Danelectro 'Chili Dog' octave mini pedal

[Lordathestrings]

http://www.danelectro.com/images/mini3.jpg


MSL price: $US49

Pros: Small, tracks notes well, quiet, intuitive contols, good sound

Cons: plastic case, slightly awkward On/Off switch location, won't handle chords

Review:
This thing is small!... I like that! Until I find a multi-effects box that I can afford/feel comfortable with, I'm using individual pedals. Small is good; less size and weight to deal with when I want to take it somewhere.

Its been said before, and I'll repeat it here, any 'stompbox' in a plastic case is not meant to withstand the beatings routinely endured by professional equipment. For hobbyists, and amateurs like myself, its good enough.

Functionally, this is a good piece of kit. There's a small 'tic' when I turn on the effect... no biggie. :cool: Years ago, I had a Boss OC-2 Octaver that could not track a bent note. This Danelectro pedal copes with 2-or-3-fret bends easily. There are three knobs for adjusting the balance of the original signal (Direct), with the two tones (OCT 1 & OCT 2), that the pedal generates. OCT 1 is a clear, trebly note, one octave down from the one you're playing. OCT 2 is a bassier, more pure tone, also down one octave. I found the mixing controls easy to use, and intuitive to understand. The on/off switch is on a flat, horizontal surface, so you have be careful about how you put your foot on it... just dropping your toe on the front part of the case, with your heel on the floor, will apply pressure to the edge of the case, leaving the button untouched. You aren't likely to trigger this thing accidentally, but you may not trigger it when you want to, until you get used to it.

As noted, the Chili Dog will easily cope with single-string bends. Double-stops can cause a few problems, especially for OCT 2. I found that if I stayed on the B and E strings, the Chili Dog was OK, even with bends, but any use of the B & G string, even at the higher frets, caused 'farting' sounds. I found this happened with my Washburn A-20 (D'Addario EXL-110's, plain G string) and with my Yamaha SBG 1000 (D'Addario EXL 115W's, wound G string) with either series or parallel coil settings on the humbuckers. Chords?... don't go there; this pedal wasn't meant to handle that so don't expect it to.



Summary: I'm pleased with my purchase. For professional use, I'd recommend getting a full-size version, to have the durability of a steel case. The little guy sounds good, its easy to use, and it doesn't add noticeable noise to my signal... I'm happy. :D

[Brandonn]

Duh!Thats why its called a MINI PEDAL.Stick with single effects.But if you want multi effects try the Zoom 505 pedal.I had one and it sounded great.

[Cookie monster]

can someone help me find an octave pedal that doesnt mix the normal guitar signal with the lower octive, but just turns your signal down an octive....So you sound like a bass......if u guys can make any sense of that... :o thanks

[SLY]

Many multi-effect units do this trick , usualy it's called pitch shifting ... Just like the normal octaver , harmonizer or whatever , but cancels the direct signal.

Any pedal with direct signal control should be able to do this , I think Boss OC-2 seems to be the pedal your looking for ... I never played through this pedal before , so I'm not deadsure .
Go to the store and check it out .

[Lordathestrings]

I used to have a Boss OC-2 so I can vouch for the mix controls on that. The Danelectro pedal I have now also has this feature. Both of these units allow you to blend the original signal with the effected signal at any balance you want, including shutting off the original signal and passing only the octave-down sound. No problem. I haven't used anyone else's octavers, but I would expect to find that they all have some way to do what you're asking for.

[Cookie monster]

Whats the name of the danelectro pedal? And between the OC-2 and the danelectro, wich one would you say is better?

[Lordathestrings]

As I mentioned in this review, they both have problems tracking bent notes, but the Chili Dog was better at it. This is a plastic mini pedal, so it's definitely not up to the abuse of regular gigging. I saw it in a discount bin at a music shop, and I picked it up out of curiosity. If the full-size pedal is as good as this little guy, I think it would be worth owning.

[Lordathestrings]

When I went to the Danelectro (http://www.danelectro.com/) website to get the picture, I couldn't find a full-size version of this pedal. Does anybody know if it was discontinued? Did such a thing ever exist?

[robolead]

The Korg multi-effects pedal I purchased (3000G) is AMAZING! I found this unit for $250 at The Guitar Center. Basically, any effect you can think of is included and if it's not in there, just use the external effect in/out to add an effect.

Lots of storage space for custom config's and the programming can be done with the convenient knobs and switched on stage with an impressive array of foot pedals. The Effects Step Senquencer (ESS) allows you to control the parameters you choose for each effect with the convenience of a pedal and in 8 graduated steps. Or the pedal can be used as volume or delay as in the typical case.

