Empress Effects Phaser Modulation Effect Pedal

Offering modulation performance like few others, the Phaser from Empress Effects is an analog VCA-based phaser pedal with 2-, 4-, and a unique 3-stage phasing mode. With eight Auto modes that shift phasing dynamically based on your playing and five built-in rhythms, you can achieve everything from funky auto-wah and vibrato to ring modulation and beyond.

Control the tempo of modulation with the dedicated tap-tempo footswitch. An integrated boost circuit offers up to 6 dB of drive and harmonic saturation when the built-in gain control isn't enough. Typical phaser controls are on tap, including Width, Speed, Resonance, and Waveform. With the incredibly verstile Control Port, you can control your Phaser via CV (control voltage), an external expression pedal, an external audio input, an external tap switch, or via MIDI over 1/4" . The circuitry offers killer sound quality thanks to its impressively high signal-to-noise ratio of 104 dB. And with a rugged die-cast aluminum enclosure, this compact yet durable pedal will survive the test of time.

Operating Modes

Phaser has three main operating modes:

• Knob mode: the speed of the phaser is set with the speed knob and the speed range switch. The fastest speed range will give you ring modulator-type sounds.
• Tap Mode: the speed is set by tapping in a tempo with the tap stomp switch. The speed of the effect is produced from the speed of the tapping multiplied by the ratio set by the Ratio knob.
• Auto mode: in Auto mode, the effect parameters are changed based on how you are playing. Auto mode has 8 submodes for easily achieving a wide range of special and unique effects.

Auto Mode Explained

In Auto mode, effect parameters are changed either through an Envelope Follower, in which the pedal tracks the input volume to make changes, or via Trigger Detection, in which the pedal tracks when the signal experiences a rapid increase in volume, causing it to change a parameter value from low to high, much like automatic volume increasing in a car while driving fast. A Sensitivity knob is also provided to control how the Phaser pedal listens to your input signal.

Submodes

There are eight submodes available in Auto mode:

1. The center of the phase shift changes according to how loudly you play. Hitting the Tap switch inverts the phasing motion for a different tone.
2. The speed and center of the phasing effect are both increased as the input signal grows louder via an LFO. The Tap switch reverses the changes proportional to the signal volume.
3. As the instrument signal gets louder, the speed of the phasing effect increases. The waveform used for this mode is a sine wave with a width of 50%. Tap slows the speed down with volume increases.
4. This mode is similar to submode 3, except it uses a random step waveform, causing random speed values to be chosen as the signal volume increases. Tap reverses this relationship.
5. A peak in the volume of the input signal will trigger the effect to shift from max phasing to minimum phasing. Hitting the Tap switch inverts the phasing motion and the LED above the switch turns red when a trigger is detected.
6. When a trigger is detected, the amount of phase is shifted to a new, random amount. This mode sounds close to a random waveform, but the changes can be controlled and triggered by the manner in which you play.
7. Cycle through preset rhythm patterns via the Ratio knob. You can change the speed of the rhythm with the Tap stomp switch. There are five rhythms available.
8. If you plug an expression pedal into the Control port, this mode allows you to control the degree of phase shift with said expression pedal. Without a pedal plugged into the Control port, this mode operates like Submode 5, except that it triggers only when you hit the Tap switch.

Mix/Blend and Vibrato

The Empress Phaser allows the blend knob to be configured either as a blend knob or a mix knob. It ships configured as a blend knob. In this configuration there is a constant amount of dry signal. As you turn the blend knob clockwise, wet signal is added in. In Mix knob mode, with the knob turned 100% clockwise, you hear only phased signal.

When the knob is in this position, there is no dry signal being added to the wet signal so you'll get a vibrato type effect. The more you increase the width and speed, the more pronounced the effect becomes. With the knob set to a 12 o'clock position, a regular phaser sound is achieved.

Harmonic Enhancement Circuit

The Empress Phaser has a clean and pristine sound by design. In some instances, a dirtier sounding phaser may be desired. To accomplish this, Empress Effects has included a circuit which adds subtle yet pleasing even-order harmonics to the wet signal. Engaging the circuit can be achieved by opening up the Phaser and switching on the DIP1 switch.

EAN: 850040850321