Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

What is all this talk of "cheap plastic, so I don't expect it to last"? This is a pretty solid little sound tank and I expect that it will last a long time on my pedalboard. EQ is a small, but powerful effect, and that's what this pedal is: small and powerful. Because it's small, it's easy to add to a pedalboard rig. About 3.5 X 2.75 inches. And it's easy to pull of the rubber on the bottom if you want to strap on some velcro. And there's a standard power connection for your power supply. Since the button is a bit smaller than most stomp buttons, the bright red LED light lets you know when it's turned on. I've found that this pedal does EQ very well for my guitar playing. There is no added noise or switch noise. The EQ sliders keep their place and snap to the middle for easy reference. The dots they put on the sides are actually useful too. The main level slider can be used to compensate for an overall raised or lowered volume from EQing or as a volume booster for solos. I've used this equally for EQ and boosting. I've found this most useful cleaning up my wah's harsh high end sound. To do this I don't have to move the sliders very far. It ends up looking like a little caterpillar. So this thing does have a lot of boosting or cutting power. I don't see any logical reason to pay a lot more for a pedal that has the same exact functions in a much larger footprint. Also I place mine after my distortion and before my delay. I've seen EQs in lots of different places in pedal boards, so it depends on how you're shaping your sound.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

This pedal is an awesome EQ. With the different bands, you can really change the sound of your guitar - stress the highs or the lows, and get rid of that "cheap guitar" sound. I use a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Stratocaster with a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp, and I use this EQ to balance out the sounds when I switch guitars. Awesome differences when I'm playing in church.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

The Dano fish'n'chips eq is THE BEST on a budget eq on the market today...period. It's even better than some higher end eqs out there. This pedal is not noisy at all. I run mine in the loop of my marshall to shape my tone and it turns my amp into a roaring machine. Best under $30 pedal I've ever bought!

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

This pedal is awesome. I run this from my Line 6 Floor POD to my amp and there is a tremendous difference in the quality of the sound. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to purchase an EQ pedal. It would have gotten a 5's, but it is made of plastic. That doesnt matter cause I keep it on my amp and on at all times.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

I first went to the store to buy this pedal, but since they didn't have it I ended up splurging on the Boss EQ-7. I have to say, the EQ pedal made a huge difference in my sound and now I don't play without it. Still curious about this pedal, I had the chance to A/B is with my Boss. The Fish & Chips performs well in terms of tone shaping, but I don't like the small switch or the cheaper feel. I'm certainly not going to trade in my Boss for it, but if I bought this first I probably would have held on to it until it broke. A good option if you don't want to spend the money on a Boss.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

The Fish and Chips EQ is the best on the market right now. It's not noisy, it models your tone as you'd expect an EQ too, and most important it's reliable. The only "negative" thing is the plastic enclosure. But it's thick plastic. It feels like a rock -- It won't be breaking any time soon, trust me! Anyways, I've been using it in my studio so mold some shiny acoustic sounds on my acoustic-electric. It's an invaluable tool. It slays the Boss EQ in all categories as well, especially noise and tone clarity!

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

I can't really improve upon what the other reviewers have mentioned here. It's relatively noiseless when it turned on, that's certain. But... the LED is a bit misleading. Why? It doesn't really tell you that it's time to change the battery. That's because the light doesn't fade/darken as it normally would with other pedals. What happens is that the pedal emits some high pitched noise when the battery loses significant power. That means you'll have to check the battery before important sessions. It's as simple as turning it on... if you can even hear a bit of this high pitched noise while checking, I'd say go ahead and change the battery, especially if you're recording. Other than that, it really shouldn't affect the pedal. I was about to throw the thing away, until I found the answer through an older Harmony Central post. It might be a good idea to use an adapter/power supply system with this pedal, then you'll never experience this issue.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

