• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

which phaser? ehx mxr or ebs?

I have the MXR Phase 100 and love it. It's soooo smooth and tweakable. It's a pedal I will not sell and has a permenant home on my board. Sounds really killer with a good fuzz too. There's not a lot of videos on youtube of it, especially on bass. I bought it on instinct, and have not been disappointed. This pedal is solid, easy to dial in and built tank tough! Someday I hope to throw a video up, but I've been barely able to get some play time in with my schedule lately. Keep an eye out, I have some free time coming up, so I might get to it then.
 
I assume you are talking about the phase 90 by MXR. The ehx and mxr both get a lot of use from what I can see but if your wanting to get a really good phaser for bass you may want to research other options as well. There is the Subdecay Baby Quasar which kind of fits in this price range(and gets a lot of love around here) all the way to the Keely and Pigtronix units which are exorbitantly priced but do alot of different things(envelope phasing) that are really cool. There is a thread where someone has an EP-2 selling for $150 bucks in the classifieds. If I were you I would pick that up quick(I have an EP-2 and I like it!!!!). Alot of clips for phasers on youtube and the wiki here on TB check'em out. Good luck(try running a fuzz or distortion into whatever phaser you get=awesome)
 
Actually, I'd vote for a vintage Boss PH-1r. Can find used for around $60-$70US. Works great with bass.

FYI, there are two schools of thought about placement. One school (including Keeley) recos putting it upfront in the chain after the tuner or Wah. The POV being that a phaser is more like Wah pedals than modulation as they cut or notch a frequency that is swept electronically so put it early in the chain. Another school says that it is a modulation like flange, chorus, etc. and belongs towards the end of your chain before reverb/delay. In addition, you would be running distortion, etc. into it which may be appealing. Personally, I run it upfront. But, experiment with both placements, YMMV.
 
I think the Small Stone sounds really good in that price range. I'm an end-of-the-chain guy with my Mr. Fazeadelic because *some* things sound bad after phasing, but everything sounds good before. Kenstee is right, move it around in your chain to find your best spot. OD into Phase is a great sound to my ears.
 
The Phase 100 is a nice phaser. Very different from the Phase 90. It's labeled as a 10 stage phaser but sounds much closer to other 6 stagers that I've tried.

The MXR is a classic. I find that it can distort with active basses and has too high a frequency center for me personally but many people rightfully love it.

The Small Stone is darker and thicker and my favorite of the two on bass.

The EBS is a cool pedal but definitely digital and you can hear it. That could be a positive or a negative depending on your perspective and the sounds you want.

After trying the Quasar Dlx I can say that if the Baby Quasar had the 4/6/8 stage switch of its big brother and one or two other waveshapes it would be my favorite phasar by far.
 
A Baby Quasar that had a 4/6/8 stage switch one or two wave-shapes, would be very attractive to me too.

Regarding what phaser to get depends a lot how you want to use it. For example, I generally use a phaser after dirt, so I use a HBE Psilocybe, which is very good for that kind of application. I tried other fancier phasers, but went with the home brew cause it sounded so good with overdrive/distortion/fuzz.
 
I bought a cheap behringer phaser just to see if I like the effect at all with bass. I have not recieved it yet. but I am leaning in the bass flanger direction. I think it sounds funky-er. I can use the phaser on my guitar board if I dont like it. But my bass buds are split on the stone or the phase90. So both are good buys and solid players. I like my effects cheap and replaceable.
 
Can't help you with comparisons, but I'm really happy with my EHX Small Stone: not for tweakers, but cheap, simple and absolutely great sounding. Also, the output volume is perfect to stay nicely in the mix.

It is great to layer with some fuzz or ehx microsynth!

I only keep delay after it (so the repeats break up the phasing spectrum, instead of the repeats being "phased" continuously: personal choice), the rest before.
 

Latest posts