Phaser

The Phaser adds a swirling sweep by moving a set of notches up and down the deck’s frequency range. It is softer and smoother than the Flanger. It is the seventh unit in the effect rack. Its faceplate is the PS-6 Phase Shifter, and its screen draws the moving notch curve.

It uses six stages, and the left and right channels sweep a quarter of a cycle apart for a wide, moving stereo sound.

Controls

Control	Range	Default	What it does
Rate	0.02 Hz to 5 Hz	0.40 Hz	Sweep speed while Sync is Free.
Sync	Free, 1/4, 1/2, Bar, 2 Bars, 4 Bars, 8 Bars	Free	Free uses Rate. The other choices lock one full sweep to that length of the song.
Depth	0 to 100%	80%	How far the sweep travels, from about half an octave to five and a half octaves above 180 Hz.
Fdbk	0 to 90%	50%	Feeds the output back into the phaser. More feedback makes the notches sharper and the swirl more intense.
Mix	0 to 100%	60%	Balance between the dry deck and the phased sound.

With Sync on a note or bar length, the sweep follows the song position, so it lands in the same place every time through. The strip’s readout shows the Sync setting, or the Rate when Sync is Free.

Using it

• Slow swirl on a beat. Sync at 2 Bars or 4 Bars with moderate Fdbk adds motion to a looped beat without distracting from the scratch on the other deck.
• Liquid scratches. A Sync of 1/4 or 1/2 on the scratch deck gives a rhythmic swirl that pulses with the groove.
• Subtle movement. Low Depth and low Fdbk give a gentle, almost hidden shimmer.

Tip

Like the flanger, the phaser’s notches come from mixing the dry and processed sound, so the sweep is deepest with Mix around the middle. Near 100% you hear less of the notches and more of the feedback’s colour.