I've been singing the praises of the Stereo Polyphase for ages now, and I've promised demo clips forever as well. Here is the first round. I think they sound pretty decent if you can ignore my ham-fisted playing!
The Stereo Polyphase has a number of features that make it one of the most flexible phasers around. Adjustable start and stop points of the phase sweep allow you to get the most out of your bass sound, either by preserving the bottom end unphased, or by focusing the phase sweep on the lower frequencies for more dramatic effect. The possibilities are literally endless, since not only a traditional LFO-controlled rolling phase sweep is possible, but also envelope-following and expression-controlled phase effects. There is also a square wave mode which is the icing on the cake.
The following clips were played on my Warwick Fortress Flashback (strung with TI jazz flats) into a Tascam US-144 and recorded with garage band. I used both channels so these should be in stereo - tell me if you notice.
because I tweaked the pickup balance between clips, I start each clip with a demo of the clean sound. This is followed by the phased version and in some case a third, "dirty" version using the bass big muff.
This
first clip finds the stereo polyphase in "traditional" LFO mode. Apologies to Mr Anthony Jackson. Feedback is set a2 2 o'clock and the start/stop points (in this case, the range of the sweep) are 7 and 1 o'clock.
Here's a quick
bump'n'thump riff to show off the envelope mode. feedback, sweep start at 8 and stop at 2 (so this one sweeps up).
Now a
downward envelope-following sweep (from 2 down to 9 o'clock), with the feedback cranked up to 5.
I love dirt and phase so
here's a clip with a Bass Big Muff before the Polyphase. Muff set at 12/12/11, Polyphase feedback at 12, sweep from 8 up to 2 like the last clip.
Square wave mode offers a dramatic alternative to traditional LFO-controlled phasing, and if you crank up the feedback it sounds drippy as heck.
Who needs sample & hold? feedback at 5, sweep 7/5, rate around 11. I used the BBM in blended "dry" mode for the dirty version.
This
truly forgettable riff is old school phasing taken to the extreme. Feedback up to 5, sweep 7/5, and rate at 4 o'clock
Finally, the part I know you've all been waiting for, where I use an expression pedal to do
phase-wah. (Keep in mind that the expression pedal also controls the range of the sweep when you are in envelope of LFO mode - some clips of that tomorrow, OK?) Feedback is cranked to 5 and the sweep is set to maximum range on the box. In the dirty version, the BBM is set at 12/12/2.
edit: here are some longer clips using my SB-2 for more of a P-bass sound. DR black beauties, and except for the slap clips, the neck pickup is soloed. Some are sloppy and on a couple the signal was too hot, but I think they still give a good idea of the phase sound and I'd rather make more clips than re-record them, so there!
This clip shows 2 slightly different "traditional" phase effects (LFO mode, triangle wave). It's real sloppy. I cringed. Dry tone, followed by phase sweep range 7 to 1 o'clock, rate 2 o'clock and feedback 2, then dry tone again, and finally LFO mode with a 9 to 1 sweep, feedback 3, rate 12. The very last part uses a Hjärt-Müller Bassdrive at a very conservative (!) setting for dirt.
Next up is a clip demoing
various feedback settings. LFO mode, rate 12 with full sweep. Dry tone is followed by phased tone with feedback at zero, 9, 11, 1, 3 and finally 5 o'clock.
Here's another longish clip that shows some of the different phase tones you can get by
adjusting the range of the sweep. Feedback and rate are at 12. First comes the dry tone, then short clips of sweep range from 7 to 5 o'clock, 8 to 5, 9 to 3, 10 to 5, 12 to 5, 11 to 3, 9 to 12, 8 to 1 , 9 to 11 and finally 7 to 11 o'clock.
And lastly,
envelope mode, with slow response this time, showing off a variety of range settings. Keep in mind that some of these sweep up, and others down. Dry tone is followed by sweep ranging from 7 to 5 o'clock (full upward sweep), 5 to 7 (full range sweeping down), 9 to 3 o'clock (up), 3 to 9 (down), 8-1, 1-8, 9-12 and 12-9. (feedback and rate are both at 12 for all but the dry part)
That's all for now. I also fixed a couple messed up links. If there's anything else you'd like to hear, let me know.
