well I usually use my PH-2 for… um… some more extreme phasing i should say. Incubus style that’s why I bought it in a first place – I totally dig what Mike Einziger does with it
but if i’d want something lush, i’d definitely buy a Small stone for some mellow phasing…
for me, it adds something to the sound that sometimes can be exactly what it needs simply – modulation effect
and another thing (I do it sometimes) – you can simulate a rotary speaker when you know how to turn the knobs, it can produce a very nice sound (even my PH-2 which is kinda hard to tame)
My phaser takes care of so many things. It can do a slow spacey wash, the pseudo rotary effect or some serious wobble when needed. It also doubles as my ‘wah’ for funky rhythm and lead parts. I’ll always keep one on my board. :thumb:
i’ve been playing with the trimpot in the MXR block phase 90, you can get a really airy swirl around the higher frequencies that sounds crazy clean at higher rates. i usually find phasers get too wobbly and pronounced at high speeds, particularly the small stone – there is a bit of a bump at either end of the sweep that i dont like. with the knob below 1 o’clock it’s not too bad, sounds alright for playing ‘transdermal celebration’ or really any other ween song. particularly the phase 90, the small stone kind of has its own thing going on that doesnt often fit my needs (i keep it around for the color switch though).
honestly i think the univibe mode on the wiggler is about as good as it gets, it’s crazy subtle at low speeds and really manageable at higher speeds – great for those abbey road / sgt. pepper leslie swirls.
Personally for me I fell in love with the sound after first hearing Pink floyd
“speak to me/breathe” from Dark side of the moon when I was a wee lad.
…which is a univibe not a phaser (although strictly it is a kind of phaser).
I love phasers and have a bunch of them — Bad Stone, Small Stone, Phase 90, Maestro PS-1 & 1A, Mutron Phasor II, jen Motorphaser… — as well as a modern vibe clone (Hey, EHX should really do a nice vibe — pair it with a Muff in the same unit and I’d buy one).
I use them for adding subtle movement with the rate down low, or up high to kinda emulate a leslie speaker (the Jen and Maestro phasers ramp up and down when you change speeds like a leslie).