Danelectro's Greatest Budget Line

In this article, I want to look at a line of pedals from 2005 that's so full of controversy, confusion, and low prices that your head's going to spin right off your neck.

Yeah, this is verging on “too big, too quickly” territory, but I’m confident we can maintain this.

Now, most of you know Danelectro from the late ’90s reissue of the brand, and the amazing pedal line that came out around the same time in these large, heavy metal enclosures. They’re fantastic sounds, great effects, one of my favorite pedal lines of all time. You’ve seen me show these on the JHS Show, and most of you also know there are a lot of other series of effects from Danelectro, like the infamous Food series (I mean, where else could you find a PB&J Delay?).

Today I'm going to focus on one series in particular that's very, very fascinating: the FAB series. These pedals are in plastic enclosures, they sound awesome, and they're insanely affordable. They say FAB up on top, and the type of effect is written underneath. These were released in 2005 (though they’re still being produced today; you can buy these new on Reverb or Sweetwater), and they were made for one purpose and one purpose only: to be the ultimate budget brand for big box stores. Period. That’s it.

To be the prettiest pedals on the block? Negatory.

To be the most long-lasting pedals you could buy? Nope.

These pedals are meant to be the best bang for your buck, and that’s pretty much it. And I gotta say, if that was the goal, then the FAB series delivered. In fact, it worked too well. This is a strange case where the product sold so well that Guitar Center had to actually take it out of their inventory altogether.

Let me explain how it happened. Danelectro releases the FAB series, Guitar Center stocks it on their shelves, and these pedals sell like crazy, literally thousands per week. Because the margin between the price that the pedal was purchased and sold for was so low, Guitar Center couldn’t afford to keep them in inventory. Think of it like buying an apple for 50 cents and reselling it for 55 cents; how much of a profit can you make off of that, even with insanely high sales volumes?

In that same vein, it was also damaging to the salespeople that worked on commission. How much commission could you make on a $20 guitar pedal?

You also have to take into account that because the FAB series was selling so well, other series were losing money. No one wanted to drop $100+ on a pedal if they could get the same effect for about $19.99. Across the board, this was bad for business for everyone except Danelectro, so Guitar Center had to take the FAB series out of rotation almost as quickly as they were released. In that way, the FAB series of pedals kind of broke Guitar Center.

Which is kind of baller, I gotta say. It’s not every day you get to take down the Man with a guitar pedal. On top of that, there's some juicy conspiracy theories floating around about this series, which we’ll dig into further on in the article.

For now, let’s look at these pedals and marvel at these ridonkulous prices.

FAB Metal

First up, we have the FAB Metal effect pedal. Now, the only metal effect pedal that I’m a huge fan of is the Metal Zone, and this is definitely not that circuit. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of metal pedals at all, so when I see the term “metal” describing the sonic characteristic of a pedal, I'm not necessarily going to grab my wallet and run out the door to purchase it.

It’s even more confusing in this case, because the FAB Metal is a clone, but not of a Metal Zone. In fact, it’s not a clone of a pedal I’d associate with metal at all. Believe it or not, this is a three-knob modified version of the classic DOD Grunge from the Jason Lamb series.

Yup. You heard it here, people. This is some Christopher Nolan-level brain melting going on. Danelectro sells a pedal that says “Metal” on it, but sounds like the DOD Grunge. This begs the obvious question: is grunge metal? Is metal grunge? What separates the two? Is it all semantics? What is metal? What is grunge? I honestly don’t know, and I’m not sure I have time in this article to answer that question properly.

For now, let’s just say that the FAB Metal is a really awesome pedal. It sounds like the DOD Grunge, and in some ways it’s actually easier to use. The three knobs on here are much easier than using the Butt and Face knobs on the original DOD Grunge, which represent low end and high end, respectively. It's simple, it sounds good, and it’s super, super cheap.

That’s not an exaggeration. You could take this pedal home, brand new, for $19.99. Which is totally bonkers. That’s ten dollars cheaper than the Behringer equivalent. Seriously.

Twenty bucks for a pretty faithful DOD Grunge clone? Sold.

FAB 600mS Delay

Next up is the FAB 600mS (millisecond) Delay. This comes in at $25.99, which is already bonkers, but I have seen them used for about $13.00, which is completely bananas. This pedal is already super affordable, and it’s also a solid piece of gear.

The “600 millisecond” term in its name is a reference to how long of a delay time it offers, which is a little more than half a second. This falls in between the much shorter slap delay times and longer ambient times. Also, there’s a magical trick for this: just turn every knob all the way up. It creates a really nice, beautiful texture, a kind of pad delay, and really nice ambient delay. Honestly, it's great, it’s simple, and it’s easy to use. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

The heart of this circuit is the chip set known as the PT2399, which is actually a chip set that was invented for karaoke machines, but people in the pedal industry (including myself) have used that chip with great success for echo and delay. That's what's in the 600mS Delay, and it's gold.

