Danelectro Wasabi Overdrive Pedal

In my experience, the most problematic link in a stomp-box chain is the overdrive or distortion unit. Despite the plethora of knobs that many offer to dial in that sweet spot, most seem to be 'all or nothing' affairs. A medium, dynamically responsive overdrive seems to be something of a rarity, despite the enormous pedal market that every company contributes to nearly weekly.Having endured love/hate relationships (mostly hate) with a half-dozen of fairly esteemed boxes, I have happily settled on the Wasabi for a number of reasons. First, I like a little guitar with my effect: I don't want the effect to either bury or supercede the sound of the instrument. The Wasabi affords me that sound. While it is somewhat finicky to get nicely dialed in, the effort is worth it. I get what is as close to low-watt tube dirt as I want, and it is still evident that I'm getting a Strat/Tele/ fill-in-the-blank sound. The Wasabi features 4 EQ types, and these can be bypassed if one wishes simply to use the OD and amp EQ. The EQs are fairly interesting and useful: #1 has a lot of nice bottom end. #2 is 'scooped out', and to my ears akin to the opening riff EQ on "American Idiot." #3 (my fav) is what I call the 'Super Strat' postion. Any Strat anemia (let's face it -- a Strat *can* be a little thin at times) can be cured here. Big ol' SRV, et al. #4 seems to be somewhat close to bypass, with a bit more meat. All in all, these are are nifty options.Second,the OD the Wasabi produces is incredibly tube-like, sensitive to dynamics, and musical. When you spank your axe, you get a lot of it. When you play softly, hardly any. Isn't that the way it should be? The OD also decays naturally, without that crackly 'I'm not getting enough signal' sound. Nice. Metal spoiler coming: it ain't for metal, in case anyone was wondering. But it kicks mondo behind for classic hard rock. With my P-90 loaded LP, Wasabi, and Fender Blues Deluxe, I could raze a cinder block building.(3rd thru 7th) The power boost feature is very handy, as is the PU selector switch (HB or SC). It's built like a brick crapper, and in Dano tradition, looks mighty cool. And it's priced right. I withhold one star only because it takes some twiddling time to yield good results, and for some, that might be discouraging.I think these may be discontinued soon (what is it with Dano?), so check 'em out while they're still around.