Danelectro DJ-9 Surf & Turf Compressor

Gain
Level of Compression

On/Off switch
In/Out Jacks
9V Adaptor male donnector

Does exactly what it's supposed to and the pots allow for a wide variety of tweaking.

At higher sensitivity levels there is a significant amount of noise.
Also at high sensitivity levels, the effect becomes extremely noticable; sounding like a wah wah or volume pedal.

Plastic outer shell with an included toe guard that makes working the pots near impossible. The guard is removable.

Bottom plate is metal.

Never dealt with Danelectro, but I do own several of their effects with no issues after quite a long time of heavy use.

I play Rock, Blues, Jazz.
Been playing many years.
Own several guitars and three amps.

Danelectro stuff is a no frills, just what is says it'll do, no nonsense product. Their stuff works and lasts.
If you know what sound you're looking for, and that is the key, they make a box to fit.

Well just two dials, level and sensitivity... i.e. an output/volume dial and another dial that controls the level of commpression.

Yeah, like a few people have said, this compressor only really works as a booster and has a slight levelling action... as there are no attack or release dials you don't get that pumping sound wich can liven up funky type playing... so yeah, i kina wouln't say this was a versatile compressor at all. But, if you want to add sustain and a bit of body to your sound then i would reccomend it...it doesn't really colour your tone either, wich the boss compressor does.

I got it with the clear plastic dial protector, wich makes it really fiddly to change the settings so i took it off, "can you depend on it" well, i think it's pretty flimsy, but should be ok with reasonable use.

nope.

For me this doesn't do what i'm looking for, i.e. liven up my playing, it does howerver add a bit of sustain and a bit of levelling so i'll make do with it as it is useful for that. And yes as other people have noted it can pick up local radio. I definitely recommend it to add sustain, boost, and to fatten up your tone...i'd give it a 8 for that, as a all round compressor i'd give it a 1.

So easy. 2 knobs, 1 foot switch. No manual, but for compressors,to tweak for transparent compression only, turn the "level" knob so that the output matches the compressor on and bypass. Then you can turn the sensitivity knob up or down depending on how much compression and sustain it'll do on a fixed ratio and fixed amount. You won't be able to change the ratio.... you'd need threshold and attack knobs for that.

If you know how compressors works, you can see that it has two knobs: "Level", which will determine the signal output, either louder for boost, equal for only compression, or quieter for whatever reason. "Sensitivity" on a compressor means it will automatically compress the peak signals and boost the quieter signals - the more sensitive, the greater the compression.

This pedal works great for simply that function: transparent compression. Placed right after the instrument and before other effects, it will keep your peaks from blowing or distorting your sound, and it will keep your signal troughs louder so that you don't have to up the volume. The final product is an even, "big" sound, great for both live and recording.

For specific uses like extra sustain or chicken picken, use another compressor that has specific sustain, threshold and attack settings so you can really adjust your sounds.

Don't use it after any effects since it might boost any ambient effect or line noise after those pedals

Plastic, so be careful, but it came with this "Dano knob guard" that looked like a plastic mouthpiece around the top of the pedal that keeps you from stepping on and breaking the knobs. Looks goofy but it's removable. Good idea though.

never used

Those looking for full tight sound, meaning great even tone from hard picking and fingerpicking in the same song (especially for amped acoustics), this will be a great surprise.

For those looking for a specific sound, as produced by those keeleys or other sustain/boost compressors, don't get this as you're looking more for the compressor "effect" rather than general signal compression.

Even those who are recording might like this, but you'll probably need a more sophisticated unit with balanced inputs and vu meters.

This is fairly easy and straight forward to use - pretty much plug and play. The manual is short and useful. Getting a good sound - well - read below...

If you are looking for a Nashville type of compression - the 'squeeze' compression that sounds soooo good with a clean or slightly dirty electric - you need to look elsewhere. This is more of a level boost with some sustain added. What is adds is more subtle than many compressors.

Noise wise - well - yeah, it's noisy. It's a compressor - all compressors are going to add some noise - anyone saying otherwise is not listening. A top dollar Keely compressor adds a little noise. This particular compressor adds a fair share of noise AND - as a added bonus feature - picks up AM radio stations to boot! No, I am not kidding. I've had tons of pedals on my pedal board and this has not happened before, nor after I got rid of this pedal. It's not the cables or the guitar - it is the compressor. I had it for about two months and it was consistent.

Bottom line - it is an inexpensive compressor and sounds and acts like one. It makes for a decent clean boost and a poor compressor.

Never had any issues in the two months I had it - but it was way to noisy to even consider gigging with.

Never used....

Dano has a rep for good pedals and a bargain price. This particular pedal is pretty much useless as a compressor and way too noisy to be used live. I play country/classic rock with mainly Strat/Tele style guitars and Fender tube amps and get paid to play guitar. Save your money, as little as this will run you, and look elsewhere for a good compressor. I use cheap pedals and am always looking for a good tone on the cheap, but Dano dropped the ball on this design. This truly is one of the worst pedals I have ever played though. I simply cannot understand the '10' sound ratings it is getting here...

Very easy to use - two knobs. The manual is short and sweet. Compressors should be easy to use...

Well, I am less than impressed with the unit, but for thirty bucks what should I expect. It does a decent job as a compressor, but not as well as I had hoped it would. I use it mainly as a boost pedal, and it does a decent job at that. It is a bit noisy - way noisier than any of my other pedals. I use it with a variety of guitars and mainly my Rivera tube amp.

It seems to be rather cheaply thrown together, though it has lasted for me thus far..

I've had no need to contact customer service...

Well - it's a thirty dollar pedal and acts like one. It's a decent boost pedal and a relatively weak compressor. I play all styles of music from rcok to country, and I need a better option than this one since it does not do what I was hoping it would.

If it was stolen I'd be irriated for a few minutes, then buy a better compressor pedal...

This pedal is extremely easy to use--especially for a compressor bonehead like me. I've tried compressors in the past after hearing about how awesome they were for your sound, but...I could never figure out exactly what the attraction was as it seemed that, in order to hear them do anything at all, you had to set them to where they killed your tone and natural attack. Anyway the ones I tried were the 4 knob variety--evidently too complicated for me.
BUT, this surf n turf has only 2 knobs which are quite manageable, especially since one is just a volume knob! All you have to do is decide how you want to use it--as a sustain and/or boost or to smooth out your chords for rhythm playing.