Plus, it’s a win-win. If your guitar career doesn’t immediately take off, just repurpose this chip set to become a karaoke superstar.

FAB Overdrive

This next pedal instantly caught my attention years ago, around 2005 when the series was first released. It drove me nuts, because the copy made some pretty audacious claims. I don’t think I slept for six months after this came out.

Now, the pedal copy says it better than I ever could, so let me quote that directly: “History was made in 1975, when a Mom and Pop store in California commissioned the production of just 200 of what is perhaps the best overdrive effect ever.”

Okay, that’s a big claim, I’m just sayin’.

“Unlike any other effects unit, the pedal authentically simulated the breakup that occurs when a tube amp is run at full volume.”

There’s actually a lot of pedals that say they can do that.

“You will occasionally see an original on the stage of a major artist. If you could find an original offered for sale, you should probably sit down before inquiring about the price.”

They’re basically saying that it’s really expensive.

“Danelectro puts the FAB Overdrive D2 guitar effects pedal in your hands without wiping out your financial portfolio.”

Now, there’s a lot to unpack here. Let’s start with that 1975 Mom and Pop shop that supposedly sold guitar pedals. What is it? Well, I dug around on and off for about a year and I figured it out: the store is called Nadine's in Hollywood. Fun fact: Slash from Guns N’ Roses worked there. The crew at Nadine’s wanted to sell their own music gear/products in their stores, but they couldn’t actually make their own stuff. Instead, they took existing gear and relabeled it. That was (and still is) a pretty common practice in the guitar industry.

Now, here's the problem. I could literally only find one picture of Nadene’s, and it’s a picture the size of my fingernail. I'm sorry for that. But tiny or not, this photo brought me into another mystery, one that I’m happy to say I successfully solved.

Basically: the FAB Overdrive is a part-for-part clone of the Vesta Fire Signal Device Over Drive, which was then cloned by Danelectro for this series. This is where we see just how deep the rabbit hole goes, y’all.

There was a company called Vesta Fire that would put whatever brand you wanted on this exact pedal. The insides would all be the same, but the graphics on the enclosure were different. So, Nadine’s had a series of pedals developed, and this pedal was one of them. The FAB Overdrive is the Mom and Pop store pedal that was actually made in Japan, who OEM’d the pedal for Nadine’s and replicated it perfectly. Apparently Brian Setzer told the owner of Danelectro to check this out, and that's why it's part of the line. The unique Nadine’s enclosures are incredibly rare. I cannot find one that says Nadine’s. If you have that and you're willing to part with it, just contact me, because I feel like there's a hole in my heart.**

**Basically, there’s an anguished rocker in there singing “Naaaadine” to the tune of “Roxanne.”

By the way, this pedal is stupid cheap, $16.99 new. I even saw one of these used for seven dollars. That’s a Happy Meal, guys. You can afford that.

FAB Flange

Number four in the FAB series is the only pedal in this line that was discontinued; the rest of these are still being made. I’m talking about the FAB Flange. It originally cost $29, but they're super cheap right now. I’m pretty sure it's a digital flanger, which is fine. When I opened the back, I found a bunch of very strange chip sets, but I didn't see any hints of analog circuitry or bucket brigade type stuff.

Now, the potentiometer sweep and controls don’t have a lot of control range. It basically goes from silence to zombie space noises in about five seconds, which is cool as long as that’s what you’re going for.

Honestly, I’d nab one just so you have a good pedal to play when the zombies invade from space.

FAB Fuzz

This fifth FAB pedal is a Sherlock Holmes level mystery. I'm going to be honest with you guys. I had a little bit of a meltdown over this pedal, simply trying to figure out what this was. I’d clock it at roughly a 12/10 on the meltdown scale. I’m talking about the FAB Fuzz here.

So, the FAB Fuzz is an op amp fuzz. I initially went, “Oh, well, I'm sure it's a Big Muff. Absolutely.” Nope. It's not. Sounds nothing like it. Circuit's not there.

And then I thought, “Okay, Danelectro kind of leans into weird stuff. Sometimes they replicate and tweak weird designs. So maybe it's the old Univox Square Wave.” No, it's not. Sounds nothing like it. Way too many parts for that.

And then I said, “Oh, it's the Earth Sound Research Graphic Fuzz.” No. It’s not. It’s not any of those pedals. It’s a mystery.

