Danelectro DTE-1 Reel Echo

It's not really too easy to get good sounds out of the unit. It has so much knobs, and you don't need more than 5 minutes to know that isn't difficult to get every kind of sounds out of it. So, you'll need some time to achieve THAT sound you always dreamed about.

The manual is really RIDICULOUS. I really don't know if I can call that piece of paper as a Manual. So, I don't know if there's a manual for it.

I don't like the "Mix" and "Repeats" knobs, because they're not so accurate. But it's not a problem that would obstruct you from buying it.

The delay time slider is fantastic, it's very easy and quick to change the configuration of delat time.

My current setup is: Cort MGM Signature w/ EMG-85 active pickups > Onerr Volume Pedal GV-1 > Beggiato AB Box > MXR DynaComp > Tube Screamer TS-9 > Marshall Shred Master > Roger Mayer Voodoo-1 Fuzz > Danelectro Chicken Salad > Ibanez DSC-10 Stereo Chorus > Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress Flanger > Danelectro DTE-1 Reel Echo > Boss TU-12H.

The unit is hardly ever noisy. The only noise you can hear is the crackling sound when you turn of/off the unit (but it's not usual).

To get the delay sound you always wanted, you'll need a time studying the unit, but it's not a nightmare. Just spend some minutes trying different configurations, and you'll be in heaven. You can use it as a slight reverb, if you want. Just try it. The unit is really nice.

The unit is very reliable. It has nothing to do with that mini, plastic-made pedals by Danelectro. It's steel made, and looks really sturdy. I depend on it, and I haven't backup for it. Never needed.

I've never dealt with them, but I think if I need someday there will be no problem.

I have tried a big number of echo/delay units (BOSS, Dan-Echo, Ibanez, Onerr, Zoom, Digitech, Maxon, Danelectro PB&J) and this is my favourate so far. It is excellent value for money, because it proves to be reliable. We can't say it really does imitate theose old tape echo's. But the unit offers a great sound. Everybody gets shocked by its shape and design at first but soon gots used to that aspect. Overall I really like this pedal.

Important note - do not bother using batteries with this delay as it will sound awful unless they're brand new. Use a mains adapter.

So anyway it's a cheap and cheerful "fun" tape echo simulator, but actually - if you use it with a wall wart - has quality echoes and lots of fun features. Above all remember this is a FUN unit, if you want pro delay features, buy a pro rack unit.

Very easy to get good sounds from it, if you can't then you probably need help turning the tv on. There's probably a manual in the box but I didn't look at it. The only fiddly control is the delay time slider but even that's not so bad.

I use the Reel Echo with a THD BiValve, and Gibson guitars (ES-335, Les Paul Special, Blues Hawk). It's not noisy in front of the amp and the bypass is pretty good (not sure it's true bypass though). Not so happy in the fx loop but it's not meant to be afaik.

Effects are really outstanding for the money. The key control to this delay is the lo-fi control - turn it all the way anti-clockwise and you get good quality echoes that don't decay with each repeat. Turn the lo-fi control clockwise and you gradually dial in hf cut so your delay decays just like a tape delay. The more you dial in, the muddier the delay gets.

Sound on Sound - excellent for accompanying yourself. Turn lo-fi OFF then repeats to max, set time to suit, play a phrase, press the SOS button then solo over it to your heart's content. If you feel like adding to your loop, just turn SOS off and you can add what you want then press SOS to start soloing again. Hours of fun :-)

Solid State / Tube - SS gives a repeat which is pretty true to the original signal, Tube gives a thinner, crispier sound. Can't say I ever use the Tube setting, but some might like it.

Warble - adds chorus to the delay to simulate tape flutter and wow. Nice for an effects-ey delay, and if you select minimum delay time and repeats of course then you have a chorus unit of sorts.

When I gig it I don't take a backup, but then I don't feel I have to have a delay unit to play. It seems solid enough, but probably if I keep operating the delay time slider with my foot it'll break eventually...

I emailed them once and got no reply, probably personal support isn't their thing.

Overall the Reel Echo is a great delay unit, but firmly in the Dan Electro mode of not taking itself too seriously. What it claims to do, it does excellently. If it had a tap tempo facility it would be truly outstanding, and would walk all over most "boutique" makers' delays. It's not my only delay, but if I lost it I'd definitely get another one.

