Danelectro French Toast DJ-13

The Danelectro French Toast DJ-13 is a suprisingly excellent sounding distortion / ocatve pedal. The sound in general is very raspy, with a bit of a chaotic nature to it, especially with the octave enabled. Effects the sound without overpowering the original signal.

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User Reviews of the Danelectro French Toast DJ-13

Submitted by Phil from London (148 points) on Nov 17, 2010
I really like this for boosting the hi-end near the beginning of what might be a murky chain otherwise. Very raw, hi-end trashy sound that sits well with other pedals.
Good Points: Cheap, evil, trashy hi-end ripping noise.
Bad Points: Knobs are too small, no LED indicator, cheapo plastic construction. Seem to be getting expensive for some reason.
Price Paid: US$15.00
Purchased At: eBay
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Submitted by AULOS from Hereford Uk (488 points) on May 3, 2010
Extremely thick fuzz. There is no other way to describe it other than a sticky mess. I prefer it without the octave but it really pushes the extremes in both directions. Best thing is you can pick them up for no money. Not the most durable pedal but if you can pick one up second hand do it! Great on bass too.
Good Points: CHEAP STICKY MESSY
Bad Points: WEAK ENCLOSURE
Price Paid: US$15.00
Purchased At: Muzo Records
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Submitted by red rumble from Livonia, MI (118 points) on Apr 3, 2009
I've only used one fuzz before this, a Russian Big Muff, and this thing kicks it's ass by far. Don't let price or company bias you toward this kickass pedal. A contact mic, with the octave up and every knob maxed, will scrape the wax from your ears and give you noise shaped candles. Not quite as high gain as some may like, but with high enough volume it can be used as a sound source on it's own. With another distortion in the chain it's a thicky, saucy tone driver. Of course, it isn't perfect: There is no fucking LED. Holy shit, it's as if Danelectro was trying to drop the ball there. Whatever, I still love this pedal and don't see myself getting rid of it.
Good Points: Great fuzz, badass octave, EQ sweep is cool.
Bad Points: Not as noisy as you might hope, no LED, plastic case, knobs are close together.
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by Jon from Huntsville, AL (500 points) on Jan 16, 2009
Amazing for the price! A mic, the French Toast, a Black Coffee, and a Surf & Turf with a cheap practice amp makes an excellent little budget noise setup (No, I don't work for Danelectro, haha)!
Good Points: Both settings (Octave on and off) produce really nice fuzz tones. It's really loud with a pleasant-sounding high frequency range. Adds a beautiful harsh and grainy, yet heavy texture with almost no excess noise to a microphone and other input devices (I believe there' a built-in gate?) Sounds really cool for both mic and pedal feedback. Easily one of the best minis available. This is Mini # 9 for me, and with the FAB Metal included, that makes 10 in total... ALL STILL WORK (My used Black Coffee has really loose and "jiggly" knobs, though).
Bad Points: No LED, which really, really sucks... As much as this stands out, it can still be uncertain at times whethr or not it's on or not in a really chaotic feedback loop... And as always, those damn knobs bother me... It's also one of the more expensive minis unless you hunt for a deal (they can still be had quite cheaply if you're patient).
Price Paid: US$28.00
Purchased At: eBay
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Submitted by Frenzied Destruction from Cold Spring, MN (136 points) on Apr 30, 2008
Because danelectro really loves octaves,I guess.Like this one alot more then the black licorice or the chili dog,seems to have more range then those two.Not a super vicous fuzz, but,uh, what fuzz is?Amazing in feedback loops,tweak the knobs and get excruciatingly lovely highs or drumbeat patterns.
Good Points: good in feedback loops. Nice for adding just that extra little bit of fuzz and octaveness.
Bad Points: NO INDICATOR LIGHT!!! you can run out of batteries on these by not turning them off afterwards..Yes, they will keep draining the battery even without a cord in the input.Really annoying to have to plug it into a amp and figure out if its on or off.Tiny knobs, mine has a knob missing so i use a screwdriver to change it.the battery compartment is too close to the circutry for my liking.Also, welcome to the wonderful world of volume drop.Danelectro,you bastards.stop making useful pedals with slightly annoying defects.
Price Paid: US$23.00
Purchased At: pawn shop
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Submitted by ck3 from Portland, ME (402 points) on May 1, 2005
I found the quality of this fuzz surprising ... especially considering the price and rep of the manufacturer. I have yet to try mine in my feedback loop, mainly because it has been so useful for more conventional guitar applications.
Good Points: Two very chaotic and grinding fuzz textures. More fuzzy gain on tap than several pricier fuzz pedals. Fairly prominent upper octave harmonics/ring modulation effects with the right settings. Small footprint. Almost dead quiet with battery power, even at high gain settings. Cascades well with other dirtboxes.
