Electro-Harmonix shakes up its tremolo pedal lineup with the Nano Pulsar

Electro-Harmonix has unveiled the Nano Pulsar, a downsized version of its longstanding Pulsar and Stereo Pulsar tremolo pedals.

Despite the trimmed-down enclosure, the new stompbox packs all the features of its predecessors, chiefly in its versatility, courtesy of a choice of triangle or square wave modes, further adjusted via a Shape control.

This allows players to choose between a range of synth-like volume swells, including falling and rising sawtooth, narrow and wide pulse width, plus more conventional triangle and square wave sounds.

As is customary with EHX pedals, the Rate and Depth knobs go way beyond the norm – past maximum, the modulation becomes asymmetric, warping the signal between positive and negative phase, which promises “a unique style of tremolo”, says the company.

One welcome practical addition to the Nano’s feature set is a Volume control to compensate for perceived volume loss when the pedal is active – a problem that could rear its head with the previous Stereo Pulsar.

Elsewhere, there are stereo outputs for panning effects, plus a status LED that pulses in time with the tremolo rate when engaged, while the pedal itself can be powered with a nine-volt battery or power supply.

With its compact dimensions and dizzying versatility, the Pulsar might just find itself on the pedalboards of a new generation of tremolo fans, particularly with the addition of that handy Volume control.

The Nano Pulsar is available now for $99 – head over to EHX for more info.