Set up: Les Paul or Strat-->535Q Wah-->surf n turf comp-->Arion tubulator OD-->Marshall Guvnor 2 dist.-->Dano EQ-->EB Jr. vol. pedal(which has a Boss floor tuner hooked up to the "Tuner Out" jack)-->Boss CE-5 Chorus-->Voodoo Labs Trem-->Arion DDM-1 delay-->Amp(either 15 watt class A tube combos or Roland JC-120). All effects are powered by a Visual Sound 1 Spot and daisy chain and the Boss tuner and its own daisy chain.(The 1 spot powers 4 effects plus the Boss Tuner, and the Boss powers the rest)

Noise: This pedal when on or off is DEAD SILENT--even when cranked! It does make a very faint click when switched on, but it's not rude or bothersome and nowhere near as loud as the POP I get from a true by-pass Ross Phaser from the 70s I have.
You'll note from the set-up above that I've placed it before everything else in the chain except my Wah, which is true by-pass. This may be why there's no noise. The reason I set it up this way is because that's what I noticed that Boss does in all the diagrams in their little effects guide booklets you can get at your local store or see at their website. Anyway, I would also like to try it after the OD and distortion to see what kind of sounds that makes, I don't know if I'll hear noise then or not.

Uses: The main reason I got this pedal was to help me get a Faux Acoustic sound from my electrics when I don't have time to switch guitars. I tried the Boss AC-3 acoustic simulator--$100.00 too much for a blah effect. I decided to work with what I had and add the Surf and Turf for 30 bucks. What I've discovered is to use my EQ to remove the electric guitars' mids and most lows and to use the JC 120 which is very smooth and warm. For my Les Paul, the most difficult to get sounding right (Humbuckers and all), I add the Surf and Turf at unity gain and the sensitivity knob at minimum and this smooths out the LP's "spikeyness" on strummed chords while allowing for a decent enough natural tone. The Strat really doesn't need it since I use the Neck/Middle position which is pretty smooth to begin with.
For the Strat, I've found that this compressor's best use is as a sustain boost (and volume boost) for solos and heavier stuff. For this, I set volume at unity gain or above (for boost) and the sensitivity knob btw 2:00 - 3:00. This fattens the tone and adds just the right amount of sustain. Doing this with my LP and I get even more sustain than it already has. This is not really, at least in my experience, a "sustain for days" type pedal but it IS very musical and adds enough.
I don't think this pedal is as absolutely transparent as some claim below, you can tell when it's on, but it does do the job it was designed to do without OVER-coloring you tone unless maxed.

I've only had this for a brief time, but I've had the Dano EQ pedal since Mars Music went under (How many years has that been now, anyway?)and she's still going strong.

Have played for many moons. Right now I play a couple times a week for our Praise and Worship band at church--we cover a whole lot of styles. I'm the only guitarist, that's why I need to cover acoustic and electric playing--sometimes in the same song--without interrupting the flow of the set. Anyway, the surf and turf is good enough for me, it gives me some useful sounds and is priced well. I would give it an 8, but the price/bang-for-buck ratio adds a point to the overall rating.

Very easy to use and sounds good

I bought it to thicken the thin sound of the Pignose Hog 20. It balances the harsh thin pignose squeal and adds badly need sustain.

Haven't tried it with other amps, but it works really well with the Pignose hog 20. It added the missing midrange tone.

It's made of plastic, but it's sturdy.

Don't have to deal with customer support. Because it's so cheap, all you have to do is get a new one.

It's a great little pedal to use with the PIgnose hog 20. Don't know what the deal is with pignose. Their speaker blows real easily and the forgot to add sustain to the sound of the amp.

If you get this amp, you'll need to replace the speaker sooner or later. And you'll need a compression pedal. This pedal complements the Pignose Hog 20 very well.

Simple; 2 Knobs like a Dyna Comp or a Keely.
A. Output Level
B. Compression Ratio

I think that there are two types of compression users.

A. Somwone who wants added sustain and transparent volume control.
B. Someone who wants to squeeze the clean tone and add sustain. When I say "squeeze", I mean the classic Nashville squeeze or the techno squeeze that you hear in 80's music or funk.

I like the B style of Compression. I like the Nashville squish. This unit does the A style of compression. Even with the Compression knob maxed out, you don't get any squeeze in the tone. The volume control and sustain are very nice and mine is absolutly quiet, even with the compression knob maxed out. I was hoping for squeeze like I get from the Marshall ED-1 on my pedalboard. I was hoping for something more dramatic with this back-up unit. If you want transparent volume control and more sustain; you'll love this thing. If you like the squeeze; keep shopping.

Nice little pedal. I have one of their vibrato's and the EQ pedal. I use the EQ pedal often for feedback elimination with my Martin Acoustics in coffehouse applications. No problems ever and the pedals operate fairly quietly.

No clue, I've never needed their help and I've only bought used Dano pedals off E-Bay. I've had no issues with the pedals; all OK.

It's really a nice little pedal; just not exactly the tone that I wanted.

Two knobs. Easy to figure out if you know how to use compression. If you don't that doesn't make this pedal any harder to use. In fact, it having two knobs makes it one of the easier compressor pedals to use.

This thing sounds great! Instantly sounds like compression. While it may not satisfy every compressor fan, it certainly is one 'flavor' of compression and totally useable at that. The controls work very well to help you shape the sound and the unit is very musical. For this price and size you should buy one just as a backup or to add another flavor of compression to your arsenal.

I run this first in my chain and it adds 0 (ZERO!) noise. That is because the guitar and cables before it are quiet. I'm surprised actually, I was expecting to have to live with a little noise from my guitar or cable. Anyone complaining about noise with this pedal may actually be complaining about their noisy pickups and cables which this compressor is only doing it's job by turning it up or they may have a defective unit, but mine is dead silent. Don't give an effect pedal a shitty rating because your setup is sub-par! I've seen this with delay pedals too. Yes, they multiply the noise in your rig, they are doing their job!

I've owned a ton of these mini danos for years and I have to say quite to my suprise I have not had a single problem with ANY of them EVER! Most of them are useable for something and some of them can be used to replace or as backup for much more expensive equipment. If you know what you are doing and can play you can make music sweet music with these dano pedals and without breaking the bank!

I've never needed them so I don't know. Did I mention I also own a Danelectro bass? :)

This pedal is a good respectable compressor. It does not need to appologize to those who don't know how to use a compressor or to those who don't particularly care for it's flavor of compression. It does what it does and it does it well. To get a good compressor like this for under $30.00 is amazing.

Super easy. "Sensitivity" dials in the amount of compression you want, and adjust "Level" as needed. I tried different spots around the Sensitivity knobs for a while before settling on what I like, but it's not hard to find a good spot. Decent amount of sweep in the effect, and the Level knob has a good sweep as well. More below...

Sounds really clean. I have a clean sounding setup, but I do use several other pedals as well. I'm pretty picky about tone, but not fanatical, and either way the Surf & Turf doesn't add noise or corrupt any of my guitars as far as tone coloring goes. It's surprisingly transparent at lower "Sensitivity" settings, very cool.

That said, I got this because I want that certain medium-to-thick compressed guitar tone at the stomp of a toe, and this pedal is plenty capable of delivering. I used to use a boss CS3, but it's much harder to set from one guitar to the next, so lately it's fallen out of favor. Using this 'Surf' pedal is much better, faster, and doesn't have the boss' hard-to-tame hissing.

Speaking of, I don't know why others are getting hiss. Any compressor can boost floor noise, but, really, try some other compression pedals, and by comparison you'll consider yourself lucky. The Surf is a relief, can use with any instrument with minimal fuss, and without noise.