Its all pretty straight forward, mix, repeats, delay time, the usuals. Then there is the Solid State / Tube switch, the Warble On / Off switch, and the Lo-Fi knob.
Everything is explained in the manual. The manual has no presets in it though, but not that you really need it to be honest.
The only annoying thing is that the slider for the delay time has a stupid scale, 0 - 375 - 750 - 1125 -1500. It splits the 1500 max delay into 4 parts, granted, but its pretty useless when you're trying to get a 400ms delay time, you have guess it. The slider itself is a great idea, but the scale is useless. I've made my own out of a sticker, divided into 100ms intervals, works like a dream.
The two buttons on it are effect on and off, and Sound on Sound function. This is good, they suggest you use it for looping, but I like to use it to 'deaden' delays, meaning that the delays die away 'naturally' instead of completely cutting them out, then you can turn off the unit nice and easily.
All the knobs are nice and big, you can turn em with your foot, except for the lo-fi knob, but you won't need to change that often.
I give this a 8, because it does pretty much everything you could want, but like i said, the slider scale is stupid, and the lack of a tap tempo is also quite annoying.

My current setup is Strat > Small Stone > Marshall MG50 > (efx loop) Reel Echo > Boss TR-2 > (return)
The unit is hardly ever noisy, only occasionally you can hear the buttons popping when you switch on and off the unit, but rarely.

The effect itself sounds good. It is however easily overdriven, and you end up with a crappy drive to your repeats which is annoying. It is a Tape Echo Simulator, I dunno if its meant to do that, but it sure is annoying.
With too much gain, the repeats are weak. If used in an Effects Loop, turn down the Post Gain on your amp or dist. box you are using, and it should be ok.
The solid state and tube functions work well. The solid state is nice and clean, does what it says on the tin. The tube effect is occasionally weak, but it sounds cool in some applications, and has a nice "synth" sound to it.
The warble function: all it does is add chorus to your repeats, or summat very similar. It sounds ok, and can be used very nicely to create a desired effect, again, sounds "synth" like.
The Lo-Fi control I have found to be pretty useless. It really only has two setting, off or on. What it does is cut off the the treble frequencies. But in reality it also adds some bass to them, so you get a stupid pounding repeat. And the range isn't great either.
The Mix and Repeat knobs are good. The Repeat knob has a strange tendency to "jump" ie, you can turn it for quite a bit before there is an actual audible change in the number of repeats. This can be either useful or incredibly annoying; you can use it as a kinda "preset" idea, but otherwise it is just limiting.

sounds I like to get out of it:
Apart from all the obvious bog standard delay stuff, it can do a lot of ambient stuff too.
Reverb - set delay time really short, set repeats almost to infinite, set mix to taste, solid state for a good reverb. If you change it to tube, and maybe add the warble, you get a nice "synth strings" effect.
"Backwards" guitar - set the Mix control past halfway (about 3 o clok works well). This means that the repeats are louder than the dry signal, giving a swell effect, very nice.

It is very reliable, made very sturdily. But it eats batteries like there's no tmmrw.

n/a

I play many things, but concentrate mostly on stuff like Radiohead, Verve, U2, Coldplay, Doves, Interpol, all that jazz. It can certainly do all that, in fact it does Interpol very well.
There are a few annoyances I have with it, the lack of a tap tempo, the stupid scale, the jumping of the pots, the easily overdriven sound. But I like it all the same. I will be getting a new delay in the future, and keep this one along side it, to do some crazy dual delay stuff. I'll probably let this do the standard stuff and leave the crazy stuff to another, more versatile unit (Boss Delay, Line 6 DL-4, Digitech DigiDelay etc).
If it were stolen, I probably wouldn't buy another. I'd go for something that doesn't include all the annoying things this unit has. Don't get me wrong, this is a good delay, just it could be so much more for what it cost.

The pedal was pretty easy to use and I was able to get a nice slap-back echo right out of the box.

I was also able to get the SOS (sound on sound) function to work ... after reading the instruction sheet, which tells you to, turn the REPEATS knob to the maximum setting (100%) then step on the SOS button after you've played a sample up to 1.5 seconds.

I've never played a "real" tape echo unit before so I can't comment on how easier / harder one is from the other, etc.

I used this pedal through 2 different Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amps (one being made in the USA, the other made in Mexico) and played a Fender American Standard Stratocaster.

Through the USA amp I noticed no tone change when the pedal was on or off ... also I didn't notice any extra noise coming from the pedal.

Through the made in Mexico amp, I used other pedals along with the Reel Echo. The pedal setup was: guitar -> AB box -> Keeley Compressor -> Loooper -> Boss BD-2 (Keeley mod) -> Effector 13 Eye Of God -> Boss DM-2 -> Digitech Multi Chorus -> Danelectro Tuna Melt -> Danelectro Reel Echo -> amp. I noticed once again no tone change / extra noise when the pedal was on / off. Also the pedal works great with other effects (overdrive, delays, chorus, etc.).

I did notice a small tone change when I switch the tone switch from "tube" to "solid state" ... to me the solid state was a little more brighter sounding (which I liked). Also the warble switch was cool, it reminds me of the Flerb setting on the Electro-Harmomix Holy Grail reverb pedal (which I own, and will most likely be selling soon, since I've been keeping that pedal for that sound for awhile now).

