Having only just recently read a rather disturbing lyrical analysis of that song, I will humbly offer you my condolences.
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Favorite Phaser?
- Thread starter skydivingninja
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Having only just recently read a rather disturbing lyrical analysis of that song, I will humbly offer you my condolences.
Thanks, it was along time ago, and the lyric was taken positively, if we could swap our experience we'd gain compassion and forgiveness. I believe that's close to what Kate has said about it. edit: It literally takes "Thunder in our hearts" to get divorced, so that fit too. It also has a Great melody and beat, a real quality break up song!
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The Dreaming was being reviewed by a couple of Radio Disc-Jockies the first time I heard it, and I was blown away by it. The DJs didn't think it was a great effort from KB and gave it only an 8 out of 10. I thought "If that's only an 8, I've gotta hear her other stuff!" I immediately bought the Dreaming the next day (well, within the week)...
Oh wait, wasn't this a phaser thread?
No love for the Flying Pan, people?
I've read that the reissue isn't on par with the original '70s units.
Hard to find/afford an original, but BYOC has cloned it.
Oh wait, wasn't this a phaser thread?
No love for the Flying Pan, people?
I've read that the reissue isn't on par with the original '70s units.
Hard to find/afford an original, but BYOC has cloned it.
Got the Phase95 today, tested with D800, Subway 210, Old Smoothie, DG AO, VT Bass DI, Empress Comp. Plays very well with dirt. For my taste, more extreme setting was best, 45 was too subtle. Script button didn't make any difference I could hear with dirt engaged, forgot to test that clean. Not very chewy but lots of movement and no bass loss I noticed. Good enough for what I need it for, just parts in a couple tunes.
Amongst the many I've tried and owned here's my ranking:
- TC Electronic Helix Phaser. Just punchier and easy to use right out of the box.
- Alexander Pedals Calavera Phaser. Also punchy, wacky and weird.
- Source Audio Lunar Phaser. Needs some tweaking out of the box to make it as tight and loud as the Helix, but amazing nonetheless. Can also act as a chorus and flanger.
- TC Electronic Helix Phaser. Just punchier and easy to use right out of the box.
- Alexander Pedals Calavera Phaser. Also punchy, wacky and weird.
- Source Audio Lunar Phaser. Needs some tweaking out of the box to make it as tight and loud as the Helix, but amazing nonetheless. Can also act as a chorus and flanger.
I'll second the HBE Psilocybe. It's not the new hot thing anymore and it doesn't have the tweaking options of the newer guys offerings but it offers a little more tweak ability than a one knob phaser (two knobs and two switches) and has no low end loss or coloration of tone imo. It also has this lush/wet/syrupy thing going on at higher settings that I don't get from the other phaser I have experience with. I'm more of a set and forget guy so this is what I use at the moment.
@Basshappi SORTOF beat me to it, but I had real world experiences with this phaser as a kid in the 80s and it changed my life forever.
The light shines!
The light shines!
I'm just a basic PH-2 guy. And it has been 17 years since I can remember using it live. But I pretty much stopped using the pedalboard in 2001, and only use a bcb-3 mini 3 boss pedal case now because I needed some effects for a tribute. I could see swapping in the PH-2 for an original thing in the future.
Back in my early 90s guitar rack system days the alesis quadraverb had a decent phaser built in.
Back in my early 90s guitar rack system days the alesis quadraverb had a decent phaser built in.
After a weekend of playing around with it:
Pros:
- Lots of control over the sound, which makes it very versatile.
- Control over the volume. One issue with my phase 90 is that sometimes it got a little too loud for just playing around.
- No low-end loss
- Being able to have a filter and vibrato built in is very nice to play around with.
Cons:
- I find the 1st rate setting to be way too slow for my tastes for bass. It's glacial. The 3rd rate setting is faster, similar to a Phase 90, which I'm more comfortable with.
- The second rate setting turns it into a filter pedal that by itself is super subtle even with the resonance and depth maxed out. Combined with dirt though, and it sounds super cool and synthy.