Not "pristine" but for $30 it's a 10 out of 10.

I've had a bunch of danelectro "minis" with no issues. Well, as long as a knob doesn't give out on you. It's never happened to me, but the knobs are questionable. The plastic jacks are dubious too. But no problems for me. They're stronger than they seem, I think.

N/A

Compression can be an acquired taste, but the more you learn to use it, the more you may like it. This pedal gets that cool, compressed tone for pennies. I'm really glad I got my hands on it.

I really like the name, too.

It is very simple to use, as long as it has only two knobs: volume and sustain.

I use it with a fender stratocaster 1996 and a fender frontman 25R amp. I bought it because I need more sustain for the fender strato. And thats what i got. The problem is, with the knobs at high volumes and high sustain it becomes very noisy, so the sustain is somewhat limited. And it rounds up the sound (as it should), beyond the sustain.

The plastic box looks fragile. And when you open the battery compartment all the circuits become exposed, what I believe is risky. I would be very carefull in handle it...

It's common in Brazil when you got equipment with defects, the store where you bought substitute it for you. But after this guarantee period (usually 3 months), you will have to rely on your own trustworthy technician. Customer support from manufacturers is fiction for us.

I bought this effect because I found it has the best cost-benefit relation among others that I have tested (boss and MXR, that cost 2 times more).

Very simple as everyone else has noted. Two knobs.... thats about it.

Very nice, little noisy but hey we're guitar players, it's our job to make some noise. Sensitivity knob at 10 acts as a limiter. This function when used with the level knob is sweet. Don't notice much tone colouring, but im sure there is some.

I have had several Dano pedals and I'm under the impression that those who have had trouble with them breaking abuse them. Never had a problem with the EQ, Back Talk, Tremolo or Compressor. Get an adapter, your batteries won't make it through a gig.

Never had to, but they are in the States. So if you aren't in the States than you're f$#@ed.

Been playing for about 10 years and I must say that most guitarists are bigheaded knobs, who are wank when it comes to music. If you aren't one these types of guitarists than by all mean save yourself 100$ and buy the surf and turf(and EQ) pedal with confidence.

easy to use, two knobs, level and sensitivity. does not appear to suck tone.

not useful, will actually muddy up guitars that already have good clean sustain. where i did notice an improvement is ones with stock distortion pickups like the parker night fly (dimarzio stuff) and the max cavalera sg that rip your head off distorted but sound thin when clean. this does not affect distortion (almost regulates it which is good) but will thicken up a thin clean guitar with deeper tone. sens. control gives you clearer attack if you want it.

use a power pack and 9v battery backup silly!

n/a

will keep this as a studio tool, nothing more. wouldn't gig with it unless i had too. better than a cheapo arion compressor, i'm guessing the mxr or boss ones might be better, but you have to have a need for it.

Very simple operation: level and sensitivity controls! Easy to use.

I use the Surf & Turf with an Epiphone Dot & Fender Princeton 65 Amp. I use it for lead work only. I set the level to boost my volume for solos so I don't have to manually turn up the guitar (I can keep my hands on the guitar when I solo). The pedal adds clarity, sustain and a natural volume boost to my sound. My other effects are all Dano as well (flanger, phaser, echo, wah and EQ) the Surf & Turf works well with these other pedals.
Compressors can be naturally noisy so I advise you to find the "sweet spot" on the unit that is workable.
In clean settings compressors can give you that "sparkling edge" which is great for country.
In overdriven settings compressors tighten up the low end to create a penetrating sound. Also very useful!
Basically, this pedal gives you control and clarity in a live setting.

Very dependable like most other Dano products. I would use it without a backup unit.

Dano is helpful when contacted by email. (Slow but helpful!)

I play in a "classic rock" band and have played for over 32 years now. I'm presently using an Epiphone Dot (ES-335) guitar and Fender Princeton 65 amp (two reliable pieces of equipment). My effects are all Dano products (and have served me well for about two years).
I have used other compressors (Ibanez & MXR) in the past...the Ibanez was unusable and the MXR fell apart after a few years of use. The Dano seems well made and with proper care should last for awhile.
In closing, I'd like to thank HARMONY CENTRAL for letting us share our views on the products we work hard to buy and make MUSIC with!

$50 Bucks;Canadian Pawn Shop
Volume & Sensitivity...easy as shit. Have you ever used an MXR Dyna Comp? Enough said.

Set up #1(Blues/R&b/Cuntree): Various Strat's & Tele's,Les Paul Jr.(P-90),Fender FR-50 Dobro, Bravo Mini Classical Nylon -> Surf & Turf (comp) -> PB&J (delay.delay..delay...)-> Fish & Chip's (eq) -> 1972 50wt. Fender Bassman 10.

Set up #2(Rock/Blues) Various Strat's & Tele's,Les Paul Jr.->Surf&Turf->RotoVibe->Cry Baby->Fuzz Face->BD-2 Blues Driver->OD-3 Overdrive->Fish & Chip's EQ->PB&J Delay->Cool Cat Chrous(stereo)->#1 amp: 1972 50wt Bassman 10, #2 amp: 1981 100wt. Marshall JMP w/ Traynor YCX212 Cabinet

Set up #3 -> Whatever the Hell I want to throw together for whatever reason I want. Anything goes type of thing...you know what i mean? Hey, we're guitarist we can do what we like!

I think that due to the use of SC's the pedal only elevates the noise of the guitars. Overall the pedal on it's own is quite quiet. In the 1st rig there is really no noise. Just the usual hum from the guitars. Now, in the 2nd rig, there is a considerable amount of noise, but that is due the size and complexity of the rig. I do not try to sound like any other guitarist's, although I do have many favorite guitar players in various genre's. The pedal gives my a really nice edge and great clarity, and most importantly no coloration of tone. Very good.

I would use this without a back-up. It is placed 1st in my chain of FX and is on all of the time. i would like to recommend to anyone using a pedal like this, which is on all the time...GET A POWER SUPPLY. If you are pro and gigging like the rest of us ROAD WARRIORS are, you need to do this. If you are bedroom wanker(pun intended), do whatever you have to do. Although it is plastic i find it to be very reliable. I only step on it 5 times a night depending on the venue. My back-up is an MXR Dyna-Comp which has not seen the light of day since the inception of the Surf & Turf. Although the MXR is a great pedal, i do not find the need to use it. I love my Mini FX. They sound great!

have not had to deal with them.

Overall Rating: a B-I-G - 9! I WAS LEARLY AT FIRST, BUT THEN MY EARS TOLD ME THE TRUTH. IT IS A GREAT LIL'PEDAL. FOR THE DENERO'S YOU CANNOT GO WRONG. WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY I LOVE THE LITTLE BLUE BASTARD! ROCK ON DUDES! OH YEAH, I'VE BEEN PLAYING FOR ABOUT 10-11 YRS NOW. AND HAVE HAD A TON A GEAR. I KNOW WHAT TONE IS. AND THIS LIL'BEAST ACCENTUATES THE DYNAMICS IN WHICH I ALREADY POSESS.

