MSL price: $US49
Pros: Small, tracks notes well, quiet, intuitive contols, good sound
Cons: plastic case, slightly awkward On/Off switch location, won't handle chords
Review:
This thing is small!... I like that! Until I find a multi-effects box that I can afford/feel comfortable with, I'm using individual pedals. Small is good; less size and weight to deal with when I want to take it somewhere.
Its been said before, and I'll repeat it here, any 'stompbox' in a plastic case is [u]not[/u] meant to withstand the beatings routinely endured by professional equipment. For hobbyists, and amateurs like myself, its good enough.
Functionally, this is a good piece of kit. There's a small 'tic' when I turn on the effect... no biggie. :cool: Years ago, I had a Boss OC-2 Octaver that could not track a bent note. This Danelectro pedal copes with 2-or-3-fret bends easily. There are three knobs for adjusting the balance of the original signal (Direct), with the two tones (OCT 1 & OCT 2), that the pedal generates. OCT 1 is a clear, trebly note, one octave down from the one you're playing. OCT 2 is a bassier, more pure tone, also down one octave. I found the mixing controls easy to use, and intuitive to understand. The on/off switch is on a flat, horizontal surface, so you have be careful about how you put your foot on it... just dropping your toe on the front part of the case, with your heel on the floor, will apply pressure to the edge of the case, leaving the button untouched. You aren't likely to trigger this thing accidentally, but you may not trigger it when you want to, until you get used to it.
As noted, the Chili Dog will easily cope with single-string bends. Double-stops can cause a few problems, especially for OCT 2. I found that if I stayed on the B and E strings, the Chili Dog was OK, even with bends, but any use of the B & G string, even at the higher frets, caused 'farting' sounds. I found this happened with my Washburn A-20 (D'Addario EXL-110's, plain G string) and with my Yamaha SBG 1000 (D'Addario EXL 115W's, wound G string) with either series or parallel coil settings on the humbuckers. Chords?... [u]don't[/u] go there; this pedal wasn't meant to handle that so don't expect it to.
Summary: I'm pleased with my purchase. For professional use, I'd recommend getting a full-size version, to have the durability of a steel case. The little guy sounds good, its easy to use, and it doesn't add noticeable noise to my signal... I'm happy.[/font] :D
