Phaser Pedals Capsule Collection Reaches 15 Key Units in 2021 - Year of the Phaser!

Controls - Rate, Resonance (Feedback), Depth.

Boss's second analog phaser which adds a Resonance / Feedback Control to the original PH-1 for even more flavour. Notably the follow-up PH-2 introduced a further 10-Stage Mode via 2-way rotary switch. I will for sure need to get that one too one of these days - while the PH-1R is still a bona fide classic, and an improvement over the original 1977 Boss Phaser!

Controls - Feed (Ramp), Volume, Mix, Rate, Depth, Form, Stage / Tap Divisions : 2 / 4 / 6 Stages, 1 / 2 / 4 or 3 / 6 / 8 Divisions, Left Shape : Sine / Triangle / Square, Right Shape : Square / Triangle / Sine, Presets : 1 / Manual / 2, Bypass Footswitch, Tap Footswitch.[+16 Dip-switches]

I obviously just recently covered this in my Chase Bliss Audio Full Range Overview - the Wombtone is my longest serving phaser - I actually acquired it after the Phase 95, while the Wombtone immediately became my favourite and has overall 'owned' the Phaser slot for the longest time. I largely use the Phaser for that EVH thing, also partly for Prince - Let's Go Crazy etc - which the Wombtone does brilliantly - I always found its use effortless and it was super easy to dial in superior tones - still a great phaser, and sad to see it discontinued!

Controls - Mix, Feedback, Mode : 45 / 90 / ST / LT, Depth, Speed, Bypass Footswitch, Tap Tempo Footswitch.

Another long-term favourite on the board - 5 elegant controls here give you 4 classic phaser circuits - Phase 45 and 90 - 2 and 4-Stage MXR classic types, 4-Stage EHX Bad Stone, and the Dual 4-Stage Lovetone Doppelgänger. All easy to dial in with those 4 other controls, and with quite a range of different phase flavours - very much a greatest hits of Phase! This was in the pedal-chain for the longest time after the Wombtone - after which there have been a number of iterations, and where the Zelzah has not take up residence!

Controls - Voice : Phaser / Vibe, Shape : Ramp / Triangle / Sine / Square, Ramp : Momentary / Latch / Drift, Level, Feedback : High / Medium / None, Speed, On/Hold Footswitch, Tap Tempo / Ramp Footswitch.

I believe this is one of the first Phasers I acquired from the class of 2021. That combination of 4-Stage Phaser and Uni-Vibe in one unit is just genius - and I'm pretty used to the Flower Pedal format by now - as its Hosta Wah-Filter is mostly rooted to the pedal chain these days. Just a really smart and distinct execution - where everything pretty much works as expected. What with so many phasers arriving this year - this hasn't spent a lot of time on the board yet - I'm still finding new depths with the Strymon Zelzah - so that one's staying in the rotation for a while longer.

Controls - Effect Order : Fuzz>Phaser / Phaser>Fuzz, Fuzz : On/Off, Phase Volume, Phase Rate 1, Phase Rate 2, Fuzz Volume, Fuzz Tone, Engage Footswitch, Rate 1 / Rate 2 Footswitch.

This is another combination play and collaboration even with Nicholas Williams of Dunwich Amplification - the perfect combination of Phaser and Fuzz. As the Phaser has more controls - I am officially calling this a Fuzz-Phaser - rather than a Phaser-Fuzz - even though it's both really! It was sonically very much inspired by Roland's AP-7 Jet Phaser - while the circuit here is evolved along quite different lines. Fuzz and Phasing have always been a great combination - and to have the two of them so finely integrated into the same unit is special. As is the artwork on these - just glorious pedals overall - albeit a touch larger than I expected - slightly over-sized versus a typical BB-enclosure - so a touch more tricky to accommodate in the chain. Not really found a more permanent place for it yet - while it has taken a few spins on the periphery of the chain. I have the Axe and You Shall Receive limited Purple Sparkle edition - which matches my Canadian Dealers Special Li'l Fella Distortion - also by Fuzzrocious obviously!

Controls - Regen, Rate : Higher / LFO Off / Lower, Speed, Level, Mix, Sweep

I was so taken by Magnetic Effects Head Honcho Chris Livingstone's new album 'Eye to Eye' by his band The Datsuns - that I just had to have this. I've not really identified exactly which tracks it is used on - but I'm pretty sure it's part of the sound of 'In Record Time' per the above! One of the cool aspects here is that you can Park the LFO (Rate Off) and then just use the pedal as a manual filter - for tone-shaping duties. Weirdly I've not come across any demos for this pedal yet - so the final track of the recent album has to do!

Controls - 8 x Waveforms, Depth/Character, Rate/Speed, Bypass Footswitch, Tap Temp Footswitch.

I freely admit I was first and foremost rather taken by the plexi-front facia design of the enclosure - with the Red, Yellow and Blue knobs. Its design and styling sort of reminded me of Mondrian - and this was the last but one phaser I acquired this year - just before the Deep Phase. It hasn't had too much usage yet - but that elegant combination of 3 knobs (Multiple Waveforms) and dual-footswitches works wonders. Beyond this being referenced as an Analog Phaser - there is no further distinction of type or number of Stages. The Digitally Controlled Waveforms make it sound pretty rich - and so it's hard to gauge what the guts are doing really. Most contemporary phasers tend to be 4-Stage - so in the absence of detail - that is the rough guess.

Controls - Mode : I (4) / II (8), Speed, Feedback.

