Danelectro DJ-5 Tunamelt Tremolo

Very easy to use.

No manual.

This has a great tremolo sound. To me this was one of the best tremolo pedals I've ever played (the other best were the Dunlop Tremolo and the Boss Tremolo).

This pedal is not noisy at all and can go from really slow to really fast.

This was my first Dano pedal and have used this pedal in gigs and have never had anything wrong with it.

This pedal is in a plastic dano case (with AC power).

I've never delt with them.

A great tremolo pedal (and alot cheaper than the other tremolo pedals ... Dunlop and Boss).

Basic to use. It has 2 knobs, speed and depth, and a hard/soft switch. Has a great range, you can have it very thick and fast or only slightly on and really slow or whatever. The switch changes the tremolo type. One annoying thing is the kobs are a bit small to change on the fly. No manual, but a warrenty in the U.S.
The on/off button could be a bit small for a big footed or uncoordinated person, or someone who realises they need to press the pedal in the next secound and they're on the other side of the stage.

No hiss, no pops. Dosen't detract from your tone, if anything it adds punch (or that might just be the nature of the effect). The switch in the hard position is very drastic tremelo, on, off. this is especially good for use with distortion as it really cuts through. This effect is good for sustained chords, appegios or slow leadlines rather than 300bpm lead breaks. But I guess there are no rules. I use an Epiphone LP standard with a Roland 408 amp along with a boss Flanger and a DD-5 (I'd prefer a DD-3). I also use it with my Theremin along with a Delay. Great for wierd Sci-fi sounds and also can do great telephone rings by itself.

The plastic shell does seem a bit fragile but it hasn't broken yet so I can't say anything bad. The plastic knob guard is a must but make sure you get one, because some older models don't have them. This guard does tend to get in the way of tweaking the knobs but's removable so do whatever. I would use it at a gig without back up, but that's more to do with not having enough money to do otherwise.
Keep the box or get something to protect it if you are giging.

Never had to deal with them which says something good about their reliability I guess.

I'm in a band that's influenced by a lot of british bands (Radiohead, Gomez, Pink Floyd, Coldplay....ect.) and it's kind of Atmospheric rock I suppose. I've been playing for 5 or so years and have recently landed a contract, so I decided I needed new stuff. I bought this one because It won some award and it was cheap. I tried it first, always try it first. I'm VERY happy with it's vale for money and would definatly put it on my X-mas wish list if it got stolen or lost. I usually by boss stuff but the cheapest I could find was a secound hand temolo for $165. the only feature difference was the boss trem had a knob instead of a switch for tremolo type. I didn't play the boss one but the knob Idea does seem to offer more possibilities. But the Tuna Melt wasn't short on sound types by any means.

There are two knobs, which I find convient because I can't count any higher than that. There's also a hard/soft switch, which I found a bit confusing at first, but then I figured out that you have to flick it from left to right rather than twist it like the knobs. The fact that the sound is altered by the slightest tweaking of the knobs makes for a very versatile pedal, but also means you have to turn the things with surgical precision. I wish I didn't have stubby fingers.

The pedal doesn't effect my original sound. I was kind of hoping it'd make me sound more technically competent, but c'est la vie. I use a Marshall amp and a Pacifica 112. I often use the Tuna Melt in conjunction with the Fish & Chips EQ/Milkshake Chorus/Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion.

By tweaking the recommended settings outlined in the recommended settings for the Tuna Melt on the recommended settings sheet, I was able to replicate The Smiths' How Soon Is Now sound. For some time, I was able to fool my sister into thinking I was Johnny Marr, but then I signed my own damn name on her copy of The Queen Is Dead. I also found a setting that sounds like the one on Detachable Penis by King Missile, which, of course, uses the 'hard' setting. I also found that by either removing the battery or letting it run down and not using a power supply, you can replicate the piano sound that John Cage used in his famous '4 minutes 33'.