The box is made out of steel (or aluminum) and looks pretty sturdy. I ahve other Danelectro pedals (6 minis and 2 big steel case pedals) and I've never had any problems with any of them (with the exception of one and it was a defect).

This pedals can use a battery or an A/C plug (which one came with mine) so you have 2 power options which is nice to have.

I've never delt with them, but they have a nice website with some info on their products.

Overall it's a good delay / echo pedal. I like the options of the solid state / tube tone switch, warble switch and the lo-fi knob ... with those options you're able to make the delay / echo suitable to the type of song you're playing. At $70 it's a great pedal, for anything over $90, I'd look into getting something else (I think $100 for any delay / echo is too high, IMHO).

The Dano REEL ECHO is a fairly simple echo unit to use. For those who remember the classic "Echoplex" tape machines this unit will be a breeze to use. Even if you never owned an old machine you'll be able to dial in a sound you'll like right away. The manual is vague in it's instructions, so my best advice is to play with it.

The REEL ECHO sounds best when run through the front of the amp- do not patch it through the effects loop! There is a noticeable loss of sound if the unit is run through the effects loop. The REEL ECHO has a very nice tube setting which gives some added vintage warmth to your sound. I use it with a Fender solid state amp (Princeton 65) and it creates a very life-like tube sound (I like that)!
The "sound-on-sound" effect is possible after you get used to setting it up a few times. Remember, you've only got 1.5 seconds of memory to work with- so you can't go on with unlimited "loops".

This unit is built to last with ultra-sturdy metal construction! Dano has gone to great lengths to get this thing right...unlike their light weight plastic mini-pedals. I like the mini's but man, you've got to be careful when using those little tykes!
I would use the REEL ECHO wothout a backup (I do now).

I have contacted Dano (via email) in the past and they will help you out. They may not be fast but they're fair...

Echo effects are great for giving your guitar sustain and presence. The "Lo-Fi" roll off control adds a little sparkle to the echo's tone. Cool. The unit reminds me of the sound that made Les Paul famous in the early 1950s. With a little delay your guitar gets a nice "doubling effect" which is vey natural sounding. The "Warble" control adds some tones that aren't always in tune, so I don't use very much. I do love the "Tube" tone the best (as I've already stated).
It's a damn good unit that is well made and seems like it will hold up over the long haul.
Dano has made a real valid attempt at creating value-priced yet high quality products for us guitar pickers.

Manual doesn't give away too much, but easy to use if you have used a delay before. Wish the cool looking 'Capstan' like knobs were weighted so they felt as good as they look!

I've used this pedal with Peavey Classic 30 and Cornford amps and various guitars, it does effect the tone whether on or off, but only in the same way Echoplex's do anyway. Heres the deal... under no circumstances even think of using a battery with this pedal, it will sound cheap and nasty, however, with the right power supply (300Ma Regulated)the tone improves enormously and the whole unit can sound really quite classy.

Obviously it's not as good as a real Echoplex, but then i've heard Echoplex's that aren't as good as an Echoplex, if you see what i mean!

It nails a good early Buddy Holly and a class 'Jeepster'esqe Marc Bolan. Can't seem to get a convincing Eddie Cochran yet, still keep trying.

Basically it does what it say's on the box, sounds 'like' a tape echo, without the hassle... Top behaviour!

Seems Ok, but i don't beat pedals up.

N/a

I record and produce all sorts of styles, but predominately Indie/Rock and Dance, some Blues/Jazz. This is a fun piece of kit and that's the point.. It's supposed to be fun!

I have studio echo's old and new and this funky little box has a smile factor everytime i, or someone else, uses it. It will never replace my analogue delays and it's not as versatile as the Line 6 Echo Pro, but it is a third of the price, (Don't pay over #100) and it does what it does well 'AS LONG AS YOU DON'T USE A BATTERY'!...So some hassle then..ahem!

Its easy to get going. The manual doesn't say much, but its echo - pretty straighforward.

I've read all the reviews here. I will say it is noisy - it has a really loud "white noise" hiss to it when turned on. I haven't used a real tape echo personally, but I'm certain this thing doesn't produce any more noise that those units do - or perhaps it was even designed to have a tape like hiss to it. What really prompted me to write this review was one thing I noticed but didn't see in other reivews. Battery life - this thing killed the new battery that came with the unit within 1 hour of its first use. The tone goes downhill dramatically but yet the jewel lamp glows bright red. But when I put in a new battery - the rough tone was gone. So what I'm saying is, don't even bother with a battery - you better plug in the AC adapter. I got the Danelectro chromatic tuner and they almost say flat out to only use the AC adapter. I think this would be true for the reel echo too. I like the sound of the unit overall. I can set the controls up and nail Brain Setzer's tone on "Sleepwalk" really close. You can't emulate this with a standard echo because it must roll off the high frequencies on each echo like tape does for it to sound right (50's style). Its a good match with my Fender Blue Jr. and 63' Gretsch double anniversary.

