Electro Harmonix Pico Deep Freeze Guitar Effect

Electro-Harmonix Pico Deep Freeze — Sound Retainer and Sustainer Pedal

The Pico Deep Freeze is an expanded sound retainer from Electro-Harmonix, packing the original Freeze's infinite hold with the Superego's glissando and layering into a compact Pico chassis. Released in 2023, it captures a slice of input audio and sustains it indefinitely, working equally well on guitar, bass, or any mono instrument signal. The pedal ships with a dedicated power adapter so it runs straight out of the box.

Three Freeze Modes Plus Gliss and Layering in a Pico Enclosure

Where the original Freeze offered a single hold function, this model adds three operating modes plus Gliss and Layer controls. The Gliss knob morphs one frozen note into the next — a portamento-style effect borrowed from synthesizers — while the Speed/Layer knob doubles as an attack/decay timer in Moment and Auto and as a layer attenuator in Latch for stacking impossible chords. Buffered bypass keeps the signal intact when the effect is off.

Operating Modes and Control Surface

The Mode button cycles between Latch (green LED), Moment (orange LED), and Auto (red LED), each changing how the footswitch interacts with the freeze buffer.

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• Selection of the Latch, Moment, or Auto mode determines how the footswitch behaves, ranging from long drones to rhythmic stings.
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• Dry Knob: independent level control — sets how much unaffected signal sits under the frozen layer.
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• Effect Knob: independent level control — sets the volume of the sustained freeze signal.
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Speed/Layer and Gliss — Sculpting the Frozen Sound

The Speed/Layer knob adapts to whichever mode is active: attack/decay in Moment and Auto, layer attenuation in Latch. Gliss adds a portamento-style morph between consecutive frozen notes, similar to the Superego's behavior.

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• Speed/Layer adjustment provides control over attack/decay when in Moment and Auto, or acts as layer attenuation while in Latch mode.
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• Gliss Knob: morph time between frozen notes — fully counterclockwise disables the glide.
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Connectivity, Power, and Pico Chassis

The Pico chassis measures roughly 93 x 51 x 51 mm, smaller than a standard EHX stompbox, so it tucks into crowded boards without sacrificing pedal real estate.

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• Inputs: 6.3 mm TS jack — mono instrument input from guitar, bass, or upstream pedal.
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• Outputs: 6.3 mm TS jack — mono output to amp, interface, or next pedal.
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• Power is supplied by the included 9 V DC adapter, drawing 100 mA, with no compartment available for internal batteries.
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• Bypass: Buffered Bypass — keeps the signal chain intact when disengaged.
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