I wouldn't go dropping it from any ten storey buildings like you can with Boss pedals, and in fact, I wouldn't even want to accidently tread on the thing or even use my foot on the switch.

As I said, it's a versatile pedal. Whilst I don't use it every time I play, I wouldn't want to be without it now that I own it. I need that sense of commitment from a pedal. I mourned for a long time when my Morley wah pedal died, but then I decided that it was time to start seeing other pedals. This pedal has really livened up my playing. If you're a quasi-talented, quasi-employed youth like me, I can't think of a better pedal to make you sound like a more interesting guitarist than you actually are.

Very Easy to use.

Great Sound Quality. A slight gain in the signal when you kick it on, which is nice for this effect. I love the hard soft setting.

I have played countless gigs with this unit. It's mounted in my pedalboard. I usually find myself messing with the knobs for different settings on diffrent songs. It has never failed or given me problems. I wouldn't mind having another one, one set to a fast speed on the hard setting and one set to medium speed on the soft setting.

N/A

Great Pedal. Would buy again no problem. I actually stole this from my bass player, so I'm gonna have to buy him another one someday.

It's very easy to use, which is a good thing, since no manual is included. Two knobs for repeat speed and depth and a toggle switch for hard or soft. I worked out three good, usable sounds in less than five minutes.

I play a Spector bass through an Ampeg SVT3, with an overdrive chained before this and a reverb pedal after. As far as I can tell, it doesn't introduce any noise to the signal when bypassed, and none is noticeable during use. The effect is good and clear, and what's more, it doesn't strip out any of the low frequencies, making it very useful as a bass pedal. On the "soft" setting with both knobs at 3:00, I get a nice, resonant and full tone, and on the "hard" setting, I get a nice echoing growl similar to the bass on R.E.M.'s "Sweetness Follows." Controls are very sensitive. I've tried the Boss delay, but this one sounds better, with much better low-end response.

If this thing came in a metal case, like a Boss or Ibanez, it'd be absolutely perfect, but the plastic casing and knobs on this thing make me nervous whenever I use it on stage. The pedal just feels cheap, and the way the circuitry is mounted, this thing'll get crushed as soon as someone walks over it. The footswitch is soft and not too accurate, which might not be a problem if only I weren't afraid to step on it too hard. This would be a great product if it were just housed differently. Still, for $35, I guess you can't expect much more.

Never had a need to deal with them.

I play folk and electronic music, and this pedal's great for both. It's easily the best-sounding tremolo I've heard, hands down. It's easy to get that "Twin Peaks" sound from it, and the hard setting generates a tone similar to Johnny Marr's sound with the Smiths. Used with distortion, it does a great job of bringing out upper harmonics, and it just plain sounds great. Very clean. If it were lost or (more likely) broken, I'd definitely buy another, and at the price, it won't hurt much. As it is, it's a great bargain, but I'd gladly pay twice as much for the same circut-board in a metal or hard aluminum housing. As much of a downer as the cheap case is, though, this is a must-have.

Straightforward, 2 knobs, one switch. Sounds good pretty much however you set it, just depends on what you're looking for. couldn't really get it to sound bad actually. Problem is it died after about a week. More on this....

Sound wise, this thing was awesome. I was super impressed with how warm and sweet the tremolo sound was. not noisy as all. clean as all hell. quiet switching on and off. i was using it with an SG with pickups taken out of a les paul, into a Fender Deluxe 90 combo amp. Thing is, it broke after about a week. Suddenly, while jamming with a friend, not even gigging, the effect switched itself on, and wouldn't shut off.

I was so disappointed, because I loved the sound of this pedal. After about a week, I am jamming with a friend, and the effect switched itself on, and would not shut off. The footswitch became worthless and didn't do a thing. Tried fresh batteries, tried the Dano power supply, no difference. the pedal underwent absolutely NO abuse at all during the week i had it. just died out of nowhere. EXTREMELY bummed, cause it sounds killer, oh well. thing is a few days before this died, i sent back a Danelectro Daddy-O pedal that was not working correctly right out of the box. I will make sure I avoid all Dano products in the future. Wish they'd up their quality.

