Electro-Harmonix series of Nano pedals has been a welcome change to the often times bulky and awkwardly sized pedals from their flagship lines (i.e. Big Muff, Deluxe Memory Man, Worm, etc.). These larger pedals make populating a pedal board obsolete after about one placement. Enter the Nano series which takes many of thier popular pedal concepts and minitaruizes them into a functional pedal board concept without losing much of the appeal from their bigger brothers. The Nano pedals are about the standard size pedal you'd expect from a Boss or MXR modeled pedal.
Being a delay junky I own a vintage 70's EH Deluxe Stereo Memory Man in all of its analog glory, but I have been pining for a decent analog delay that would fit comfortably onto a pedal board without losing the warmth and love that you get from an analog delay by opting for a smaller digital counterpart. I play in different circumstances all the time where often a smaller pedal board configuration is ideal and lugging around the DMM can often be a hastle when needing to set up quickly or to be as conise as possible about the space you're occupying, especially in a pit orchestra situation. Enter the Memory Toy.
First off, beautiful tone from such a small box. I was skeptical at first and spent more than an hour with the Memory Toy and its "bigger" (but not too big) brother the Memory Boy before deciding that the Memory Toy was the way to go. Granted I may go back and purchase the Memory Boy at a later date, but the Memory Toy won first place due to its simple design layout and smaller size. The Memor Toy has three adjustment knobs (feedback, delay and blend) and a mod toggle switch that allows you to choose the off or on postion for the liquidy chorus EH is known for with its Memory Man pedal.
In the "on" position the delay becomes very fluid and takes on a crystaline quality to it. The slapback takes on a new countenance as you blend more of the mod into the signal. Adding more delay reinforces the underwater feel though things get a little muddled as you begin to add more feedback. Beware the roving helicopters that can occur if you're not paying attention to the blend and feedback knobs. With the toggle in the off postion there is a minute loss of tone that occurs as well as volume, but it's subtle enough to not be frustrating. In the off position the delay slips into the background of your signal and acts more as a warming effect to the overall tone of your instrument as opposed to saturating it.
Two minor issues: If you are not careful with your foot placement on the bypass switch, you can inadvertently knock the pedal into the "on" mod position which can quickly change your sound without you notice for the first few seconds its on. Secondly, purchase an adapter for this pedal. The battery life with a standard 9V battery is painfully quick and there is a noticeable deterioration in the output of the pedal when it is on.
Overall I give this pedal an 8 out of 10. For a $100 in most music stores or online this is a great bargain for a pedal that can color up your board without the immensity of having to deal with the larger counter parts (Deluxe Memory Man, Hazarai Memory Man, Memory Boy). A solid, well built pedal. I look forward to more of the EH Nano series in the future.
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