EHX Nano POG Settings Guide
Polyphonic octave generator in a compact format — the Nano POG tracks chords accurately and produces one octave below and one octave above the dry signal simultaneously. Jack White used the full-size POG for the two-handed bass-and-lead technique heard on Seven Nation Army live performances; Tom Morello has used POG variants for synthetic bass lines. The Nano POG is the most practical pitch-shifting pedal for players who need polyphonic octave generation for single-note or chord playing without tracking issues.
Used by: Jack White
The best EHX Nano POG settings start with: Dry at 7/10, Sub Oct at 4/10, Oct Up at 0/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Bass Simulation: Dry 5/10, Sub Oct 8/10, Oct Up 0/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Dry | 7/10 | Silent → Full |
| Sub Oct | 4/10 | Off → Full |
| Oct Up | 0/10 | Off → Full |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Sub Oct high, Oct Up off — the Nano POG as a bass substitute. Dry at 5 keeps the guitar present; Sub Oct at 8 creates a strong bass-register pitch doubling. For two-piece and trio bands where the guitarist needs to cover bass frequencies, this setting produces a bass-like low end that sits below the guitar in the mix. Works best on clean or lightly overdriven guitar.
Both octaves active — the classic POG organ simulation. Dry plus Sub Oct plus Oct Up produces a three-octave stack that approximates the harmonic structure of a Hammond organ. Into a clean or slightly broken amp, the full three-octave blend produces a recognisable organ character on single-note lines.
Oct Up only, no Sub Oct — the Nano POG as a 12-string simulator. The Oct Up adds a high-pitched doubling to each note that approximates the course-and-octave string pairs of a 12-string guitar. Effective on single-note lines and arpeggios; less convincing on full chords where the octave voicings don't match a real 12-string's string arrangement.
Sub Oct dominant with a touch of Oct Up — the Nano POG for drone and pad-like ambient textures. Low Dry level reduces the fundamental; Sub Oct provides the bass register foundation; Oct Up adds a subtle shimmer above. Into a long reverb the three-octave blend dissolves into a dense atmospheric texture.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
White uses the POG for bass-register power in live settings — Sub Oct at maximum, Dry reduced to balance the bass and guitar registers. The two-handed technique (left hand plays bass on the lower frets, right hand plays lead on higher frets) combined with the POG's Sub Oct creates the impression of a bass player even without one.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- The Nano POG tracks chords accurately but requires a clean input signal — distortion or fuzz before the Nano POG degrades tracking quality significantly. Place the Nano POG early in the signal chain (immediately after the guitar or tuner) and apply distortion after the POG for the cleanest octave tracking.
- The Dry control is not a bypass — set it to zero and the Nano POG passes silence even if Sub Oct and Oct Up are at maximum. Always leave Dry above 0 unless using the Nano POG exclusively for bass simulation where the octave-below-only setting works without the dry guitar signal.
FAQ
EHX Nano POG — Common Questions
Best starting settings for EHX Nano POG: Dry at 7/10, Sub Oct at 4/10, Oct Up at 0/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Bass Simulation: Dry 5/10, Sub Oct 8/10, Oct Up 0/10. Sub Oct high, Oct Up off — the Nano POG as a bass substitute. Dry at 5 keeps the guitar present; Sub Oct at 8 creates a strong bass-register pitch doubling. For two-piece and trio bands where the guitarist needs to cover bass frequencies, this setting produces a bass-like low end that sits below the guitar in the mix. Works best on clean or lightly overdriven guitar.
For Organ Simulation: Dry 6/10, Sub Oct 5/10, Oct Up 5/10. Both octaves active — the classic POG organ simulation. Dry plus Sub Oct plus Oct Up produces a three-octave stack that approximates the harmonic structure of a Hammond organ. Into a clean or slightly broken amp, the full three-octave blend produces a recognisable organ character on single-note lines.
Dry: Original dry signal level. (Silent to Full). Sub Oct: One octave below level — thickens the tone with a bass-register pitch doubling. (Off to Full). Oct Up: One octave above level — adds a high, synthesizer-like upper pitch to the dry signal. (Off to Full)
The Nano POG tracks chords accurately but requires a clean input signal — distortion or fuzz before the Nano POG degrades tracking quality significantly. Place the Nano POG early in the signal chain (immediately after the guitar or tuner) and apply distortion after the POG for the cleanest octave tracking. The Dry control is not a bypass — set it to zero and the Nano POG passes silence even if Sub Oct and Oct Up are at maximum. Always leave Dry above 0 unless using the Nano POG exclusively for bass simulation where the octave-below-only setting works without the dry guitar signal.
Jack White settings: Dry 5/10, Sub Oct 9/10, Oct Up 0/10. White uses the POG for bass-register power in live settings — Sub Oct at maximum, Dry reduced to balance the bass and guitar registers. The two-handed technique (left hand plays bass on the lower frets, right hand plays lead on higher frets) combined with the POG's Sub Oct creates the impression of a bass player even without one.
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