Electro-Harmonix Nano

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January 2017 Guitarist
VINTAGE-STYLE PHASERS
VERDICT Industry-standard phaser pedal in
as near to its original form as you’ll find
VERDICT Limited control, but we can’t fault the sound.
If you want a certain early 70s flavour, you’ll find it here
VERDICT Phasing writ large for those who like an
obvious effect; also has a wide range of sounds
Since Jim Dunlop resurrected the
MXR brand, there’s always been a
Phase 90 in its roster. Four versions are
currently available, but the one that most
resembles the very first version is this
model, complete with original script
logo and no concessions to modernity.
No status LED or power adapter input
here – this baby is battery-power only!
Reverse engineered from an
original pedal, this has a hand-wired
circuit board with original-spec 1974
components including select resistors
paired with hand-matched FETs. This
is classic silky phasing with a sweetened
top-end that blends incredibly well
with guitar and even adds a little grit.
The only noticeable difference from our
1974 pedal is that the reissue has a little
more heft in the lower midrange. If you
want a power socket and LED, look to
the standard M101 model (£86), but its
sound is more aggressively upfront. [
TC]
Where the original Maestro PS-1A was
a beast of a pedal, Heptode’s take cuts it
down to a manageable footprint that’s
just right for housing three footswitches
(each with a different coloured LED),
but it remains rather tall at 70mm from
the base of its rubber feet to the tip of a
footswitch. We didn’t miss a speed knob
because the three speeds cover plenty
of musical possibilities, and the option
of changes on the fly is a great onstage
asset with the speed ramping up or down
when switched, as on the original.
The phasing sound is thick and
natural, sits well with guitar and features
a unique complexity to the sweep with
bags of vintage flavour. While we didn’t
have an original to compare sounds with,
we reckon this pretty much nails it –
when combined with our 1973 vintage
‘Rams Head’ Big Muff it was the nearest
we got to that Isley Brothers tone than
with any other phaser. [
T C ]
This ’board -friendly ‘Nano’ version of
the Small Stone has the same controls
as the original: a Rate knob and a Color
switch that changes the character of the
phasing. In its lower position, Color gives
you milder phasing similar to the Phase
90, though not quite as warm sounding
and with a faster max phase speed that
can approximate a fast Leslie and even
goes as far as a metallic ring mod tone.
Flick Color up for a deeper, stronger
phasing with a more pronounced sweep
that manifests itself as a vowelly ‘wow’
once the rate knob gets to 12 o’clock
and beyond. At full rate, it’s a classic
‘underwater’ sound.
Next to our 70s vintage Small Stone,
the Nano can duplicate some of the
sounds but gets much brighter in one
segment of the sweep, so the dark-to-
bright nature of its sweep sounds more
intense and is especially notable at
slower rate settings. [
TC]
ORIGIN: USA
FEATURES: Hardwire
bypass, rubber knob cap
for foot control
CONTROLS: Speed,
bypass footswitch
CONNECTIONS: Standard
input, standard output
POWER: 9V battery
DIMENSIONS: 100 (w) x
144 (d) x 57mm (h)
Westside Distribution
0844 326 2000
www.jimdunlop.com
ORIGIN: France
FEATURES: True relay-
based bypass
CONTROLS: Slow Phase,
Medium Phase, Fast Phase
footswitches
CONNECTIONS: Standard
input, standard output
POWER: 9V battery or
9V DC adaptor (not
supplied) 45mA
DIMENSIONS: 153 (w) x
88 (d) x 70mm (h)
Heptode
[phone]
www.heptode.com
ORIGIN: USA
FEATURES: True bypass
CONTROLS: Rate, Color
switch, bypass footswitch
CONNECTIONS: Standard
input, standard output
POWER: 9V DC adaptor
(not supplied) 100mA
DIMENSIONS: 65 (w) x
111 (d) x 50mm (h)
Electro-Harmonix
www.ehx.com
MXR CSP026 ’74
VINTAGE PHASE 90 £127
HEPTODE VIRTUOSO
PHASE SHIFTER €199
ELECTRO-HARMONIX
SMALL STONE NANO £55
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VERDICT The ultimate analogue phaser reborn;
cheaper than a vintage unit without the maintenance!
Prophecysound Systems’ pedal aims to
be an accurate recreation of the Mu-Tron
Bi-Phase by using as many of the same
components as the original. While it’s
much smaller, it manages to provide the
same control layout, ergonomically laid
out for a logical workflow.
The two individually switchable
phasers can be used separately or
combined for mono (series) or stereo
operation. Each phaser has Rate, Depth
and Feedback knobs and the option of
sine or square wave modulation for its
own sweep-generating LFO. If you don’t
want two phasers running together at
different speeds, a single LFO can be
used to synchronise the sweeps of both.
A standard expression pedal can be
used to alter the sweep rate of the first
LFO or to manually sweep either phaser,
wah-style. All that control makes for an
incredibly nuanced range of excellent-
quality phasing sounds. [
T C ]
ORIGIN: Australia
FEATURES: True bypass,
manual sweep, expression
pedal sweep control
CONTROLS: 2x Rate,
2x Feedback, 2x Depth,
2x Shape switches,
Man/Ped switch, Gen1/
Ped Sweep switch,
Sweep switch, Norm/Rev
Sync switch, bypass
footswitches Phaser A & B
CONNECTIONS: Standard
inputs/outputs A&B,
Expression/CV pedal input
POWER: 9V DC adaptor
(not supplied) 300mA
DIMENSIONS: 188 (w) x
122 (d) x 50mm (h)
Joe’s Pedals
07793 814123
prophecysound.com
PROPHECYSOUND
PI-PHASE MK2 £429
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GIT415.peds_phaser.indd 117 01/12/2016 11:21