Top Shelf Phasers

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Dudeman7

New member
Phasers have long been a weakness of mine. Over the years I have owned more of them than I care to admit and I still have about 20 of them.

I just received a VFE Enterprise and I currently have on my boards: 4 BYOC Classic Phasers, (each with different mods), Blackout Effectors Sibling, a BYOC Soaring Skillet, Homebrew Electronics Psilocybe, J Rockett Tranquilizer, Retro-Sonic Phaser (4 knob), MXR Phase 95, a modified MXR Phase 90, MojoHand Mister-O and a Whirlwind Orange Box.

Those who use phasers, what do you have and what do you like about them? I'm looking for recommendations for what to track down next.
 
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I’m a sucker for two stage phasers. Clean, I love how they can create movement while being super subtle. With gain, it’s more apparent and very nice touch for solos.

My favorite is the Skreddy Lil Miss Sunshine. No idea what they do differently but it’s quite awesome. Ace made fun of it for being overpriced and I don’t disagree, I just love it.

Next is the DOD Phasor 201. I used to have an original but without LED it was a pain. I currently have a reissue and I think it’s amazing value. I also like the MXR 45s but not as much. The Diamond phase is flexible but too big imho, the Jam ripple is really nice but quite expensive and… the art is too much :)

So if budget is not a concern, lil miss sunshine or jam ripple. If not, the DOD 201 is great value.

I rarely use four stage phasers.

Also, IMHO phasers should go always before gain ;)
 
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Always wanted to build a BYOC Phase Royale. But in the end, my phasing needs are simple. I like 4 stages, Small Stone-type. I am good with that.
 
I love phasers!

I've owned a Boss PH-3 (cool step function, but couldn't gel with the basic 4 stage phasing sound . . . just didn't sound right), MXR phase 90 (decent phaser) but eventually settled on a big box EHX Small Stone. The SS has a really nice, smooth sound for cleans that I haven't heard anything else beat. I ended up modding mine to make it switchable to sound more like a univibe (just need to swap out three capacitors to different values) and really liked that . . . so this year I picked up a Deja Vibe which has currently kicked the SS off my board. The Deja Vibe can cop very similar vibe tones at lower rate/intensity, but also does the univibe stuff really well.
 
I too was a Phaser junky. I had more Big Muffs, Phasers and Analog Delays than I knew what to do with. Have you tried a Whetstone or Quasar? I still have my absolute unit of a phaser, the ProphecySound Infinitphase.

A weird think happened. A had all these phasers including vintage Phase 90s, and a vintage Phase 45 I was tweaking and trying. Then I needed a simple, reliable one with 9V power for my board for my band. I put an EVH on there and it’s now my go-to in script mode. I want to get a Phase 95 to have the 2-stage tone as well, but EVH what I use now.
 
My favorite is the good old MXR Phase 90. I have the custom shop script model. I used to have an EVH and then a Whirlwind Orange Box. Also great phasers. Wouldn't mind having those again just because.
 
PFDarkside said:
I too was a Phaser junky. I had more Big Muffs, Phasers and Analog Delays than I knew what to do with.
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Those are my three weaknesses too.

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I never thought the Boss Phaser sounded right, either. That was the first phaser I had heard, and for years thought I didn't like the sound of a phaser...until I heard other ones.
 
Mincer said:
I never thought the Boss Phaser sounded right, either. That was the first phaser I had heard, and for years thought I didn't like the sound of a phaser...until I heard other ones.
Click to expand...

It's weird because I desperately wanted to love it. I always wanted to try one of the older non-digital boss phasers to see if that was the problem.
 
I really like the Boss PH-2 in standard/mode-1, but it's weak unless you run the depth very high, like near or at max. Other settings to taste.
For metal leads it's probably my favorite out of my four phasers. It's also very good for creepy/wormy cleans in mode-1. Mode-2 is just weirdness.

Boss PH-3 is a good catch-all, but any of it's modes can easily be beaten by anolog models of about any brand, except for the step-mode.(which is just insanely awesome!)

MXR 90 (current CS script) is great at everything really. Maybe not my favorite for any one sound but it's so easy to sound good for any use.

Maxon PT9pro+ For cleans this is gorgeous. It can be very 3-D and transparent, almost like some hi-end studio chorus effect.
For metal leads it gets shrill in it's overtones unless you set it's feedback lower. Setting it higher makes some great hi-flying harmonics though.
 