Very simple two knobs twist them till you like the sound.

I use it to give me that edge on rifts. It did its job well the first time I owned it, but I sold it. The second one I bought made so much noise that I couldnt tell what it sounded like. Needless to say this rating is for the first one. I've used this with a fender reverb, Peavey Encore 65, R50C Rampage, and a roland GC-405. I played an ibanez small body acoustic electric, american strat., Jay turser tele., and a hagstom Viking II. All sounded good. This little pedle dose what its suposed to do tighten the sound and power it up.For the mony it's a good buy. Just don't order one, go to the store test it out then buy THAT ONE.

This is were I get a little perturbed. I owned this pedle 2 years ago, then sold it. I was going to go pure acoustic, but that was short lived. so a few months ago I bought another one from musicians friend. Silly me thinking that it would sound the same. Noise Noise Noise. The noise it made was so loud that it rivaled the guitar. Im a battery man so pluging it in might have stoped it. I just through it in a drawer and left it. Btut thats what you get ordering cheap equipment. My first one (the one that woked) was a half way good pedle, for the price. It wasnt built like a boss, but you be good to it and it will last you a while.

Didnt bother wasting my time for the cheap piece of junk.

I'v been playing Cristian country for 4 years. I mainly sing, but the lord has blessed me to play pretty good.This is a great peddle for lead work (telecasters and strats love this pedle). Other than what I listed above, I own a 712 taylor, a arion SDI-1,and a rogue eq pedle.If you need a comp. pedle,boss turbo overdrive and are on a tight budget,think about this one if you can get it at your local store. If not look through the other reviews for something else. If mony isnt tight, why are you looking at this? If it were stolen, I wouldnt miss it.

two knobs....

i really want to give it a ten....but i cant. like everyone else says it does get noisy when things are cranked up, but who cranks everything up anyways (at least with their pedals i mean) i think when you crank any pedal up it will destroy your tone. anyway, this compressor does the job great. it helps you get the sustain in your overdrive/distortion without too much feedback and noisy junk, and makes your clean sound punchy. perfect fit for my pedal board which consists of boss tu-2>Boss blues driver>fulltone fulldrive 2> surf n'turf comp> tunamelt tremolo> and boss dd-3 into a fender twin reverb or fender blues deville. the great thing about this pedal is that it can just about go anywhere in you effects chain, to me though it sounded best behind my overdrives.

yes its plastic but i own three dano pedals and have never had a problem with any of them. of course it would last if you threw it all over the place but who throws their pedals?

Fantastic value...ive got to admit, dano gets looked over often and i wish that people would realize that not much separates these pedals from a boutique pedal (probably some micro chips here and there). to be honest i wouldnt buy a boutique compressor anyway. back to this little bugger though. i recommend this pedal to everyone, an outstanding buy that adds to your tone in a good way and if it ever gets stolen is easily replacable. this pedal will not leave my pedal board ever.

Simple to use. Volume and sensitivity control. No problems here,

In contrast to the guy who have this unit a "1" , this cheesy looking unit works perfectly for me (I've been playing for over 30 years, and, No, I'm not tone deaf). Unlike the Boss CS-2 and CS-3, that I owned, this compressor hardly colors my tone at all, and for 30 bucks, who cares if it did?!? However, my one complaint is that when I turn the sensitivity past the 3 o'clock position the compressor becomes somewhat noisy. But once again, IT'S ONLY 30 BUCKS!! WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?!

So far I've had no reliability problems. However, it sure doesn't seem that sturdy (what can you expect for $30 worth of plastic). I wouldn't want to test this things reliability by throwing it around on stage.

Haven't had to deal with them.

These days I just play in my worship band at church. On my own I focus mostly on SRV, Clapton, and Keaggy.This compressor is cheesy looking, has a stupid name, is limited in its capabilities...and absolutely perfect! I wanted a compressor that compressed without altering my tone too much and that's what I got. Yes I would definitely buy it again.

Simple as with most all pedal compressors

I'm amazed at the reviews that say this thing doesn't change your tone ! These reviews must be submitted by people who haven't been playing long or just have no ear. This is the worse compressor i have ever used. Been playing semi-pro (weekend gigs) for 20 years, and been thru a truckload of gear. This is probably the worse buy i've ever made. It changes the tone so radically that my Van Zandt single coils sound like the worse pickups i've ever played when the Dano is on. It just sucks all the tone out leaving you with what sounds sorta like a cheap keyboard synth on a guitar patch. If you've ever heard those you know how bad they are. My advice is stay away. Mine will not be plugged in again. I don't even think i can sell it in good concience.

The little danos are know to be hit or miss as reliability goes, tho i have the E.Q. which has served me well for a few years and turned out to be just the opposite of the compressor. IE: great !

who knows

Junk, pure and simple. And believe me, i can't even recall buying anything else i've been so hard on as far as opinion goes. I'm not one to complain about gear really. I usually will just say i don't like it, but thats just my opinion. This isn't just my opinion......it really is garbage !

It's a compressor, it's not rocket science. No manual, but with about 5 minutes of playing, you'll figure it out.

If anyone has ever used a Keeley Compressor, you'd realize this could never get a 10. That being said, it's a pretty good little box. When the Sensitivity is cranked, the sound seems to have this touch of spongy popping latency, but keep it at 2 o'clock or less, it's cool. FET bypass that does slightly color the sound, but, then again, most mass produced pedals use electronic bypass, and this colors the sound just as much as any boss/ibanez/DOD/MXR you can think of. Remember, this is a <$50 box, for the price, it's not too bad. Oh, it works really well as a volume boost, too. One note, this pedal picks up the local radio station in the city where i live if a distortion is on. Just you let you know.

I use a Keeley I bought instead of this, but I did gig with it before, and it held up fine. Any physics lovers here? Density? Mass-to-volume ratio? Sure, it's plastic, but this sucker is actually kinda heavy for it's size. Remember, the smaller something is, the less can go wrong. The footswitch seems durable, but it is kind of a pain in the ass to turn on when you wear shitkickers on stage. So, play barefoot!

I think i'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so.

For under 50 bucks, it's a really good value. There are only two Danelectro mini's that I like, this and the EQ (Fish & Chips, I think). A couple of others are ok (the spinning speaker and tremolo come to mind), but don't fit my style. The rest just suck, IMO. So, you could either spend $180 on a boss compressor and Boss Equalizer, or spend $70 on The Dan-o equivalents that actually sound slightly better (especially the EQ, but thats another review), due to the fact that the inherent Boss Tone is non-existant in Dan-o's. Plus, these take up much less room on everyone's already crowded pedalboards. I'd tell anyone to try one of these out, I mean, unless you go boutique ($200+), all compressors are basically equal, so why not save a couple of bucks? Of course, Bossclones won't agree with me, but, thats because they're Bossclones(can you tell I don't like Boss?). Bottom line, it's a good pedal until you feel the need to spend tons of money for a boutique.

