Electro Harmonix NANO Metal Muff

Prevalent among the guitar effects manufacturers, is the practice of offering an economic interpretation of their likeable products. A case in mind here is the latest (winter 2006) offerings by American stompbox stronghold, Electro Harmonics (EHX), in the guise of their NANO series. The NANO Metal Muff (MM) is still the black intense distortion menace albeit in a scaled down manifestation.

Build

There is no compromise when it comes to EHX pedal housing; what you get is a tank-grade, black, aluminum housing with a matching base to boot. There isn’t a major deviation from its original elder brother especially when the knobs, footswitch & font colour are inherent features so at a single glance, the MM’s immediate identity is assured. The overall mass of this pedal is perhaps straying on the lighter fringe (with battery in tact); good news to pedal-reliant guitar enthusiasts who are always on the move.

Rating: 90%

Features

Due to its dwarfed nature, the NANO MM is reduced to a pair of control knobs (Volume/ Distortion) & a minute tone selector flick switch, the location of which (residing in the centre, proximate to the aforementioned pair of knobs) necessitates the relocation of the LED; it now resides next to the footswitch. In use, every time the player wishes to activate/ deactivate the MM, s/he won’t get an immediate visual status indicator as the LED is obscured by the player’s foot. There is therefore, infallible wisdom in allocating the LED at the summit, above the control knobs.

Moving on to tonal manipulation, it is rather disheartening to see the vital EQ access here being a minute flick switch- are you going to use it while playing? Dismiss this idea, make up your mind during sound check, select the preferred frequency enhancement (Hi/ Lo/ Off) & leave it be.

Rating: 75%

Tone

This is perhaps the crucial scrutiny when buying any pedals; does the NANO MM sing or croak? If you’ve come across & fallen in love with the original MM hulk, be assured that the drive intensity is very much retained. The shortcoming is rather predictable; tonal variation is restricted to the tri-modal flick offerings which present a limited parameter in EQ manipulations. With this in mind, there isn’t any excessive inclination of any particular frequency, upon selection, the Hi/ Lo options only offer audible differences & unfortunately, these clip your output volume. Employing it with various guitars & amps for this tone test, I get best results with the OFF option…

The NANO MM is still the distortion menace like its 2 other bigger siblings, as such, it thrives on active pickups & being paired with a mild drive-type booster; with the latter pairing, watch your distortion level on the MM. This pedal manifests better definition plugged into the clean channels of tube/ solid state amps. The intense drive of the MM makes it less suitable as a booster unit; also, no amount of smooth midrange can be procured by backing off its distortion level & relying on the drive type booster’s EQ settings.

Tone test equipment:
• Ibanez ValBee amp
• Peavey XXL amp
• ESP Eclipse II
• Ibanez Artcore TM70
• Ibanez RG321
• Fender ST72
• Gibson LP Std
• PRS McCarty
• Drive type boosters: BOSS (BD2/ OD3/ DS1), Ibanez TS7
• Clean Boosters: Behringer (PB-100), MXR Micro Amp

Rating: 85%

Conclusion:

If you’ve made up your mind about embracing the fuzz laden intense drive of the original MM but couldn’t care much when it comes to EQ (probably because you have a more reliable EQ unit in place), the NANO MM will save you some money & of course, space on your pedal board. Due to its scaled down physique, be sure to strap the NANO MM down to prevent unnecessary yanking during your most animated guitar moments.

Overall rating: 80%

Likes:
• Drive voicing
• Not a battery drainer
• Light
• Space saver

Dislikes:
• Battery access (complete baseplate removal required)
• Limited EQ options
• Minute EQ flick switch
• LED placement
• Volume clipped by Hi/ Lo EQ options

Worthy competitors:
• Danelectro Black Coffee
• Digitech Metal Master
• BOSS Metal Zone
• Marshall Jackhammer
• Carl Martin Heavy Drive
• Behringer Ultra Metal

To Conclude...

If the you have gain any tips or information form this guide, please click the "YES" button below to give us a vote. We really appreciate that! 

Thats all I have to say in a nutshell.  If you've learned something or you have further clarifications, feel free to drop us an email. We'll love to hear from you! Till then, have a great day and keep on practicing!

Do also visit our store for specialized guitar backing tracks. At Planet Of Rock  we've a wide range of unique and original guitar backing tracks covering all genre and all playing styles! See you soon.

Regards,

Jansen
Planet Of Rock Admin
Your #1 source for Professional Guitar Backing Tracks