
Four new micro stomps from EHX’s NYC DSP range offer old-school tones, psychedelic sounds, and straight-up sonic anarchy.
Convincing reverse tape sounds at the right settings. Forces cool alternative picking approaches. Staccato effects sound spectacular through short delay/long repeat echoes.
Only 20 bucks less than the more full-featured version. Pretty specialized for most players.
$136
Electro-Harmonix Pico Attack Decay
ehx.com
Mini pedals are immensely practical. I fantasize about traveling with a little board populated exclusively by them. And were it not for my attachment to a few old favorites, I might have already pivoted to an exclusively mini-pedal rig for any trip involving checked baggage.
Electro-Harmonix is a relative newcomer to the mini-pedal sphere. In fact, most of their efforts at miniaturization involved taking pedals like the Big Muff and Electric Mistress that were quite large and reducing them to sizes more in line with other company’s standard-sized stomps. But if they were a little late to the game, EHX, as they will, entered the marketplace with a sense of style and adventure. Each of EHX’s nine new Pico pedals, as EHX calls them, are part of the digital NYC DSP series. Curiously, confinement to the digital realm means this set of Pico releases is without legendary EHX pedals that would be logical candidates for miniaturization—most notably the Big Muff. But what the new Pico pedals lack in predictability, they make up for in color: Some of EHX’s most interesting pedal ideas are part of this series.
In imagining possible combinations of these nine pedals, it occurred to me that you could fashion a lot of very unique tone palettes from just a few of them. Though each of the pedals reviewed here—the Pico Attack Decay, Pico Oceans 3-Verb, Pico Canyon Echo, and Pico Deep Freeze—are evaluated on their own merits, they were selected with the notion of creating a little psychedelic sound laboratory. And while you can wring conventional sounds from these four pedals, their capacity for weaving weird and complex patterns of sound speaks to the exciting potential of these little stomps and EHX’s enduring sense of irreverence and invention.
Pico Attack Decay
The original EHX Attack Decay, an analog volume envelope that first appeared around 1980, was called a “tape reverse simulator” for its ability to generate reverse-tape-like volume swells. It’s an odd bird—even by EHX’s lofty standards. Next to the analog original, which came in a Deluxe Memory Man-sized enclosure, the Pico version is pico indeed. But this version is derived from the digital reimagination of the effect that appeared in 2019. That permutation includes a built-in fuzz, expression control, presets, an effects loop, and preset capability, but I’d guess that more than a few players will be more tempted by this smaller, streamlined version.
It's easy to create the volume swell effects that give the Pico Attack Decay its tape reverse simulator handle. You put the pedal in mono mode (activated by the small poly button), set the attack knob around the 10 o’clock position, and park the decay to the right of noon. The reverse tape effect can be pretty uncanny, and it’s fun to play leads and melodies using pre-bends, odd intervals, and off-beat timing to achieve more authentically disorienting reverse effects. These settings also make the pedal a nice stand-in for a volume pedal for simple melody lines. Certain fast attack times mated to shorter decay times produce clipped, no-sustained tones or stuttering, fractured tremolo textures. The former sounds especially amazing paired with fast echoes and long repeat times from the Canyon delay—creating spacey Joe Meek-style percolations. Used in mono mode exclusively, the Attack Decay can seem limited. Using poly mode doesn’t add oodles of additional textures, but it does often add a vowelly, mutant flange/filter effect that’s good for alien envelope-filter tones, which, again, sound pretty incredible with a heap of echo.
For the right player, the Pico Attack Decay can be an effective way to reshape instrument timbre and create interesting, off-kilter versions of volume-swell, envelope, and even bizarre staccato modulation effects. At just 20 bucks less than the larger, full-featured Attack Decay, the small size may be the main appeal here. But that mini footprint can make the difference between a niche effect making the cut when space is tight.
The Pico Canyon Echo is as engaging as any delay I can think of in a package this size. It’s flexible and full of surprises, thanks in large part to the cool filter control, a super-wide 8-millisecond-to-3-second delay range, and an infinite repeats function that effectively functions as a looper.
