So, I have this friend who has built lots of guitar pedals, but he is a little embarrassed to admit that he has never built a phaser. There are so many phaser circuits out there that I am my friend is feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to decide which one to build first. Any suggestions that I can pass along to my friend? ;)
Edit: Added the word "first" to soften the mental pressure of having to choose only one. ;D
Did you do this just to lock Jimi in some kind of infinite thought loop? How could he possibly choose just one ;)
My vote would be an early EHX Small Stone, sounds the best to my ears. I'm no connoisseur though.
Blackout Effectors Whetstone Phaser - OTA with all the bells and whistles.
Just to emphasize how much I love this circuit... I designed my own board before Aion and Brian announced theirs. Then, I bought Aion's without hesitation and will absolutely do the same with Brian's (which looks like it will release this fall).
My favorite phase shifter to build and use is the Mutron II. It has a wateriness to it that I don't hear anywhere else.
Jimi must still be stuck in the thought loop...
I also love the Mutron II have yet to try the Whetstone.
The mbp glasshole is great. I love mine. It is a mutron ii - based phasor.
I'll put my vote in for the VFE Tractor Beam. Phase 90++
Dang guys, I stepped out for dinner, gosh. Ross phaser is the way to go. It after I built one, it never left my board. Tone pad has the etchables or the PCB. Small bear sells the PCBs also. Then, build yourself a good old jfet phaser. Then a Madbean and lextrix-FX ota phaser. Good stuff. Then work your way up to the 12 stage lectric-fx phaser. Then branch out to every phaser you can get your hands on. I've built them all I reckon. Buildyourownclone.com has got a mini one and a classic one. Built those too. I probably have as many phasers as I do guitars.
Edit- then start on strip board stuff.
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Phase 90 is a staple. I'd go with that first.
If you don't want to match FETs, go with an OTA like the Maestro (I don't think Bean carries this anymore? It had the 5/6 stage switch...) or a LED/LDR like the Glasshole.
I prefer OTA based phasers best. Followed by optical (mutron) which can be a little vibey at times and then jfet last. I find that the small stone has a great range of speed and is very smooth and clear sounding. No matching of jfets or messing with led/ldr combos. I would probably build a bad stone as it gives a very smooth phase, adds the feedback knob, gives a vibrato option and fixed sound.
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Glasshole kills and is by far my fave. The ADA from Lectric is right there with it.
Gotta agree with the others though, a Ross/MXR or a Small Stone is hard to beat and a good intro to where phasers went mainstream in the 70's.
I haven't built a ton of them, but the only one I ever reach for is my Stage Fright build.
Quote from: midwayfair on September 30, 2020, 05:49:20 PM
I haven't built a ton of them, but the only one I ever reach for is my Stage Fright build.
Ohhhhh, he meant to use, not just build......yeah, I can agree with this.
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While I'm personally a fan of the Mutron sound (I've build a few Mutron II variations, and am currently using a Bi Phase on my board), I agree that they get a little vibey. But if that's the sound you're going for, an you're cool with matching parts, it's sound is like liquid.
lovetone doppelganger, its really neat
I think by law you have to pick a phase 90 or small stone for your first phaser.
Quote from: jimilee on September 30, 2020, 06:18:41 PM
Quote from: midwayfair on September 30, 2020, 05:49:20 PM
I haven't built a ton of them, but the only one I ever reach for is my Stage Fright build.
Ohhhhh, he meant to use, not just build......yeah, I can agree with this.
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Dang, maybe this one should have stayed on the roster.
Quote from: madbean on October 02, 2020, 01:31:59 AM
Quote from: jimilee on September 30, 2020, 06:18:41 PM
Quote from: midwayfair on September 30, 2020, 05:49:20 PM
I haven't built a ton of them, but the only one I ever reach for is my Stage Fright build.
Ohhhhh, he meant to use, not just build......yeah, I can agree with this.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Dang, maybe this one should have stayed on the roster.
Do a reissue with the sweep knob I added. :)
Quote from: Scruffie on October 01, 2020, 10:59:25 PM
I think by law you have to pick a phase 90 or small stone for your first phaser.
My first phase was an early v1 small stone with the metal can OTAs ... bought it for $20 off my high school shop teacher in the 90s
my current phase is a phase 90 I repaired as I bought it broken off CL for $10 so this assertion tracks