Fine so far.

?

Too expensive! The only reason I finally gave in was the store were I bought it from (MF) - gave me a Danelectro Dan-O-Matic pedal for free with the purchase of the real echo.

Pretty easy to use. Plug in and go. I like that it doesn't need a wall wart.

Not that great for such an expensive unit. Kind of ironic but this pedal uses state of the art digital technology to emulate the imperfections of analog. It hisses a bit and the echo can make a popping noise depending on how you hit the button to engage echo. I don't think the delay time of "sound on sound" is long enough to do anything useful musically with. Really I think it's only usefulness is as an enhancement for reverb (I mix it in with the reverb from my
Fender Super reverb) It does give a very vintage sound in this mode and it's what I use it for most. Rockabilly and surf sounds.

Good so far

Not bad but a bit pricey for what you get. If I had it to do over I'd wait till these were selling used on ebay and pick one up there for 50 bucks.

So so. It is modeled after a tape echo so if you are used to delay pedals this seems just a bit weird. Too much turning of any knob causes dramatic effect. This is good or bad depending on your preference.

Sound on Sound: is simple. Hit echo and get your loop, then hit sound on sound to play over it without recording. VERY NICE FEATURE. Hit echo again to shut everything off. Loop ends when you shut it off. No fading off like a Boss.

Left Mix knob: Should be set to middle if you want to hear both signals at the same time. Some have commented here that Sound on Souns doesn't work. I suspect they had the mix knob turned all of the way up.

Does infinite repeat better than my Boss. Quality does not disentigrate unless...

Lo Fi ...unless you use this knob. The repeats start to diminish and even infinite repeat will not go forever (it does what it says it does).

Warble: It also works. Warble is something I really hate about tape. It is good if you like that sort of thing. The warble on this unit kind of takes the randomness out of the tape malfunction. I just kept it OFF.

Tone: Solid State or Tube. I didn't take it apart, but I suspect there is only a resistor and capacitor in there causing a tone knob effect here. Change is subtle. I think tube probably sounds better, but I could have been tricking myself. It seemed subtly warmer.

Speed Range: Full on digital, easy to use. Will not speed up like a tape or slow down. It isn't as bad as the Boss it will not repeat a bunch of CD skipping fragmented crap when you change the time. It repeats once or twice and then changes the time with no hassle.

I am not really sure about this unit. I am from the digital age, but I admire old things. This is an oxymoron product. It is a tape echo simulator with no variable on-the-fly speed control. Yet it has a nasty click when engaged (possible patched end of tape loop simulation)? The clicking is very noticable and would sound like total crap if it were enhanced by your amps reverb. Some may be looking for this sound but I was not.

I expected analog delay with minimal noise and long delay times 2 seconds or more.

This unit is pretty good, but could use a bit of tweaking. As a sissy Delay pedal it is ok (clicking).

As a tape echo it is ok (no variable speed)

As either one or the other it is no contest. The delay time is too short for a machine that doesn't know what it is to cost this much. I'd get Danelectro delay, Digitech, DOD, or Boss before I'd pay for this.

It isn't a bad pedal, it just doesn't live up to it's promise in its price range.

I just demoed it at Guitar Center.

Never had dealings...

It is half-delay, half-tape echo...simulator.

I could REALLY get into this pedal. I loved the sound on sound, but hated the clicking. Lo fi control was a fun novelty, but a waste of a good pot. Tone and Warble switches are nice addition, but a waste of switches for my use. (After eliminating all of the things I would not use we are left with a digital delay pedal).

If they put all of these cool additions on it they should have made it analog so one could adjust the Speed Range. 1.5 seconds is not long enough for sound on sound.

I'd recommend a used Digitech PDS series delay over this one.

This is not a bad pedal, but it is too big, overpriced for what it doesn't do, and just can't make it's mind up what it is.

Demo this before buying. It teeters on the edge of something useful.

Good variation in sounds as echo/delay goes. Tone control, Tube/solid State switch and warble all very effective with highly descernible differences in sound. It really can replicate those old and wonderful tape echo's, Copycat, Echoplex, Roland Space Echo! It did however take some to work out how to get 'sound on sound'to work, the instructions not being too helpful here. It's only when you happen to look at the base of the unit, that all becomes clear! But hey, who really actually uses SOS?

I use echo/delay as a sax player, as a major part of the sound. The sound produced by the Reel Echo is truley excellent. Only proble is that the volume/mix button is a bit erratic. The effect doesn't fade below the dry sound too progressively as the knob is turned anticlockwise meaning that the echo tends to scream a bit sometimes. The sensitivety can be adjusted however by using the tone control to get round this problem. Overall it is great, giving real presence to sound.

