favorite phaser(s)?

[hieronymous]

hey all, I'm on the road right now - not music, work - but figured I'd ask - what is your favorite phaser? I've had a MoogerFooger phaser for several years - sometimes I love, sometimes I hate it - I don't think it works with distortion so well, maybe better with a nice fat Moog synth signal (take that with a grain of salt - three pints of IPA and very casual unscientific thought speaking). Back in Boston I have an aNaLoG mAn-modded EH Small Stone which has been great when I've used it but that hasn't been often and it's 5000 miles away so I can't experiment very often. Just picked up the Nano version but haven't had a chance to work with it - have to wait 'til I get back to CA.

So - any thoughts for phaser with bass?

[SKATE RAT]

what's the difference between a phaser and a flanger?

[chromium]

what's the difference between a phaser and a flanger?

The way I understand it (or at least like to think I understand) is that both are similar in concept - they take an input signal, delay it slightly, and mix it back with the original signal.  With both signals slightly out of phase with each other, certain frequencies are either cancelled or reinforced - creating this dramatic filtering effect.  They then sweep the delay time, causing a continuous movement in the phase relationships (and consequently the filtering effect) of the two waves - resulting in that phaser/flanger "swoosh"

Where they differ:  The design of the phasers is such that certain frequencies in the signal get delayed more than others.  In a flanger, the signal is delayed uniformly and consistently across the entire spectrum.  Result?  Different sounds.

It's easier for me to hear the difference between the two than to fully comprehend or try to describe it!  Hope I did OK 

[Bernardduur]

A flanger works by delaying the signal only slight, then mixing it back into the original signal. The difference between these signals create interaction which causes the flange sound

A phaser inverts the phase by an all-pass filter and mixes it back into the signal. The phase differences creates notches in the spectrum, the phase sound. The more notches, the more deep the phase effect is. With an infinite number of stages / notches the phaser will become a flanger.

Nice article

[SKATE RAT]

Cool,thanx.i think i've got it.

[chromium]

Thanks Bernard!  I had to go to bed after writing that post- made my brain hurt   

I had been reading about this stuff a while back because I bought a frequency shifter (not to be confused with a pitch shifter), which is somehow related to this whole family of effects.  I couldn't really find a description of how it works that I fully understood.  Somthing about dome filters and quadrature oscillators.  Oh well - it sounds cool!!  There are some samples of it on the manufacturer page:

   http://www.encoreelectronics.com/cont_fs1.html

I got it mainly for keys and drum-tracks, but it sounds out-of-this-world with bass!  When used subtly, it creates this HUGE panoramic spatial spread of sound (similar to a phaser/flanger), and never seems to get muddy.  Produces equally good results with distorted bass too.  I'll record something with it when I have more time.

The only drag is that you have to install it in a modular synth cabinet (or some other 5u rack), and you need a +/-15v power supply to run it.  I have seen a version of the frequency shifter effect made by Analogue Systems that is self-contained in a small wooden enclosure.  These show up on Ebay from time-to-time.

[Barklessdog]

A phaser goes Woosh woosh Woosh at a set speed, a flanger goes is more like a quick delay.

This is my favorite creamy & clear transparent quite sounding, lots of adjustments on it

[nofi]

wow, i have one of those in blue. probably have not used it in 30 years. i guess i'll get it out and take it for a spin. for what it's worth a guitar player friend said it worked much better with guitar than the guitar unit did.

[Bernardduur]

My new fav is the MXR phase 45 I build a while ago. It is so nice and subtle, doesn't take over the signal but still adds that "thing" to it!

Awesome!