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Best phaser for bass

#101
Ok I have never played around with phasers or checked them out but I'm trying out an Orbital Modulator for a little bit and phasers are a revelation. They seem to be able to fatten your tone plus give you a synthy feel at the same time. No idea how this compares to other phasers but I may need to investigate this further.
 
#102
Phasers I have tried:

mxr Phase 90
mxr Phase 90 vintage script reissue
mxr Phase 90 with evh mod
Pigtronix EP-2
4ms Phaseur Moire CV
Boss PH-3
Subdecay Quasar
HBE Psilocybe

The Psilocybe is my favorite. It got the most organic and vintage chewy sound but was also capable of the more subtle chorus-like tones too. Basically, it was a more versatile version of the Phase 90s. Everything else was cool in it's own right but just slightly below the Psilocybe on my list.
 
#103
I'm a phaser nut and have tried many of them, though not all.

My favorite for bass has always been the Maestro PS-1a, here's what it looks like (with the incredibly rare footswitch, not mine)...
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Here's what it sounds like on one of my tracks, pure juice...


It is not a true bypass box and it has almost no tweakability though you can get under the hood for some things. It also rolls off the high end noticeably, yet there is an aliveness to the modulation that nothing else has been able to get.

I had an HBE Psilocybe on my board for awhile because I was tired of taking the Maestro out of the studio and while I think it's a great pedal in it's own right it only got 80% of the way there to the Maestro bubbliness (better than the other modern pedals I've tried).

Another fantastic vintage pedal is the Mutron Phasor I (not the the II !). Pure bubbly goodness with a nice alive factor that rivals the Maestro.
00000274_1.jpg


I sold mine for the Phasor II because I figured it would sound the same but had more control over the sound. Big mistake, they don't sound the same at all. Still, the II is better than almost anything out there now IMO.
 
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#105
:eek:
bkbirge said:
I'm a phaser nut and have tried many of them, though not all.

My favorite for bass has always been the Maestro PS-1a, here's what it looks like (with the incredibly rare footswitch, not mine)...
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Here's what it sounds like on one of my tracks, pure juice...


It is not a true bypass box and it has almost no tweakability though you can get under the hood for some things. It also rolls off the high end noticeably, yet there is an aliveness to the modulation that nothing else has been able to get.

I had an HBE Psilocybe on my board for awhile because I was tired of taking the Maestro out of the studio and while I think it's a great pedal in it's own right it only got 80% of the way there to the Maestro bubbliness (better than the other modern pedals I've tried).

Another fantastic vintage pedal is the Mutron Phasor I (not the the II !). Pure bubbly goodness with a nice alive factor that rivals the Maestro.
00000274_1.jpg


I sold mine for the Phasor II because I figured it would sound the same but had more control over the sound. Big mistake, they don't sound the same at all. Still, the II is better than almost anything out there now IMO.
Click to expand...


That Maestro phaser sounds AMAZING.
 
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#110
I have one at the moment. Still trying to decide if I want to keep it or get a refund and try something else.

As I have no experience with phasers, I can't compare it to anything else. I will say that it has made me *really* interested in getting a phaser.

My impression of the Orbital Modulator is that it messes with your tone too much. It doesn't seem to be as much of a problem with the phaser section, but the chorus/flanger tend to sound really hollow. You can get some crazy effects out of the pedal but I'm not sure how useful a lot of them will be. The phaser section is the best sounding section to me though. I wish I had an easier way to try out pedals than buy them online, try it out, send it back for a refund, start process over. (I might make a trip to guitar center tomorrow, but it's an hour and a half one way.)
 
#114
Toneczar Halophaze if you have the $$$ and patience to get one. Do it.

Earthquaker Devices Grand Orbiter is amazing and far easier to attain.

Homebrew Psilocybe is pretty damn awesome, I must say. And so I did.

MXR Phase 90 works very fine/dandy indeed, and the price is just right.
 
#119
I was almost like "Maybe I should just make things simple and get the MXR Phase 90" but then I read somewhere on TB that someone was clipping theirs with an active bass.

I have a bass with active pickups, and clipping your effects is no good. The main reason I won't be using the Dispatch Master despite how beautiful it sounds. I also read about someone clipping the delay side of the Visual Sound H20 Liquid Chorus & Delay.

Right now i'm still messing around with the Orbital Modulator which I can turn up the bass knob all the way and still not clip that thing. Normally I leave all the tone knobs on my bass at 50/50 but there are times when I want to change them for a certain part of a tune.

If anyone has any recommendations for an analog phaser that isn't going to be clipped by an active bass, I'm open to suggestion.
 
#120
damn TB ... i was just released from the G.A.S. rehab clinic and got sober, but now after seeing this thread i the cold turkey strikes back again ... now i want a phaser really really bad. At the moment i´m testing a boutique phaser from Vahlbruch (Invalid Link Removed) and really liking it ... but more than 200$ ... need something better/cheaper ... Boss PS-3 ok?
 

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