Danelectro: Mini-Pedals

After dropping $150 on my Dan-Echo pedal (which I love), you can imagine my surprise when I surveyed my local music retailers' pedal cabinet and saw a tiny little Danelectro Overdrive pedal for $30. The lovely folks at Danelectro have released 10 vintage-style effect mini-pedals with kitschy names that retail for between $29 and $49 US. In the mini family we have Overdrive, 2 Distortions, Compressor, Tremolo, Reverb, Phaser, Flanger, Chorus, and Echo. While all are highly usable sounds, I really took to the Pastrami (Overdrive), Surf N' Turf (Compressor), and Tremolo (Tuna Melt). Honorable mentions to the Hi-Cut on the Reverb pedal, the Hard/Soft switch on the Tremolo Pedal, and the crazy tunnel distortion of the Grilled Cheese. I used a Les Paul style guitar and a Casio SK-1 keyboard through a Music Man Combo to test. The pedals operate very quietly and do not significantly color the sound while turned off. My only beef with this pedal line would be the lack of consistency among the controls. The Chorus, Tremolo, Phaser, and Flanger all are without a Level/Mix control. Small misgivings aside, these mini pedals are cheap, durable, provide excellent sounds, and look good. What more do you want? How about a 9 volt? They're included with every mini pedal. Way to go Danelectro! For more info, check out www.danelectro.com.