Blille said:
I’m a sucker for two stage phasers. Clean, I love how they can create movement while being super subtle. With gain, it’s more apparent and very nice touch for solos.

My favorite is the Skreddy Lil Miss Sunshine. No idea what they do differently but it’s quite awesome. Ace made fun of it for being overpriced and I don’t disagree, I just love it.

Next is the DOD Phasor 201. I used to have an original but without LED it was a pain. I currently have a reissue and I think it’s amazing value. I also like the MXR 45s but not as much. The Diamond phase is flexible but too big imho, the Jam ripple is really nice but quite expensive and… the art is too much :)

So if budget is not a concern, lil miss sunshine or jam ripple. If not, the DOD 201 is great value.

I rarely use four stage phasers.

Also, IMHO phasers should go always before gain ;)
Click to expand...

For the most part, I agree that phasers sound better before gain. I usually have a couple before and 1 after for the overly pronounced sweep you get from phaser after fuzz.

I'll have to check out the Skreddy as I've only heard good things about those. I have a DOD Phasor 201 in my stash.

Thanks!
 
GuitarStv said:
I love phasers!

I've owned a Boss PH-3 (cool step function, but couldn't gel with the basic 4 stage phasing sound . . . just didn't sound right), MXR phase 90 (decent phaser) but eventually settled on a big box EHX Small Stone. The SS has a really nice, smooth sound for cleans that I haven't heard anything else beat. I ended up modding mine to make it switchable to sound more like a univibe (just need to swap out three capacitors to different values) and really liked that . . . so this year I picked up a Deja Vibe which has currently kicked the SS off my board. The Deja Vibe can cop very similar vibe tones at lower rate/intensity, but also does the univibe stuff really well.
Click to expand...

Wasn't terribly impressed with the Boss PH-3 either. The concept was cool but they missed the mark tone wise.

I liked the Small Stone too. I had a Black Russian that sounded awesome but the size and questionable build quality led me to sell it. The newer, small ones interest me but I have read that they don't quite have the magic of their big brothers.

Vibe tones are a whole new level of phaser exploration too! I had been using a Voodoo Lab Micro Vibe for many years, then I found that the J Rockett Tranquilizer does a great 'vibe and it hardly takes up any pedal board space. Really, I think the Tranquilizer IS a Vibe. I haven't been able to get symmetrical, classic phase tones out of it but late in the chain, after dirt: total Hendrix and Tower territory!

The VFE Enterprise does a good Vibe too, but it isn't quite as natural sounding to me.
 
PFDarkside said:
I too was a Phaser junky. I had more Big Muffs, Phasers and Analog Delays than I knew what to do with. Have you tried a Whetstone or Quasar? I still have my absolute unit of a phaser, the ProphecySound Infinitphase.

A weird think happened. A had all these phasers including vintage Phase 90s, and a vintage Phase 45 I was tweaking and trying. Then I needed a simple, reliable one with 9V power for my board for my band. I put an EVH on there and it’s now my go-to in script mode. I want to get a Phase 95 to have the 2-stage tone as well, but EVH what I use now.
Click to expand...

Big Muffs, phasers and analog delays are tops for me too. I have more of those things than any normal human should!

I haven't had the Whetstone but I have a Blackout Effectors Sibling on my bass board. It doesn't have nearly the settings as the WS but it does cool things that none of the others in my collection can do. The rate control goes fast enough that you can make that thing sound like a ring modulator.

I'll definitely check out the others. Thanks!
 
ErikH said:
My favorite is the good old MXR Phase 90. I have the custom shop script model. I used to have an EVH and then a Whirlwind Orange Box. Also great phasers. Wouldn't mind having those again just because.
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I keep coming back to the Phase 90 too. The BYOC Classic Phasers that I built are the original version of the MXR. They use matched transistors and 6 single op-amps. Those kits are fun to build and you can dial them right in to suit your tastes.

That circuit is a classic and for good reason. I haven't had any CS MXR phasers but I did have a Whirlwind Orange Box until yesterday when I sold it. Honestly, I think the BYOC sounds better. It was hard to justify keeping it around when I have so many other, great Phase 90 variants.
 
For decades I used my ancient but dependable old Maestro Phaser.... Had a couple mods done to it to adjust the center frequency so I could use it for bass or guitar.
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When it finally croaked I bought an MXR Phase 90 that served me well.
If you want to talk pedals, I had a BOSS flanger and an Ibanez Bi-Chorus (2 in one pedal) that I loved and only recently sold.
 
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