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anyone know of any decent phasers that also feature a blend option, or even something similar? i was looking at just basic run of the mill but notable phasers like the mxr phaser, but one complaint i’ve always had with phasers is they kind of do too much imo. i’ve also never owned a phaser so maybe just reducing the intensity would act as a sort of blend? i’m interested in what others think.

thanks for the input!
vera

Phasers are great at providing movement to signal, which is why they kind of sound awesome when they are doing too much: you ride the wave & take it wherever it may, which is why my favorite (still!) one is the MXR Phase 90, which also provides a slight boost, and you can adjust the single knob with your foot (perfect for non-guitar applications, as well).

Anyway, I was going to say Whetstone, but I forgot that didn't have a blend control (it does have an internal trim pot to adjust the gain, however). Empress has always been out of my price range, but I can only assume it's great because it's green, and also it has a blend knob.

Most of the available options are brands I don't necessarily trust (Catalinbread, Alexander, Jay Ache Yaz, etc.), but maybe that has more to do with my phaser bias in the first place.

I did once have a Seymour Duncan Polaron, but sold it due to my love of deep, all-encompassing type of phasing, as opposed to its almost Schwepp's-like fizziness that went *POOF* almost immediately.

coupleonapkins wrote:Empress has always been out of my price range, but I can only assume it's great because it's green, and also it has a blend knob.

Your assumption is correct. A great thing about the blend control on the empress is that you can set it to either be a blend or an effect level so it doesnt get full wet.

What about a 2 stager like the phase 45? Or the empress phaser...

the empress phaser looks cool, just not sure that i want to spend that much on a phaser that i’m only really looking to use for like one song.. lol. i’ll check out the phase 45 tho. another one i read about was the max professor tiny orange phaser but of course they cost a lot more now that they’re out of production. i’ve also seen that the phase 100 might have a blend (assuming that’s what the intensity knob is for)

https://reverb.com/item/41503853-idiotb ... 021-orange

I have one that I've used a couple of times but I don't recall if the output knob was for volume or blend and the knob labelling on the pedal of the month club pedals was always sort of abstract. Nice warm 4 step phaser, reminded me of my old univox phaser.

therevera wrote:just not sure that i want to spend that much on a phaser that i’m only really looking to use for like one song..

The answer, of course, is the MS-70CDR, several of the phasers have level/blend. You lose some knobs-in-front-of-you tweakability, but you can create a patch that gets however much phaser you want. Plus then you can go to town on the other effects (phaser + ring mod + pitch shift? Why not! Or whatever!)

therevera wrote:the empress phaser looks cool, just not sure that i want to spend that much on a phaser that i’m only really looking to use for like one song.. lol. i’ll check out the phase 45 tho. another one i read about was the max professor tiny orange phaser but of course they cost a lot more now that they’re out of production. i’ve also seen that the phase 100 might have a blend (assuming that’s what the intensity knob is for)

The Phase 100 doesnt have a blend, it switches feed back and depth modes. It is a very intense phaser.

Keep in mind that if you have a blend knob you can do a lot more than phasing. Full wet you get a vibrato sound at higher rates that is really nice.

manufacturers can't decide whether "depth" is a "width" control or a "blend" control lol.

your best bet is probably the eqd grand orbiter. if you check the manual, the "depth" control is in fact a dry mix control!

and looks like the "depth" on the Pigtronix Moon Pool is a dry mix control too.

you could also try something with "width" control, like the boss ph1(r). on that pedal, "depth" controls the width of the LFO: aka how much the notches move around. so with depth at zero, you still have all the notches, they're just stationary. i've got a clone of the ph1r from aion effects, and tbh i don't love it with depth at zero. it does give a very subtle phasor sound, but it cuts too much high-end.

the strymon phaser also has a mix control, but pretty pricey.

Slightly more complicated, but you could try a separate blend pedal.

The grand orbiter is good for this yeah, nice sounding phaser and the mix control is good for getting more subtle sounds. TBH I sold it because while I like it a lot I wanted something with a range for less subtle sounds so sounds like it should work well for you

OBNE Dweller is a bit of a weirdo in the phaser world, but it can do some more traditional phaser-y things too, and has a blend:

https://www.oldbloodnoise.com/pedals/dw ... e-repeater

Is there a specific sound you want? If you're going to run it with a lot of dirt, then you can be less picky. There's a big difference between phasers that are ideal for slow sweeps & those that excel with fast, sputtering sounds. (slow-developing sweeps are easier to find in the top-end $$$ range, with cheaper phasers not necessarily excelling at either ultra-slow or idyllic wet & fast modulation)

I'm not an MXR fan myself. I don't like the character/coloration. The 90 & the 100 did nothing for me. I found them a bit harsh and intrusive. I've owned boutique spinoffs with lots of bonus features, though, which were much better.

The Rockett Tranquilizer can be had for about $100 used, and it does the MXR 45 sound well (which is a bit more tasteful).

If you've got other modulation pedals and/or delay going, then you can possibly reduce how involved the phaser sound is. (just stick it up front) On the lower $$$ end, you aren't going to find a lot of controls. If you don't see a mix/wet control, look for a Feedback pot---like on the EHX Bad Stone. That's your next best option for keeping things from being too extreme.

Staying around $130 used, you might also look at the Source Audio Lunar Phaser. I don't know how gig-worthy they are, but the original SA pink phasers have a lot of sounds for under $100.

How do you feel about mini pedals? Ibanez produces a mini Phaser for $120---depth, rate, feedback.

One last option is the Catalinbread Many Worlds. That's probably the most feature-laden option for roughly $150 (used). That's got mix/depth/fdbk & a waveshaper. If you're looking for something as a launching pad (one song now & maybe more later), that might be worth a trial.

I don't have much in the way of recommendations, but from a technical standpoint:

therevera wrote:maybe just reducing the intensity would act as a sort of blend?

Is generally accurate. Phaser does its work by summing a dry and phase shifted signal - the dry being a crucial component of the effect (without modulation the affected path will often sound just like dry). So if there is an intensity control offered, it is very probably the functional equivalent of a clean blend control.

crochambeau wrote:I don't have much in the way of recommendations, but from a technical standpoint:

therevera wrote:maybe just reducing the intensity would act as a sort of blend?

Is generally accurate. Phaser does its work by summing a dry and phase shifted signal - the dry being a crucial component of the effect (without modulation the affected path will often sound just like dry). So if there is an intensity control offered, it is very probably the functional equivalent of a clean blend control.

bingo bango. And if you have a feedback knob, start it at zero--that's your Extra Spicy control.

That said the phase 45 is a good recommendation, it's a subtle, gentle phase shifter. I guess it's discontinued now, but you can get the phase 95 which has a 45 mode. Oh bummer they discontinued the phase 99 too? That thing looked cool.

They can be hard to find in the US, but the GNI Phaser/Flanger has mix controls on both the Phaser and Flanger side, and both sound great to me. It IS a ginormous pedal (both in terms of weight and pedal height), but I dig mine.

http://www.gnimusic.com/phaser_flanger.asp