new band, which phaser?

[XXL]

I auditioned for a band and got the gig. The style of music is different than what Ive been doing for the last few years (hardcore/metal) but I enjoy playing it and Im into trying new things(guitarist plays in D standard).. and the guys are good too. So the pedals Im using for sure so far are the M-80 and the XXL. I decided to make a small simple pedal board similar to the PTs for this gig, so maybe 3 or 4 pedals.

I got my dirt covered and would like to add a versital phaser, putting dirt through a phase is a choice combo for me.
I tried the EP-1 last practice and it wasnt cutting through as much as I would like, plus its big with a dedicated power source. So I'm looking for a small versital phaser that cuts through a loud drummer and guitars in low tunings.

Ive tried many MXR phasers and not my thing, I had a nano small stone that I sold to fund my EP-1 and I liked it but looking for something different.. under 150 used is my max budget.
When I searched for phaser sound clips, the HBE one I couldnt get any soundclips to play,but am interested in it from what Ive read from TB users, the Maxon rotary is definatly up my alley.Liked the clips I heard but worried about cutting through on all phasing stages. The subdecay one is on my radar as well.


Any tips,suggestions,experiences welcomed.

[Jared Lash]

Well, you've got three pretty good phasers listed - all three of them are solid.

The Quasar has a greater ability to be tailored to bass frequencies than the other two based on its controls. But IMHO it only sounded "okay" by itself or with dirt.

The Psilocybe is the least tweakable but sounds pretty good by itself and even better with dirt. It is also the most compact of the three.

I like the tone of the Maxon the best, plus it has a switch for 4/6/10 stages. It sounds very good with dirt too, and can get somewhat synthy sounding when on stage 10 mode. The downsides are (1) if the feedback knob is set past 9 or 3 o'clock it will go into loud self-oscillation and (2) it has a fixed 50/50 wet/dry mix. What that means is that the phaser can be pretty subtle sounding (especially on 4 stage mode) but on the plus side, it does mean that it will cut through well, mitigating somewhat the bottom of a normal phaser's sweep where it disappears from the mix. It isn't huge, but it's bigger than the Psilocybe and is the most expensive one new.

[bongomania]

I happened to love the tone of the Quasar. BigO is the phaser king, so I'm not knocking his suggestions--just saying to me it sounded way better than okay.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by bongomania

I happened to love the tone of the Quasar. BigO is the phaser king, so I'm not knocking his suggestions--just saying to me it sounded way better than okay.

Yeah, it reads like damning with faint praise, but that was me choosing my words poorly. I should have said it sounds "pretty good" by itself or with dirt.

The Quasar would make my top ten phasers and is better than the majority that I've tried. But the OP happened to list two of the 7 or 8 phasers that I like better. And to be fair, of the three, the Quasar was the one I had for the shortest amount of time, sending it back to Tone Factor within the week return period.

And even saying that, obviously we all have different tastes. I've played a bunch of phasers but my advice can only based on my own preferences and shouldn't be treated as gospel.

And my preference tends to run towards six stage phasers with "sparkle" and "wash" in the top end and a less prominent pulse.

EDIT: I remembered that nad has some Psilocybe clips. I don't know that any of them are the phaser by itself, but at least it's something.

[XXL]

Thanks Big O for the links and advice..HBE or Maxon?
hmm the Maxon has a few issues...the feedback knob seems managable but the 50/50 mix im not to sure about. Does the HBE have any issues?

[Jared Lash]

Yeah, I have a love/hate relationship with the Maxon. It sounds fantastic, but the fixed wet/dry mix is annoying. Honestly, if there was a knob (or even a trimpot for it) I would have already stopped looking for a phaser.

As for the HBE, it doesn't really have any issues to speak of. As I said, I didn't find it all that tweakable (one of the modes was pretty useless for me) and it has a pretty prominent sweep noise but some people might dig that whereas I like a little more subtlety.

Basically I think I'd look at it this way: If I wanted a funkier phaser or one for higher register and/or solo playing, it would go with the Maxon. If I wanted a phaser for rock I'd take the Psilocybe. And if I wanted one that is more versatile/tweakable, I'd take the Quasar.

Hope that helps.

[XXL]

Anyone have some clips are experiences with the Option 5 phaser?