I purchased the DJ14 specifically to run in the effects loop of my Spider Valve 212 Combo. I heard that despite it's cheap price, this pedal was clear and clean.. rather transparent. The SV212 sounds great alone, but needed a little bit of cut and boost here and there. The DJ14 does it with ease. I heard the MXR pedals and didn't like the coloration they added. The DJ14 is much more transparent to my ears. On the other hand, its a tiny. It looks like a pedal designed for a child or something.. lol But it is fairly heavy for a small pedal and doesn't feel flimsy despite the plastic casing. The sliders feel good and aren't too stiff or loose. I did notice the quick squeal noise other users have referred to, but it only occurs if the pedal is ON when plugged in, and even then its no big deal... just don't have the volume loud on your amp when you plug it in, or better yet don't turn it on until 'after' you plug it up. All in all, it helped me tweak the SV212's Vintage 30's to be a little less honky and harsh, and to tighten up the bottom end a bit and smooth out the high end. A great pedal for the price, and wont color your sound. Not only can you not go wrong with this one for 30 bucks, but unless you have a heavy foot and need a sturdier case to stomp on, the BOSS and MXR offerings at like triple the price are just a waste of money IMO. If you need an EQ pedal, whether your on a budget or not, this is the one to get. At least to try and see if you like it first.. if not, return it then spend triple. lol. Get one!

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

Can't beat it for the price. The case is plastic, but I keep it right next to my mixer so I'm not overly worried about it getting banged up. It's not a flimsy plastic, either - seems fairly durable. Sounds great. Nice feature with the battery, too - it will only turn on when both the input and output cables are connected, so you can leave the battery in and not worry about it turning on accidentally in your gear bag.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

I firmly believe EQ pedals should be on almost every effect loop and this is one of the top ones in my book until you get to a much higher price point. It does a great job without coloring or mudding up your sound its a true bypass pedal so if you want it off its off. Great pedal great price.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

Buy one! Your money will be well spent. This little gem gets the job done and at a fraction of what the bigger name pedals cost. I have used this EQ with both acoustic guitar (worked well with a finicky I-beam pickup, notching out the boom freqs and enhancing the highs and lows), and an electric guitar (bringing out the sparkle on some bass/midrange oriented humbuckers.) I haven't really payed a lot of attention to the hiss levels (which all semiconductors audio products have, to a greater or lesser degree), but I can tell you that if they were high, I would have noticed. For studio performance, look at a different review. I have not used it for that purpose (so far, only live sound.)

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

I just ordered this pedal 2 days ago and it arrived earlier today, and I fell in love with it as soon as I opened the package. This pedal suits all my needs. It gives a fuller and richer tone the most EQ pedals I have used. Plastic does not mean anything. I would highly recommend this pedal for any player.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

I use it on my electric rig for church. With all controls set to zero, it is difficult to tell the difference between effected and bypassed sound. However, push the slider and you have as much or as little affect as desired. The gain slider functions as an excellent clean boost/cut. Could be great for managing volume/tonal differences when switching guitars through your rig. I use it to volume boost and shape tone to cut or blend after drive pedals.
Also, it works to shape the texture of my drive. I have even used it to liven up my Epiphone "mudbuckers" on my Dot.
It's affordable and an effective utility pedal. It's not the toughest build of a pedal, and keep those toes away from those sliders. Danelectro made a useful, yet dainty pedal.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

If you're an amateur and you're not getting a polished, professional sound out of your equipment and you don't want to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on new equipment, this is a great product. It's not a magic bullet, but if you don't already have a seven or ten band equalizer in your setup, buy this pedal before you get frustrated and decide buying a new amp from one of "The Big Two" is all you can do. I wholeheartedly recommend this pedal to all amateur guitarists, but if you're a professional or plan to soon become a professional, a more expensive pedal from another manufacturer is probably the way to go. For the rest of you, just buy it, already.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

Excellent meal and excellent equalizer effects pedal. 7 bands of responsive equalization with very smooth sliders. Besides sounding great it's just fun to play with. I don't use it as a floor stomper. I set it up, place it next to the amp, and play on from there. This is a great product and for the money you certainly can't go wrong. Everybody should taste one!

