Not your average Danelectro BLT!

Not your average Danelectro BLT!
Original cost – $22.00
Added parts – $2.50
Time – 2 hours
Result – A pedal that should cost around $200.00

As you can see it’s all SMD surface mount stuff. I desoldered a single resistor and I replaced that with a 9mm 50K variable potentiometer with some random mixer knob I had laying around. I drilled a hole in the case to mount the pot. It turns out there is an indentation there that just wasn’t drilled out since the case is a standard device shared with this whole line of pedals just in different colors. The left over 6.8K resistor I then added across a cut I made to the circuit trace in series with the mix pot to pad the mix knob on the left in the clockwise direction to add a little of the dry mix in the sweep. The sweep went from totally dry to 50% wet/dry mix on the amount of delay effect. All I did was add more wet to about the last 4/5 of the rotation. I cannot go to full wet and its not a sound I am worried about. I still have the complete dry signal at counterclockwise position. After doing the mod I decided that this tweak though possible, is not worth the effort. It is effective though and works fine.

The pot I added in the first mod controls the time. These pedals as originally stock are set to a fixed slap back amount of time. I made it adjustable. This is the same thing a lot of expensive delay or slap back or one shot delay or echo pedals use. Other mods that can be done to this are that you can change the tone filter network or make it adjustable with a better random EQ system etc… With the rate knob addition, this pedal can be played as a delay synth while you are DJing for a nice echo effect or you can sweep it to get Echoplex type swoops with the pitch though it sounds rather digital compared to tape, its a nice effect. It also works great as a guitar pedal as a set and forget device. I have a mind to re-house the circuit boards into a Wah or Volume pedal type of rocker pedal case and make the delay rate sweep-able by rack and pinion gear set like the Cry Baby. Digital sounding Echoplex on a rocker varying the pitch. Can anybody say “Jimmy Page solo”? One could also just do the same with the feedback knob or the mix knob. I suppose one could make a 2 or 3 rocker pedal that you can dance on!

As for video, to hear what it sounds like stock go search on YouTube for the Danelectro BLT Slap Echo pedal. Then imagine what it would sound like if you took that sound and made the time rate adjustable. The repeat knob goes from no repeats to feedback but is rather clean until you start getting up towards 4/5ths the way before feedback occurs, and then it acts as a pitch adjust knob. Its a good pedal and yes it does look old and stained and beat up. That’s how much I have used this pedal. I don’t have any photos of the stock pedal but all I did was add the big knob in the middle and the mix padding resistor.

Photo Album! –> Danelectro BLT Slap Echo Possibilities Unlocked!

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