Just two knobs. I couldn't figure it out simpler.
It comes w/out manual, anyway even if u don't know how a compressor works u can adjust it by ear, u could start setting the level so that the overall volume with the clean channel doesn't change by turning on/off the effect, and then tweak it by taste.

Rate: 8 No matter how easy it is, it's always worth spending two words on how a thing works....

AWESOME! This little green heart-shaped box is more versatile than you could even imagine.

The compression itself is wonderful, it kills dynamics a little (hey, this is a compressor, and compressors mainly work by KILLING dynamics), but at least it doesn't kill your tone unless you turn the effect knob all the way up.

But the marvel of this box is that u can just back off the compression knob and play with the level knob to use it as a boost, just like a tubescreamer (but at 1/3 the price)... I've used it that way and the results were wonderful! The tone stays always good, I mean it does color your guitar's sound a little bit, but not in a bad way (at least for my musical tastes).

Actually I'm using it wih my backup rig which consists of

REXX 602 solid state preamp

Marshall Valvestate 8008 solid state poweramp

Marshall 1922 2x12 cab

I actually use it to add that tubey feeling to the preamp's clean channel, but in the past I've used it to give a boost to my Mesa/Boogie V-Twin pedal preamp's Lead channel and it was a blast!

Uh, well.....

It comes in a plastic case, which ain't encouraging, and other reviews I've read on Danelectro pedals added doubts to doubts.
I haven't gigged this pedal yet, nor I'm planning to do it because I already have a compressor in my main rig (Mesa TriAxis->TC Electronic G-major->Mesa 20/20) and the TriAxis really doesn't need a boost(!), anyway I think I'd buy another one as a backup if I ended up gigging it (at that price u can really afford it!).

To be sincere I've had it for one year and it hasn't failed on me yet.

Never dealt with 'em, so dunno.

Some stuff works great regardless of what music style you are playing, and this is one.

Anyway I play Melodic Rock (a la Scorpions/White Lion) and some Dream Theater sounding Prog stuff.

This is a good effect, it is actually capable of two different works: the compressor and the booster, always with a wonderful tone.

I really suggest anybody to try one, you'd be impressed!

Takes a little twiddling, but like most of these units, not too much to really get wrong. With compressors less is more. This has a useful level range which adds a nice clean kick for playing Santana. Keep the sensitivity low, though, less than 10 o'clock. More than that and it starts sounding like a flat tube screamer, which may be a useful effect for some stuff, but kills all dynamics.

Tele and Strat, couple tube amps

I have seven of these little buggers and have had no problems. They do chew juice. Many of the reviews where people complain of the things not working are simply that the thing has killed it's battery.

The time-modulation-type units like the chorus, delays and flanger will kill a new battery in a couple hours. WIth a dead battery the FET in the unit will not even pass good clean tone. First they start sounding crap and then you get ringy mettalic distortion, then they stop. I had to go to a 1 amp 9 volt regulated supply to prevent hums and buzzes and careful routing of the lead is required to prevent getting crosstalk from other signal cables and power leads. The Dano supplies may work OK, but Oz has 240 volt power so they're useless here.

Keep good clean power up to them and they are silent-switching, no effect on tone when off and sound at their best.

Reasonable website. No-one knows much about them here, and the low price means people don't offer much in the way of support.

I play everything from 60's pop to modern alternative, from ballads to Zeppelin and beyond. I find these Dano's to be good for the bux and a cheap and easy way to add variety. My favourite is the Black Liquorice octave disortion. Don't much like the French Toast or Pastrami. The BLT delay, Milk Shake Chorus and Hash Browns flanger all stay on my board.

What can i say? This is a great equalizer. Its 7-band and has a volume slide.
I use this for bass, although it works with any other instrument. The only negative thing i can think about this pedal that the construction is not as good as the bigger dano pedals, but still very rebiable.
There is nothing wrong with the sound: no hiss( if other equipment doesnt hiss) and makes my sound better. One review said that fish&chips does absolutely nothing to the sound. I had that problem once with my cool cat. Then i realized that these dano pedals are quite picky about the power supplies(lights go on, but sound stays the same). Some dont work even if the settings are correct on the power supply(which are usually 9v and some other things i dont remember &#61514; ). Make sure to test power supplies with all dano pedals. Some work, some just dont.
Like i said, what this pedal does to the sound is excellent. I have to give a 10 to it because there is absolutely nothing to complain about. And very cheap pedal, ill probably buy another one of these cause its good have a fast equalization change, if i need to do those for example during a gig.

Only 2 knobs, but still takes a good bit of tweaking to get the desired compromise between sustain and noise.

I'm using this behind a wah pedal, in front of 4 other danelectro pedals. I play a Gibson Gem Series Les Paul, 1978 Fender Strat, and a Hendrix Edition Strat. I really only use it for clean stuff (adds clarity and definition) and for solos (adds sustain and slight volume). I like it, but man, it sure does make a lot of noise. I give it a because of all of the unneeded signal noise.

Well, it's never broken down on me, but it doesn't look very reliable. Plastic housing - you get the idea.

No manual, but helpful website.

Does what I ask of it, which is to add clarity and definition on clean stuff and sustain on solos. The only bad point I can name here is the noise it generates, expecially with other pedals. Overall, not bad pedal for the money.

This is pretty easy to use if you're familiar with what a compressor does. If you're ignorant like I was when I first got it, you just keep turning the knobs and the sound just never seems to change. (Duh, it's not really supposed to...but it'll save your other pedals or your practice amp!) All things considered: easy.

The only thing I've noticed that seems wrong with it is when you turn the sensitivity way up, it just suddenly adds white noise to your signal. Other than that, the pedal is quiet.

Once I finally figured out what this pedal actually does, I use it with EVERYTHING! I've tried it at various places in my effects chain and it always works well, but it just seems to make the most sense at the end of the chain.

I use it at the end of my chain when I play bass with the church worship team (Fender Jazz=>Dano Fish & Chips EQ=>Surf & Turf=>direct box and some kind of Peavey practice bass amp). It really helps tame those annoying resonant bursts that just pop out of nowhere when I play.

I also use it when I play guitar with my band (style: modern rock/post-grunge, a la Pearl Jam, Nirvana, etc.). I use a modified Phantom strat copy (with hot rails, etc.) or a Fender Mexican-made strat=>Big Muff=>Vox Wah=>Dano Tremolo=>DOD Harmonic Enhancer=>MXR Noise Gate=>Dano Milkshake Chorus=>Dano PB&J Delay=>MXR Flanger=>Surf & Turf=>Dean Markley practice amp=>Vox Pathfinder. This compressor has saved my amps--on more than one occasion--from being overdriven (not always a good thing) by the Muff or just by my hot pickups.

Hasn't failed me yet. Some question the plastic casing, but it should always hold up if you don't act stupid with it. I've dropped it in the parking lot before; still works fine. Oh, batteries have a long life in it too. I haven't had to change mine yet.