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

I bought this eq pedal because for my my steel, electric and acoustic guitar. I received it on a friday and it was great. While it was noisy through my guitar amp with a cheap Ephiphone Wilshire, it produced none with my steel and acoustic through my bass amp. 2 days later, on Sunday signal wouldn't travel through whether on or off. After trying new cables and batteries this unit would do nothing. I am sending it back for a refund. The Fish and Chips EQ pedal is a pretty one, the plastic case doesn't feel or look dirt cheap but the push button switch is lackluster and is hard to work. This pedal does its job well and amazing for the price, but it blew pretty quick. If you are blessed and it lasts a while then more power to you. I was not so lucky. After having this pedal I understand how important a decent EQ is on guitar, but if I buy one it will probably be the MXR 108 with more features. While this pedal works great, there's a decent chance it will fail, but luckily for me it was within the time period that Guitar Center accepts refunds. Would I recommend it? Yes, but be prepared to send it back.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

It's a shame this company fails to put a little more into the production of the pedals they make. I bought this one and I love it I mean you have to look over the ugly dark green color and the fact it's plastic folks it looks like a toy. But it does what any other EQ does without question. And it does it just as good as many high end models I have used. I opened it up and took a look around in mine. It wouldn't be hard to pull out the board and toss the slider idea and put this in a metal box with some pots and put the jacks on the side like they should be and have a great EQ. But for what it is yea it is worth the money. If Danelectro started building these pedals in a metal box and toss this ugly plastic stuff they would be going for big bucks. I seen a few here and there others have rehoused in the metal project boxes you can get for around $5.00 online. I'm thinking about going this route with this Fish & Chips I like it. I have a full pedal board and a little bit of everything. But you can run just this pedal and dial up a vintage fuzz sound or bring the highs end tighter to gain a cleaner sound. I use it with two TS9 Tube Screamers one has the Keeley mod and the other is a stock Japan TS9DX Turbo and I can dial in that SRV sound off my neck pickup on my Ibanez RG350EX. And I own many strats but so far this double coil in my Ibanez with one of these tube screamers going and this Fish & Chips I can dial in some SRV tone. Why do I have two TS9 pedals? Well I have one set for lead and the other set for chording here and there. I would not have been able to do this without my Fish & Chips.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

I put this on my alternative loop, so the pedal is always on and set for my rhythm loop, It has a boost slide switch that allows me to preset the volume to equal my lead loop. You don't need anything more expensive than this. Sure, I have an MXR EQ for lead, but it is always on, so true bypass is never required. I'd buy another one of these if my MXR ever went out. My only complaint is that it does not automatically power up when I plug in my pedal board, so I must hit the switch at start up. I would not trust any of this family of plastic Danelectro pedals if I had to stomp on them during a gig, but if they are always on and you don't have to worry about true bypass, they are fine. I have the BLT Analog Echo delay pedal on my rhythm loop as well for ambience.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

This is a small pedal, made of heavy plastic. The standard Boss-type 9V DC power plug will work. The best thing about this little guy is that it doesn't introduce noise or hiss to the line. I find that pretty remarkable actually in this price range. (I have a Boss GE7 that is so noisy it is almost unusable.) It is also pretty subtle. The sliders don't seem to have a whole lot of frequency range, and as a result the sound is changed isn't changed a whole lot. For my setup this is fine. I am fortunate to have nice gear - I just wanted more flexibility in the mid range frequencies on my channel 2. So, that's all I use it for - the upside down smiley face - on my distortion channel to help cut through the mix. In summary: it's small, makes only subtle sonic changes, and doesn't add noise. Considering my instrument cable cost more than this pedal, how can you go wrong.

Comments about Danelectro DJ14 Fish and Chips 7-Band EQ Pedal:

I use this pedal in front of my amp for a lead boost. I also own a Boss EQ but this one works better for my application...doesn't color the sound as much as the Boss and is less "gainy". I've had it for about a year now...gig about every weekend...step on it all night long...its still holding up! If it ever does break, I'll get a new one pronto...at 30 bucks it's a steal!