Death of a Phaser??

[slyderhodge]

I've had a EHX Small Stone for the past 3 or so years that I purchased new at GC. I got the small stone for the fact that it had that nice 'swoosh' and I couldn't justify spending 200 bucks at the time.

Lately I've noticed that the 'swoosh' and 'richness' just aren't that great anymore, and it seems that the it has developed more an increase in volume. I thought I was crazy until I listened to some old rehearsal tapes from a few years ago, and it sounds like I remember it.

So my question, is it possible to for a pedal to 'wear out' like this. I've pulled it out my signal chain and soloed it straight to the amp and it got a little better but not a lot. Also I've put a battery in it (as opposed to a G Bus) to see if that would make a difference, it did not.

This has gone from one of my fav FX to being on the chopping block.

[bongomania]

It is not common, but it is possible. Any one component may have been substandard; also there might be a cold solder joint which is weakening/separating over time.

[RickenBoogie]

Seems odd to me, I mean they usually work right up to the point that they don't. Might be worth opening it up and doing some exploratory surgery, huh? (oh, and set it to "stun" in the future, it'll last longer)