“Quirky and off-the-wall, it’s waiting to throw a…

“Quirky and off-the-wall, it’s waiting to throw a spanner in the works of your guitar tone”: Electro-Harmonix Pico Atomic Cluster review

What is it?

Long before the boom in boutique pedals, the one company that could be relied upon for pushing the ‘quirky and weird’ envelope was Electro-Harmonix – and the New York maker is still in motion.

As part of the cute and pedalboard-friendly Pico range, the Atomic Cluster Spectral Decomposer is described by the company as “unlike any effect Electro-Harmonix has made before”.

Specs

PRICE: $129 | £129 | €119
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: Spectral Decomposer pedal
FEATURES: Buffered Bypass, T
ap tempo
CONTROLS: Volume, Speed, Blend, Atoms, Sharp/Smooth Mode button, bypass footswitch
CONNECTIONS: Standard input, standard output
POWER: 9V DC adaptor (supplied) 100mA
DIMENSIONS: 50 (w) x 91 (d) x 47mm (h)
CONTACT: Electro-Harmonix

Build quality, usability and sounds

Falling into the broad category of synth and glitch pedals, the Atomic Cluster “breaks down your signal and interpolates it into a variety of musical and whimsical sounds,” says EHX.

This is done mostly via the Atoms knob, which reduces the frequency resolution of your guitar and generates resonant oscillations, the number of which reduces as the knob is turned anti-clockwise. This is best heard in Sharp mode where you get an instant transition of oscillations for a rhythmic effect.

Switching to Smooth mode produces a more diffused effect, with a nice fade between oscillations. The Speed knob sets how quickly the oscillations refresh. Any sound you dial in can be mixed in proportion with your dry sound with a Blend knob up to 100 per cent wet.

With the Atoms knob at maximum, the effect is bright and metallic with a chaotic undercurrent of glitchy burbling, but as you roll it back the brightness reduces and that burbling becomes more coherent, revealing itself in Sharp mode to be more like synth-style arpeggiation with distinct notes.

This is something that, when synchronised (you can use the footswitch tap tempo in place of the Speed knob), can add bubbly flavour behind fast strumming. Switching to Smooth mode, though, results in an effect that can be exploited with guitar dynamics as those distinct notes now fade into each other for a more undulating sound.

Play chords and you’ll get a sustained ambient pad sound, but with single notes the altered envelope of the generated sounds is akin to a backwards effect and it works particularly well if you dig in with a bit of dirt. Balancing Speed and Atoms yields plenty of variations on the theme for subtle blending with dry guitar or upfront prominence.

Verdict

Verdict: ★★★★☆

Guitar World verdict: The Atomic Cluster is niche and not the most predictable of effects. It’s unlikely to appeal to traditionalists, but if you like quirky and off-the-wall, it’s out there waiting to throw a spanner in the works of your guitar tone.