Danelectro DJ-5 Tunamelt Tremolo

very easy to use - mine is the older unit with the toggle switch instead of rotary to change from "hard" to "soft" modes. Two knobs for rate and depth. The knobs are small and sensitive, a bit difficult to adjust on the fly on dimly lit stages...I use a homebuilt poser supply to power my pedals

This is the last effect on my pedalboard. I use it with a variety of amps depending on the venue. No noise whatsoever. There is a bit of volume boost when the pedal is engaged. Although I was initially annoyed by this, over the years by actually using it on countless gigs I have found this to be useful. It helps the effect cut through instead of being lost int the mix. The "soft" setting is definitely the winner. Classic tremolo sound. The "hard" setting, I have found no use for after ten years. Goes from on to off. I bought it from a band mate about 10 years ago for 20 bucks at rehearsal. I plugged it in, switched it from "hard" to "soft" and started playing some CCR. He instantly wanted to know how I got "that sound" out of it. Geeze!

Well, it has had a permanent position on my pedalboard for about 10 years. I would say that is reliable enough.

never contacted them, I only own two dano pedals

I play classic rock, blues, alternative, contemporary adult and original music with some folks from Nashville. I love the small footprint on my pedalboard. I love the classic vibe of the effect. It is not used often, but it fulfills it's intended purpose for cheap. It has not let me down for nearly a decade. Too bad it has been redesigned.

Built the way trem pedals should be built - just like an amp tremolo, just with two knobs.

Simplest thing to use.

Want to add that there's a very slight boost to the affected signal that just keeps at the same level as the unaffected signal. The boost is nicely done - not too much, just enough.

For this price? The best in its range, or anything costing twice as much.

Just really nice and warm tremolo waves like amp tremolo. This must be the cheapest (and best for the money) solution if you have a tremless amp.

The only drawback is the fact that the knobs are just so tiny, making it hard to turn on the fly. Have considered just housing the guts in a bigger metal case with bigger knobs.

These dano tunamelt things are the winners in the cheapo dano range. I've got 3 of them. Enough said.

Not hard at all, but knobs are so small it can be tricky to tweak them just right.

Danelectro are a budget brand, and as such, this pedal performs well enough. You get a tremolo that works, you can choose whether it's fast, slow, whether you want it subtle or strong etc, etc. It works fine. But the problem is it really doesn't cut through that well all the time and gets lost a bit on some settings, even when you set it to a hard tremolo. It just lacks a bit of solid umph that you'd get with a better pedal. If you're thinking of trying out tremolo, get this and then decide if you want to invest a more expensive one that will inevitibley work and sound better.

Had mine for a few years, and it had the stomp guard with it, so very solid.

Nice little tremolo, but if you're experienced with this effect, spend a bit more and get a better effect.

easy

Great sound when switched on, absolutely useless in bypass mode, it seems to mess with the phase, had to remove it from my board. It's a shame because the trem itself sounds beautiful.

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I'll have to try another one, unfortunately...

The guitar player in my former band had this pedal. I borrowed it from him once to use in my bass setup. Immediately ordered one for myself.

A great tremolo pedal with just the controls you need: speed, intensity and a switch for soft or harsh tremolo. You won't need a manual to get the effect you like out of this baby. Just plug in and start twiddling; You'll find a setting to your liking in no time.

I use this stompbox at the end of my bass effect chain:
Boss GE7B Bass Equalizer -> Electro Harmonix Q-tron -> EBS Multidrive -> Danelectro Tuna Melt. I play Reverend, Fender and Squier basses through a 1972 Fender Bassman rig. It really doesn't matter what bass I plug in; the Tuna Melt just does what it needs to do. With both knobs at 3 o' clock and the switch set to 'soft' it gives me a nice tremolo effect for quiet, spacey movements. When it has to be freaky, I turn every knob at max and turn on the Q-tron. Sounds wicked.

There's a very, very small alteration in my tone when the pedal's on, but it doesn't bother me that much. Hey, this is a pedal that costed me ??? 27 right out of the box. I'm not gonna complain about a slight change in tone. Besides, this thing ain't noisy at all, so there's another plus for it.

I didn't bother trying other tremolo pedals. I noticed the guys from Oceansize using it so I guessed the stompbox had to be decent. It is!

When I borrowed the guitarist's Tuna Melt the intensity knob wasn't working. According to him the knob functioned normally before he gave it to me...and after I gave it back :S

I would gig without a backup, but don't put too much faith in its reliability. If it would fail on stage, I'd probably toss it and play on.

Never had to deal with them.

I've had experience with other Dano pedals (distortion, tuner) but didn't like 'em that much. I was a bit sceptical toward the Tuna Melt therefore. However, it's a great pedal, certainly for the money I paid. What's more to say, the pedal just does what it's supposed to do. Nothing more nothing less.

If it would break down or was lost, I'd probably look into other tremolo pedals out there. I'd try to locate a more reliable stompbox and one that would even had less effect on my tone.

It is very easy to use this tremolo pedal. It has a Rate/Speed knob, Depth knob and one toggle type High/Low tremolo sound selection switch. This pedal has a very warm, full and rich sound. It has really amazed me when I first heard it. I used it for both acoustic and electric guitars and it is superb. I mostly use its Low end tremolo sound by selecting it from the toggle switch. The Low end tremolo effect is a real pleasure to play. I found its sound very smooth and have not noticed any backgroud noise. It did not come with a manual and I think there is no need of it because of its very simple understandable operation.