Sans filtering, the Pico Canyon’s basic delay voice is fairly neutral, which is no bad thing, and it’s certainly not chilly the way some digital delays can be. Introducing the filter, however, steers the Pico Canyon along unique tone vectors, particularly when you use the super-short, ADT-style delays. The filter moves between neutral no-filter sounds at noon and low-pass and high-pass settings on either side of the dial. Depending on where you set the filter and feedback control, these short delays can produce ring-modulation-like tones, lo-fi AM radio colors, and resonances and feedback effects that change dramatically depending on your pickups, amplifier, and playing dynamics. It also yields unexpected sounds that you don’t necessarily associate with delay. The filter control isn’t exclusively for oddball sounds, though. The low-pass filter adds darkness to repeats that hints at BBD delay sounds and is particularly effective for adding fog to long feedback settings. The high-pass filter, meanwhile, can lend digital crispness or ringing and howling Space Echo-style resonances with long feedback times.
Though weird sounds abound in the Canyon, it is a delay of great utility too. The tap-division button enables fast switching between eighth-note, dotted eighth-note, and quarter-note divisions, and it features a tap tempo function. With an appealing $149 price tag, I’d be tempted by the Pico canyon if it was twice the size. The combination of small size, straightforward functionality, interactivity, and flat-out fun make it an extra attractive delay option that will tempt players across many styles.
Like the Pico Canyon, the Oceans 3-Verb inhabits a crowded market space that ranges from ultra-low-priced imports to fancier fare. But while the Pico Canyon distinguishes itself from the competition with a wide range of straight-ahead to weird sounds, the Oceans 3-Verb mostly focuses on fundamentals. Here, that means digital emulations of spring, plate, and hall reverbs. The 3-Verb’s one great wild-card feature is its infinite reverb, which works in the hall and plate settings. It’s an awesome addition that ups the fun quotient exponentially and makes the 3-Verb an appealing option for noise, drone, ambient, and other experimental artists.
The 3-Verb’s voices each capture the spirit and quirks of their inspirations—often with great fidelity. The most subdued voices all add classy ambience that pairs nicely with drive pedals, adding air without turning gain-activated overtones to a filthy wash. Differences between the hall and plate reverbs are most discernible at these less-intense levels. Hall reverbs are tight and reactive with the tone, time, and pre-delay levels at modest levels. Add a little treble and you’ll hear a nice approximation of tile reflections. The plate reverb sounds most distinctively authentic with a little extra treble, pre-delay, and decay time, lending the slightly metallic and ghostly overtones that make real plate reverb so delicious. Both hall and plate reverbs can be taken to stranger lands, particularly when you add a generous helping of pre-delay, which can evoke Kevin Shields’ reverse-reverb tricks or add endless miles of ambience. At these more extreme settings, the hall reverb tends to emphasize high-octave content, while the plate is more diffuse and spectral. In both settings you can use the infinite reverb effect, generating huge washes that are beautiful when mixed with droning feedback.
As solid as the plate and hall reverbs are here, the spring reverb is the hit of the bunch. It doesn’t have quite as much body as a real Fender Reverb unit or the splashy reverb in the mid-’60s Fender Vibrolux I used for comparison. It’s also basically brighter than those two reverbs. But it is really no less awesome or fun for those differences. At advanced tone settings and in the large tank mode, it practically becomes a caricature of spring reverb. This is not a diss. I’ve gone looking for this tone many times in order to achieve extra-big-picture surf or Fillmore psychedelia sounds and come up short. It’s the kind of spring reverb that can absolutely slice through a recorded mix—even a busy one. I’d even venture that many players would pick this over the real thing.
Not every player needs an EHX Freeze. But a lot of players don’t know what they’re missing. The Freeze inhabits an interesting place among guitar effects. It is, in effect, a little sampler that grabs your signal and freezes it for a given period—sometimes infinitely. A freeze is different than just a sustained tone. There is a lag in a freeze capture that can add many overtones. They can be pretty or ugly, depending on the moment you capture, the relationship between dry and effected signal, and how long you freeze the audio picture you capture. Put another way, the Freeze can be a drone machine, a chilly digital cimbalom, a tamboura in a box, a synth-generated sine wave, a freeze-frame ring modulator, or a distant ship’s horn sounding through the fog. Getting predictable and harmonious outcomes can take a steady hand, a bit of concentration, a smooth touch, and familiarity with how the Freeze’s interesting controls interact. But in and among these strange tone relationships await interesting sounds that can add gobs of extra vocabulary to your electric guitar expressions.