I want one for my base as well, but $200 is a lot for a secondary instrument.

[Weslaba]

Holy resurrection batman! :eek:

[Lordathestrings]

The Korg multi-effects pedal I purchased (3000G) is AMAZING! ....

???? Are you going to post a proper review in its own thread, or are you just spamming?

BTW, I still have my Chili Dog, and I still love it. :D

[Weslaba]

Fulltone Octafuzz... :rolleyes: Mmmm... don't even compare the two.

[Lordathestrings]

I got my Chili Dog for thirty bucks. It's OK. I don't use effects of any sort enough to justify Fulltone prices. To each, according to their tastes.

[Weslaba]

Very good point. But hey... "When ya got it, FLAUNT IT!" :D

[light487]

I don't find Octavers that useful to be honest.. It is a very specific effect so I can't really use it all the time.. in fact I find it hard to find a song that you can really get a good use out of the pedal. I'd like to hear about what you are using the pedal for.. That and the fact that they buzz-out when you play chords through them makes a separate pedal purchase, no matter how cheap, something that you really need to think about.

I bought a cheap (2nd hand) BOSS one years back and I felt ripped off to be honest.. not because the pedal was broken.. just that I couldn't really use it a lot and it felt like a waste of money. Now that I have it as a part of my multi-effects pedal I still don't use it very much, if at all, but it's there if I need it.

I appreciate that this was a review of the product and not an opinion of why you should or shouldn't get one.. but yeh.. the octave effect is usually "specific" (ie. limited) to a certain style.. and even then you don't use it all the time.

[Lordathestrings]

I got my Chili Dog for thirty bucks. It's OK. I don't use effects of any sort enough to justify Fulltone prices. To each, according to their tastes.
I don't find Octavers that useful to be honest.. It is a very specific effect so I can't really use it all the time.. in fact I find it hard to find a song that you can really get a good use out of the pedal. I'd like to hear about what you are using the pedal for.. That and the fact that they buzz-out when you play chords through them makes a separate pedal purchase, no matter how cheap, something that you really need to think about.

I bought a cheap (2nd hand) BOSS one years back and I felt ripped off to be honest.. not because the pedal was broken.. just that I couldn't really use it a lot and it felt like a waste of money. Now that I have it as a part of my multi-effects pedal I still don't use it very much, if at all, but it's there if I need it.

I appreciate that this was a review of the product and not an opinion of why you should or shouldn't get one.. but yeh.. the octave effect is usually "specific" (ie. limited) to a certain style.. and even then you don't use it all the time.

So, what's your point?

I 'make do' with a unit that was definitely not built to withstand frequent use, because I do not use it frequently. To my ear, all effects fall under the 'do not over-use' title. The sound of a well-played guitar driving a toneful amp is all that's required. Anything more needs to justify its presence. If using a particular effect is the only way to achieve the sound you want to produce, then use it. Otherwise, leave it shut off, and concentrate on making your guitar speak for you.

I have a special place in my gear collection for this little pedal. Because it is special, and it deserves a place. I prefer it to the BOSS OC-2 that it replaced, but don't think for a second that it defines 'my sound'.

[light487]

Sorry, I think you misunderstood me.. I wanted to know what you use it for because I had one, and now I have it in my multi-effects pedal, and I have no idea how to use it in more than a couple of situation.

[Weslaba]

Hmmm... Here we go. FIRST of all... you're right. Kind of. You really can only use them on a few occassions. Hendrix used his in a couple of the songs off of Band of Gypsys and that style is really what I would use a "Fuzz Octave" pedal for. You can just absolutely rip solos with a decent fuzz octave pedal. Click this to see what I mean (Doyles Solo) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yaJVT1yV9s&mode=related&search=) And you're not supposed to be able to play chords unless you have the EH Pog or whatever, and IMO just plain octave generators are kinda lame. It could just be my taste, but I like that huge "blooming" octave sound. So... To wrap things up. Only a few uses (solos or riffs) and and however much money you're willing to spend on those few songs... that's your call. :rolleyes:

[Lordathestrings]

Rob Plant did some solo stuff with Robbie Blunt (I think) playing guitar. He used quite a bit of octave. Enough to give you some ideas on what can be done with it, and also to show you why it 'gets tired' fairly quickly. I drag mine out of the gear box a couple times a year, and then put it away again.

[light487]

I've decided to give the octavio VST I have a go in my next GT solo.. So far the tone is good.. So may be I have finally found a use for it after all.. it was a bit of a challenge to get the settings "just so".. I have stereo reverb, tube compressor and rotary speaker VSTs running as well so that might be what is making it work.. will just have to see if the octavio stays in the mix by the end.