Haven't used it enough yet but, like all digitally based delay pedals it has a veracious appetite for 9v batteries and a power pack is a must. Using a power pack does introduce some hum and I am yet to try Danelectro's own low hum pack. I wouldn't use any FX pedal without a back-up and this one is yet to prove itself but, I'm sure it will.

Not owned it long enough and have no previous experience of Danelectro.

I have used many echo/delay units over 30 years and this is my favourate so far. At just under a hundred pounds it is excellent value for money if it proves to be reliable. I have seen it selling for #120 around the web sites, at which point, it has to compete with some really good delay pedals so it needs to remain at sub #100 prices. Nevertheless it really does imitate theose old tape echo's and offer something a bit different. I was shocked by its size at first but soon got to like that aspect. It appears heavy and robust but is it 'beer proof'? The slider for the delay time is excellent much like the old Echoplex, making it very quick and easy to change the delay setting. Overall I really like this pedal? box?

the sound on sound is so simple my cat could figure it out. RTFM

1. set the feedback to maximum (or close).
2. set the delay time, preferably to something long.
3. step on the ECHO footswitch, and play a phrase to fill up the buffer.
4. step on the SOS footswitch, and play over the top of your repeating phrase.

the delay time slider adjusts the buffer-length, not the sample-rate, so you can't get realtime pitch shifting by adjusting the d.time slider. I don't know what they were thinking here. almost seems like they put the lowpass filter *behind* the buffer.

maximum setting on the feedback knob sounds like it's 100% exactly.

the overall tone is nice. the lowpass filter is not as sharp as I'd like. I didn't try the warble. the 'tube' switch had no audible effect.

the unit I played through was a guitar center demo model, and it had a nasty bounce in the footswitch, and the battery cover was wearing out.

they always respond to my emails personally and promptly. more often than not they include undocumented technical information.

I play what they call "post rock". we "post rock" types need the sample-rate adjustment on our delays - buffer-length just doesn't cut it. for now I'm going to stick with my old Ibanez EM5. it has a nice (though fixed) lowpass sound, and it can do the pitch shift sound.

I am going to keep looking for a 1) digital 2) affordable 3) SOS capable 4) delay pedal with variable samplerate however.

If you read the other reviews on this you will see that it is not difficult to use except for the sound on sound feature that I could never get to work. The manual is a bit lacking in information but it is not that difficult to figure out how to use the pedal. I found the sound to be very lacking in analog authenticity. I have owned a number of real tape echos and a number of good analog delay pedals and no matter what I thried with the Reel Echo, it sounded like an inexpensive digital delay. I was very disappointed and finally took it back to Guitar Center and got a refund.

The paragraph above describes what I thought about the sound.

Didn't own it long enough to form an opinion on this, but I own two other Danelectro pedals, a Cool Cat Chorus and a Daddy-O Overdrive and both of them have performed well and sound good.

This is where Danelectro really gets a failing grade. I sent them two emails asking about the sound on sound feature and after not receiving a reply, I tried their non toll free number and you get trapped in a voice mail jail. There is no way to talk to live person. I left my message and that wasn't responded to either. This experience has totally turned me off of Danelectro products. Even though I own two of their products now, I seriously doubt I would ever consider buying another if they don't feel customer service is important. If they don't care about me, why should I care about them?

As I said earlier, I was terribly disappointed and took it back to Guitar Center who cheerfully refunded my money.

I just bought the Danelectro "Reel Echo" today, and I must admit I liked it. It was easy to get into, except for the "Sound on Sound" function, which was confusing, oh, and it pays to have a fresh battery handy.

It certainly sounds very authentic, apart from the absence of the "spaceship" effect, which is a very strange ommission in a so called "authentic" re-creation of an original tape echo. I am a bit dissapointed as well. It does sound very good if you like "surfy" type guitar tones.

It seems to be fairly well constructed, but I personally wouldn't use such a pedal like this on any stage, it's just to breakable looking! I'm not that convinced by the dodgy looking "speed" slider.

I may just take this back, because the "sound on sound" function just did not impress me a lot, and I bought it because it seemed like a great idea to me. However when I finally got it working I thought it was useless. Robert Fripp would throw this one away, I think!

I play on a recreational level, a lot of fiddling and widdling in a quasi "psychedelic" manner (not all that good though), but I'm not sure this pedal is for me. I've used quite a few analogue delays over the years, including an old Ibanez tabletop unit (which I still use), but this does sound cleaner than that. I also have a Korg "stage echo" tape device, which still works. This unit I think is a resonable recreation of the tone, especially the "warble" function. I think this unit is for die hards mainly, I don't think its all that great, oh well!

Besides the Sound On Sound function, which was a royal pain in the ass to get working, the effect itself is just turned on via a light-duty stomp switch, and once you get the hang of adjusting everything it's pretty good functionality-wise.

