Electro-Harmonix Nano Clone

Well, at least it's simple to use. In fact, maybe too simple - with nothing but a rate knob, you don't have much fine-tuning over the effect. There are trimpots inside, but who wants to mess with those? Actually took some points off because of the non-tweakability.

I also took some more points off because it cannot be used with daisy-chained power. Since the original Small Clone can, there's no excuse for that.

NO. NO. NO.

This pedal sounds terrible - I can't imagine a professional musician using this. I'm not a professional musician, and it's still too disgusting for me to use.

Switch it on, and you'll hear a significant volume drop. You'll also hear a hiss - I've ruled out any other equipment but this pedal, and it's definitely the one generating this hiss. There's also a significant amount of bass roll-off, making your whole sound thin and trebley. Underneath it all, there's a pretty nice swirly chorus effect, but it's still not usable.

It seems solidly built. I like the EH nano cases. In the twisted alternate universe that would see me actually use this thing at a gig, I would use it without backup.

No experience with them.

I've played for about 11 years, and I own a fair amount of cheap and slightly less cheap equipment. I play rock music with a band, and chorus is not a key element of my sound, only used for flavor on one or two songs. Even so, there's no way I would ever use this live, in a recording studio, or ever. If it were stolen, I would actually be kind of relieved - I would be losing money, but I would have felt worse selling this to another human being.

If you want to stay firmly in the EH camp, buy a Small Clone instead. From what I've read and heard, it doesn't share any of the problems that plague its smaller brother. I replaced it with a Danelectro D-5 Fab Chorus. It's a sad day for Electro-Harmonix when their product is so thoroughly outdone by something with a plastic housing that costs $17, but that's exactly what happened.

Don't buy this pedal, no matter what you do. There are better choices below, at and above its price point.

One knob to rule them all... It can't get easier then this.

I hate the sound of this unit. But worst things first: the volume of your signal drops by 20-30% when turning this unit on. That makes it pretty useless for live settings where you only use it on occasion to thicken up the sound. If have tried this little thingy with different setups and never found a single setting that was sounding halfway decent.

However it seems pretty reliable. But according to my experiences you may need tons of batteries for this! The problem is, that the unit is consuming power as soon as there is a cable in the input jack - even if it is turned off. If you use it on a pedal board you surely forget to pull the cable most of the time...

Never had to deal with them

If you like really dirty, noisy and thin sounds from a batterie consuming monster then this unit is for you. If you are searching for a unit to use in live environment to thicken up some parts of your songs then look somewhere else! I think it's good for experimental things like Sonic Youth or stuff. But I don't think anyone would use it in their live setup on a regular basis...

Well, the unit has one adjustment and one button switch, so I reckon it doesn't get much more simple than that does it?

This is where I stray from most other reviews. I think this pedal sound wonderfully lush and transparent. Maybe I got lucky on this one, but it makes no noticeable noise whatsoever.
I originally ran it through the FX loop of my Mesa Boogie DC3 and detected a level drop when engaging the pedal. I then ran it in front of the amp and no level decrease is noticed now.
Even in front of the amp I detect absolutely no noise, unlike the Ibanez CF7 which I find to 'breathe' worse than any chorus I've ever used. Now that's a noisy pedal!

It seems to be built like the proverbial poop house, but I haven't used it long enough to rate it in this regard.

I haven't needed any, but in my past experiences the EH people have been helpful and available.

I give it a 10 because it IS a fantastic value. I picked this one up for $30.00 bucks and after hearing it would would have gladly paid more.
If the aliens came down and stole it I'd most likely buy another.
My only beotch is the issue with using chained power, but hey, who cares?

It has one knob. Anyone who has trouble operating this unit, probably can't plug in their amp either.

When used pre distortion, it's a bit noisy. When used in the effects loop(post distortion), its not really an issue, as distortion adds a sizeable noise floor itself. If it sounds "slappy" adjust the trimpot in the upper left corner of the board. When I bought my unit, it was to thick, but this adjustment fixed that and now it sounds great. It does have a little bit of a gain drop, but that can probably be fixed by swapping out one resistor for a total mod time of under 5 minutes. I can't hear the "gunshot" switching these guys are talking about. Anyway, a lot of true bypass effects produce small artifacts when switched.

Hasn't broken yet, don't expect it to.

I emailed these guys, and they promptly emailed me back the schematics.
Don't know what their turnaround for repairs is, but since I don't need a babysitter to fix my gear, I don't really care.

Bottom line: Fun little box.
Anyone who thinks they are getting a studio quite analog chorus for $50 is a complete idiot. I mean seriously guys. This thing sounds good, its fun, and its $50. I couldn't purchase an analog chorus kit on the internet for this amount. I like it, I'm keeping it.

Extremely simple. There's just a single rate control and a big sturdy switch to turn it on and off.

The chorus effect itself sounds great, it's exactly what I wanted. There's a bit more hiss than I'd like - but I'm willing to put up with that live (I'd never record with it) to get the chorus effect I'm looking for - I have a much quieter chorus pedal, but I don't like how it sounds.

Built like a tank. I've only had it a short time, so I haven't put it to the test, but it's a solid metal box with a very sturdy pushbutton on it.

Not had the need to try their customer support.

