like an ape it should be fine. I'm going to set it up on my amp because I don't need foot access to it. It's on much of the time. I give it an 8 for being in a plastic case.

no clue. I deal with my local music store for problems with equipment.

For rock-a-billy, blues and roots music this is a great little thing. I've been playing for 15 years. Lost or stolen I'd buy it again. I might go and buy a spare or two for the price. For the price of the Boss RV-3, I could buy three or four of these guys.

Two knobs, a button. The guitar can almost work it.

This is a great sounding echo pedal. That forty dollars would buy something with this many sounds in it is unbelievable. No noise, at least none I could readily detect. I use a Ritchfield bass or a Lotus strat-copy through this into a Fender Champion 110. It is useful for making sounds of some vintage surf, most rockabilly, or to add a little depth to a song. At both knobs maxed out, it is too much for all but the very silliest versions of cover songs you could come up with. (try playing "Bawitdaba" on it at these settings, to prove it;)

I dont know if this is very common, but after about twenty days of use, it quit. I was playing, and it simply shut off. I discovered that the bypass was broken, as it wouldn't turn on after many attempts. Now it is either on when it gets plugged in, or off, and it won't change. If it had survived, I would say that it is a reliable pedal and that, if you don't try to kill it, it will stand a decent length of time without too many problems. Pray for the bypass, though.

I'll post this in a couple of weeks, if it gets fixed.

I play surf music. I have been playing surf, off and on, for the last year, more dedicated to it in the last two months. If it got stolen, I'd buy either this or the Dan-Echo, if I had that much. Then again, I might buy this, a tremolo, and an overdrive for the same price. Their isn't enough of the BLT to choose something to hate (except the switch) or like. I compared it to all of the mini pedals, and bought both a chorus and this one. I chose it because it makes the sound a little bit more like an old live record if you play that sort of stuff. When I make music, nothing helps or hinders, it just makes it sound sick (like distortion) or mortally ill (like chorus, phaser, echo, distortion, wah, and crap guitars on heavy acid).

There are two knobs: Mix and Repeat. Enough said.

When I first saw this pedal in the store I thought to myself "what a piece of CRAP". Then last week I figured that I would try it. So I sat down and and I fell in love with that sound. Now I have purchased other Danelectro pedals from this line. Now anyway I like to play Metallica and I know that they don't use this kind of effect but I found that you could use this like a Reeverb if it's set right.

Now everyone's main complaint is that it's plastic and it will probably break easily but I found that since I'm such a big guy and I step down hard that IT STILL WON'T BREAK.

GREAT COMPANY

I think this pedal rocks.