Danelectro DJ-5 Tunamelt Tremolo

I wonder why no-one else mentioned the fact that the depth control doesn't work when in "hard" mode. So what you get is on-off-on-off etc. I called the shop where I bought mine from and they assured me that mine is not defective. After keeping an eye out for a cheap trem pedal for a few years, a week after buying the Dano I bought a Boss TR2 for the same price secondhand! Now this odd business with the Dano's "hard" switch may make this function less useful for some people, but would provide an occasional bit of fun. When I sell the Dano, this will be something I will miss - the Boss just doesn't go as "square" as this with the depth on max. In "soft" mode, the range and sweep of the controls is excellent - plenty of smooth variation.

I'm fussy about noise, and this pedal would keep me happy even for recording. There is a bit of noise of course, but no more than the Boss, apart from a bit of clicking in hard mode with the speed up. One thing you will have to learn to live with or modify (probably not too hard) is that there is a bit of volume boost when the effect is switched on. The Boss doesn't have this, which is a bonus for me, as I have a small valve amp that I like to run just below breakup. So with that volume boost, unless I turn down or play quieter the trem pushes the amp into overdrive. Apart from this, the quality and range of sounds is excellent. Does it suck tone? There may be a bit going on, but a few goes swapping between through and direct didn't reveal anything really noticeable.

You obviously weren't meant to play football with Danelectro minis, but then I had some loose solder joints to repair after dropping another Boss pedal from waist height a few years ago. Well I don't kick my gear around, so would have expected a good few years out of the Dano. Constuction and layout of components was better than expected. The PCBs are quite accessable, therefore repairable. One thing that did concern me was the proximity of the reverse side of one circuit board to the metal bass plate. I have put some tape over this so the risk of shorting something out is gone.

"Hey Ken, check out my new trem pedal, it's soooo cuuuute!!" This one would be right at home in Barbie land, with its bright plastic and faux-chrome knobs. If I hadn't come across the Boss I would have been quite happy with the Dano. At considerably less than half the price new, the sound is pretty much on a par with the Boss, with economies made in constuction, which suits me fine. The Boss must surely last longer though, which along with its lack of volume boost is why I will keep it, and sell the Dano.

I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned the fact that when switched to "hard", the depth control doesn't have any effect - the signal is basically switched on ond off! (I called the shop that I bought it from and they assure me that mine is not unusual.) I would have been happy with speed and depth controls, as on on amp, and saw a "hard" switch as a bonus. Given the lack of depth control, this option is the unit's novelty factor. It therefore may not be so useful, especially as there is a bit of clicking associated with this, as the signal is switched on and off. It will however provide some occasional fun! In "soft" mode the range of both controls is excellent - plenty of smooth variation.

I'm fussy about noise - I bypassed a Dod Vibrothang because of this. While I couldn't describe the Dano as utterly without hiss, (what do you expect!) I can't see that the little there is is going to annoy me even for recording. I can't really be sure that there is any tone-sucking going on here compared to plugging straight in. I assume there is a little of this, but again, not enough to bother anyone. The thing that I'll have to either learn to live with or modify (probably not too hard) is the volume boost when the effect is switched off. It really does sound good though and as I've mentioned the range and sweep of the controls are excellent.

You are obviously not supposed to play football with these Dano minis. Then again, I had to repair some dry solder joints after dropping a Boss pedal once. Inside the Dano, one corner of the circuit board is virtually touching the metal base-plate. Is this going to short something out? Not on mine -I'll put some tape over it. Apart from this, the guts are neat, with the circuitry being quite accessable, and therefore repairable. If used with reasonable care I can imagine this pedal having a reasonable lifespan

"Hey Ken, check out my new trem pedal - it's soooo cuuute!!" This thing would be right at home in Barbie-land, with its faux-chrome and bright plastic. Maybe its knobs are a bit dodgy, but it certainly lives up to the obvious intention of providing a useable effect at a budget price. The idea is probably that you should by 5 or 6 pedals in this range. Plenty of people will I'm sure.