People are giving very bad reviews for this thing, which I can't understand. It's really cheap for a chorus pedal, the chorus effect itself is really good, and it's in a solid metal box. So what if you have to use a separate adapter for it because it's chassis-positive-ground (the adapter plug itself is center-negative like almost everything else these days, so I suspect people are having a problem because it's chassis-positive), you got it for less than $50! If you want a noiseless chorus pedal that you can power supply daisy-chain with your Boss effects, go spend the extra money on a Boss pedal. This is a budget pedal, and it kicks ass for the price. Only Danelectro has a cheaper one, and it has a flimsy plastic case with a way-too-tiny pushbutton.

Well, yeah, I thought it was very easy to use. It's actually more easy not to use it all all though, you know?

Pretty difficult to actually hear this through all the noise, to be honest. You can expect analogue chorus pedals to have some noise, but not this much. It's kind of cool how deep and watery it sounds, but I can't help feeling it just muffles my tone completely. Massive explosion when you engage the switch. Like others have said, reminiscent of a gunshot, especially if you've got an amp that is set loud enough to play with a drum kit. This pedal isn't grounded, either, which is absolutely incredible. I'd like to say it sounds like a small clone, but it really doesn't.

It seems pretty solid. I got this because it was a small pedal with all metal construction.

Just get a real small clone instead. They may be bigger, but they are infinitely better. I really hate this pedal. It's a shame, because it's like the only chorus pedal out there in a small all metal box. I'm going to try the new ARTEC vintage chorus pedal and see what that's like.

kind of a pain to use at first. Takes some practice.

makes me sound like Kurdt

never broken it

if it broke it i would take to the guitar center they should be able to fix it

i play post grunge ambient punk and it does well for me. i wish it had instructions. its kind of small i wish it was bigger

One rate knob, plain and simple. It adjusts the speed of the effect. But that's what I love about this pedal. I would some day like to mess with the trim pots inside, but I'm mostly happy with the sound I get from this guy. The manual is pretty unnecessary, but it does explain the effect well. The only thing that sets me off is the battery compartment being accessed by removing 4 screws and the whole back panel. but luckily this thing holds on to a battery for quite a while, and i usually leave one of the four screws in so i can get to it easier if i need to.

Let me just say, I am only writing this review because I think many of the other reviews are a little harsh in some areas. They are mostly right in their criticisms, but I just feel this effect deserves more credit.

Yes, this pedal is very noisy. But the noise doesn't bother me. Maybe i'm more tolerant to noise because I play a strat, but the hiss this gives off really doesn't interfere with the effect at all.

However, the only thing that really bothers me about this pedal is the very noticeable volume drop when engaged. Thus the 7 rating. But I still keep it in my rig and use it sparingly. The actual chorusing effect sounds fine to me, and fits my style.

*I'm pretty sure that's how this thing was meant to be used. If you need a chorus at a larger capacity, get a Boss.

The sound I was after when looking for a chorus was the leslie sound Clapton gets on the middle section of Cream's "Badge". And somewhat, David Gilmour's light flange sound.

I use a Fender CIJ Antigua Strat, with a wah, (this), an overdrive, and a digital delay into a 30 watt Crate Tube 112 combo.

I am not a huge fan of the housing of the large NYC electro harmonix pedals. But I love this one, and the rest of the Nano line. It's so so tiny, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, love that. I did by it used (at a great price), and the previous owner only left a few scratches. I really trust myself to step all over this thing at a gig without a backup, lol who carries a spare chorus effect to a gig anyway?

I play blues/funk/rock/fusion/jazz, and it's pretty perfect for those as they all require SPARING (as indicated above) use of this effect. I've been playing guitar for 6 years and owned a few multi fx, and some analog stomp boxes here and there. I do not want to come across as an expert by any means, just a hobbyist who knows what he likes and can recognize good and bad gear. I saw this thing on Ebay for 20 bucks, which is a really fantastic deal. I probably wouldn't have paid much more for it. This isn't a great pedal, but it's definitely not bad. I just wish it didn't do the little volume drop thing. Because I am cheap, I really don't think I'd pay more than 50 for just about any pedal, so I i needed a new one, i may go for something else unless I can find one for such a great deal.

easy enough . just one knob

very nice sound. low fi fx . for my expectations is very good ??cause I was looking for a cheap pedal doing this kind of leslie vibe.a little bit noisy but tolerable for me

ok

I play british rock. vintage stuff of my own and some classic covers.I can do the "Badge" vibe with this thing, and that??s good for me.I say again, a little bit noisy but I can put up with this.ANd when you set it to the maximum speed it??s like a real leslie. I can understand the other reviews ??cause my nano clone works very good for me. Comparing to the mxr chorus, the nano clone is a bit poor but it??s strong enough for its league, that means the cheap pedals league

It sounds very good to me. i use a custom made guitar with p-90s and a fender hot rod deluxe. Listen, this is a lo fi fx, so you must not expect no hiss from it, however it does its job for what it is.

yeah. sometimes I kick it and it??s ok

I play british rock. the old good brit rock. for 25 years. I own the mxr st chorus and I can say that this cheap nano clone fro eh comes close to the mxr, although it has that "little hiss". I can simulate a leslie with this little pedal. I love it. the trick is to adjust properly the trimmers inside !!! with a little very little less of hiss this pedal is perfect...