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That is the EXACT reason we did the Lunar phaser. All the sounds of the Orbital in a super simple intuitive smaller package. Even l don't like using the Orbital interface!
OK, time to be slapped in the phace by the truth. Let's get the main facts out of the way first:
Phaser #1: Source Audio Orbital Modulator
Phaser #2: VFE Enterprise
Phaser #3: MXR Phase 90 (modern block logo)
Phaser #4: HBE Psilocybe
Phaser #5: Mojo Hand Nebula IV
Phaser #6: BYOC Phase Royal
Strange as it seems, this was the ONLY guess made by anybody that was actually correct.
The big surprise is of course that the Orbital (the only digital phaser in the lineup) is the warmest and fattest sounding of the bunch. Times are a-changing. Maybe that's an eq thing, but nevertheless, that is the overwhelming impression that everybody (including myself) got.
My mini-reviews:
Orbital
The dark horse... The 4-stage phase sound is dark and chewy in a very subtle way. It SOUNDS phased, and there is internal movement, but you can't really hear the "swoosh" clearly like you can with the other phasers. It's just a moving texture, without the obvious sinewave sound. I kind of like that. I haven't played with the parameters much, this is really the first phase sound I hit on and stuck with it.
It also adds a good amount of fatness to the eq, at least with the current set of parameters. As mentioned above, maybe that's just post-phase eq, but hey, it can do it, and none of the others can, so it counts.
In addition to all this, it has two presets, and can also do 6/8/12 stage phasing, in addition to flanging, chorus, vibe and resonator sounds. I haven't even scratched the surface here, but so far the only thing that grabs me is the 4-stage phaser. So maybe the versatility isn't practical. Well, at the very least it has that one great sound. The editing is a bit "digital", not as intuitive as twiddling knobs. But it's not too bad.
VFE
This one is packed to the gills with features. It can do 4-stage, 2-stage, and inverse 3-stage phasing. The sweep can be a focused-sounding phase, or a more diffuse vibe sound. It has both positive and negative feedback. It has a mix control. You can control the center frequency of the sweep. Internal trim pots can set the level, the brightness of the LED, and the range of the depth control. Wow.
The negatives are that the sweep isn't as smooth as I'd like, and it's a bit cold sounding to my ear, almost as if the band of the frequency being swept is very narrow (I have no idea if that's what's actually happening). Or perhaps it's that the sweep goes too high frequency, or that the shape of the sweep spends extra time at the top, which makes it sound thinner. It has a very wide sweep range, so when it goes low, it gives a strong throbbing sound which is not very smooth sounding. But when you turn the center frequency higher to get rid of the throb, it gets too thin sounding because the sweep goes too high.
I really wanted to like this one more as it can do so much. It sounds very good, but in the end it feels a bit clinical and doesn't inspire me to turn off the lights and improvise to the light of my blacklight posters.
Phase 90
One of the classics. It has a LOT of coloration. The phasing sound is quite extreme, with a very pronounced swooshing sound. There is also a boost in the midrange and a harshness to the overall sound. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I wouldn't call this a warm and lush phaser. It does have THAT sound, but maybe it has a bit TOO much personality, and it can't be toned down except by slowing the sweep.
Psilocybe
This one is cool. Not very versatile, it basically has two usable sounds on bass, a strong and a weaker phase (from the Shift1 switch). The regen control is nice but doesn't have a huge range of tones. The speed control is a bit sensitive in the critical 2:00 o-clock range, but in practice very few people try to tempo-sync phasing, so that's OK.
The timbre and shape of the phasing sweep is great. It's chewy and very "phased" sounding. The range of the phase is perfect, it spends a lot of time in the low mids giving a round and thick sound. More than any of the others, this one really DOES make me want to freak out with blacklight posters and acid-soaked headbands. It lives up to its name.
Nebula
This is a very high-quality version of the Phase 90, I believe based on the gentler phasing of the 1974 script logo model. It doesn't have the midrange peak of the (my) MXR, and the sweep isn't so harsh and obvious. When I play solo, it's a very rich and dreamy sound. It also has a level control, which is really nice. My problem with it is that it basically gives one sound, which is a rich and gentle phase. Even with the depth control maxed, it's not a very pronounced phasing sound. On the plus side, the sound it gives has a feeling of fidelity and high quality. The level control is nice and very appreciated.
BYOC
I'm going to be blunt. The BYOC (this unit anyway) sounds like crap and has no low end. It also has a high-mid boost that I don't like. I bought this off ebay pre-built by somebody and refurbished by the seller, so maybe it's just this unit. I find it hard to believe they are all like this. Nevertheless, this unit sounds bad.
I contacted the guy that sold/repaired it (rootbeer pedals) and he said looking at the schematic he wasn't surprised that it didn't handle bass well. He suggested 3 capacitors I could try changing to improve the frequency response. I could maybe replace some components in the hope that it would sound better, but... Nah. I'm trying to get my money back.
Here is my preference from best to worst purely in terms of sound quality for the specific classic sound I was aiming for in this test:
- Tie between Orbital and Psilocybe (#1 and #4)
- Nebula
- VFE
- Phase 90
- Every other phaser I've ever heard
- BYOC
My preference from best to worst in terms of features and versatility:
- Tie between Orbital and VFE
- BYOC
- Psilocybe
- Nebula
- Phase 90
In the end, I think I might keep the Orbital AND the Psilocybe, at least for now.