Has 2 knobs-one speed, teh other resonance (like a depth control), and a hard\soft switch which does pretty much what it says. There was no manual but folks, if you cant figure this thing out, i would love to know how the hell you turned on your computer and got here.

this thing ROCKS! i think i like it so much because i am highly intriguied by the sound of a tremolo in general-i think its the neatest effect out there. Chorus, flange, phase, vibrato- theyre all so common and arent very different from each other (but yes i can tell the difference between them). A trem is unique and just somehting different, and when it costs this little, cmon.
There is very little noise from this thing-if any at all. For the price, i guarantee there is a lot less noise than you would expect. Can go from very slow (onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn-offfffff-onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...) to oozie fast-i mean the kind gangsters use in the hood, really fast! the ONLY thing that isnt perfect about it is that the effect is not as present with a distorted sound, but with the switch to "hard" it works just fine. As inexpensive as tehy are, it might be a good idea to have 2 for gigs-one on soft (for clean), one on hard for distortion.

well, its plastic and very small. Actually, the thing that bothers me more is the size, not the material. you almost have to pinpoint your foot to hit the button which is very small, this could be a problem in live situations. but construction seems above average, no need for a backup.

overall, i give it a 10 because it sounds great, and because it sounds great for teh price, so it gets a solid 10. an incredible value.

This thing is incredibly easy to use. No manual, but there's really no need for one. I was in surf city in just a few seconds after I figured out how to put in the battery.

I'm using this with my Mexi Strat into a dano nifty fifty practice and fender blues deluxe gig amp. This little unit is great. I always was intrigued by and wanted tremolo, but it's not an effect I wanted to spend a lot of money on. I have a ton of other effects (535Q, Cool Cat, Fabtone, Corned Beef Reverb, MXR Phase 90, TS-9 reissue). This pedal is great for the price. It's not old fender amp tremolo but it's great for little excursions into surf and not buying a new amp.

I have had it for just a few days and it's working well. My big danos have held up well. It's plastic, but if I take care of it, I figure it will hold up.

Never dealt with Danelectro.

Overall, for the price and the amount of truly applicable uses for it in my music, I would say this isa good buy. I mean, I have tons of effects, but mainly just plug in to the TS-9 then directly into the blues deluxe. To me, it's a cheap way to put some fun in my effects chain, and really, isn't fun what making music is supposed to be about anyway?

- Extremely easy to get a good sound out of it.
- No manual, would have to an idiot to not know how to operate this little bad ass.
- 2 knobs, hard/spft switch (great idea for hard/soft switch)

Guitars: Gibson SG Standard, 97'
BC Rich Mockingbird, mid - 80's w/DiMarzio replacement PU's
Amp: Marshall JCM 800 50 watt head (2140 model i think)
Marshall JCM 800 4x12 slanted cabinet
Other effects: Ibanez TS-7, Danelectro, Dan-Echo, Danelectro Corned Beef Reverb, Pro Co Turbo Rat, BBE Sonic Maxie, Rockman 13 Band EQ, Korg Strobe Rackmount Tuner

This little monster is noiseless and sounds great for non-spring/tube generated tremolo. I loved it the second i heard it. The hard/soft switch allows for a greater control of different vintage tones. Settings can be played with and generally never sound weak. Dont like any artists that use this effect, trying to sorta "make it my own". I want to be the first true alternative/indierock cowboy so we'll see how it goes!

Seems reliable, although as soon as i got it home i turned it upside down and the push button fell out of it. The stupid mechanism is held together by a c-clamp, which had just fallen out. No biggie popped it back in (the c-clamp) and I was ready to rock in seconds. Most Danelectro products are built like tanks and even though this one has a plastic cover i am gonna give it the benifit of the doubt.

Cant comment on this area as of yet. Had it for about 3 hrs.

I play a wide variety of styles, but mostly indie rock/noise experimentalismand I love this little monster for its cowboy-ish qualities. I have been playing for about 7 years and I love tremolo, I had a few amps with the effect and tried one fo the new Marshall units and basically they sounded similiar. However, the Marshall had this horrible Vibrato effect that sounded like crap but made the pedal almost twice as much so I decided on this unit. It sounds just as good, with simpler knobs and so forth. i wich it were made of the same rugged metal casing as the other higehr end Danelectro products, but still for the price...It defientley has put a new spin on my song writing and on my noise experimentations. This is great for me and might be great for you! What a fantastic value!