The Deep Freeze features three modes of operation: latch, moment, and auto. In latch, Deep Freeze grabs and holds your signal at the moment you press the footswitch. In moment mode, the pedal holds the freeze for as long as you hold the foostswitch. In auto mode, the Deep Freeze grabs the last note you play, enabling you to freeze each note in a sequence. Controls for dry and effect manage the critical balance between dry and effected signal. Gliss controls the speed at which an existing freeze morphs into a new one. The speed/layer knob controls the volume envelope in auto or moment mode, and in latch mode, it controls the volume of the previous freeze as you layer in new ones. That probably sounds complex, but it’s surprisingly easy to feel out the interactivity between these controls.
If there is a fundamental bit of knowledge with which you must approach the Deep Freeze, it’s that it likes to capture pure notes or chord tones without too much dissonance, which will cause fluttering freeze tones colored with cold digital artifacts. If you want a prettier, more unadulterated freeze—particularly in latch and moment modes—it’s critical that you freeze the note or chord at the most harmonious point of its bloom. If you hit the switch right as you pick a note or hit a chord, overtones from pick attack that might otherwise go unnoticed turn into dissonant rattle. Likewise, pitch changes or irregularities—from hitting your vibrato arm as you freeze a chord, for instance— will turn into the same digital clatter. In auto and moment modes, I got best results by using a soft picking touch and waiting for the sweetest moment of a note or chord bloom to hit the switch. Harmonics, too, can make beautiful drones if you capture them at their most beautifully blossoming moment.
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The Rickenbacker 481’s body style was based on the 4001 bass, popularly played by Paul McCartney. Even with that, the guitar was too experimental to reach its full potential.
The body style may have evoked McCartney, but this ahead-of-its-time experiment was a different beast altogether.
In the early days of Beatlemania, John Lennon andGeorge Harrison made stars out of their Rickenbacker guitars: John’s 325, which he acquired in 1960 and used throughout their rise, and George’s 360/12, which brought its inimitable sound to “A Hard Day’s Night” and other early classics.
By the early 1970s, the great interest the lads had sparked in 6- and 12-string Ricks had waned. But thankfully for the company, there was still high demand for yet another Beatles-played instrument: the 4001 bass.
Paul McCartney was gifted a 4001 by Rickenbacker in 1965, which he then used prominently throughout the group’s late-’60s recordings and while leading Wings all through the ’70s. Other rising stars of rock also donned 4000 series models, like Yes’Chris Squire, Pink Floyd’sRoger Waters, the Bee Gees’ Maurice Gibb, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Stu Cook, and more.
And like that, a new star was born.
So, what’s a guitar company to do when its basses are selling better than its guitars? Voilà: The Rickenbacker 480. Introduced in 1972, it took the 4000-series body shape and created a standard 6-string out of it, using a bolt-on neck for the first time in the brand’s history.
The 481’s slanted frets predate the modern multi-scale phenomenon by decades. The eight-degree tilt of the frets is matched by an eight-degree tilt of the nut, pickups, and bridge.
“It was like a yo-yo at Rickenbacker sometimes,” factory manager Dick Burke says in Rickenbacker Guitars: Out of the Frying Pan Into the Fireglo. “We got quiet in the late ’60s, but when the bass started taking off in the ’70s, we got real busy again, so making a 6-string version of that was logical, I guess.”
The gambit worked, for a time. Sales of the 480 were strong enough at first that, in 1973, a deluxe model was introduced—the 481—and it’s one of these deluxe versions that we’re showcasing here.
“The 481 features slant frets—pointing ever-so-slightly toward the body of the guitar—and the eight-degree tilt of the frets is matched by an eight-degree tilt of the nut, pickups, and bridge.”
Take a close look and you’ll notice that the body shape isn’t the only remarkable feature. The 481 was Rickenbacker’s first production run to feature humbucker pickups. Here, you can see each humbucker’s 12 pole pieces dotting through the chrome cover, a variant casing only available from 1975 to 1976. (Interestingly enough, the pickups had first been developed for the 490, a prototype that never made it to public release, which would’ve allowed players to substitute different pickups by swapping loaded pickguards in and out of the body.)