I'm one of the old-school guys who's coming from a real Echoplex to this thing. I got rid of my Echoplex because its time had just come, and I need something reliable right now. I use this in conjunction with a few other pedals and effects through a 65 deluxe reverb or a princeton chorus. Personally it sounds better in the deluxe. The tube option really warms it up. I hear people saying that the unit is noisy - well, I've owned an Echoplex for quite some time and those things aren't exactly quiet, so this will suffice. Won't go and say it sounds like an Echoplex, although it does recreate the sound if you tamper with it enough and matches it pretty close to the real thing. what I'll need to do now is try it with headphones to really hear the detail of the effect at close range. Seriously, it;s an ugly-ass effect box that looks like a cheap toy, but being that it matched up close enough to my picky-ass ears and had echoplex-like versatility, it works fine for me. now try to get Eric Johnson to try this thing (yeah right).

This is dependable. I could really do without the cheap-ass box like I said before, because original tape echos have on off switches that you do by hand and leave running throughout. We all know that the heads on those things got really dirty quickly, and you don't deal with that here. Reality though, it's too bad you can't just hook up an external stomp switch to the back (without having to actually connect the wires inside to a new switch) so you can limit the amount of times you step on this cheap aluminum box, therefore saving it some years (or months, who knows - just got this 2 days ago).

I'm sure they're fine...they're still in business which is a plus for a vintage analog guy like myself. I'm sure if there was a problem they'd fix it (though don't quote me on that)

Overall and to sum this up, it's a cheap box with an Echoplex-like mimic. If you've had an Echoplex before we all know one thing: it uses a tape. A very flimsy recording tape which is unprotected from dust and crap (especially if you leave the cover off for whatever reason), and the worst part is, they're tape delays. Shit breaks. I'm actually satisfied with this thing, being that I brought my Echoplex to the Guitar Center and did a side by side comparison at the store and really honestly could not tell the difference when you tweak it right. Obviously this is not a pro pedal by any means, and if I were richer I probably would have gotten a vintage MXR Analog Delay or a Hughes & Kettner Replex, but for what I do I guess it works. I'm sure sooner or later I'll run into the flaws that everyone talks about. I truthfully never really even used the sound on sound function on my Echoplex so as aggravating as it is told that it is to get working, I'm sure I'll never even give a shit about it. As a cheap version of an Echoplex; it does the job, and I'm not going to complain. I think $150 is a bit pricy for this thing being that it is a Danelectro, but oh well. My friend bought a Danelectro distortion pedal a few years back when they only had 3 pedals on the market and he still uses it to this very day exclusively so it must say something about the product, right?

Sound on sound function is a little funky but everything is pretty easy to figure out and use.

It sounds better than any of the other imitators out there but I really wish it did the whackey rocket ship thing with the increase and decrease of the delay time. It doesn't even come close ! But for just a pure echo pedal it sounds good.

Never had a problem with Danelectro.

??? OK I guess ???

I tried the Line 6 delay and this one is alot warmer sounding minus all extras that the line 6 gives you. It's a good solid warm delay pedal. I play all styles of music and I am still searching for the ultimate delay, this one comes close but no cigar !

digital delay - to me, harder to nail the EXACT sound but a little over the 375 mark makes it sound like a model for the electro harmonix memory man WITHOUT that pesky noise gate!

played thru a gibson SG to pedal board to an orange 30 watt twin channel head, crystal clear, does not corrupt your sound on or off. preserves distortion the way you intend it.

i don't believe this has a battery option, must use an AC adaptor. don't kick the plug out!

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good for emo, space rock, f-ing with people before you blow your stack live. i sold my EH memory man after buying this, because it used to suck the life out of my sound with its "gain" control - now this pedal lets me preserve the signal and mimics the EHMM pretty damn close. as for the sound on sound, read your manual, or crank the repeats to max, hit echo, play a 1.5 second (maximum) sound bite, hit SOS and fire away. it will loop your lick, then you get to play clean/distorted/effected over it............cool!

It's pretty easy to get a basic echo happening. The sound on sound thing was a little quirky but easy enough after a minute and a half. Frankly, I'm not sure why this paragraph is even relevant for most pedals.

Sounded pretty decent clean. Sounded like it wanted to be an analog tape echo.

The painful shrill came when I tried it with a mildly overdriven tone. What an awful sound. It was brittle, harsh, <insert more synonyms here>.

Unless you are looking for an echo for just clean tones, stay away.

Oh, did I mention it was noisy too.

It seemed like it was made OK -- not as sturdy as a Boss pedal but I don't think there would be too much to worry about here.

Never used their support.

