On Top are four large knobs Resonance, Speed, Range and Shape. The Shape knob has 6 possible wave shapes: Sine, Saw-Up, Saw-Down, Triangle, Square, and Manual mode controlled via expression pedal. There are also two mini knobs for level and mix. In the middle are those cool jewel light indicators like on a guitar amp. And below that a heavy duty TPDT true bypass footswitch.
Inside the pedal you will find a trim pot for use with a higher output signal like a synth, also a switch to turn the speed / rate indicator LED off in Bypass mode.
The Speed control has a wide range from super slow to blazing fast. The Resonance knob adjusts the amount of frequency focused resonant feedback. This gets you to those classic vintage Phase tones.
Explorer with the Copper Body
The Range knob uniquely affects the lowfrequency phasing extension. At lower settings to the left, the focus is high frequency phase. As you turn it to the right you go to low frequencies for deep sounding phasing.
The Explorer Deluxe uses a custom analog optical circuit that lives right underneath the jewel indicator. This allows you to see the interplay between the light & receiver and how the wave shape is affecting the sound.
IN USE: The first thing I usually do is open a pedal up & peek inside. The Spaceman is impressive. It’ s completely packed with two PCB boards loaded and stacked on top of each other, with picture perfect wiring. They even have added wire relief in case you have to ever replace a jack.
I find the Explorer Deluxe to be very musical. The Optical circuit has a rich, smooth and organic sense about it. The pedal is user friendly in general, and it’ s very quick to get the vibe you’ re looking for.
The Sine wave mode gives you that classic deep, lush even phase especially at slower speeds. If you bring the Resonance down with the Speed and Range at 12 & 1:00, its suddenly transforms into a sweet vibrato. Flipping through the different wave patterns you can get some unique outside the box approaches to vibrato. The Saw-Up, Saw-Down and Triangle are recognizable and perfect for funk guitar. The Square setting is very rhythmic and at faster speeds has a choppy synth-like arp vibe, especially if you play arpeggio patterns. As far as the Expression pedal input goes, it’ s fantastic in the studio. In Manual mode it’ s kind of a wah thing, or in the five other wave modes it’ s a LFO speed control. I like the ability to control the intensity going from a slow wobble to strawberry fields speed with the pedal. I’ ve always loved the sound of distortion going into a phaser. I ran my guitar into the Spaceman Titan Il Fuzz,( we’ ll review that next month), before the Explorer. It sounded super throaty and psychedelic. Instant inspiration!
On bass it is equally delicious. It’ s got the clarity of high-end studio gear, and gives you that 70’ s funk with a modern twist. The low end is tremendous when you crank the range knob up. I tried it with a Roland System 8 in Mono and it was killing on both staccato rhythmic stuff and for leads.
CONCLUSION: I am a fan of Phase pedals. You can do a lot with them. I’ ve had engineers complimenting the sound even subtly in the background. Subtle is easy to do on this pedal with the mix knob. Phasers are also fantastic at adding movement to swells and ambient stuff. To my ears the Explorer Deluxe is one of the best phase pedals out there. It sounds super fat, and has a quality about it that separates it from any digital competition. You can’ t deny the rich analog tones and ease of dialing in the classic patterns that phaser fans love. It’ s fantastic on bass and synths. I would pick it over any vintage Phaser that I’ ve ever heard. It’ s quiet, has a rich bottom end, and can do so many things. You can get a lot of mileage with the Explorer Deluxe. I hope you get a chance to hear one before they run out.
SpacemanEffects. com $ 399.00
Michael Hodge Record Producer, Writer, Studio musician, Staff Guitarist at Lakewood Church Houston TX. Owner of Gman Productions film music
MichaelHodge. com
August 2018 WorshipMusician. com
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