Couldn't be easier. It only has two knobs (Rate & Depth) and a switch to choose a Hard, clipped sound or a Soft, mellow one. Plus, it's tiny enough to fit in your pocket. And you don't have to worry about it getting kicked around onstage - the base has a serious chunk of rubber tread on it.

I use PRS guitars through a Mesa Nomad 45 and a Fender Hot Rod Deville. The Tunamelt delivers clean, clear, and super-quiet sounds in any situation. Like any tremolo, it sounds best on cleaner settings, but can add a nifty "throb" to distorted sounds. It doesn't color or degrade your tone in any way, which is amazing for a budget pedal. In fact, some players might find it to be TOO clean sounding - it definitely won't give your tone the lush warmth of a vintage tremolo. But it won't mush your sound up, either.

Too early to tell. It's only made of plastic, but it's a solid little bugger. I have a couple of Ibanez Soundtanks that refuse to die under heavy abuse, and the Dano feels much sturdier than they ever were.

As the other reviews have said, this is a fantastic bargain for the money. The price is as puny as the pedal, but it really does sound good enough to fit in with a pro rig. Vintage gear nuts might want to skip this for something more "authentic" sounding. But for anyone else looking to add some surf or spy sounds to their arsenal, the Tunamelt really has no competition.

no manual, but you really don't need one. two knobs (speed and depth) and a hard/soft switch. nothin' to it.

My current setup is Epiphone G400/Squier HM3 (like an Ibanez S-series) into Boss Ds-1 ->DOD FX-747 flanger ->Digitech Whammy/Wah ->Crybaby ->Danelectro DJ-5 ->Boss DD-5 delay and that all goes into a Crate GFX-65 amp. It sounds way cool. There is no noise from the tremolo (most of the noise comes from the whammy), and it doesn't do anything funny to my tone (unlike the whammy). On the advice of the guy at guitar center, I put the DJ-5 as far to the end of the effects chain as I could, and it seems to work best there. I did, however notice that when using my amp's distortion you can't hear the effect at all, so that basically kills my plan of duct-taping the pedal to my guitar so I can more easily control the speed. As far as I can tell, all of the effects when run through the tremolo sound good. There isn't much that would be in conflict with it.

I'm a bit worried about it being plastic (I have a tendency to stomp the crap out of my pedals) but I think it should be okay.

I play all kinds of music, basically anything I hear and like, such as punk, ska, metal, funk, and techno. The main reason I bought this pedal is to be able to emulate some of the more interesting sounds found in techno. If I lost this or it was stolen, I'd be pretty annoyed because the rest of my setup would probably be gone with it. I'd definitely buy it again, for the mere fact that it's half the price of the Boss and Marshall tremolos (both of which i tried) and sounds just as good. I like the cool retro looks, the size (it's damn near impossible to put the whammy in my pocket!), and most of all the price.

very easy.

a very warm vintage sounding tremolo. big range of sounds. soft/hard switch is excellent. sounds almost as good to my ear as the tremolo on the fender reissues. at $39 it's an incredible value.

no problems yet

excellent little pedal. seriously considering velcroing it to my strat. i play a broad variety of music, but a i like a memphis soul sound in particular. sounds excellent through my '52 tweed deluxe.

easy to use, versatile little tremolo pedal,.....authentic sounds!!!

Speaking of noise ratio when swtched on, in active position,areally quiet pedal, and I used it with a G&L ASAT guitar- a leo fender authentic tele style guitar and a Fender American Tube Amp Blues JR. (by the way , a really great lil tube amp).The effects could be as prominent or as subtle as you like, depending on the way you adjust the depth switch.

For the money, the tunamelt is really an almost unreal value. It is able to acurately reproduce the vintage tube trem sound from leo fender's laboratories, but with alot more flexibility, and the hard/soft switch offers even more different sound possibilities.