I didn't end up buying it. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone really. There are much better delays to be had for around the same price.

simple sound on sound worked for me but I would never use it anyways

Just got it yesterday. I put the dry out into a Fender Tone master w/ 2X12 cab and the wet to a Peavy Classic 30 w/ 4X12 tonemaster cab. (Normally I use a Fender Twin for a second amp) I've tried other delays (SPX990, Boss DD7 or something ect ect) but they would break up or alter the sound too much, this didn't do it as much and if there was that analog sounding distortion to the echo cutting the highs on the unit would help a lot. Little bit of noise plugging my guitar direct in then to the amp but thru the loop of the Tone master it was pretty clean for an inexpensive delay.
I really like setting the delay as a VERY short delay or doubler with this setup, very thick sounding. I tried that with the SPV990 and it sounded like crap. I'm trying to find a reason to send it back but it's just cool enough not to. I wanted to try a real Echoplex or the like but I saw this in an add and had to give it a shot for the money.
I will use it for a while and after 30 days if I still like it i will keep it. I does not do just one reapeat though, you can still hear trails after no matter what but they are quiet so in a live situation it won't be a problem.
I think it sound decent for the cash.

Never bought anything Danelectro before so I don't know. I never used a delay giging before because they all soundlike crap (to me)if you dont mike the amp and go through a board. This may be the first delay I try playing out with. I may just end up using it to thicken my sound by putting a few milliseconds between amps and occasionally for some slide stuff. I don't like over using any effects.

don't know

Classic rock, blues, southern ect. Playing 25 years ( shit I'm getting old!)I would probably accept that it was fate if it got stolen and give up on delays.
I still have some toying around to do with it before I'm sold on it but I have tried a few and they go back almost instantly so they must have something here. If it takes away from either of my amps I will send it back. I didn't pay $4,000 in amp gear to fuck it up with a $150 dollar pedal but if it works for me I will keep it.

Easy to Use

Has a white noisy, whiny quality to it. This unit is not defective, it sounded a little off.

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When I first heard about the Reel Echo, I thought it would be a cool idea. I purchased it at Guitar Center (I hate them, but you can return stuff without a hassle-which I do a lot). I brought it home and it just didn't sound good.
I am not an analog or boutique snob, I have a mix of boutique stuff, with cheap stuff. I own a Danelectro PB&J Delay, which I bought for $25 used. I have had a Boss DD5 and a Maxon Ad-80, and the PB&J is a perfect for me, the DD5 was too "perfect" and the AD80 was too muddy. What I'm trying to say is, I'm open minded.
The Reel Echo was a big disappointment to me, I was hoping to get a fun pedal, but it just killed my clean sound, on or off. I'm not super anal about my sound, my single coil guitar buzzes near my amp, and I don't jump off of any buildings or anything, but this pedal sounded "wrong" to my ears. Definately not worth the money, and probably not worth the money at $50, because it is unusable to me.

IT's very easy to use but will take some time to get the setting right for particular effects, ie. I took it to a gig the same day I purchased it and thought I had it set for a slight echo, as used on CHina Grove (Doobie Brothers) but when I kicked it in, starting that song, the echo was as loud as the original signal. I've since made mental notes of about where the "mix" control should be according to the effect you want.

I'm considered a tone freak by most of my comtemporaries and playing live, I was very happy with the tone. It does produce some hiss but not more so than many other pedals. I tried using a very short echo, ala slap back for Roy Orbison & other 50's tunes and loved the way it sounded. YOu can get a chorus effect by turning on the warble effect and setting the echo very short, which sounds cool. I have tried using the sound on sound feature and it seems useless to me - I expected to play a phrase and step on the s.o.s. button and play over top it but with the controls sets per their instructions it does a poor job of recording and looping - I'd get the Line 6 unit if this is a feature you will use.

Haven't had it long enough to know how reliable it will be. Buy the AC adapter, batteries only last several hours.

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You don't go out and buy a Dan Electro pedal to have a state of the art pedal. I buy one because they are reasonably priced, they sound good and they are a lot of fun. I own an original solid state Echo Plex and have really enjoyed using it over the years. It does require some maintenance and I don't like to take it out and get it banged up, since it's 20 or 30 years old. The Reel Echo does a very good job of recreating the sound and "feel" of my original and I am pleased with it. I do wish the sound on sound worked better but for $150, I'll get my moneys' worth out of it.

Pretty self explanatory,although I think the one I bought is broken.I messed with it for a couple hours and never once could I get the "sound on sound" function to work at all.
I'm definitely sending it back from whence it came.

Disappointing.I have owned many Echoplexes,and currently am using a Roland 501 Space Echo religiously.This pedal couldn't even begin to muster the musicality and sweetness of a real tape echo....and here's the most important thing.... IT WON'T DO THE CRAZY ROCKET SHIP THING where you turn the repeats up full blast and then mess with the delay time....you know,like the middle of "Dazed and Confused" and about a million other classic 60's & 70's records.
Who could ever create a "tape echo simulator" that won't do the frickin' rocket ship thing fer Chrissakes????
Oh and did I mention that it has a nasty 60 cycle hum but ONLY when you switch the echo effect on??(Another useful feature)

I think the brand new one I just got is malfunctioning....what does that mean about reliability?

