Danelectro are synonymous with some of the coolest and most refreshing electric guitar designs out there, but its catalog also includes effects pedals – one of which is the all-new Nichols 66 fuzz unit.
The brainchild of Foxx Pedals founder and Danelectro owner Steve Ridinger, the Nichols 66 is a de facto reissue of the first pedal that Ridinger ever made, which originally had been affectionately dubbed “The Liverpool Fuzz Tone”.
Indeed, it was first conceived back when he was 14 years old, and owing to the fact no schematics were used as inspiration, it ended up being a wholly unique stompbox.
As Ridinger himself tells Guitar World at NAMM 2024, “I designed this, and there was no access to schematics, so I just had to figure it out. A few years ago I thought why don’t we try to do this again.
“The problem is, we didn’t have one, didn’t have a schematic, so we took some pictures from the effects database in Germany and from that we could figure out the circuit board.”
The Nichols 66 has already found favor among rock royalty, too, with Ridinger revealing he’s already received a seal of approval from Joe Perry, who apparently already has it on his ‘board.
Ridinger goes on, “The key to this is, the architecture is very different than any other pedal because it wasn’t based on anything else. And so even now we don't have a pedal that does what this one does.
“The drive and fuzz controls are very interactive, and you have a great fuzz effect without any diode clipping, which means you can back down the guitar volume and it cleans up well.”
In practice, the Nichols 66 has parameters to tame its Fuzz and Drive effects, as well as standard Tone and Volume knobs. A Stock/Mid Cut toggle switch can also be found, opening up a wealth of other high-gain tones.
“It has a great story, but in the end, it’s a great pedal,” Ridinger concludes. “I think it’s something unique, and we’ll see what players do with it.
To find out more, head over to Danelectro.
