“A really musical effect, perfectly implemented in a tiny footprint”: Electro-Harmonix Pico Swello review

A really musical effect, perfectly implemented in a convenient tiny footprint,
the Pico Swello is a joy to use and is capable of giving you an alternative voice
whenever needed.

What is it?

First seen in the POG2, the Attack slider is a feature that has particularly hit the spot with players, adjusting the note envelope for swelled or bowed sounds whether or not you’re using the pitch aspects of the pedal.

The Swello is designed to slow the volume envelope of your playing to create swells, something it does polyphonically, so chords as well as single notes get the full treatment.

It also has an optional low-pass filter that can be used for polyphonic envelope filter effects.

Specs

• PRICE: $149/£119/€139
• ORIGIN: USA
• TYPE: Attack envelope pedal 
• FEATURES: Buffered bypass, user-adjustable resonance settings
• CONTROLS: Volume, Attack, Frequency, Mod, Filter button, bypass footswitch 
• CONNECTIONS: Standard input, standard output
• POWER: 9V DC adaptor (supplied) 100mA
• DIMENSIONS: 50 (w) x 91 (d) x 47mm (h) 
• CONTACT: Electro-Harmonix

Usability and sounds

An Attack knob increases the attack time as you turn it clockwise, while a Volume knob sets the output volume – and those two are all you need for straight swell effects, which start from a subtle shaving off of the transient and run to a slow ramp up to full volume.

The pedal seems to be set up just right to react to dynamic nuances, no matter how hard or soft you play: no need to mess with any sensitivity knob!

It applies a volume swell to each note played and does not retrigger existing sound when a new note is played, so playing is very smooth and natural, with the excellent tracking handling fast passages with ease.

Violin- or cello-like sounds are possible depending on where you play on the neck, and some doublestops and judicious bending can get you close to cool pedal-steel sounds.

If you want extra colour, you can bring in the filter with a choice of a low- or high-resonance setting (either of which can be adjusted from the factory settings to your own preference if desired) and set a cut-off frequency with the Freq knob, effectively using it as an EQ control.

For movement in the sound, the Mod knob can dial in a degree of upward or downward filter sweep, allowing you to explore a whole range of altered sounds, including wahs, distinct filter sweeps and reverse effects via various juxtapositions of the Attack, Freq and Mod knobs.

Verdict

Verdict: ★★★★½

Guitar World verdict: A really musical effect, perfectly implemented in a convenient tiny footprint, the Pico Swello is a joy to use and is capable of giving you an alternative voice whenever needed.

Hands-on videos

Electro-Harmonix

Thomann

That Pedal Show

• Best Electro-Harmonix pedals: We break down the very best EHX pedals available in all effects categories
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he’s also mimed it on the UK’s Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.

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