The Danelectro FAB Distortion is a budget distortion pedal and part of the FAB series, a line of inexpensive plastic-housed effects that also included the FAB Metal, the FAB Echo and the FAB 600mS Delay. The pedals say FAB up on top, with the type of effect written underneath, and each came in its own enclosure color: the Echo is red and the 600mS Delay is gold1. It sits in the broad family of distortion pedals.
What it does and where it came from
The FAB Distortion was the entry point of the line. JHS Pedals, in a history of Danelectro's budget pedals, listed it first among the FAB effects: "First off, it's $18.95"1. The pedals were built to a price, and that price is the headline figure for the whole series.
Its circuit is a genuine mystery. Danelectro's copy claimed the pedal was based on a design by a tiny Japanese effects maker from the late seventies, but the JHS writer was never able to pin down which pedal that was: "So, no, I never solved this mystery. I don't know what this pedal is"1.
There is a second, separate claim about its ancestry. On the technical site Guitar FX Layouts, johnk wrote in 2014: "The cheap red plastic Danelectro Fab Distortion is supposed to be a clone," referring to the Nobels ODR-1, but the analysis concluded it is not an ODR-1, since it uses only one IC2. So both the maker's own story and the clone story come with question marks attached.
What the pedal does have is a verdict on sound. The same JHS history concluded: "I do know that this pedal sounds good"1.
"I do know that this pedal sounds good."
The rest of the FAB family
The FAB Distortion shared its housing and its price point with several siblings1:
- FAB Metal, described by JHS as "a three-knob modified version of the classic DOD Grunge from the Jason Lamb series"1
- FAB Echo, which JHS called "a fantastic slap echo"1
- FAB 600mS Delay, gold in color1
The FAB Distortion is not the only budget-minded distortion Danelectro has offered, and it is easy to mix up with other pedals from the same maker. One point of confusion is the Fab Tone, a separate distortion pedal from Danelectro with a different name and design; the two share the FAB branding territory but are distinct pedals3.
Videos
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Rob Mods.
Questions
What is the Danelectro FAB Distortion based on?
Danelectro's copy claimed the pedal was based on a design by a tiny Japanese effects maker from the late seventies, but the writer behind JHS Pedals' history of the FAB line was never able to identify which pedal that was. Separately, the technical site Guitar FX Layouts notes the FAB Distortion is supposed to be a clone of the Nobels ODR-1, but found it is not an ODR-1 circuit, since it uses only one IC.
What other pedals were in the FAB series?
The FAB line included the FAB Metal, a three-knob modified version of the DOD Grunge from the Jason Lamb series, the FAB Echo, which JHS Pedals called a fantastic slap echo, and the FAB 600mS Delay. The pedals say FAB on top with the effect type written underneath, and each came in its own enclosure color, such as red for the Echo and gold for the Delay.
Sources (3)
- DANELECTRO'S GREATEST BUDGET LINE, JHS Pedals
- Guitar FX Layouts: Nobels ODR-1, Guitar FX Layouts (tagboardeffects.blogspot.com), 2014-03-20
- Guitar FX Layouts: Danelectro Fab Tone, Guitar FX Layouts (tagboardeffects.blogspot.com), 2013-03-26
