Which is more useful to you - Phaser or Flanger?

[Ryan Mohr]

For me it's phaser because the music my band plays is softer.

 

[Erick Lam]

I don't like flanger at all but love the phaser. To me, the flanger sounds like an added effect while the phaser blends in and feel more "organic" (whatever that means).

 

[Andy419]

Neither. Those effects just really aren't practical on bass in my opinion. Maybe a phaser if it's a slow, dreamy song, but that's it.

 

[Jared Lash]

Neither. Those effects just really aren't practical on bass in my opinion. Maybe a phaser if it's a slow, dreamy song, but that's it.

So they wouldn't be practical to use on say, "46 & 2" by Tool, "The Holy Hour" by The Cure, "The Warmth" by Incubus, "For the Love of Money" by The O'Jays or "Dancing in the Moonlight" by Thin Lizzy?

 

[stflbn]

Chorus if any.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

Flanger is the effect that I always want to use but never like it when I get into a band setting. Maybe if I used better flangers I would like them, but as for now I'm a phaser guy.

 

[Ryan Mohr]

So they wouldn't be practical to use on say, "46 & 2" by Tool, "The Holy Hour" by The Cure, "Crowded Elevator" by Incubus, "For the Love of Money" by The O'Jays or "Dancing in the Moonlight" by Thin Lizzy?

What does Crowded Elevator have on the bass? I'm a huge Incubus, and Dirk usually doesn't use anything other than a Sansamp rack unit and a Big Muff. I didn't notice any effects on Crowded Elevator.

 

[SpankyPants]

Both.

 

[Jared Lash]

What does Crowded Elevator have on the bass? I'm a huge Incubus, and Dirk usually doesn't use anything other than a Sansamp rack unit and a Big Muff. I didn't notice any effects on Crowded Elevator.

Boss PH-2. He uses it as does the guitarist (Enzinger I believe). His use of phaser isn't as noticeable as some others, because if I understand correctly, he has it only applied to the higher frequencies.

I thought he used it on that song, but I could be mistaken as I'm not a huge Incubus fan. But I know he used it on a few tracks.

 

[René_Julien]

I don't like flanger at all but love the phaser. To me, the flanger sounds like an added effect while the phaser blends in and feel more "organic" (whatever that means).

On bass I prefer phaser too. Flanger never worked for me.

I like flanger on guitar though, and then again not phaser on guitar.

I used phaser as a wild effect on bass once, not sure how I tweaked it but it was great for solo's. (If I were allowed a solo )

But I once saw a bassist who used a little bit of flanger constantly and it enhanced his sound.

Chorus I don't like on bass... personally. (Don't shoot me )
But I don't know much about modulation effects and how to tweak them.

"Rotary speaker" effect I do like a lot. This falls into the category of tremelos, and is modulation, right?

 

[Ryan Mohr]

Boss PH-2. He uses it as does the guitarist (Enzinger I believe). His use of phaser isn't as noticeable as some others, because if I understand correctly, he has it only applied to the higher frequencies.

I thought he used it on that song, but I could be mistaken as I'm not a huge Incubus fan. But I know he used it on a few tracks.

Take a listen - - verse starts around 30 seconds. I used to have a PH-2, but it lost a lot of bottom end and was too thin sounding. I actually bought it because I knew Dirk and Mike used it.

 

[wazzel]

I don't have a phaser yet, but I do switch a bit between my chorus and flanger. Is ther enough of a difference to justify getting phase too? Currently a phaser is on my to get one day list.

 

[SteveC]

Phaser - MXR Phase 90 for me.

 

[Jared Lash]

Take a listen - - verse starts around 30 seconds. I used to have a PH-2, but it lost a lot of bottom end and was too thin sounding. I actually bought it because I knew Dirk and Mike used it.

Ok, phaser on the guitar but not on the bass on that track. Again, I'm not a big Incubus fan, I was just trying to make a point. I went back and changed my original post to a track I'm more certain has phaser on the bass.

 

[CicadaSilence]

I'm waiting for my Eventide Modfactor to show up, then I'll get back to you.

I've never found a use for Phaser; it always feels too static to me. But maybe the Eventide's various modes and parameter flexibility will change my mind.

I love the idea of Flangers, but I've never found one I'm truly happy with. I've tried a lot, but the only one that really came close was the Boss BF-2. Again, the Eventide should provide all the flexibility I'm looking for. (I hope.)

If you put a gun to my head, I'd vote Flanger.

 

[CuticleThorns]

with me my phaser gets more use, i use my flanger for the oscillation mainly so its only on a few seconds at a time.

 

[selfblessed]

I vote Phaser. Thats just me though.

 

[bigchiefbc]

wow, I'm shocked that so few people use flanger on bass. I have both on my board, so to me they're equally useful, just in different contexts. I think a subtle flanger is amazing for soft, ambient sections, and that is what I primarily use it for. I use my phaser for more over-the-top stuff.

 

[Jared Lash]

I like them both on bass, though I only have one on my current board. Of course, with that one, I can approximate the other pretty convincingly, so it's the best of both worlds I guess.

 

[kevteop]

I don't have a flanger at the moment, but I'm going to pick up an Electric Mistress at some point.

My DOD Phasor 490 is just lush every time I turn it on though. It really needs a quiet section to shine, or a little weirdly melodic bridge or something, but when it works it works very well.