Mu-Tron
Bi-Phase
Big, bad, and blue, this is
the phaser for the player
who loves phaser more
than any other effect, and
loves to tweak knobs. It’s
all over the Smashing
Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie
and the Infinite Sadness,
it has a wide range of
controls, as well as a
matching expression pedal, allowing you to phase to your heart’s content. It is roughly
the size of a laptop, so if you’re trying to squeeze one last pedal onto your board, this
ain’t it. I always look at the electronics section at the back of thrift stores hoping to find
one of these for $10, but I’ve had no such luck. If you purchase one from someone in
the know, it will set you back mu ch, much more—think Klon Centaur range—but if you
absolutely love phaser sounds, it may just be worth it.
TC Electronic Helix
When I imagine what it’s like at TC Electronic
headquarters in Denmark, I envision a North Poleesque scene, but the elf costumes have been
replaced by Hüsker Dü t-shirts, and Tore roams
the halls sprinkling magic TonePrint dust onto all
the pedals, with some of it settling into his epic
beard. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, TC has
an awesome phaser called the Helix, and it sounds
superb. I had the pleasure of reviewing it awhile
back, and was thoroughly impressed with its ability
to nail classic and modern sounds. In addition to
that, there’s the TonePrint feature, so you can save
a preset created by a rockstar, or make your own
with TC’s TonePrint editing software. Add stereo
inputs and outputs, and you’ve got yourself a real
winner—typical of TC Electronic.
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TONE TALK //
Slow Parts Only: 8 Fab Phasers for Your Swirling Pleasure