Tried e-mailing them about something relatively unimportant once, but never heard back. Otherwise I've never dealt with them.

I think I've said about all I can. Great pedal: it really clean up any volume discrepancies in my sound. saves pedals, practice amps, and money. Try it...you'll like it!

2 knobs, as everyone says. But I'm a relative newbie, and without any kind of manual, I've had to play around to figure the settings out.

My setup:
Les Paul Junior Special (2 P-100 stacked humbuckers) > Surf & Turf > Vox Wah > Peavey Classic 30

I just got it today, but I'm hearing a good bit of noise...that's one of the things a compression pedal does, though, is to bring out those little noises. I think it's the pickups on my guitar.

Anyway, other than that, the thing sounds great. I haven't quite found the perfect spot for my guitar, but it boosts the volume nicely and brings out a lot of the guitar's character. I'll have to play with it some more to figure out the best way to set it.

The sustain is nice, but not spectacular thus far...then again my LP sustains forever anyway so I guess that's not much of an issue. When I played it on a Strat at the store, the sustain was far better.

I can't say for sure...the first one I bought was a complete dud, didn't work at all, but that was a demo model that the store was getting rid of and I bought that one real cheap.

The one I have now is new and it works fine, although the knobs do wiggle a little bit. I wouldn't throw it against a brick wall, but it seems pretty sturdy.

A very nice pedal so far...I was disappointed that the first one I got sucked. But this one is pretty nice. I'm looking forward to really working it out hard. I play melodic, jammy sort of rock, a la Grateful Dead & Phish, and I love the way this pedal brings out the best in my tone. The sustain is nice.

only two knobs, it's pretty obvious. read up on how compressors work before using this.

i use this with an electric mandolin (fender converted to 4-string). there is a large amount of hiss from it when you use an adapter, which is what i used (on a pedalboard). isolating the transformer didn't work either. it was quiet when used with a battery though. my setup: mando-> compressor-> danelectro EQ-> pharaoh boost-> danelectro octaver-> morley wah/volume-> boss os-1-> mxr noise gate-> peavey ecoustic 112. the compression was pretty good, i could get everything from U2 to percussive jazz/blues. volume gain was considerable, if there wasn't just that @$*&% hiss, i would have loved it. especially when i kicked my boost pedal on, the hiss was SERIOUS, it came from both level and sensitivity knobs, so no way around it. 9 for the compression, 3 for the hiss. i switched to an MXR dyna comp, sounds very similar but without the hiss. but if you are going to use a battery, by all means this compressor rocks.

made of plastic, so if you stomp hard, go elsewhere. i treat my pedals really well though, so no problems here. i would gig without a backup.

no idea.

i play lead for a rock/indie band, using violin and mando. been playing mando for about 1 year, violin for about 15 years. i love old blues greats, so compression is a must for that sound. this thing was too noisy, but if i used batteries, then i would love it. would replace instantly if lost, it's so cheap!!! i like that there are only two knobs, i don't have time to fiddle with the 4 knob boss onstage. small size is a plus for limited pedalboard space. i compared it to the boss, and mxr. mxr was quietest, boss had not as much character, chose the dano for its $ though. ended up getting the mxr too. that's about it- no hiss = killer for the money.

It isn't easy to use, you have to spend some time with it to get a decent sound. Two buttons should be easy, but set some limitations to control the sound.

If you turn the buttons all the way up, you will get some hiss. It is difficult to use it with other effect, the surf & turf makes any noise in your setup bigger. But at last I've found some settings for my Gibson Les Paul - and the surf & turf is best, when I switch the humbucking to singlecoil (why doesn't every Les Paul have this feature?).

I am a little disapointed, especialy after reading all the good reviews in this database. I think it has something to do with humbucking-pickups, that compress the sound anyway. So as I stated, the surf & turf is best in singlecoil-mode - and there it is a killer!

Has two knobs, very easy to get the tone and sustain you need. There is no manual, but do ya really need one?

The only thing I may recommend is to include a small sheet of paper to tell what the knobs do...in case someone is a newbie...

Fernandes Montery Pro => Danelectro Compressor => Danelectro Delay => Ibanzez TS9DX Tube Screamer => Dunlop Crybaby Wah => Volume Pedal => Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.

I turn the level to match the volume of my amp and crank the sensitivity about 3/4 of the way. No extra noise or unwanted tone coloring...sounds natural.

It makes those tubes freaking sing.

I've not had it long but seems pretty durable. Not made out of metal, but who cares...I saved a buttload of money over going with a more expensive metal pedal. Plus it's in my pedalboard case so if I don't stomp a fat boot on it, it should be fine for years to come

Not had to deal with them....

I play a lot of different styles in our praise and worship band. We also do covers of oldies like 'I'm a Believer' type stuff up to Creed. Goes great with everything we do.

I've been playing about 4 years now. If it were stolen, I'd buy another one.

Danelectro pedals are the way to go...all the quality of higher end 'name brand' stuff at half the cost. I can't believe I played without a real compressor for so long. It WAS the missing piece of my sound.

Could'nt get easier unless the two knobs set themselves. I guess that's why there's no manual. I use the Dano mini case and that is really handy, just fill it and go.

I use the surf and turf with several other Dano mini pedals and a TS-5 Ibanez tubescreamer for overdrive. I play various guitars either built or modified by myself with mostly humbuckers through an ancient Univox head on the bass channel with a Marshall 4X12 Cab.

I have seven Dano mini pedals of various food groups and I have never had a problem yet. A bandmate had one malfunction and Dano promptly sent a replacement gratis.

Did I mention that free replacement?

Overall I would say it's a buy. You'll buy more once you're hooked on the bang for the buck.

This pedal only contains 2 knobs senesitivity and level which make it pretty easy to use yet it works wonders.

I use this sucker with a 70's model LTD lab seires 200 (the amp is horrible), and i hook that into an old big muff stack distortion and play through my squire. Regaurdless of how horrible all the equipment I used was, I still got amazing sustain and tone. When played through my gs30 D.O.D. pedal with a phase and wah it sounds like Vanhalen. I mean each not even in the higher pithces sounds like an explosion.

this hunk of plastic is as cool and condensed as a block of steal and unless you smash it with a sludge hammer, I wouldn't depend on it breaking

Never had to

The thing is just great for slicing dirt off the top of whatever distorsion you have find and then pounding it into the base of the note. This pedal can chop. -------$39.00------ lifetime investment.

Two controls, level and sensitivity. Level just appears to alter
the volume output from the pedal. Sensitivity alters the "amount"
of compression.

Various guitars through compressor, then thru Tech 21 sansAmp GT2
to computer or compressor to Trademark 10 amp. I haven't noticed
noise generated by the effect. It's nature is to amplify noise
present in the signal that is input to it. Play standing next to
a computer monitor and there will be noise.

The only product I can personally compare this with is the compression
on a Zoom 505 pedal, which it basically blows away. However, I have
no idea how it compares with other compressors.

How I use this is essentially to choose the amp model (on the Tech
21 devices) for the sound I want to obtain. I can then reduce the
drive settings on the Tech 21 units down to the minimum level, and
turn the compressor on. Set the level from the compressor about 1/2
way, tweak the sensitivity, 1/2 way to full on depending on what sound
you want to achieve. The effect is to give a "heavy", sustaining rock
sound without too much distortion of the signal. I've found I can
get sounds that are close (to my ears) to a Paul Kossof (Free) or
an early Rolling Stones sound. Good for Zeppelin too.

The pedal seems to have more effect on a clean or partially distorted
guitar sound. Using it before heavy distortion seems to be a waste
of battery power. So, if you solely play Slayer covers, this may not
be a good investment for you.

Has been very reliable so far (2 months or so in)

Never dealt with them

For me, compression was the missing piece of my sound. I could finally obtain sustain without noisy distortion, a revelation. This pedal is perfectly adequate for my purposes, there are likely better pedals out there, I wouldn't know.

Very easy to use. Only two knobs, level and sensitivity.

I just got this pedal. I am at school right now so I only have one of my guitars here which is an epi es 335 dot with a fender lace and a P90 pick-up. It is also coil tapped to get more of a fender sound out of it. I have a custum Les Paul at home as well. My effects are as follows: surf and turf comp>original dunlop wah> boss bluesdriver>peavey transtube bandit. This pedal does wonders for the over all tone of my set up. It makes my solid state sound like a tube, I swear. It also gives my wah a whole new attitude for funk. When I combine it with the BD I got a much more of a thick sound that would sustain forever. I really wasn't expecting much from this $30 pedal, it really surprised me that it has sustain. It is much more quiet than the boss CS from my experience. I also have a digi-tech rp3 that I haven't tried it with yet. I'm still clinging on to it for the tuner and delay it offers.

I have had it only for a short time so I dont know.

???? They did give me a fresh battery with it.:)

Well I think for the price you can't go wrong. I play a lot of bluesy funky stuff and I think this pedal is gonna work out great. I can't get over how much it brightens up my amp. I listen to everything from Eric Clapton to James Brown to CSNY to Phish and SCI. I still dont know if I have found the sweet spot in the settings. I am thinking of adding a Ibanez TS-7 to my rig. (Im a poor college student) I heard that pedal has a lot of bang for the buck. If it were stolen or lost I would be pissed, Then go buy another one.

Let's see uuuhh, Volume and Sensitivity ... yeah I think I can handle that!;~) Set the sensitivity to achieve the desired effect, then adjust the volume to compensate the loss in gain. As with any compressor, take it easy with that sensitivity knob or you might just over compress (unless that's the desired effect). No manual, but who needs one? Find the sweet spot that agrees with your guitar and amp and you're set!

As always, my primary tests are done with guitar and amp only, to get a true idea of the sound. Off the bat, I detected a small click when depressing the bypass switch. Not loud, but present nonetheless.

No audible hiss, but the bane of all compressors is that it will increase any noise present at the input. There was a slight hum, but again, not that noticable. I've played through real crappy, noisy gear in the past, the Surf and Turf sounds pristine in comparison.

I found it easier to achieve a good sound aout of my MIM Fender Stratocaster, the sound was thicker and more even, but not nasal or squashed to the point of sounding muddy.

Using my Pauls, it took a bit more doing to reach that sweet spot setting. With the Sensitivity set at 2 o'clock, humbuckers sounded too squashed and muddy. I ran out of time to fiddle with the settings(had to rush to work) but I am certain that with a bit of patience, I can find that sweet spot setting that will bring out the best out of humbuckers.

I am actually impressed on how rugged this little plastic sucker is! Agreed, plastic will break before metal does, but even the knobs feel solid - I read in another review that there was this one model with the knobs snapped off- that must have been done with pliers and the intent to snap the darned things off!

Honestly, I've only bought it today ... but I'm getting a good vibe from it, it is very well put together.

I might ament this review some time in the future and say it's an unreliable piece of trash ;~) but as it stands, (and based on the rave reviews here) I'd say it's pretty reliable as long as you treat it with respect!

Never had the opportunity!

Could this be the missing link in my pedalboard? Rather than a "sustain enhancer" - which is the reason many of us buy compressors, I wanted something that would bring out the best out of my guitars without distorting the signal.

Praise Harmony Central and the gear reviews, as it helped me narrow my options down to 3 choices: the MXR Dyna Comp, The Danelectro Surf and Turf and The Guyatone ST-2 (I think that's the model!).

All 3 were very well rated as far as sound quality was concerned, but the Dano had the other two beat for the price. Intrestingly enough, I found the MXR Dynacomp for $12.00 cheaper than the Guyatone ... agreed, we're talking different stores too, but it did get my attention.

I have more testing still to do, I want to see if I can get it to enhance my Les Paul tone as well as it does my Strat tone, but give credit where credit is due, it does bring out the best of my Strat ... it's like spices: a little goes a long way, but too little won't do a hell of a lot either! Find that sweet spot and you're a happy camper!

Two knobs. Couldn't be nuch easier than that.

I'm running a Fender P through a Peavey TNT130, and the noise factor is minimal.... no worries here. Danelectro doesn't make any real claims as to what it will do, and that's understandable; it's touted as a compressor, but seems to be just a limiting preamp to me. If you want a compressor, don't get this! It only has 2 knobs, because you can only adjust 2 parameters. A toy that gets old right away.

It's made of plastic, but seems strong enough to last a while. Plastic always seems to fail if you wait long enough.

Didn't own it long enough to have to deal with them.

PLusses: clean sound, came with battery, cute.
Negatives: No manual (no claims, but then you can only adjust 2 parameters). Doesn't compress...cheezy imitation. If you want a compressor, get a compressor....Alesis, DBX, Behringer etc. If you want cool effects, get a multi-effect unit...Zoom 708, DOD Bass 30, Korg AX1B etc. You'll only clutter up the floor with stuff like this (and ultimately spend more money).

Ok, two knobs, one of them being volume, so pretty much, you've got one great big compressor knob. Right for more, left for less. Can you get *any* simpler? :). It came with no manual, but if you need one, you shouldn't be playing guitar, or driving a car for that matter. If you can unscrew a bottle of ketchup, you can use this compressor.

For a $65 pedal, i wasn't expecting much. When i plugged it in, i was very suprized. This thing is virtually silent, which is great, and it gives the guitar a briliant chime. I have a fender american telecaster and through the bridge pickup is where this pedal shines. It doesn't distort or alter the tone, it just compresses, and it does it great. I play mostly clean blues, and this little box really pushes out the sound. 'Street spirt' by radiohead pops to mind when you play an Am arpegio through it :).

Is seems pretty solid, but the ones i saw in the store had its knobs snapped off, so i'm going to go easy on them. The button is nice and solid, but it's not like i'm gonna be stomping on it in the middle of a song. Still, those little knobs worry me a bit...

It came with a *fully charged* battery. (Hint, hint, Boss...)

Well, for $65, this is one very good pedal. It has one knob, so its a no-brainer to use, and it sounds great. Note that when you notch it past 7, it boosts the attack slightly. For size, it's extremely small and cute but those little knobs look like they could be snapped off by a big boot. Exercise caution :). But buy it!

Easy.. two knobs... very easy...

Great... I play a 86 Gibson Les Paul Studio and a 96 Fender American Standard Telecaster through a Fender 65 Bassman Head and a Laney 4/10 cabinet. My effect board has the following stomp boxes: Vox Wah>> Danelectro Surf and Turf>> DOD Overdrive Plus FX50B>> Boss Digital Delay DD3>> Danelectro Hash Browns Flanger>> Danelectro BLT Slap Echo>> MXR Phase 90>> Snarling Dogs Blue DOO. The Surf and Turf is very quiet and I set it as a boost pedal. Almost a volume pedal. It does the job very well, becouse I can get a great sustain and I doesn't change the sound of the guitar I am playing. I saw a picture of Pete Townshend setup of the Who reunion tour and He was using a Boss Overdrive and a MXR Dyna Comp. I love the Who sound. I tried the Dyna Comp and the Surf and Turf. They sounded pretty much the same. The main diference is the price and the size (my pedal board is god damn full). So I choose the Danelectro.

I have three Dano Mini pedals. I just love them... They are very good, strong (yes... It "is" made of plastic.. so what.. This little guy is hard as a rock).

Haven't dealt with them

Buy it... now... I am a very big fan of all Danelectro effects. It sounds great... you know that vintage sound... That's it... If you like this kind of sound... buy all of them

Two knobs; level and rate, easy to use and yes it sounds pretty darn good.

I play thru a Vibroverb (retubed) with a '57 Strat and a homemade Telecaster. The Surf-n-Turf sounds quite nice on both guitars. The compression is quite variable, from very subtle levels to Byrds-single-on-AMradio squash! This thing looks like a toy but works as well (or better) than many other heavy duty comps I've had around. Was relatively noise free in my practice room at low volume levels (two on the amp's main channel).

Plastic casing, tiny plastic knobs. I'm gonna be careful with mine. Be gentle on the footswitch, too. I am already considering replacing the knobs with something more substantial. But think about it - there are lots of pedals that are die-cast and still have plenty of plastic parts that bust up on you at the worst times.

Haven't dealt with customer support, but all the Danelectro pedals that I bought new had fresh batteries in 'em! Thanks, Danelectro!

I play a sort of minimalist pop music I suppose. Like to play Kinks and Who covers and 50's/60's country too. This comp is right on target for all this stuff as far as I can tell.

What everyone else says...two knobs. End of story.

I may be the most unqualified reviewer ever to grace these pages. Though I've been playing for 35 years, it's never been professionally...only weekend stuff, often with significant gaps between bands. I've never been real "systematic" about my set-ups, though I certainly have tried a number of pedals over the years.

But I will say this: I'm astounded that after all these years, this dinky little $39 unit has come closer than anything I've ever tried to giving me what I want...that is, a full, sustained sound for soloing that's CLEAN and not distorted, and that doesn't alter the tone of my guitar. I've tried a couple of other compressors over the years, but they always clipped the attack too much. This one is right there doing just what I want it to. It's quiet, too.

I play a 1965 Rickenbacker through a 1968 Fender Vibrolux tube amp. Most of what I'm doing now is vintage 50s rock 'n' roll/rockabilly and 60s punk. I've got the fuzz I need for the punk covered by another unit; this thing fits in perfectly with the clean sound I need to get on 50s stuff (i.e. Chuck Berry -- death to any guitarist who plays a Chuck Berry solo that's all fuzzed up!!!!), Carl Perkins, Paul Burlison, etc.

Take it for what it's worth, but I love this damn thing.

No idea...too new.

Hope I don't ever have to find out about this.

What can I say? I love it.

Two knobs. You turn up the volume to your taste, then turn the sensitivity to the amount of compression you want.
There's no manual, but you don't need one (see the above directions).

My setup is as follows: '69 Reissue Fender Mustang -> Surf & Turf -> Dunlop Hendrix Wah -> Snarling Dogs Tweed OD -> Crate GFX-65.
This thing is silent, and that's the idea. It evens the volume out from string to string perfectly (no piercing high E and thuddy, quiet D string). It sounds great for everything from Chili Peppers covers (though not exactly a Kiedis tone) to a clean solo boost. It works great to squish my overdrive sound, too. It's great!

Even though it's almost all plastic, it's not exactly a pedal that would require a huge stomp.
I don't gig a lot (yet), but I'm too poor at the moment to have backups. I wouldn't need them anyway, all my pedals are tough.

N/A

I play alternative rock, punk, and some new Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque pop. The Compressor is perfect for the Chili Peppers, or any other clean songs. It also complements my Overdrive perfectly. If it were stolen, I'd probably buy another one.
I had a Boss CS-3 before, but it fried on me. I liked the way is compressed AND sustained, but its time passed. I would like it if the Surf & Turf sustained the tone a bite more. Other than that, it's perfect.

There are only two knobs on the unit. It can't be much more simple than that.

I'm using it as a clean / sustained boost for solos. It fits that bill very will. I play country with either a G&L ASAT Classic or Tom Anderson Hollow T, it does a great job for what i intended it to do. it does not colr the tone of the guitars. The what I paid for this thing you can't beat it.

It is a new item for Daneletro and I haven't had it long enough to know just how tough it is. It is a bargain unit and the housing is plastic. i have a Boss compressor for backup just in case.

Never dealt with Dano.

As I stated previously, this unti does the job that I wanted it to do, provide a clean sustained boost for telecaster solos. For that it works great. There are compressor that may be better built and there are compressor that definately cost more but this thing is mucho bang for the buck!

Heli-easy to use. Two knobs: Level and Sensitivity. No manual as it is not at all needed.

I am using a Parker Nitefly and a Trace Elliot tube half stack.

This unit is very quiet. I sold a DOD Milkbox compressor so I could purchase this compressor. The Milkbox was somewhat noisy, although I must say it worked very well.

There is really not any detectable SOUND difference- which means the compressor works well. I notice that I can at random pick various notes on the fretboard, and they are similar in volume. Not even, but similar- a good thing. I wanted to compress without it making my playing sound unnatural. If it made EVERY note even, that would be unnatural. Certainly you can make it do this, if you crank the sensitivity knob. It makes the notes sound smoother and preserves the natural sound of my guitar and amp.

Honestly, I did like the Milkbox. At the time I bought it I found that it was the best compressor in it's price range. It actually can altar the sound of your guitar.

But I have to say the SURF & TURF has the best sound quality in it's price range.

Very sturdy. Wouldn't be scared to throw it against a brick wall.

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I play Metal (what else is there) like Creed, STP, Live, Dream Theatre, etc. I absolutely think that this is a tremendous value-half to a third the cost of other comparable compressors.