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phaser pedals
- Thread starter Muskie59
- Start date
Of all phasers I ever touched the one is really is the greatest: Wampler Terraform. That is true. Even guitarists admit the same thing about this pedal. Sure, there are not only phaser in it: a lot of more. The greatest downside of this pedal is that it is have only 8 presets. Anyway, the digital pedal sounds really analogue. You must try it!
I've been looking for a Multi mod for what seems like forever. The Strymon Mobius was great, but lacked a lot of bass friendly features to keep it on my board for more than three year. It's weakness are the blend / mix and the mediocre Chorus.
I think the problem is that guitarists need subtlety, where is bassists need low retain and hellova lot more wetness than most chorus pedal are prepared to allow us. On guitar, bass settings would sound horrible, on bass it's barely passable.
For me, I've settled on the Source Audio Lunar. The stock presets (which are all phasers) are some of the best I've used / tried. The Flangers are excellent too. The Chorus' need a lot of tweaking to get to sound right on bass and be effective. But the sounds are there, they just need to be found. I like the smaller footprint of the One Series pedals, I can get two pedals in the same space as the Mobius...and less power consumption too.
The models of Rotaries aren't so good, however the univbies and excellent too. The Trem is ok, but not great. However, trems, filters and slow ramps aren't really modulation effects...they are trinkets that Strymon added to bulk up the appeal of the Mobius (and they had no where else to stick them at the time).
For me, the trems on my Ultrawave and H9's are more than up to the job, as are the rotaries on my H9. Filters...hey I have a Source Audio C4...best filter on the planet, plus all the octave, synths, sequencers I can dream of.
So, what's my point? The Wampler Terraform looks like and amazing pedal, if I was in the market for a great multi mod pedal that did everything except Chorus well...then I'd get one but for me it's got a few too many short comings, one which is a game killer for me. Firstly, the Chorus options are very limited and only just one option. I dial in bass or bass cut to make it more 2000's...really? No... There's no CE-2 sound, Dual Chorus, Quad Chorus. So for me it's a modulation pedal that misses the core feature...Chorus on bass. It points to the fact that this is another guitar focussed pedal, which really doesn't instil much confidence in me where bass is concerned. Then there's the same issue with the mix, it's a parallel blend again. Great on guitar, naff on bass. If I get my Chorus wet enough but I loose all my bass...I have to mix it, which blends in my clean bass and looses my upper wetness. No, I need a low retain mixer...not a parallel mixer.
Then there's the complete lack of midi. Sure it kind of does Midi in the most lamest of ways. I can call up the very limiting 8 patches (!?!) over midi, switch on the unit and turn it off...that's it. No Midi CC, so no expression over midi. No settings or parameter changes over midi either....that's a real put off for me.
8 Patches...really? It's 2020 not 1820.
So I'd love to give this pedal a go, but it's a no way at the moment. Sticking to my SA Lunar for another season.
For dipping your toes in the pool, I think a Phase 95 would be the way to go... Small, relatively cheap, easily found, can do both two- and four-stage phasing, and can select block vs script (the former has a mid boost that also adds a little grit, sounds great on guitar but not so much on bass. That grit is why I ditched my original Phase 90. Was very happy with my Phase 95, though it now lives on my guitar board.
Watch as many demo vids of phasers on bass as you can, even watching the same phaser (MXR Phase 90, for example) reviewed/demo'd by different people. Each one will have a unique signal chain ie bass, amp/interface, type of strings...
Make notes as you go: this one was too fizzy, this one didn't have enough sweep (but was it because the reviewer didn't adjust the settings during the demo or...?), that one sounds metallic (which I like, others may not)...
Armed with notated knowledge of what you liked about specific models, you can then narrow down your hunt and purchase/flip/trade a few to see what one really works best for you, your rig, your playing style, your ears.
Millahh has suggested an excellent starting point, the MXR Phase 95.
Make notes as you go: this one was too fizzy, this one didn't have enough sweep (but was it because the reviewer didn't adjust the settings during the demo or...?), that one sounds metallic (which I like, others may not)...
Armed with notated knowledge of what you liked about specific models, you can then narrow down your hunt and purchase/flip/trade a few to see what one really works best for you, your rig, your playing style, your ears.
Millahh has suggested an excellent starting point, the MXR Phase 95.
For something basic, I’m a big fan of the various versions of EHX Small Stone phasers.
MXR Phase 90 was good too, but lighter and more subtle/shimmery vs the thick chewiness of the Small Stone.
For more complex phasers, my current favorite is the Subdecay Quasar Dlx, but I’m very intrigued by the Drolo Moon Rabbit. Need to try that one out, once I can get my hands on one.
MXR Phase 90 was good too, but lighter and more subtle/shimmery vs the thick chewiness of the Small Stone.
For more complex phasers, my current favorite is the Subdecay Quasar Dlx, but I’m very intrigued by the Drolo Moon Rabbit. Need to try that one out, once I can get my hands on one.
Phasers can be tricky on bass. What sounds over the top with guitar is barely noticeable with bass. What sound crazy on bass in your bedroom is barely audible in the mix. Plus your bass can loose a lot of punch and note definition. My advise is to put small amount of overdrive before the phaser. The added harmonics make the phasing effect much more pronounced.
