Danelectro Fab Metal D-3

Danelectro Fab Metal D-3

The Danelectro Fab Metal gives you distortion that is bold, combative, hostile, belligerent, and explosive that is perfect for every noise head!!! The sound can be customized with the LEVEL, TONE, and GAIN controls. Also has a cool blue LED.

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User Reviews of the Danelectro Fab Metal D-3

  • Submitted by AQ from Saint Louis, MO (52 points) on Nov 21, 2009
  • Another cheapy from Dan. I didn't care for this one much either, but it did have some good points unlike the others I tried. Contact mics sound good, delay loops sound decent and drum machine kicks sound cool. Using mics on junk metal sounded pretty bad and really muddy. It also kills loud signals and needs an overdrive/boost after it to bring things back up. All and all it didn't make the cut and I traded it.
  • Good Points: cheap, harsh, good high end
  • Bad Points: quiet, hums, bad low end
  • Price Paid: US$15.00
  • Purchased At: git cen
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  • Submitted by Jon from Huntsville, AL (500 points) on Jun 17, 2007
  • I usually keep the tone/gain all the way off and use the level to boost mics... It works good for internal fx feedbacking (makes a high-pitch squeal... sounds good combined with other fx) It is sort of limited in what it can do, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better deal for 15 USD (and sometimes less)... I wouldn't suggest making it the only dist. you ever use... (It gets boring if you use it for every single thing) there's deff. better things out there... But it's always a nice tool to have in your possession!
  • Good Points: Cheap, simple, durable (for a plastic stomp.... very) effective, widely available, looks nice, very compact (I like having a lot of pedal crammed on to a board-- I like pedals!)
  • Bad Points: not much low end, plastic, a pain in the ass to mod/ circuit bend/true bypass unless it's rehoused (not a lot of room in it.)
  • Price Paid: US$15.00
  • Purchased At: eBay
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  • Submitted by flies from Edison, NJ (44 points) on Jan 4, 2007
  • trebly distortion with decent amount of gain. it sucks bass really hard, which makes it useless in a feedback loop IMO. It sounds like somewhere in the circuit there's a hp filter with a cutoff near 160 Hz or so (rough guess). this is fine if you want a boost for your contact mics, or use early in a linear chain, but you should be aware! I haven't done any soldering on it yet, but there's a few connections in there that make the distortion a lot heavier and do other odd things.
  • Good Points: (price includes shipping) cheap odd clicking sounds when level knob is low. some bend points inside.
  • Bad Points: sucks bass. level knob doesn't simply make it quieter, see good points. not true bypass, bypassed output is slightly quieter than it would be in true bypass.
  • Price Paid: US$13.00
  • Purchased At: ebay
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  • Submitted by Aphadaphaler from Portland, OR (158 points) on Jun 28, 2006
  • This thing kills sound! Mad shreading distortion. Cheap and works. Not to much toanal range. Great for high end.
  • Good Points: 15$ mutha fuk!
  • Bad Points: no low end
  • Price Paid: US$15.00
  • Purchased At: centaur guitar
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  • Submitted by Jaybear from Houston, TX (30 points) on May 27, 2006
  • I signed up for an account just to review this. Its amazing. I was so surprised at the noisy quality of it all, as Danelectro seems to normally make vintage-sounding pedals. It turns any sound I make into trashy distorted junk at even a low setting, and when all knobs are set at max, it makes an extremely awful high pitched buzz. PERFECT for noise.
  • Good Points: Cheap. Makes a ton of noise even when used by itself/outside of a pedal-chain.
  • Bad Points: Battery is tough to get in.
  • Price Paid: US$12.00
  • Purchased At: ebay
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  • Submitted by Aaron from Redmond, WA (34 points) on May 27, 2006
  • This device is amazing for less $$ than a new CD or fast-food for 2. Cranked with all knobs extreme right, it offers better sounding metal distortion than pedals many times more expensive. You can go fuzzy and low or Mega high gain to pierce eardrums. I put mine between an Alesis microverb 4 and the newer Behringer phaser pedal. Using a beat up old squier with poor tuning, I conjured an irritating cascade of scratchy delays, sweeps and echo effects. Knobs are placed to the rear, like exhaust ports and won't get turned when you stomp this little wonder. If you love syrupy, super high gain distortion in your fx chain, you can't go wrong! I am looking forward to further experimentation in conjunction with digital amp modelers and layering other distortions. I'm gonna go wake up the neighbors, buy one of these little guys.
  • Good Points: Wicked levels of gain and surprisingly competent array of tones for a 3 knob cheapo. Smart knob placement, and a cool blue led! This pedal sounds like it could be an expensive boutique distortion, but it costs next to nothing, if it gets wrecked, drop another bucks and bring the noise.
  • Bad Points: Sketchy plastic construction. Battery replacement is sloppy, you must use a coin or pick to unscrew the skid plate and stuff the battery next to the main board, which is unprotected and exposed when the bottom plate is removed. Footswitch and pedal are both tiny so it'd be easy to miss the switch or crush the thing with your boot.
  • Price Paid: US$5.00
  • Purchased At: Traded gear @ G.Center
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  • Submitted by Alex from Gold Coast (36 points) on May 13, 2006
  • Great Pedal! Ideal for noisicians who want to add some raw harshness to there noise. It can make great noise on its own, and im sure it works good with other pedals and equipment to! generates great feedback tones that can go anywhere! very cheap pedal, so there fore its worth it. plus it design and size is handy to, although the button is a bit small and hidden. very easy to use! TIP: if your using batteries for it, dont leave it pluged in all the time, other wise the batteries will run out quicker. As soon as your done with your noise, unplug it!
  • Good Points: Great Feedback tones cheap not to big easy to use
  • Bad Points: small, hidden button goes through batteries quick while it not on, but still pluged in.
  • Price Paid: US$20.00
  • Purchased At: local music store
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  • Submitted by vic from Sacramento, CA (2 points) on Apr 24, 2006
  • I recently got this, and I really enjoy using it for noise. Screamy shrill squeaks, works very well while tweaking eq's on a mixer/pedal. I am a bit new to noise, I'm sure the big brand name pedals sound more amazing, but this thing is insanly low cost and sounds great to my ears.
  • Good Points: extreme low cost blue LED light sounds great
  • Bad Points: stomp button is a bit small plastic case
  • Price Paid: US$14.00
  • Purchased At: online store
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  • Submitted by Nick from La Crescenta, CA (18 points) on Nov 26, 2005
  • This pedal is exactly what I was looking for - an easy to use distortion that sounds great, looks great,and costs very little money. I threw this into my feedback loop and it added an entirely new dimension to my loop. This thing is made out of plastic and although it looks flimsy I'm pretty sure it could take a few whacks. This isn't the most effective distortion but for the price it is amazing.
  • Good Points: Good distortion Nice Look Easy to use Cheap!
  • Bad Points: Mine didn't come with a battery eats batteries fast Made of plastic I have heard that these Fab pedals can pick up radio stations but that hasn't happened to me
  • Price Paid: US$14.00
  • Purchased At: amazon.com
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