The Nano Attack is a compact mini pedal from Horizon Devices, the maker founded by Periphery's Misha Mansoor. It is a distortion with a fixed drive amount and low-end tightening, aimed at modern metal tones: Horizon calls it "the simplest pedal solution for perfect modern metal tone ever!"1. It is a slimmed-down take on the company's Precision Drive, and it is the third pedal Horizon Devices released12.
The pedal was announced in November 2018 at an RRP of USD 149, due before the end of that year for the first 500 customers who pre-ordered3. Horizon's product page now lists it at £114.00 GBP1.
The controls: one knob outside, two trim pots inside
Only one control sits on the outside: a single, six-position control labeled Attack3. It sets what Horizon calls low end tightness, with six settings to dial in the perfect amount; left is loose, right is tight and modern12.
The other two settings, Volume and Brightness, are tweakable via internal trim pots, so a screwdriver is needed to set them2. Horizon gives starting points for both1:
| Control | What it does | Starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Attack (external, 6 positions) | Sets the amount of low end tightness; left is loose, right is tight and modern | To taste |
| Volume (internal trim pot) | Sets output level; 6 on the trim pot is roughly equal to 10 on a Tubescreamer, giving tons of headroom | Noon |
| Bright (internal trim pot) | Ultra-flexible brightness to dial the pedal in for any amp | Noon |
The Volume and Brightness controls are trim pots on the inside of the pedal, not knobs on the top panel. Setting them means opening the pedal up, so plan your settings before mounting it on a crowded board.
How it differs from the Precision Drive
The Nano Attack is essentially a Precision Drive without gate or control for the amount of drive, as gearnews.com put it at announcement3. Delicious Audio confirms the same difference from the other side: "there's no Gain control here, which is present on the Precision"2. Because the drive amount is fixed, the degree of distortion cannot be changed3.
The Precision Drive, Horizon's first product, keeps all of its tone shaping on the front panel: Volume, Bright, Attack, Gate and Drive5. It was designed by Misha Mansoor, who said of it, "So I figured I might as well bring that pedal to life, if anything, just so I could have it for myself!"6. Mansoor, Ola Englund, Keith Merrow, Rabea Massaad, Alex Wade and Aaron Marshall are named by Horizon as players behind the Precision Drive's Attack control and Bright switch for tone shaping when tightening gain tones7.
On the shared Attack control, Horizon's Precision Drive manual explains the sweep: "Towards the left is more of a lower mids punch, and to the right can get very defined and pick-y."8
What reviewers and players said
gearnews.com, writing from the announcement videos, found the pedal "should be especially suited to use in front of dimed amps. And bass players should b[e] happy with it"3. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio reported that Rabea Massaad is impressed with it in his demo video2.
According to Guitar Interactive's review, the Nano Attack should be especially suited to use in front of dimed amps, and bass players should be happy with it3.
Videos
Pete Thorn
Ola Englund
Rabea Massaad
Questions
Does the Horizon Devices Nano Attack have a gain knob?
No. The Nano Attack has a fixed drive amount, so the degree of distortion cannot be adjusted. The only control on the outside is the six-position Attack knob, while Volume and Brightness are set with internal trim pots. Delicious Audio notes that there is no Gain control here, which is present on the Precision Drive, and gearnews.com describes the pedal as essentially a Precision Drive without gate or control for the amount of drive.
Who designed the Nano Attack?
The Nano Attack was designed by Misha Mansoor of Periphery, who also founded Horizon Devices. gearnews.com called it Misha Mansoor's one knob low-end tightener when it was announced in November 2018. Mansoor designed the Precision Drive before it, and the Nano Attack is a slimmed-down version of that pedal.
How is the Nano Attack different from the Precision Drive?
The Nano Attack is a compact mini pedal version of the Precision Drive with the best parts slimmed down, according to Horizon Devices. It drops the Precision Drive's Gate and Drive controls, leaving a fixed drive amount, and moves Volume and Brightness to internal trim pots. The Precision Drive keeps Volume, Bright, Attack, Gate and Drive on the front panel.
What does the Attack knob do?
Attack is a six-position control that sets the amount of low end tightness. Turning it left gives a looser low end, while turning it right gives a tighter, more modern feel. On the related Precision Drive, Horizon's manual describes the left side as more of a lower mids punch and the right side as very defined and pick-y.
What warranty does the Nano Attack have?
Horizon Devices states on its product page that the Nano Attack is backed by MXR's 1 year warranty.
Sources (8)
- Nano Attack, Horizon Devices
- Horizon Devices Releases The Nano Attack "tone Tightener", Delicious Audio, 2018-12-11
- Horizon Devices Nano Attack: A single-knob Djent box?, gearnews.com, 2018-11-28
- Horizon Devices Flux Echo + Reverb, Delicious Audio, 2020-10-27
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-02-05
- Reviews | Horizon Devices, Horizon Devices
- Reviews_1, Horizon Devices
- Users- Guide- PD, Horizon Devices