Didn't have to deal with Danelectro directly. I bought it from American Musical Supply, and they just refunded my money.

I wish it had worked. I don't know if i just got a lemon, or what, but it's the second Danelectro pedal I've had to return in one week that wasn't working right.

Two knobs (speed and depth) and one switch (hard and soft). Very easy to use. The speed and depth knobs are very sensitive so you have a fairly wide range of settings open to you.

The sound of this thing is incredible! I have tried at leat eight different pedals before buying this. In fact, I would'nt even look at it before because I thought it would be cheezy given it's size and price. I looked at the voodoolab (really not for me), the guyatone flip (beautiful but very expensive), the guyatone mini (nice but annoying volume boost), the boss (slight volume dip but not bad) and a few other lesser name brands. I was considering shelling out alot of money hence the fact that I was considering the flip series pedal. I love the subtle smooth buttery tremelo one can get out of this thing. Very rich sound. I don't use the hard setting. Also, it does not alter the guitar's tone when it is disengaged. Finally, there is no volume boost or attenuation when the pedal is engaged (other than the intended tremolo effect of course).

Seems like it will be fine.

Don't know and I don't care. For the money I paid for this thing...bedsides, the store I bought it from are solid when it comes to returns and exchanges so I'm not worried.

Great pedal! I highly recommend it. Apparently some of the other Dano pedals eat up batteries in a hurry...this one does'nt however.

Simple, even for Simon.

I've tried a number of different brand tremolo pedals and this one is the winner by a wide margin, IMO. The "soft" setting with both knobs dialed at noon is lush, sweet and very "chorus-like" when fed by any kinda guitar, single or dual coil. The "hard" setting's staccato sound is worthless to me. Very quiet. Excellent clone of vintage tube amp tremolo, and if your amp lacks it, this is THE tremolo pedal to get.

It should NOT be used as a foot stomper pedal - treat it well and it will last. I never gig without a backup pedals.

Oh please, spare me.

Playing since '55 - gigged as a pro for 11 years - into blues, jazz, new age surf, ragtime - use Strats, Teles and old tube amps - this pedal should be a mainstay for any amp without tremolo - don't leave home without it.

Simple. I didn't get a box or manual (forgot them on the counter).

I hafta tell you that I was impressed with this little sucker. The hard setting is useless TO ME, but not to others. The soft setting is sweet. I tried other tremolo pedals and could either not hear a difference or could hear that the others were not as pleasing to my year. Can be a bit hissy now and then with a compressor in front of it, but that is to be expected.

EZ, if you've got ears- and know what you want to hear. No manual needed, and you won't get one either. Dano's suggested setting is right on money, tho.

I would've given this 10, but with my steup (Strat-Surf&Turf comp-Ibanez TS7-Auto Wah-Tunamelt-Korg Pandora for noise reduction-Pignose) there's a problem I can't get around: any boost in signal will turn tremolo into annoying tremoloed noise, particulary nasty when the guitar is not played. This means I can only use Tunamelt on clean sound through noise reduction (even the Pignose alone will spoil the signal). It doesn't matter much, but clearly it is a handicap. I don't know if the pedal is faulty, but I haven't bothered to change it, since I can get overdriven trem from Pandora. And the clean sound from Tunamelt is just great! The best trem i`ve heard, soft/hard switch gives you enough choice like explained in earlier reviews, but the only really usable sounds appear after the dials are turned up to about three thirds thru.

I give you one word: plastic. It poses a risk.

Dano is very helpful, they replaced my EQ, I'm sure they'd replace this too, if i wanted to.

Probably great if you buy one that isn't broken, these minipedals seem to be rather poorly made in that there are many cases of having to replace one early on, BUT Dano will do that!
Mine worked well in the store, with their setup, so I'm not even sure if this one's faulty.
Would replace if it got lost, and don't try to steal it!