I found its sound quality one of the best. It is very smooth, rich, warm and has plenty of depth to be used in any kind of home or live situation. It can produce from the most mellow to the lightening tremolo effects with ease. It is not noisey atall. It remains noise free at any setting. The effect produce by this small box is very strong. I do not agree with some's review that it has a very weak sound effect, mine has a real powerhouse of tremolo effects. I think may be someone has got the defective one, he should better replace it from the company if it still falls under warantty period. I have used it for both single coil and humbucker pickups guitars and found great. I am using Fender FM212R, Yamaha G50 112 III and Yamaha JX50 combos and it handle each of them perfectly.

I have been using it for the last one year and it has not yet give me any sort of trouble. I have used it in live gigs and it is okay. But I did not like its thin plastic body. The knobs are again very small and thin, pedal looks to me more like a toy against Boss pedals. I like the thick metal base plate which gives it a heavy feeling and more reliable bottom side to withstand the rough handling at stage. Circuit & operation wise I will give it 9 points but body wise I will give it 5 only.

I play rock, blues, popular and country music. It is a very good match for all kind of styles I play. I have been playing guitar for the last 27 years. I have lot of gears including Yamaha Studio Lord SL400S (Les Paul copy)1980, Yamaha AES620, Yamaha Pacifica 412V, Epiphone les paul black beauty, Ovation CS257, Fender 12 string D6 and Yamaha FG470S guiars. I have lot of Boss pedals and other brands pedals. If this is lost I will buy it again because of its sound quality otherwise I would perfer to buy the Behringer Ultra tremolo pedal because of it good professional shape and same price range.

The knobs are small and I can't get the sound I need. The pedal is absolutely worthless to me. The battery is a little difficult to get to for a mass produced pedal. I expect to pull out a screw driver for my boutique pedals but not for a plastic cheapy.

This pedal is worthless unless you are only looking for a slight trem effect. So much of the original guitar signal comes through it's difficult to hear the trem effect at all. Even at the "hard" setting you don't get a hard sounding trem.
There seems to be a slight decrease in volume also that is impossible make up with this pedal. Not a problem if you have a boost pedal, but it's annoying. It's just not good enough for pro use.

It's cheap plastic but it seems sturdy enough at that.

Didn't deal with them.

I hate this pedal. I can't say it any more plain than that. Maybe I was expecting too much for $39 but you can barely hear the trem effect because so much of the original signal comes through. The slight decrease in volume is unacceptable. Maybe it would be good for a bedroom jammer, but even still, there are much better pedals out there.

Great sound, but small knobs make it difficult to change settings in live setting. You'll probably want to find your setting and leave it, and also get one of those plastic protectors that Danelectro makes. I put it on top of my amp, and don't stomp on it, so the fragility doesn't bother me.
Basic two knob function of classic tremolo, with added bonus of having the hard switch, making it sound like you're turning the power on and off rather than the soft which is like turning the volume up and down.

Fantastic. I also own a Carl Martin tremolo (SurfTrem) and this sounds just as good at half the price. Plus, unlike the SurfTrem it has the hard switch, which allows me to get machine-gun like heavy Cramps style tremolo effects. Versatile, high quality sound and cheap. Get it!

I play secular music so I like to keep mine on the soft setting with both knobs around 2 o'clock, more or less, or for the Cramps sounds, put it on hard setting, crank both knobs, and crank the reverb on your amp. You will become a bikini girl, baby!

Cheaply built case and knobs, but worth it for the sound. I've had mine for about three years with zero problems. I set it and forget it, leave it on the amp, not on the floor.

Fantastic value. Cheaper than a set of bass strings, but it sounds great.

Easy to use-take a little time to find your sound.

Sounds great to me regardless if some may think it looks cheap. Who cares-if you get the sound ya want and you take care of your equpiment it should last you. Made of thick plastic and the smaller compact version is great to save room. 2 tremolo style--old classic and newer. does the job and is great. Better to use a power supply tho. Sounds just as good as more expensive pedals. Higher price doesn't ness. mean better sound. That's all also to do with someone's own ears. Some may like it some may not.

Yes great. Just don't use it as a hammer.

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Great pedal, if you're concerned of the plastic, mod it by putting it into a different metal box then. But great sound, looks, everything.

Pretty much explains itself. Easy.

I love this thing. I especially like pairing it with distortion. Reminiscent of Chicago blues tone. Plenty of variation can be had when tweaking. I tend to go to a subtle setting more so than the Tommy and the Shondells thing. Mine is very quiet and the price was definatley right. I only use it with guitar.

I gig with it with all confidence. Granted it's plastic but I've had mine for a bunch of years and have never felt I had to treat it any different than any of my other sturdier effects.

No idea. Never had to contact them.

Been playing 42 years. I've learned to let my ears determine what I like and not what a particular artist endorses. I do put a lot of stock in the reviews found here.

That said, I do have some favorites in my chain like an Ibanes AD-80, Boss ce-2 silver screw, Analog Man modded ts-808, block logo phase 90 and Dynacomp. This pedal fits nicely in the chain and I find myself using it frequently. One downside is too much "depth" feels heavy and uninspiring to me.

One last plus is it doesn't make that tell tale "click" that the tremolo pedal on my Twin makes when I engage it.