So, here’s where I landed: I don't know what it is. Yeah. I like to have things neatly tied up with a bow in these articles, and that simply is not the case here. In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and I'm going to say that much like these digital pedals, I think the FAB Fuzz is just an original. I think Danelectro actually engineered them.

The enclosure is kind of a Joker style purple color. It has three knobs: volume, fuzz, and tone, and it’s $29.99.

Let’s be real: I’d buy it for the color alone. If the Joker plays guitar, I want to have the pedal he’s playing. That’s pretty much why I bought this. You should, too.

FAB Echo

Next up is the FAB echo, not to be confused with the 600mS Delay. You can tell them apart pretty easily by color: the 600mS Delay is gold, and the Echo is red.

So, this one is fixed at slap back delay mode, which half of you will find incredibly annoying and the other half of you will find it invigorating and freeing. Basically, for better or for worse, there is no time knob on here to distract you from playing guitar. Just plug this thing in and go. It's a fantastic slap echo. We used to modify these, so you’ll see some out there with a JHS sticker and a time knob added. Essentially, we took what I think is great about this (the lack of choice) and removed it, and then we charged people extra for it. That's a little disturbing.

The Echo is $29, which is more expensive than the 600mS Delay that has more controls? Hey, I don’t make the rules.

FAB Chorus

Next is the FAB Chorus, which simply put is a solid chorus pedal. It's a really good, really simple chorus pedal that utilizes that PT2399 karaoke chip set. Honestly, that chip is a classic for a reason. It's great.

Does my FAB Chorus pedal have some plastic peeling off the enclosure? Yes. Does that affect the pedal’s ability to rock out loud? Not at all. This is definitely a case where you get what you pay for, but in the best way. This pedal is $19.99, and it works great. It’s a little cheaper than twenty bucks.** That’s a good deal.

**Yeah, I know math.

FAB Distortion

The last pedal I want to cover today is a riddle, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a mystery. It represents a troubling issue for me, personally, but I'm going to try my best not to have a meltdown. I think two meltdowns in one article is my limit.

I’m talking about the FAB Distortion. First off, it's $18.95, which is bonkers. More than that, though, the original copy on this is so gripping and compelling, I’m a wreck. It leaves a maddening mystery right at my fingertips. I’m basically the protagonist in an Edgar Allan Poe story at this point.

Let me read the copy and walk you through the turmoil that I'm experiencing as a pedal history nerd: “In the late seventies, a tiny effects maker in Japan produced a small quantity of what many believe is the definitive distortion box.”

Okay, remember that phrase “tiny effects maker,” because we’re going to come back to that.

“It had delicious tonality and was highly responsive and versatile. Recently, a boutique pedal maker reissued that box at $300 plus.”

Who is that maker? What is that pedal? Right off the bat, these are my questions.

“Danelectro offers you the divine FAB Distortion at an unbelievable price, as a sonic equivalent to the prized original.”

Okay, they’re claiming that the FAB Distortion is based on a pedal made by a tiny effects maker in Japan in the ’70s. Fair enough. Here’s the problem: there weren't any tiny pedal companies in Japan at this point, so there’s no obvious answer for what company they’re referring to.

You did have companies like Maxon, which wasn’t tiny but was still small-ish as a company because most people didn't know they were making all the Ibanez pedals. My first instinct is, “Oh, it's the Maxon D&S. Makes sense.”

Yes, it does, but no, it's not. The D&S is a Big Muff, and it sounds nothing like the FAB Distortion. The circuit's not the same. In fact, let me just simplify things here by breaking down what pedals the FAB Distortion is not: it's not the classic Ibanez Overdrive, it’s not anything from Shin-Ei, it’s not the BOSS SD-9, it’s not the Guyatone Zoom Box, it’s not the Coran Distortion 15, it’s not the ADT-1 Distortion, and it’s not the Arion SDI-1 Distortion.

The people who wrote copy for this pedal -- the fiends, more like it -- don't even know what this pedal is. They put this kind of detail in the copy not realizing that I would scurry around like a mouse trying to figure out what in the heck they’re talking about. I’m the Great Mouse Detective. I’m Basil of Baker Street, and this is the case that breaks me.

So, no, I never solved this mystery. I don’t know what this pedal is. That’s just what happened.

I do know that this pedal sounds good. Plus it's $18.95. That’s like two meals at Chick-Fil-A. You can make that happen.

Meltdowns aside, this was a really fun line of pedals to go through. It’s a great sounding pedal series for a ridiculously low price point, which is always a win. When you can take home a solid DOD Grunge clone for twenty bucks, it’s a good day.

Plus, this is the series that broke Guitar Center. Not permanently, just for a few weeks, but I can still respect that.