I'm sure if I sent this back to Dan-O they'd replace it and send an extra T-shirt...however I'm gonna send this back to dude I bought it from on Ebay and let him deal with it.

This pedal is lame....if you absolutely MUST have a digital delay at least get the green Line 6 box....the Line 6 colors your tone in an undesirable way but it can yield some form of a cool usable delay effect without noise.....the Boss DD-5 is great for tap tempo but the delay effect is unbelievably sterile and totally un-musical....(kinda like "N-Sync")......
IMHO,if you want awesome sounding warbling organic delays that even Radiohead would approve of,you must play your guitar through a real tape echo.
Therefore,you must pay to have it serviced like the rest of us....you must feed it new tapes occasionally.It's really the only way.

Fairly easy. You get the hang of it after a few minutes. I can't really get the sound on sound feature to "loop" the way they say it does, but it's not like I'd use it that much anyways. The manual is adequate. This is basically an upgrade from the Dan-echo, which I thought was a decent unit for some things. It is an improvement as well. It looks kind of goofy, kind of cool. I like the color. Not the graphics.

It's a fairly good unit. I use a setup with two amps and am auditioning this to use for my distortion amp (69' Marshall Jmp-50, modified by Voodoo amps). In comparison to a real tape echo, this of course is just a fascimile. But, this seems as though it will work fine for my application, as most analog units I had previously used for my distortion amp were too warm and broke up too early, muddying up the sound. This, however walks a good line between warm and, well, not-warm. It adds less distortion and the thickness of analog circuitry, basically. My amp's sound is thick enough. It has a good sound, less inspiring than my deluxe memory man, but it isn't bad at all. In comparison to the dan-echo, it is the dan-echo to the second power. Longer, cleaner repeats, and just an overall better unit. Compared to my deluxe memory man (which I run through my clean amp), it is noticeably thinner and less prone to distortion and run-away echo. It actually just seems like a digital version of the DMM. In comparison to analog units, it's really a different animal, but for my application, it works quite well.

seems sturdy..... the plastic slide switch for delay time makes me nervous, though.it's new though, so I cant say.

dont know....

It does it's job... For my apllication, I think it will work nice, but my goals probably aren't the same as others. If it were lost, I might check out other units, but would probably just go ahead and get the reel thing then.

Manual is specific enough to get you running fast. But it was easy to figure out right out of the box.

Close.....really close. And the versatility is neat too. I'll use it in the studio, but it won't be moving onto my pedalboard permanently.

It is the first Dano pedal I've purchased. Many of my peers have used their product for years without problems. This is consistent with what they've done before, so I would consider it reliable.

I'll be able to use it. Which is the most important thing to me. It got some good sounds in it which makes it a good buy. It has a funky vibe to it as well and that makes it kind of fun, which doesn't hurt.

Very easy to use. It's pretty self-explanatory. Manual is basic, although not very clear on Sound on Sound function- but easy enough to figure out.

Okay. It sounds good. That's about it. It looks and feels a bit like a toy. It's cool, it's vibey- but toyish (and that's okay). The solid-state mode sounds really good. The tube mode sounds a bit boomy (I weird low-end thing). I've never used a real tube tape unit- I don't know how this compares to the real thing. However I have used solid state models (Roland Space Echo, Echoplex, and other cheapo solid state echo units). Feels and sounds like a digital version of an old sound. It's cool, don't know if I would use it in a professional situation. It's fun, however not as inspirational as others digital simulations (Echo Pro, etc). The Warble function is cool- but a bit sterile. I'm a bit of a delay/echo freak. I've got a bunch of analog delays (tube and otherwise), several tape delays (s.s.), and plenty of digital delays and simulations.

I just got it yesterday. But Danelectro products that I've had in the past have been very reliable. This seems pretty sturdy- heavy casing- pretty good feel on the footswitches.

Don't know.

I am a producer that works with pop, rock, country, singer-songwriter, heavy, and soundtrack/instrumental music (so far). I've been working for about 10 years. Own a studio and a ton of gear (a bunch of delay/echo products). If it were stolen, I'd buy another Echo-Pro. I like the vintage vibe (color)- I hate that it sounds digital- but like it because it's a decent digital delay with some vibe. Compare? Not really- it's cheaper than the Line 6 Echo models, but maybe a bit pricey for what it does. I'm not sure it will help me too much- I might give it away or sell it. I got this because I hardly ever buy anything new, and I was a little intrigued- so I thought I'd give it a shot. The guys at the store said it was "killer"- (it's not, by the way) and I've always felt like Danelectro made good products. I'll keep it just for the vibe if I don't give it away. I'll stick with my analog pedals (DM-3, Memory Man) and digital model (Echo-Pro).