Electro-Harmonix has taken its much-loved Poly Octave Generator and shrunk it down to mini pedal format as the Pico POG – a pedal so small you could easily store it in your pocket, or just as easily find a place for it on your pedalboard.
Not only does the Pico POG boast the same DSP octave processing power as its fellow compact siblings, the Micro and Nano POGs, it is even more versatile, with EHX adding a tone knob to the control set.
The POG in its various forms is one of the most popular octave effects on the market. Easy to use, with super-quick tracking, it has been used and abused by the likes of Jack White, Jonny Greenwood, Joe Satriani and more… Lots more. Satch even used his when covering Deep Purple’s Highway Star with Chickenfoot, using it to play Jon Lord’s legendary organ solo.
It was only a few weeks ago that Andy Cairns, frontman and guitarist of Therapy?, checked in with MusicRadar to talk pedals and extol the virtues of the POG – he uses his Nano POG in tandem with a Marshall Supervibe for the Twilight Zone style riff in Ugly.
There is no question: the POG is a modern guitar effects pedal classic, and given its size, the Pico POG is a no-brainer. Once more you have two knobs for the octave effects; one dials in the volume of the sub-octave, the other for the octave up.
There is a filter button at the top of the pedal that chooses between three modes, each indicated by LED.
When the LED is green, you are in Tone mode, in which the Tone knob acts as a tilt EQ. When illuminated red, you are a low-pass filter mode, with the Tone knob controlling the frequency of a resonant low-pass filter.
Finally, when illuminated orange, a high-pass filter allows you to use the Tone control to set the frequency of the high-pass filter. The Dry knob controls how much of your unprocessed electric guitar signal is in the mix.
The Pico POG might be small, but it’s mighty all right. That sub-octave effect can lend a monstrous character to your riffs. The octave-up adds a shimmer. Combine both for quasi-synth madness. There are plenty of inspiring sounds to be had.
The Pico POG is the fifth POG variant presently offered by EHX. For those who want features and lots of them, for whom ‘board space is not an issue, there is the POG2. The Soul POG combines EHX’s superb Soul Food overdrive pedal and the Nano POG in one housing, while there is the Micro Pog, and the standalone Nano POG.
The Pico POG is available now, priced $240 street. See Electro-Harmonix for more details.
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