Danelectro Debuts a Trio of Throwback Stompboxes

January 7, 2020 · 7 sources

Danelectro announced three new stompboxes that look backward for their circuits: the Roebuck overdrive/distortion, the 3699 Fuzz, and the Back Talk Reverse Delay. Each one revives an older design, updated with features the originals did not have¹².

Roebuck

The Roebuck is an analog overdrive/distortion pedal built around the circuit of the 1990s Ibanez Mostortion, a pedal Danelectro described as one players keep seeing again and again¹³. As the maker put it on its product page:

RockBoard's PedalPedia listing confirmed the Roebuck as an analog distortion pedal from Danelectro, likewise based on the 1990s Ibanez Mostortion with two clipping options added beyond the original³.

3699 Fuzz

The 3699 Fuzz goes back further. Danelectro owner Steve Ridinger created the FOXX pedal line in the 1970s, and with the 3699 he brought back his original FOXX Tone Machine circuit with what the maker called some important tweaks²:

• The octave effect is more pronounced than on the original pedal²
• A "mids boost" toggle counteracts the mid cut of the original pedal²
• Gain-selected NOS transistors were used, according to Guitar World's review, to reproduce the original's fuzz sound⁴
• True bypass switching, at a list price of $199⁴

Guitar Player's review noted the 3699's antiqued red housing with "arrow" knobs, two stomp switches (the left toggling the pedal on and off, the other activating the octave effect), 1/4-inch input and output, and 9V DC power from an adapter sold separately, with no provision for battery power⁷.

The reviewer's overall verdict:

Back Talk Reverse Delay

The Back Talk Reverse Delay is a reissue of a pedal Danelectro invented in 1999 and included in its Miscellaneous Series Effects released in 2001¹⁵. It is a pure digital reverse delay in a die-cast enclosure, running on 9V, with three controls⁵:

Guitar World's review described it as designed for 1960s tape reverse effects, repeating a backwards version of any note you play after a set time, with true bypass, dimensions of 60 x 113 x 58mm, and a list price of $199⁶. The reviewer found the effect niche but worthwhile: