EHX Pico Swello: POG2- Style Mini Auto Swell
The popular attack-decay effect from the POG 2 in a standalone mini Pico format!
The EHX Pico Swello is an auto-swell effect based on a popular feature of EHX’s monster pitch shifter, the POG 2. It comes in the pedalboard-friendly Pico format, making it great for many players.
EHX Pico Swello
Auto-swell pedals have been around for a while, and Electro-Harmonix (EHX) already has a fantastic one in its lineup: the Attack Decay. This pedal allows you to create ethereal, almost weightless sounds without ever needing a volume pedal.
The concept is simple but effective: an envelope follower detects each note you play and then softens the initial attack. The result is a sound that seems to fade in, adding a unique and expressive quality to your playing.
For styles like slide guitar, pedal steel, or ambient shoegaze, an auto-swell pedal is often a better choice than a traditional volume pedal. They provide a more precise and consistent attack for every note, which is especially useful for these genres.
So, what makes the EHX Pico Swello stand out? It’s a combination of three key features: a polyphonic envelope follower, an optional low-pass filter, and a compact design.
Auto-Swell and Auto-Filter
The EHX Pico Swello features a simple, pedalboard-friendly design with a mono input and output, four control knobs, and a single footswitch. What sets it apart is its polyphonic envelope follower, a feature not found on many other swell pedals, including EHX’s own Attack Decay.
This polyphonic capability allows the Pico Swello to apply a separate swell effect to each individual note, even when you’re playing chords or fast arpeggios. This makes it an incredibly versatile tool for achieving smooth, swelling effects in complex musical passages.
User Friendly Controls
The Pico Swello has a straightforward control layout. The Volume knob sets the overall output level, while Attack adjusts the fade-in speed of the swell effect.
The remaining controls are for the integrated low-pass filter. You can transform the Pico Swello into an envelope filter or auto-wah by pressing the Filter button to select one of two filter types. The Freq knob determines the filter’s frequency range, and Mod controls the intensity of the cutoff modulation, letting you dial in everything from subtle sweeps to classic wah effects.
So you get almost a combination of the Attack Decay and Q-Tron.
Price & Availability
You can order the EHX Pico Swello for $133/£119/€135 at Thomann.
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