The Phase 95 has long been my favourite Mini Phaser - so I thought I must own its Deep Phase Sibling too - which has 4 and 8 Stage Phasing options, and an additional Feedback control versus the 95. I got impatient waiting for this to get into UK distribution - but it seems my efforts backfired in any case as this it taking forever to arrive! I really don't understand why it often takes pedals a fortnight just to leave the United States! Obviously sill serious issues with internal mail. This is thicker, fatter and juicier than the Phase 95 - while I still only have remote experience of this pedal! Likely my last one to arrive for 2021 as I switch to Christmas mode at the end of this month! Also the Ibanez Mini Phaser and Pigtronix Moon Pool are just as good Minis really - and I will probably need to land those too!

Controls - Mode : 45/90, Speed, Script Off/On.

The OG Mini Phaser and the first ever Phaser I bought if I recall correctly. This carried both 45 and 90, 2 and 4-Stage flavours as the classic greatest hits MXR Phaser package - just really smart of MXR to make its two most famous phasers available in a tiny enclosure. And to put the cherry on top you have Modern Block Logo and Vintage Script variants - via push button - for each voicing - so really 4 Phasers in 1! This is the one phaser I think everyone should own - it doesn't sound totally exactly the same as those original - some compromises in components had to be made to cram everything in - but it's pretty much near as damnit! And properly handy and versatile! Obviously effortlessly easy to accommodate on boards. I mostly use it nowadays when I want to put the phaser in front of whatever effect I'm using.

Controls - Stacking : P/S (Parallel/Series), Vintage Mode : Off/On, LFO Sync, Speed 1, Speed 2.

I've long wanted this cool MXR Custom Shop edition - essentially 2 x Phase 90's which you can stack in Parallel or Series - and output in Stereo. It's been on my wishlist for a while and I kind of left it a little too late as prices were up by the time I pulled the trigger. I was a brand new one for as little as £130 / £135 - and there were always a few decent examples available on Reverb.com - until one day they were mostly all gone - and prices were up again. I got my Mint version from Ebay - and paid £150 for it. As I often say with pedals - it's all about timing!. This is a really cool variety for sure and kind of completes my MXR Trifecta alongside the two minis - I think I'm pretty well covered for MXR Phasers now - those are all the want that I've ever wanted!

Controls - Rate, Depth, Feedback, Symmetry, Wave Shape : Hypertriangular / Sine / Triangular, Stages : 4 / 5 / 6, Tap Tempo Footswitch, On/Bypass Footswitch.

Andy Sitek's Phasia Phase Shifter is one of my favourite Analog Phasers for sure - with superb aqueous and burbly textures - very aptly monikered 'Phasia - Queen of the Waves'. It also has a lot of delicacy about it and is really easy to figure out and dial in. Moreover the enclosure sits so close to compact dimensions that it's effortless to slot in on your board. Just a really elegant watery phaser with some very distinct phasing textures in particular with Symmetry set to extremes on Hypertriangle and 6-Stages.

Controls - Speed / Barber Incline, Sweep : Classic / Barber / Envelope, Depth / Stereo Spread, Mix / MIDI Expression, 4-Stage On Footswitch, Resonance : Off / Mild / Strong, Speed / MIDI Sync, Voice : Phase > Time > Flange > Chorus / Output : Series / Parallel / Split, Depth / Stereo Spread, 6-Stage On Footswitch.

This is currently my mainstay phaser in the chain / rotation - which is unusual for me as my favourite Phasers are typically analogue varieties. While Strymon has really knocked it out of the park with this one - capable of all kinds of modulation flavours including Chorus, Flanging, Rotary, Tremolo and even Uni-Vibe and Envelope Filtering. Just amazingly versatile - also in how you can combine the two sides for really thick and expansive syrupy textures. Just a brilliantly conceived and executed effect - and stereo output to boot - I think it's wonderful!

Controls - Enhance / Resonance, Manual / Frequency, Depth / Intensity. Blend / Mix, Phasing : Bi-Directional / Dual Phase, Mode : Inverted Phase / Pulse / Normal, Rate / Speed.

Probably my favourite Analog Phaser of all-time - which is about as versatile as a 4-Stage Phaser can get - with a fantastic range of tones onboard. Also despite what you may have read in other guitar magazines - this is noway near as complicated as it looks to some people. All those controls are beautifully calibrated for even taper and predictable onset. Finding tones here is really effortless - and we've given you a head-start with so many great presets, including a couple of my own. This for me does everything you might expect a phaser to do and more - it's incredible that this is an all-analogue construction - and it's a worthy heir to its Lovetone inspiration. You can get fantastic Phasing, Tremolo and Vibrato tones here with ease - with all kinds of beautiful throbby and bubbly textures you just can't find elsewhere. This is a new classic for sure!

Controls - Speed, Vibrato/Phase, Feedback, High Bias, Low Limit.

Most know the story of Zvex's extraordinary steam-punk candle-powered Candela Vibrophase. Zachary had several requests to make a stompbox along those lines - so he set to re-creating the delicacies of the Candela in a more compact and conventional circuitboard fashion - and thus the Vibrophase Stompboz was born! Even though this is a 4-Stage Phaser - it sounds nothing really like my other 4-Stagers, and it couldn't really do the EVH Phase 90 thing. Rather this is a somewhat more refined kind of more psychedelic effect - actually closer in style to the Phase 45 than the 90 to my ears. You have 5 quite unique controls here - so this is kind of like the Phaser equivalent of the Fuzz Factory - and it has similar sensitivities with highly interactive controls. This can deliver some incredibly nuanced flavours and textures - but it requires patience and due diligence - it really does its own thing to a large extent.