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Guitar Effects Explained - Phaser
A phaser uses a filter to sweep the frequency range of the audio input and mixes that with the original audio signal. When the signals are mixed the portions that are out of phase (or out of alignment with each other) cancel out and produce a swirling, shoowsy sound. This effect was very popular in the 1970’s and heard on countless recordings of the era in nearly every musical style.
Typical Use
Phasers can add some nice motion to clean strumming on ballads. A phaser can also be mix with wah when you want to get funky. When used with distortion, you get a nice Robin Trower/Jimi Hendrix/Pink Floyd mood going. Phasers are also great for single note soloing in a rock setting.
Suggested Units
Here are some Phaser pedals that have received good reviews and/or high ratings by players.
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MXR CSP-101CL Custom Shop Script Phase 90
Often imitated but never duplicated, the elusive vintage MXR Phase 90 guitar pedal is at the top of the list for pedal collectors world-wide. The original version available from the company's inception to the late 70's practically defined the classic phase shifter sound, and was heard on everything from hard rock, jazz-fusion, to funk hits. This MXR Custom Shop Script Phase 90 brings back the headroom and clarity of the original, along with its ultra warm and smooth phasing and reduced midrange swell. And the pedal comes dressed in the original smooth orange paint job and script logo, with an LED, direct from the MXR Custom Shop.
Available At Guitar Center
MXR CSP-101CL Custom Shop Script Phase 90 with LED Phaser Pedal Standard
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Electro-Harmonix Nano Small Stone Phase Shifter
The Electro-Harmonix Nano Small Stone Phase Shifter is everything you love about the original Small Stone in a smaller, die-cast package! It's an effects pedal that delivers full-bodied, three dimensional phasing to add a special swirl to every musical style. Blues boys and babes dig its rapidly rotating speaker effect while Country players use it to add seasoning to their chicken' pickin'. Metal-heads and Industrialists dig the Stone's jet plane woosh. No matter what your musical pleasure, the Nano Small Stone Phase Shifter is guaranteed to increase it!The rate control adjusts the speed of the phasing sweep (clockwise rotation for a faster rate). Snapping the color switch up carves into the frequency spectrum, hollowing out the sound. Fundamentals and harmonics glide in and out for an extremely pronounced shifting effect. Return the color switch to the down position and the fullness returns. In the non-color position, with the sweep speed at minimum, the effect is not as strong and if the slowest sweep is desired the color switch should be in the up position.
Available At Guitar Center
Electro-Harmonix Nano Small Stone Phase Shifter Guitar Effects Pedal Standard
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Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter Pedal
The Pigtronix EP-1 is an expressive, flexible, dynamic effect with a warm analog personality, versatile tone palette and a stage friendly interface. Features an incredibly fat and vocal, touch sensitive envelope phaser as well as a deep and chewy, univibe style rotary phaser with enough controls to dial in your own special sauce.EP-1's "EF trigger" input allows an instrument's sound to be phase modulated by an external audio source such as a drum machine or laptop beat. This side chain input can even be used as an FX loop for maintaining accurate envelope response when using other effects in line before the EP-1. The Envelope Phaser also features footswitchable phase inversion, expression pedal speed control for mind bending rotary speaker effects and can even be used as a clean analog fat booster. Destined to be the favored modulation effect for many guitarists and bass players looking for that elusive "liquid tone."
Available At Guitar Center
links
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Audio Examples
- Phaser with clean tone
- Phaser with distortion tone
Effect Types
- Chorus
- Distortion
- Flanger
- Phaser
- Rotary Speaker Simulator
- Tremolo
- Wah