- Very expensive. I know EQD puts a lot of work into their pedals but there's no way I would've bought this new. $200 is a lot to ask for a phaser, IMO, though it is very good.
Overall, big fan! Unless you've got money burning a hole in your pocket I'd recommend looking for a good used one.
Shameless self promotion comin... my TC Helix is for sale in the classifieds. Some kind soul should but it from me. 
I’m on the fence about buying a Bass-O-Matic. Your description and others sound like what I want, a phaser-like filter that doesn’t sound like funky duck quacks but has more of a Geezer/stoner rock vibe. Is this how you find it to sound? Any more info or pontification on the Bass-O-Matic is much appreciated. Info online about it is scarce.
Before - EBS Dphaser, after (and still have it) Strymon Mobius. And now - Subdecay Quasar Deluxe.
Hello,
In the chase of Eberhard Weber's sound, I ordered an MXR Phase 100, as suggested by someone else in one EW-related thread. It sounds great and by reducing the highs after the phaser, you can get a very close approximation of the EW sound from the 70s. The thing is EW sound to my opinion has changed in the 80s - became punchier, less hollow, and the phaser is much more subtle, while the (stereo) chorus is more prominent, and I like that sound more. Unfortunately Phase 100 doesn't have an option to reduce the effect strength beyond the waveform switch, and because I still have the option to return it, I am wondering to try with another MXR phaser, which is more subtle and mix it with a strong stereo chorus. Which one should I try - 90, 45, 95? I have also the TC Helix as part of Plethora X5, but it gives even more hollow sound than the Phase 100. Wondering also about keeping the Phase 100 and trying to attenuate it somehow, so less amount of it is kept in the chain, but I am not sure exactly how to do it, while using Phase 100 as a send effect together with Plethora X5 - tried with two Y-cables - one line to keep only the clean path, and the other line has the Phase 100 and a graphic EQ after it, where the graphic EQ has also a main volume slider, but only one of the lines works that way - either the clean signal, or the line with the phase and the EQ, but not both. I guess this is because Plethora X5's send output is mono, while the Y-cable I use there has a stereo jack and maybe not both lines of the Y-cable get the signal, so the first step might be to get a male to to females Y-cable with a mono jack on the single side, but even then not sure whether a small two-channel mixer might might be needed too?
In the chase of Eberhard Weber's sound, I ordered an MXR Phase 100, as suggested by someone else in one EW-related thread. It sounds great and by reducing the highs after the phaser, you can get a very close approximation of the EW sound from the 70s. The thing is EW sound to my opinion has changed in the 80s - became punchier, less hollow, and the phaser is much more subtle, while the (stereo) chorus is more prominent, and I like that sound more. Unfortunately Phase 100 doesn't have an option to reduce the effect strength beyond the waveform switch, and because I still have the option to return it, I am wondering to try with another MXR phaser, which is more subtle and mix it with a strong stereo chorus. Which one should I try - 90, 45, 95? I have also the TC Helix as part of Plethora X5, but it gives even more hollow sound than the Phase 100. Wondering also about keeping the Phase 100 and trying to attenuate it somehow, so less amount of it is kept in the chain, but I am not sure exactly how to do it, while using Phase 100 as a send effect together with Plethora X5 - tried with two Y-cables - one line to keep only the clean path, and the other line has the Phase 100 and a graphic EQ after it, where the graphic EQ has also a main volume slider, but only one of the lines works that way - either the clean signal, or the line with the phase and the EQ, but not both. I guess this is because Plethora X5's send output is mono, while the Y-cable I use there has a stereo jack and maybe not both lines of the Y-cable get the signal, so the first step might be to get a male to to females Y-cable with a mono jack on the single side, but even then not sure whether a small two-channel mixer might might be needed too?
Original big box EHX Small Stone, without any competition.
Which the dirt cheap Behringer VP1 Vintage Phaser though does a genuinely great job at replicating, better than the EHX's own current Nano version.
Which the dirt cheap Behringer VP1 Vintage Phaser though does a genuinely great job at replicating, better than the EHX's own current Nano version.