The new pickups were also treated with novel electronics. The standard 3-way pickup-selector switch is here, but so is a second small switch that reverses the pickups’ phase when engaged.
The inventive minds at Rickenbacker didn’t stop there: The 481 features slant frets—pointing ever-so-slightly toward the body of the guitar—and the eight-degree tilt of the frets is matched by an eight-degree tilt of the nut, pickups, and bridge.
Long before the fanned fret phenomenon caught on in the modern, progressive guitar landscape, Rickenbacker had been toying around with the slant-fret concept. Originally available from 1970 forward as a custom order on other models, slant frets were all but standard on the 481 (only a small minority of straight-fret 481s were built).
The 481 was the deluxe version of the 480, which preceded it and marked the first time the company used a bolt-on neck.
Dick Burke, speaking separately to writer Tony Bacon in an interview published on Reverb, only half-recalls the genesis and doesn’t remember them selling particularly well: “Some musicians said that’s the way when you hold the neck in your left hand—your hand is slanted. So, we put the slanted frets in a few guitars. I don’t know how many, maybe a hundred or two—I don’t recall.”
Even proponents of the 481 do not necessarily sing the praises of the slanted fretboard. Kasabian’s Serge Pizzorno, a 481 superfan, told Rickenbacker Guitars author Martin Kelly, “I don’t just love the 481, it’s part of me.... The 481’s slanted frets have made my fingers crooked for life, but I don’t care, I’ll take that for it’s given me riff after riff after riff."
Initial 480-series sales were promising, but the models never really took off. Though they were built as late as 1984, the slant-fret experiment of the 481 was called off by 1979. And these slanted models have not, in the minds of most players or collectors, become anywhere near as sought-after as the classic 330s and 360s, or, for that matter, the 4001s.
For that reason, 481s—despite their novelty and their lists of firsts for Rickenbacker—can still be found for relatively cheap. Our Vintage Vault pick, which is being sold by the Leicester, England-based Jordan Guitars Ltd, has an asking price of 3,350 British pounds (or about 4,300 U.S. dollars), which is still well under half the going-rate of early 360s, 660s, and other more famous Ricks. Some lucky buyers have even found 481s on Reverb for less than $2,000, which is unheard of for other vintage models.
With its idiosyncratic charms, the 481 remains more within reach than many other guitars of a similar vintage.
Sources: Martin Kelly’s Rickenbacker Guitars: Out of the Frying Pan Into the Fireglo, Tony Bacon’s"Interview: Dick Burke on the Creation of the Rickenbacker 12-String | Bacon’s Archive" on Reverb, Reverb Price Guide sales data.
Bergantino revolutionizes the bass amp scene with the groundbreaking HP Ultra 2000 watts bass amplifier, unlocking unprecedented creative possibilities for artists to redefine the boundaries of sound.
Bergantino Audio Systems, renowned for its innovative and high-performance bass amplification, is proud to announce the release of the HP Ultra 2000W Bass Amplifier. Designed for the professional bassist seeking unparalleled power and tonal flexibility, the HP Ultra combines cutting-edge technology with the signature sound quality that Bergantino is known for.
Operating at 1000W with an 8-ohm load and 2000W with a 4-ohm load, the HPUltra offers exceptional headroom and output, ensuring a commanding presence on stage and in the studio. This powerhouse amplifier is engineered to deliver crystal-clear sound and deep, punchy bass with ease, making it the perfect choice for demanding performances across any genre.
The HP Ultra incorporates the same EQ and feature set as the acclaimedBergantino Forté HP series, offering advanced tonal control and versatility. It includes a highly responsive 4-band EQ, Bergantino’s signature Variable RatioCompressor, Lo-Pass, and Hi-Pass Filters, and a re-imagined firmware that’s optimally tuned for the HP Ultra’s power module. The intuitive user interface allows for quick adjustments and seamless integration with any rig, making it an ideal solution for both seasoned professionals and rising stars.
