Danelectro has been busy churning out yet another set of pedals that are inex-pensive and quite small. A good thing, since one can never have too many pedals.
These are, in no particular order, a baby blue PB&J (continuing the line’s partiality to food references), which delays as well or better than many more expensive boxes; the purple French Fries auto-wah (my son, Paris, never tired of it – “Hey, it takes all the footwork out of the wah-wah!”); and the Black Licorice Beyond Metal (with a nifty mini-switch for octave plus distortion).
Last but not least is my personal fave – the spinning-speaker simulator, Rocky Road.
My take on these pedals is simple – they’re extremely well-crafted (durable cast chassis, noiseless buttons), they’re inexpensive, and they actually sound quite good.
Would I have one in my “ultimate rack” (which features the creme-de-la-creme of devices, like my prototype Fulltone, Demeter tremolo, and Hughes and Kettner Rotosphere)? Yup! In fact, I use the PB&J for slap-back. It’s quiet, and authentic as you can get.
So try ’em. Chances are you’ll buy ’em. Contact your nearest Danelectro dealer.
Danelectro PB&J, French Fries, Black Licorice, Rocky Road
Type of pedal(s): Delay, auto-wah, octave-distortion, Leslie simulator.
Features: Cast metal housing with heavy-duty stomp switches, true bypass.
Price: $49 to $69.
Contact: Local dealers, and danelectro.com.
This article originally appeared in VG‘s Sept. ’01 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.