Danelectro French Toast Octave Distortion Pedal: Review

I have owned this Danelectro guitar pedal for almost two years now. I purchased it because I was looking for some of the late 60's, early 70's fuzz tones that I had heard on everything from Revolver to Electric Ladyland. This pedal is based on the classic guitar pedal Foxx Tone Machine from the early 1970s. You can get sounds very similar to Hendrix's Fuzz Face and Octavia pedals, as well as approximations of the tone on songs like The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction", and others too numerous to mention!

This is possible, because of the variable degree of drive available on this unit, as well as the option of having the octave-up effect either on or off. Additionally, there is a powerful tone control that can sculpt the frequencies created.

Now, the slight downside is that the tremendous amount of gain available with this pedal will amplify any inherent noise in your guitar, cable, etc. For some odd reason, there seems to be much less noise when the pedal is in the "Octavia" mode. When the unit is just producing a straight fuzz tone, it is much more sensitive to any hum or noise coming from your guitar.

Overall, this is a fantastic effect, particularly when you consider the extremely reasonable price. Danelectro is a historic brand dating all the way from their guitar designs in the 1950s. They have not been in the stompbox game as long as companies like Boss, but their products are solid and most importantly, sound good.

If you have an extra $40, I would recommend this good-sounding little pedal.