As compared to previous forte HP iterations (HP, HP2, HP2X), Ultra is truly its own amp. Its behavior, feel, and tonal capabilities will be well noted for bass players seeking the ultimate playing experience. If you’ve been wishing for that extreme lead sled-type heft/force and punch, along with a choice of modern or vintage voicings, on-board parallel compressor, overdrive; high pass and lowpass filters, and more—all in a 6.9 lb., 2ru (8” depth) package...the BergantinoHP Ultra is worth checking out.
Building on the forte’ HP2X’s leading edge platform (including a harmonic enriching output transformer (X) and 3.5db of additional dynamic headroom (2),the HP Ultra’s power focus is not about playing louder...it’s about the ability to play fuller and richer at similar or lower volumes. Many players will be able to achieve a very pleasing bass fill, with less volume, allowing the guitars and vocals to shine thru better in a dense mix. This in turn could easily contribute to a lower stage volume...win-win!
Key Features of the Bergantino HP Ultra 2000W Bass Amplifier:
- Power Output: 1000W @ 8ohms / 2000W @ 4ohms, 1200W RMS @2-Ohms (or 1700W RMS @2.67-Ohms-firmware optimizable via USB
- Dual Voicing Circuits: offer a choice between vintage warmth and modern clarity.
- Custom Cinemag Transformer: elevates harmonic enrichment to new heights
- Variable Low-Pass (VLPF) and Variable High-Pass (VHPF) filters, critical for precise tone shaping and taming of the most challenging gigging environments.
- 4-Band Tone Controls: Bass: +/-10db @40hz, Lo-Mid:+/-10db @250hz,Hi-Mid: +/-10db @ 1khz, Treble: +/-10db @ 3.5khz
- Punch Switch: +4db @110hz
- Bright Switch: +7db @7kHz or +6db @2khz – user selectable● Built-in parallel compression - VRC
- 3.5dB of additional dynamic headroom
- New Drive Circuit featuring our proprietary B.S.D (Bergantino SmartDrive) technology
- Auxiliary Input and Headphone Jack: for personal monitor and practice
- Rack Mountable with optional rack ears
- Effects send and return loop
- Studio quality Direct Output: software selectable Pre or Post EQ
- UPS – Universal power supply 115VAC – 240VAC 50/60Hz
- Weight: 6.9 pounds
- Dimensions: 13.25”W x 8.375”D x 3.75”H
- Street Price: $1895.00
For more information, please visit bergantino.com
The NEW Bergantino Forté HP ULTRA!!! - YouTube
Featuring a 25.5" scale length, mahogany body, gold hardware, and 490R/498T pickups. Stand out with the unique design and comfortable playing experience of the Gibson RD Custom.
Initially released in 1977, the Gibson RD model has been a cult classic for years. It is famous for its unique appearance, which takes inspiration from both the Gibson Explorer and Firebird designs, as well as its functionality and use by several popular guitarists across multiple genres.
Now, the iconic RD Custom joins the Gibson Custom core lineup for the first time. Not only is this the first Custom Shop-built RD model, but it is also the first 25.5” scale length solidbody core model offered by Gibson Custom. Complete with the classic and comfortable RD body shape, including a rear tummy cut for extra comfort, this model also features a mahogany body with multi-ply top binding, Gibson Custom aesthetics, including gold hardware and mother-of-pearl block inlays on the neck, and a mother-of-pearl Custom split diamond headstock inlay. The RD Custom also has a 25.5” scale mahogany neck with a Medium C profile and long neck tenon, a bound ebony fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets, and a bound headstock with Grover Rotomatic tuners. The updated electronics include 490R and 498T pickups, CTS potentiometers, and a hand-wired harness.
The Gibson RD Custom is designed to help players stand out from the crowd with its longer scale length, curvaceously elegant body, and classic design. Now is your opportunity to experience the unique and comfortable playing experience of the cult-favorite Gibson RD Custom for yourself. A Custom Shop hardshell case is also included.
For more information, please visit gibson.com.
How do you add scores of effects to your pedalboard with a single stompbox?
Big library of effects. Great sounding delays and reverbs. Mature TonePrint library and interface is easy to use.
