Plug-In User Guide / Owners Manual

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THE PHASEMISTRESS CONTROL PANEL
PhaseMistress — Version 5
Figure 2: The PhaseMistress Main Control Panel - LFO Mode
The Input and Output level controls are used to either boost or
attenuate the input or output of PhaseMistress. The default setting of
the controls approximates “unity gain” (what goes in also comes out the
same level) and should provide the best overall “normal” sound quality
when set to these levels. The LED-style indicators located beneath the
Input and Output knobs provide a visual display of the input and output
signal levels. The yellow LED indicates that the signal is 6dB below
clipping. The red LED indicates maximum signal level, and possible
audible clipping (which you may or may not wish to have as part of your
sound).
These controls also determine the amount of saturation and distortion
present in PhaseMistress, based on the Analog Style in use (found in
the Tweak Menu, which we will discuss later). You can crank either the
Input or the Output to create distortion; and distortion combined with
INPUT AND OUTPUT LEVEL
phasing can be lots of fun! If you saturate the input stage (by turning up
the Input level), the distortion and harmonics added by the increased
saturation will be filtered by the phase effect. If you saturate the output
stage by turning up the Output level, the signal will be phased first and
the distortion and harmonics will be added post-phasing.
Generating audible distortion pre or post-phaser colors the resulting
audio in different ways and there are a lot of sonic variations available
combining input and output saturation. The greater the harmonic
content, the more pronounced the phasing effect will be. Overloading
the input will increase the presence and appearance of the phasing
effect. Conversely, most guitarists plug into a phaser before going into
their distortion but in this case the subtleties of the phasing effect will
be less pronounced as it is distorted. It’s important to note that the
input and output level only affects the phased signal and leaves the dry
signal unchanged.