Bad Points: Build seems rickety. Weak output level (though it can still achieve unity gain). Produces interesting, but unwanted noise with DC power.
Price Paid: US$40.00
Purchased At: American Musical Supply
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Submitted by Adrian from Raleigh, NC (274 points) on Jul 15, 2004
This is an excellent fuzz. Apparently a knock off the Foxx Tone Machine (and it seems to be able to nail those early 80's Adrian Belew sounds, so probabaly true). This has become my favorite fuzz for both my noise setup, and my Stick rig. I never really adjust the gain/distortion, but use the level and tone pretty heavily, especially in feedback loops. In loops, it's interesting to see the effect the octave switch has. Tone control seems to be effective enough to use for filtering a feedback loop and shaping it to the pitch you want. The sound in general is very raspy, with a bit of a chaotic nature to it, especially with the octave enabled. It sounds the way I want fuzzes to sound in my head. It's now my preffered fuzz over an Zoom Ultra Fuzz, a Fuzz Jade, and a Dod Punkifier.
Good Points: Excellent sound, octave adds some flexibility. Cheap. Turns any "normal" instrument into noise. Tone effective for filtering feedback loops.
Bad Points: same as all dano minis, small knobs, cheap case, flimsy switch, no status led. Not very quiet.
Price Paid: US$25.00
Purchased At: ebat
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Submitted by m00k13 from Grand Blanc, MI (40 points) on Mar 16, 2004
I was excited to see this little guy at the music store and took it home. I dont hate it but I still haven't found a really good use for it yet. (that could be because of the source material I am working with) It definately needs some tweaking to prevent the whole mix from mudding together. Sounds really nice with harsh digital sounds feeding into it like a gameboy, vintage video game console/computer, etc.
Good Points: cheap
Bad Points: cheap
Price Paid: US$20.00
Purchased At: Bogner Sound & Music - Flint
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Submitted by snuffnord from Rohnert Park, CA (48 points) on Jan 15, 2004
this isnt just AN octave fuzz, this is THE octave fuzz. there will be no more octave fuzzes after this pedal is gone. in my opinion, this is BY FAR the best distortion mini pedal dano has ever made! the only problem is the fact that it is SO DAMN QUIET! but hey, whos afraid of the big bad modded volume knob these days? if you dont have this pedal, buy it now and changfe the volume knob. if you do, you will NEVER need another distortion ever again!
Good Points:
Bad Points:
Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
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Submitted by timothy from Rohnert Park, CA (68 points) on Dec 25, 2003
great, actually, in my opinion, the best mini distortion, but even when cranked it never gets louder than clean signal. ive had two of them and even the floor model didi this.
Good Points: goddamn great, sounds synthy with octave engaged.
Bad Points: level drop. never got to try it in my Floop.
Price Paid: US$40.00
Purchased At: music biz (both)
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Submitted by nkondi from Portland, OR (610 points) on May 27, 2003
the best of the minis...so far. this thing is brilliant in sound. the octave switch is great for some nice cascading chaso when fliping it and messing with the eq...great coupled with any other distortion behind it, hey even throw one in front. deffinately one of my favorite distortions...worth every cent and then some...
Good Points: small, so it doesnt take a whole lot of room. good at the beginning of a chain...loud. good price...
Bad Points: its in one of those god awful mini cases (danelectro just wants us to love to hate them...and hate to love them)
Price Paid: US$30.00
Purchased At: ebay
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Submitted by Torbjörn from Örebro (110 points) on Nov 2, 2002
Who could have believed it? It looks like a toy but once you plug it in it is really vicious. I use this for vocals as it sounds great standalone. It can spread a lot of high frequensies as well so you can have it at the beginning of a chain of effects. If this had been in a boss or ibanez shell I would have started collecting these babies but now I dont feel like buying more Danelectro as they are too flimsy built. Get this if you dont mind the plastic feel and the fact that there is no indicator so you wont know when it is on.
Good Points: Great noise. Cheap.
Bad Points: Plastic toy look and feel. No indicator.
Price Paid: US$40.00
Purchased At: Förstärkardoktorn
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Submitted by Rob from London (362 points) on Mar 24, 2002
A really nasty noisy fuzz and a squealing octave up makes this ideal for noisicians. Normal players will complain that it picks up radio signals and is noisy as hell, but I like it. As with all Dano mini's take the guts out and put it in a better box.
Good Points: Great fuzz and octave great for noise. Great price.
Bad Points: Poor reliability and size.
Price Paid: US$20.00
Purchased At: Friend
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