Danelectro Black Licorice DJ-22

Danelectro Black Licorice DJ-22

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The Danelectro Black Licorice DJ-22 is a high gain distortion unit that pumps out some blistering distorted sounds. It has a flipswitch that adds an octave down to the input signal. Downright devastating. All of this comes from a tiny pedal!

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User Reviews of the Danelectro Black Licorice DJ-22

  • Submitted by Phil from London (148 points) on Jan 5, 2011
  • Pretty good; nice dense, harsh distortion with a pretty effective octave drop switch for some extra low-end grind.
  • Good Points: Cheap, noisy, loud, abrasive, gritty, plays well with others.
  • Bad Points: Not really one for tweakers, it's a kind of set-and-forget deal. Cheapo plastic construction and tiny plastic knobs.
  • Price Paid: US$15.00
  • Purchased At: eBay
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  • Submitted by Jon from Huntsville, AL (496 points) on Jan 10, 2009
  • This is a really harsh, trebly distortion with an octave-down switch and Bass frequency control (it sounds best maxed out, and really thickens the distortion up nicely). The octave voice sounds nearly exactly the same as the octave voice on the Chili Dog to my ears. Overall, a worthwhile investment, and a great option if you're new to noise and looking for something different.
  • Good Points: The ocatve-down is a great addition to an already harsh (though admittedly inflexible) distortion. The bass freq. maxed out sounds excellent. Oh my god, it's snazzy-looking! Reasonable price. Fun with microphones!
  • Bad Points: Typical Mini flaws (those damn wiggly knobs, lettering rubs off by breathing on them). Not as "BRUTAL", "RAGING", and "INSANE", etc. as I'd hoped from the octave-down feature--It needs to be accompanied by other distortions to get there. Limited range of sounds, but it does what it does well... All you can do is cut or boost the bass frequencies and level and switch the octave on or off. The foot switch takes a whole lot of pressure to work, but it may loosen with time... I recall the Fish & Chips EQ switch being similarly "snug" when it was new. I actually wish the octaver was more unstable than it is! It'll glitch well enough, though.
  • Price Paid: US$39.00
  • Purchased At: eBay
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  • Submitted by michael from Upland, CA (98 points) on Jul 23, 2008
  • this pedal actually sounds somewhat similar to the DOD Buzzbox, especially with another distortion after it in yr chain. however, there's not much you can do to sculpt the tone. this pedal sounds best with both knobs maxed, switching the octave effect on and off as needed.
  • Good Points: + low-end depth charge distortion + octave switch! + it's loud and nasty.
  • Bad Points: - sort of a one-trick-pony - not much control over the tone - usual Danelectro problems: shoddy knobs, plastic construction, jacks on the back
  • Price Paid: US$42.00
  • Purchased At: Musicians Friend
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  • Submitted by Frenzied Destruction from Cold Spring, MN (136 points) on Apr 30, 2008
  • Like low end? Like cheap pedals? Like the audio equivalent to drowning children in mud? then get this pedal. you got your highs, you got your low lows, and you got,curtesy of the octave, the low low low lows.Plus its a distortion.I've found this is very useful for my occasional excursions into wall noise..But not quite as much for my usual stuff(Because i am a high-end freak.EEE!)
  • Good Points: It isnt some weird bizzaro alternate universe color like neon brown like some dano pedals. It is Rumble-tastic. Its cheap.
  • Bad Points: The patented dano volume drop and retardedly annoying you-will-probobly-break-the-circuts-from-trying-to change-the-battery-design. The tiny knobs. Cute, but kinda hard to use.Enjoy your carpal tunnel.
  • Price Paid: US$35.00
  • Purchased At: ebay
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  • Submitted by ryan from calgary (196 points) on Mar 10, 2008
  • This a kick ass little distortion. Alone it is useless but when you have it right behind a strong distortion, it destroys. I use this right before a DOD DEATHMETAL or a Metal Muff and it slays. There isin't a lot of action with this pedal , you just get a bass knob, level knob and the octave switch. The knobs fall off after only a few weeks of use. The breatest feature of this pedal is that octave switch, it adds a nice extra thick coat of sickness to your pedal loops. Overall a kick ass distortion for the price , but it's not built worth a shit.
  • Good Points: excellent back up distortion grinding madness with the octave switch engaged BLACK!!!! cheap cheap runs off 9 volt adaptor
  • Bad Points: mini construction crappy small knobs the knobs fall off within weeks
  • Price Paid: US$15.00
  • Purchased At: a friend
