review

Danelectro DJ-8 Hash Browns Flanger

Review by Mark Starlin

Danelectro DJ-8 Hash Browns Flanger

Danelectro has made a name for itself by cranking out inexpensive, funky-looking guitars and effects. They have also gained some good reviews for their “retro” style effects pedals. Recently they expanded their line of effects by adding a collection of ten inexpensive “mini-effects” pedals. These one-trick ponies all fall in the $30.00 to $40.00 range and provide one effect each. I took the Hash Brown Flanger for a spin to see if you can get a “real” effects pedal for thirty bucks.

The Price Is Right

I have to admit my expectations weren’t very high for a $30 pedal, although I tried to keep an open mind (and ears.) As you might expect, corners were cut to arrive at this low price. Let’s begin by checking out the construction.

Construction

The first thing you notice is how small these puppies are. They will fit squarely in the palm of most people’s hands. They are built using mostly plastic (except the bottom plate and the bypass switch, which are metal) and are very light. Even the input and output jacks are plastic. The control buttons are very tiny and close together. Fat fingered guitarist are going to have problems with these. The unit does have a nice rubber pad on the bottom to help it stay put. It also has a 9v adapter jack. The plastic construction is obviously a contributing factor in the low price, but it also makes the units less durable. I wouldn’t want to take these on the road, but they are fine for bedroom practicing.

The Sound Quality

Again, you get what you pay for. I was able to dial up a nice sweep for strumming chords, and a quasi-tremolo effect that could be used in some situations. But don’t expect a fat, rich tone — it’s just not there. I tried using it with several variations of overdrive and was able to add some edge to a few riffs, but it just didn’t seem to work well with most distortions. Setting the controls to their extremes causes the effect to break up — not pretty.

Final Thoughts

The Hash Browns Flanger comes with no instruction manual but it does include a battery. To change the battery you have to unscrew the bottom plate. You could buy an adapter, but it would cost you about half the price of the pedal. The bad news: as far as flanging goes, Hash Browns has a couple of serviceable settings. That’s it. The good news: those new to effects pedals with a desire to experiment, can get a bunch of them with out going broke. And those still on “allowances” can now afford to buy at least a couple.

Reader Comments

Better Guitar encourages your input. Agree with this review? Think I’m crazy? If you have used a Danelectro DJ-8 Hash Browns Flanger, email me your comments and I’ll post them below. The more opinions we have available, the better our buying decisions will be.

stats

  • • “Thumb-on-the-tape” flange effects of the ‘60s
  • • Plastic construction
  • • Mini effect pedal size
  • Positives
  • Inexpensive.
  • Negatives
  • Thin tone; plastic construction.
  • Rating
  • Performance: 7
  • Sound Quality: 6
  • Construction: 5
  • Overall: 6
  • Ratings Key
  • 0 = Worthless
  • 10 = Excellent
  • Estimated Street Price
  • $29
  • Sound Samples
  • Clean Strumming
  • Quasi-Tremolo
  • Overdrive riff

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