Electro-Harmonix Pico Attack Decay

Pico Attack Decay
Seductive swells and reverse tape effects push the envelope on any pedalboard!

The original Attack Decay Tape Reverse Simulator is known for producing volume and reverse swells, backward tape sounds, artificially short staccato notes, and bowed instrument effects. In 2019 the digital Attack Decay reissue was released, and now the Pico Attack Decay gives us volume envelope effects in a simplified, compact package.

The Pico Attack Decay allows you to dial in volume swells and decays, both in Mono mode—one volume envelope for all notes you play—and the revolutionary Poly mode where each note to has its own volume envelope creating cascading swell effects and leads with agile attack smoothing. With intuitive functionality and simple controls, the Pico Attack Decay opens up creative avenues for any player interested in pushing the (volume) envelope.

The Pico Attack Decay is both powerful and simple with four knobs and a mode button that let you create a wide variety of effects. The ATTACK knob sets the swell or fade-in speed of the volume envelope while the DECAY knob sets the fade-out speed of the volume envelope. Set the ATTACK higher for languid volume swells. Set the DECAY higher for artificially staccato notes for synth-like punches. SENS adjusts the threshold for triggering the envelope. VOL controls the overall output volume. A hidden BLEND control allows you to blend wet and dry signals for even more flexibility in tone.

Controls:

1. VOL: Controls the output volume.
2. SENS: Controls the sensitivity of the Pico Attack Decay to new notes. As SENS is turned clockwise, the more easily your playing will trigger and reset the volume envelope.
3. ATTACK: As you turn ATTACK knob clockwise, the attack time increases. Turn the ATTACK knob to minimum to disable the attack portion of the envelope.
4. DECAY: Sets the fade-out speed of the volume envelopes. As you turn DECAY knob clockwise, the decay time increases. Turn the DECAY knob to maximum to disable the decay portion of the envelope.
5. POLY Button: Press this button to choose your volume envelope mode:

• Green – Mono Mode The entire signal goes through one volume envelope. Any time you play a new note or chord, the volume envelope resets, affecting every note you are playing or sustaining.
  
• Orange – Poly Mode Each note has its own volume envelope and therefore multiple volume envelopes are active at one time.

Blend Control
The Pico Attack Decay has a hidden Blend control to allow you to adjust the output mix from 100% dry to 100% wet. Blend is set to 100% wet from the factory. To access Blend, do the following:

1. Press and hold the POLY button
   
2. After two seconds, the LED begins to blink. Release the POLY button.
   
3. While the LED is blinking, the SENS knob acts as a Blend control. Turn SENS until you find the perfect balance between wet and dry.
   
4. To save the Blend setting, press and hold the POLY button again. After two seconds, the LED stops blinking. Blend is now set.

The Blend setting is remembered through power-cycles so you can set it and forget it.

Specifications:

• Circuit : Digital
  
• Bypass : Buffered Bypass
  
• Audio : Mono
  
• Power Supply : 9.6VDC-200mA power adapter included
  
• Dimensions (in) : 3.65 x 2.0 x 2.0
  
• Current Draw : 100mA