I was in Santa Cruz a while back, and stopped by the local Starving Musician to try out any gear they had that the Berkeley one didn't.
I decided to get my hands on a Nano Clone to see just what made it problematic on bass. My original test run, back when it first came out, was done on a tiny practice rig in a noisy store, so I really couldn't say much about it.
It seems that, while this pedal produces some sweet chorus sounds, it has three problems:
[list][*]There is some background noise, just like the Clone Theory. It seems worse on this pedal though, for some reason. Maybe it's just that I'm not used to Ampeg and how different it is than other amp brands I've used, but the SVT-CL isn't a noisy amp, and the EQ was set flat.
[*]There is a genuine volume drop... and it's big enough to be a problem.
[*]It has that daisy chaining issue that we're all too familiar with... the same one that the Nano Muff has. Remember, those are the only two pedals with this issue!
The Clone Theory can do what this does, and so can the Small Clone. The Nano Clone should have been the perfect Small Clone replacement, but it's the exact opposite.
To clarify on the daisy chaining issue... because the Nano clone uses PNP transistors (like a lot of vintage fuzz pedals and their clones do), the ground is reverse-polarity (a.k.a., "positive ground"). However, the barrel plug is not - it's still a regular Boss-style barrel. While it'll run fine on any Boss-style power supply, it cannot work if it's sharing that supply with another pedal. It either needs its own wall wart or a battery.
A really useful FAQ on the issue is here: http://www.stinkfoot.se/andreas/diy/power/pnppower.htm
So... avoid the Nano Clone. Not just for bass... for guitar, too. Just avoid it. The Nano Clone sounds great, but the flaws are inexcusable.
RATING:
