New Gear Review: Nano Deluxe Memory Man by Electro-Harmonix
The Nano Deluxe Memory Man is more than a shrunken down version of the classic large-format pedal.
Delay pedals are among the most common effects to be found on pedalboards, regardless of genre. They can be used to complement an existing part, provide a sense of space ranging from subtle to totally upfront, or even be as integral a writing tool as the guitar or bass itself (see U2’s The Edge).
Needless to say, the market is, has been, and will continue to be flooded with options for delay. One-trick OG ponies like some of BOSS’ earlier offerings, and more complex and cutting-edge options from companies like Line 6, are all out in the field seeing similar degrees of use from both novices and pros alike—so how does one create a delay that stands out among the competition?
Electro-Harmonix, purveyors of some of the most well-respected and widely used effects pedals in the industry, puts forth the Nano Deluxe Memory Man—a new take on the original Deluxe Memory Man which dates all the way back to 1978. This pedal aims to solidify a spot—albeit a small one—on your pedalboard, so let’s take a closer look and see if it’s worthy.
Features and Use
True to its “Nano” namesake, this pedal is tiny and can fit in the palm of your hand. It features a simple mono in/out design which offers a total of six knobs and two LED indicators on its small faceplate. There are the basic controls you’d expect to find on a delay such as Level, Blend, Feedback, and Delay, along with two more knobs for Rate and Depth, sure to provide an added layer of character. The LEDs read “Overload” and “Status”; the user manual notes that you’ll see Overload illuminate when the delayed signal starts to “softly clip”. Status, as you might expect, lights up when the effect is engaged.
The Nano DMM offers a range of delay time from 30-550 ms, controlled via the Delay knob. Like most delays, when the Feedback knob is cranked, an effect known as “runaway oscillation” will occur—a crescendoing effect that is often used creatively by guitarists far and wide. Blend, as you would expect, is your dry to wet signal balance. The Depth knob, which gets its sound by sweeping the delay time with a repeating LFO, controls the amount of this effect applied to your signal. When turned fully counter-clockwise, no modulation will occur; around the 12 o’clock mark will yield a chorus-type effect; fully clockwise produces a vibrato-type effect. Lastly, the rate knob, as expected, controls the speed of the modulation.
If you read up on the Nano DMM, you’ll notice the term “Selectable True Bypass”, which refers to an internal “Tails” switch that can be accessed by removing the bottom plate of the pedal. When engaged (downward position), the delayed signal that is present once the pedal enters bypass is preserved over the new dry signal. When this mode is selected, the pedal does not function in true bypass mode; flip the Tails switch upward to activate true bypass—just know your delayed signal will cut on the dime when entering bypass.
One additional note which is not to be overlooked: the Nano DMM comes equipped with a power supply—nice! But enough with the features. Let’s put some signal through this thing.
As expected, the feature that immediately gives the Nano Deluxe Memory Man its signature sound is its modulation controls (Rate and Depth). Without these, this would be a simple delay box much more prone to falling indistinguishably into the abyss of the delay pedal market, along with tons and tons of others. But these modulation controls are strong and can give a wealth of character to your sound—so that’s what I intended to focus on as I put the pedal through its paces.
Just like the manual notes, you can find yourself in what feels like chorus and vibrato territory with minimal effort, adding a nice layer of shimmery complexity to whatever is being put through the Nano DMM. But where the pedal really displayed its power was in how creative you can get with these modulation controls while dialing in some compounding feedback.
The Overload LED is also super helpful, especially as an audio engineer who habitually wants to have a consistent level throughout all stops in the signal chain. Even when the Nano DMM overloads, it clips nicely and almost with an old tape-like analog quality, in line with what the manual claims.
I found the pedal to be at its finest when the Depth and Rate controls were set around the 9 o’clock position where the subtle warbling of the delayed signal enters that chorus-like realm. It was otherwise an extremely simple and efficient affair to get a more normal and usable non-modulated delay signal by turning the Rate and Depth all the way down and using it as a straight-up, no frills delay.
And since the pedal performed consistently and as expected across more common sources like guitar, bass, and even keys, I thought it might be a bit more interesting to route some drums and vocals through it from my DAW, which was very fun. Easily send drums into a completely different realm by playing up the pedal’s modulation functionality (use with a heavy hand for short effects bursts) or apply a mostly dry blend and short delay time for an interesting and easy-to-digest slapback effect that can sit comfortably across an entire song.
Possibilities with vocals throws, as you might imagine, are pretty much endless. And I would much prefer to construct evolving effects with a piece of hardware at my fingertips rather than automating parameters in a DAW… wouldn’t you?
To Be Critical
Because I am a mixer and engineer, I am constantly filtering and EQing my delays to make them sit just right in a mix. If I wanted to have my cake and eat it too, a welcome addition here would be some sort of simple tilt EQ or filters on the wet signal to tailor the sound even further. But, then again, you don’t really see that too often in delay pedals, and let’s remember that EQ was not part of the original design.
I am also very partial to delays with stereo outputs for the purposes of routing to/from a DAW or even running stereo cabinets on stage, but delays with that kind of functionality are few and far between and only appeal to a small demographic of users with unique production-based needs like mine. Plus, EHX’s aim with this unit is to be a faithful reissue of the original Deluxe Memory Man, and in that respect I feel they have succeeded wholly.
Summing it Up
I would consider the Nano Deluxe Memory Man from Electro-Harmonix a strong contender if you’re in the market for a pretty straightforward delay. It will do more than say something super basic like the BOSS DD-3, yet not quite as much as the Line 6 DL4 which offers stereo functionality among other more advanced features.
The modulation controls are really what sets the Nano Deluxe Memory Man apart from other offerings in its price range and scope of functionality, and the $203.10 price point seems like a fair ask for what’s on offer. This likely would not be a desert island delay for me, but its sonic (and literal) footprint make it an attractive option for those who are a bit tight on space and don’t want to break the bank.
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