Can only use one effect at a time. An IR loader and a looper would be welcome additions
$129
TC Electronic Plethora X1
tcelectronic.com
I’m often seduced by convenient solutions when it comes to planning a pedalboard. Time spent arranging a select group of stomps can be a distraction, which is why I tend to stick to pedals that do one or two things well and keep the tinkering to a minimum. After spending time with TC Electronic’s new multi-effects unit, the Plethora X1, I’ve had to rethink how much a single pedal can bring to a pedal board, because the X1 can be many things.
Save for the creation of gain sounds, the Plethora X1 can fill almost any sonic need on any gig. It can play the role of just one effect at a time—this isn’t like the Plethora X3, Plethora X5, or a modeler within which you can create chains of virtual stomps. But with very little effort, I can access TC’s entire TonePrint line, including factory- and artist-created TonePrints from the Hall of Fame 2 Reverb, Flashback 2 Delay, Helix Phaser, Viscous Vibe, Sub ‘N’ Up Octaver, Brainwaves Pitch Shifter, Corona Chorus, Hypergravity Compressor, Mimiq Doubler, Vortex Flanger, Pipeline Tap Tremolo, Quintessence Harmony, Sentry Noise Gate, and Shaker Vibrato. At $129, the Plethora X1’s sounds-per-dollar value is extremely hard to beat.
Making Space
Full-sized Hall of Fame 2 and Flashback 2 pedals are already mainstays on my board, but, curiously, I hadn’t really explored the full capacity of those effects until using them within the X1. One reason, perhaps, is the X1’s handy readout. When you move any one of the three assignable knobs on the unit, the values for the assigned parameter appear on the screen, providing valuable visual feedback and precision. The parameters adjusted via those three knobs aren’t the only things you can tweak. The fourth knob is a rotary control with seven different slots that each store two different effects (when in A/B mode). That means 14 different presets that you can access quickly without having to dive into the deep editing mode.
Scratching the Surface
My favorite TC Electronic effects are the company’s detail-rich reverbs and delays. They did not disappoint here, and right out of the box, the room and shimmer reverbs were very inspiring. The shimmer verb didn’t have the way-too-glossy feel that can make many of these effects sound cheesy. A subtle, tight room reverb, meanwhile, allowed me to sense the effect as much as hear it—a nuance that, to me, is a hallmark of a well-designed algorithm.
Each effect is pre-loaded with a handful of presets that you can cycle through without firing up the app, offering many surprises in effects you may not have encountered before. The Sub ’N’ Up Octaver, for instance, is a real standout. It tracks incredibly well, offers plenty of customization, and sounds thick. Another highlight is the Helix Phaser, which is bubbly and liquid with an analog-like voice that would have appealed to Eddie Van Halen and Bob Marley alike.
There’s an App for That
Though the visual feedback from the X1’s screen is valuable, you have the most control and programming power within the TonePrint app. You can connect with the app three different ways: Bluetooth, USB-C, or using your phone to beam a preset via the pickups on your guitar. Although all three worked, I found Bluetooth and USB-C to be the most reliable and responsive.
As you can imagine, TC has built up a huge library of presets for all the various pedals represented in the X1. (The Tone Print Library has grown continuously since the technology was introduced in late 2010). But as sizable as the library is—and in spite of how many effects are on hand in the X1—the process of switching between them and trying new TonePrints out is still easy and fun. Once the pedal is connected, you scroll through a menu within the app of artist and factory presets. After you find one you like, you can either save it directly to your X1 or pull up the editor to adjust control parameters and other effect-specific functions. It’s an in-depth editor that doesn’t overload you with endless menus. TC deserves kudos for such an accessible design.
The Verdict
As you might guess, I don’t have the space to go in-depth on every effect in the X1. And at $129, the X1’s performance-to-price ratio is off the charts. Although you can only use one effect at a time, the ability to bring in any one of 14 great-sounding effects in a pinch is invaluable. I’ve often wrestled with whether or not to fork out money for a chorus, tremolo, or harmonizer that I might only use one or twice during a gig. That’s a decision the Plethora X1 all but eliminates. Although there’s a minimal learning curve, the X1 doesn’t have the paralyzing effect that other multi-effects units can have. If you’re into streamlining your board but still yearn to try new effects and applications as top artists hear and envision them, the X1 is hard to beat. PG