• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

A quick 6-phaser shootout

#62
bkbirge said:
Here's the Maestro PS-1A demo using smeet's dry track. It has 3 settings, slow, medium, and fast. That's it. No other control whatsoever. It does cut some high end during use and it's not true bypass either. All that said, it's pure bubbly goodness that to me almost sounds alive. Another feature is that going from one speed to another there is a ramp, this was by design as originally these things were supposed to emulate a leslie motor churning up to speed. I play with all 3 settings here.

Here's a pic of one (not mine):
PS1_01.jpg
Click to expand...


thanks for sharing that clip. I've always LOVED the Maestro PS1A and wish that I still had one of the four of them that I've owned in the past.
 
#64
smeet said:
Are you selecting multiple files at once? Try uploading one at a time and then it should work.
Click to expand...

Yep, it worked. Thanks!

Here, I added clips for the T-Rex Tremonti Phaser. 4 stage, 8 stage, mono and stereo. Enjoy!
https://soundcloud.com/kallelindbom/sets/t-rex-tremonti-phaser-bass
[SOUNDCLOUD]https://soundcloud.com/kallelindbom/sets/t-rex-tremonti-phaser-bass[/SOUNDCLOUD]

Thanks for a great thread! I always enjoy the blind tests. And also a great idea on sharing the clean clips for others to easily add other phasers to the test. :bassist:
 
#65
OK, here we go ... mostly similar sounding settings, though with the Empress there are so many options that I tried a few 4-stage ones and one quite different 2-stage sound. This pedal needs it's own demo really with all the modes and settings you can choose. These clips are quite subtle, it can go much wilder than this.

Cigar

Clean sound - thanks smeet!


Zoom MS-60B


EHX Small Stone Nano, color switch down


Earthquaker Devices Grand Orbiter, knobs at noon


Empress Phaser, blend and width at noon, 4 stage, sine wave, no resonance


Empress Phaser, blend and width at noon, 4 stage, sine wave, little resonance


Empress Phaser, blend and width at noon, 4 stage, sine wave, lots of resonance


Empress Phaser, blend max, width nine, 2 stage, triangle wave, little resonance


Harmonics

Clean Sound


Zoom MS-60B


EHX Small Stone Nano, color switch down


Earthquaker Devices Grand Orbiter, knobs at noon


Empress Phaser, blend and width at noon, 4 stage, sine wave, no resonance


Empress Phaser, blend and width at noon, 4 stage, sine wave, little resonance


Empress Phaser, blend and width at noon, 4 stage, sine wave, lots of resonance


Empress Phaser, blend max, width nine, 2 stage, triangle wave, little resonance
 
Last edited by a moderator:
#66
This has been interesting, but no offense, I am already sick of that bassline! :D
 
#67
Wow, the Empress sounds really good. That said, the EQD and T-Rex aren't slouches either. Now I definitely need to get a phaser!

Does anyone out there have a Mooer Ninety Orange that they could run this clip through for comparison? I doubt it will sound the best, but I have such limited pedalboard space...
 
#69
I wonder why nobody has expressed surprise at the fact that of the original 6 phasers, pretty much everybody preferred the (all-digital) Orbital, and nobody expected that. That must have changed somebody's mind about something, right?

I know I was pretty impressed. I'm going to have to dive into programming that thing and see what else I can come up with.
 
#71
Matt Dean said:
Would you share the settings you used for the Psilocybe recording, because like XXL, I can dial in that orbital tone with the Psilocybe.
Click to expand...
Regen: noon
Speed: 2:00
Shift 1: right
Shift 2: left

Please share the Psilocybe settings that get the Orbital tone, because although it could get closer, the Psilocybe still always seems to have a more pronounced sweep, as well as a larger sweep range (which afaik can't be changed).

Also, the fatter bass-boosted sound simply cannot be gotten from the Psilocybe without using an external eq.
 
#72
The settings I use with the Psilocybe generally go like this..

Regen 10
Speed 11
Shift 1 & 2 - Right

I figured the shifts were not all to the right on the Psilocybe, when it was revealed that the SA Orbital was # 1.
Great sound from the Orbital.. interested in trying one out for myself since Phaser is my all time favorite modulation.
Even though the Psilocybe doesnt have a ton of options it just has THAT sound for me.
 
#73
smeet said:
I wonder why nobody has expressed surprise at the fact that of the original 6 phasers, pretty much everybody preferred the (all-digital) Orbital, and nobody expected that. That must have changed somebody's mind about something, right?

I know I was pretty impressed. I'm going to have to dive into programming that thing and see what else I can come up with.
Click to expand...

Have you ever tried an Eventide ModFactor? How does it compare?
 
#75
smeet said:
I wonder why nobody has expressed surprise at the fact that of the original 6 phasers, pretty much everybody preferred the (all-digital) Orbital, and nobody expected that. That must have changed somebody's mind about something, right?

I know I was pretty impressed. I'm going to have to dive into programming that thing and see what else I can come up with.
Click to expand...

Well, this may have indeed changed my opinion dramatically about the long term value of investing money to create products for your market.

I want to sleep on it before I respond further.
 
#77
Another thing is the voicing; a fatter/warmer character may sound good soloed but may be a problem in the mix as the effect disappears a bit or muddies the overall sound. Nothing that can't be fixed with an EQ though I prefer if each pedal doesn't need an additional effect to work well.

This is why I came to replace the Grand Orbiter; sounds great on its own, but not quite so good in a mix.
 
#78
rsmith601 said:
Well, this may have indeed changed my opinion dramatically about the long term value of investing money to create products for your market.

I want to sleep on it before I respond further.
Click to expand...

This honestly doesn't make sense to me...yours "won" but this sounds like you feel defeated in some way. I am anxiously waiting for you to elaborate.
 
#79
Laurent said:
I would add that digital sounds great in recording settings but it does not always sound as good when playing live. Analog tends to have an edge there.
Click to expand...

That seems completely backwards to me. If anything the "subtle goodness" of analog gets lost live. I haven't recorded all that much with my digital gear as the handful of songs we've recorded over the years were done before I started using a lot of digital gear, but I've done enough gigs with both analog and digital devices to realize there isn't much distinction. I can hear the differences because I'm super familiar with my own gear, but I doubt my band members can really notice live, let alone the audience members.

In fact, sometimes I've found the digital gear handier live because at least my gear has a bit more tweakability than analog equivalents for weird rooms. Not to mention with savable presets I'm a lot less likely to lose my favorite setting.
 
#80
rsmith601 said:
Well, this may have indeed changed my opinion dramatically about the long term value of investing money to create products for your market.

I want to sleep on it before I respond further.
Click to expand...

FWIW, I demo'd and bought an Orbital Modulator because of the reception it's received here on TB. I couldn't be happier with it and because of it I am now considering adding an SB2 OFD and SB2 Dimension Reverb to my pedal board. Given my past experiences that's saying a lot.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back