The Electro-Harmonix Pico Attack Delay is a compact volume envelope pedal: instead of repeating your notes like a delay pedal, it reshapes how each note starts and stops, producing fade-in swells, reverse-style attacks and slow fade-outs. It carries the volume envelope effects of the EHX Attack Decay Reissue in Electro-Harmonix's compact Pico chassis, and was released in 2023.1
It is a shrunk-down version of the Attack Decay Tape Reverse Simulator, which Guitar.com's Crystal Koe notes is known for producing volume and reverse swells and backward tape sounds.2
Controls
The pedal keeps a deliberately simple layout of four knobs:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| ATTACK | Sets the fade-in time of the volume envelope. Turning clockwise increases attack time; at minimum, the attack portion is disabled.1 |
| DECAY | Sets the fade-out time of the volume envelope. Turning clockwise increases decay time; at maximum, the decay portion is disabled.1 |
| SENS | Sets the threshold volume to trigger the envelope. Clockwise, playing triggers and resets the envelope more easily.1 |
| Level | Sets your output.3 |
Guitar.com and gearnews.com both described the layout as Volume, Sensitivity, Attack and Decay controls when the pedal launched.24
Poly mode
Alongside the standard envelope action, the pedal offers what Guitar.com called "the revolutionary Poly mode that gives each note its own attack envelope," so each note swells individually rather than the whole chord swelling as one.2
What reviewers said
Guitar World's review came away positive on the pedal's range despite its small footprint3:
"the Pico Attack Delay is a pretty unassuming pedal, but delve deeper and it's got dozens of possibilities"
Where it sits in the range
The Pico Attack Delay is priced at $136.9.2 Other Electro-Harmonix Pico pedals covered on this site include the Pico Canyon Echo and the Pico Rerun Tape Delay.
Videos
EHX
Musicmaker
Ambient Exploration
Questions
Is the Pico Attack Delay a delay pedal?
Despite the delay name in the lane it sits in, it is a volume envelope pedal: it shapes how notes swell in and fade out rather than repeating them. It carries the volume envelope effects of the EHX Attack Decay Reissue in a compact Pico chassis, and it is a shrunk-down version of the Attack Decay Tape Reverse Simulator, known for volume and reverse swells and backward tape sounds.
What does Poly mode do?
Poly mode gives each note its own attack envelope, so every note you play swells in individually rather than the whole chord swelling as one. Guitar.com's Crystal Koe described it as a standout feature of the pedal when it launched in September 2023.
Sources (4)
- Pico Attack Decay, Electro-Harmonix
- Electro-Harmonix unveils the NYC DSP Series: 9 ultra-compact stompboxes for your 'board, Guitar.com, 2023-09-22
- Electro-Harmonix Pico Attack Decay review, Guitar World, 2024-04-01
- Electro-Harmonix NYC DSP Series pedals unveiled, gearnews.com, 2023-09-21