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  • Submitted by provera from Waterloo, IA (172 points) on Feb 15, 2007
  • It's a mini, and all the regular mini problems are here, but once again a nice (if limited) effect plus cheap ebay deals make it worthwhile. There's not a lot of control for the distortion, but it's a good thick slugdy sound that gets thicker with the octave drop. Like everyone else has said, put it before your high-gain controllable distortions and it's definitely an interesting addition. I'd like to compare this to the Black Paisley, which looks like a similar pedal done right (more control, fullsize case), and if that's the case I'd definitely shell out for one...
  • Good Points: Good sounding (if not very controllable) distortion Excellent with octave drop Cheap (for a reason)
  • Bad Points: Standard Dano Mini problems (case sucks, knobs too small/flaky)
  • Price Paid: US$6.00
  • Purchased At: ebay
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  • Submitted by Patrick from Medina, OH (2 points) on Nov 11, 2004
  • Great for distorting mic feedback. The Octaver switch really helps with controlling bad feedback. But sice it has crappy construction, you should really try to find it cheap (like -).
  • Good Points: great sound, great octaver
  • Bad Points: poor construction
  • Price Paid: US$0.00
  • Purchased At: Free from a friend
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  • Submitted by nkondi from Portland, OR (610 points) on Jun 5, 2003
  • another one of those appealing pedals with a switch. true there isnt much control on this little beast, but it adds some interesting color when its thrown in a feedback loop, and it has some nice dramatic changes ala the switch...
  • Good Points: small and compact, with a decent paint job...
  • Bad Points: ...but its a mini...and these things are built very well...
  • Price Paid: US$18.00
  • Purchased At: ebay
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  • Submitted by Ben from United States (250 points) on May 2, 2002
  • This pedal can be useful, but I've found very few times when it's the appropriate distortion to use. No distortion level or octave level adjustments. One of the knobs, the level, is completely useless -- the signal drop is so significant that any setting except cranked all the way clockwise is pointless. This can destroy sound into a muddy, stuttering mess, and at times that may be what you're looking to do. Otherwise, it's pretty useless. Even with all that, I think it's worth the 30 bones, because this does create a distorted mess that no other pedal can produce.
  • Good Points: Heavily distorted, octave-drenched mud.
  • Bad Points: Signal drop, little control over sound. Horrible construction -- it's like buying shoes at Kmart.
  • Price Paid: US$28.00
  • Purchased At: eBay
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  • Submitted by Gus from San Francisco, CA (282 points) on Mar 11, 2002
  • The distortion is raspy, and the octve thickens things up nicely. The octave should be used with caution, as it can tend to turn everything that goes through it into mud (good mud, but mud none the less). As stated in the first review, there does seem to be a little signal loss when using other brands of pedals. However, there is less of a loss if it is placed first in the chain of effects. I found that this pedal interacts fairly well with the DOD Death Metal pedal (provided, of couse, that it is in front of the Death Metal pedal). They will react to each other in the form of oscillating, low end, feedback like noise. Nice... Very good for abrasive, harsh sounds.
  • Good Points: Reasonably priced. Does not take up a lot of space on your pedalboard. Comes with a battery. Very harsh, rumbling, noise lives inside of it...
  • Bad Points: Signal loss when used with other pedals. Knobs are a little small to use in real time (that, or my fingers are too fat).
  • Price Paid: US$49.00
  • Purchased At: Guitar Center
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  • Submitted by K. from Sealy, TX (528 points) on Dec 18, 2001
  • One in the series of Danelectro's "miniature" pedals. A nice distortion which emphasizes everything bass, the controls are for volume, bass, and an octave switch to drop you into the deep, dark depths. Cool idea combining the two, and it really does fatten up most input signals. The only drawback I've noticed is if used w/ other brands of pedals there is a sevre drop in signal level when the Black Licorice is engaged, though this may not be a problem if there's nothing but Dano's in the chain. At excessive volume the problem is less noticable, best advice is to follow it w/ another distortion to boost the level and leave the 2nd unit on at all times.
  • Good Points: Distortion and octave in one compact unit
  • Bad Points: Signal loss when used w/ other brands.
  • Price Paid: US$50.00
  • Purchased At: Guitar Center
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